Grammar Analysis: Ezekiel 28:16-18 - Divine Judgment Verb Chain¶
Scope. Passage grammar for the judgment chain in Ezekiel 28:16-18. This entry tracks the verb forms requested for Phase 3.5: Piel chalal, Piel abad, Hiphil shalak, Hiphil yatsa, Qal akal, and Qal natan, with the surrounding indictment verbs.
Text¶
KJV anchors: - Ezek 28:16: "therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee..." - Ezek 28:17: "I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings..." - Ezek 28:18: "therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes..."
Word-by-Word Parsing: Judgment Chain¶
| Reference | Hebrew | Lemma | Parsing | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eze 28:16 | וַתֶּחֱטָא | חטא | Verb.Qal.Wayq.2ms | and you sinned |
| Eze 28:16 | אֶחַלֶּלְךָ | חלל | Verb.Piel.Wayq.1s.+2ms | I profaned/defiled you |
| Eze 28:16 | אַבֶּדְךָ | אבד | Verb.Piel.Wayq.1s.+2ms | I destroyed you |
| Eze 28:17 | גָּבַהּ | גבה | Verb.Qal.Perf.3ms | was high |
| Eze 28:17 | שִׁחַתָּ | שׁחת | Verb.Piel.Perf.2ms | you destroyed/corrupted |
| Eze 28:17 | הִשְׁלַכְתִּיךָ | שׁלך | Verb.Hiphil.Perf.1s.+2ms | I cast/threw you |
| Eze 28:17 | נְתַתִּיךָ | נתן | Verb.Qal.Perf.1s.+2ms | I gave/set you |
| Eze 28:18 | חִלַּלְתָּ | חלל | Verb.Piel.Perf.2ms | you defiled |
| Eze 28:18 | אֹוצִא | יצא | Verb.Hiphil.Wayq.1s | I brought forth |
| Eze 28:18 | אֲכָלַתְךָ | אכל | Verb.Qal.Perf.3fs.+2ms | she/it devoured you |
| Eze 28:18 | אֶתֶּנְךָ | נתן | Verb.Qal.Wayq.1s.+2ms | I gave/made you |
Clause Structure¶
| Verse | Clause Type | Text | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28:16 | xQt0 | bə-rob rəkhullatkha malu tokhkha chamas |
Indictment: violence fills the midst |
| 28:16 | Way0 | wa-techeta |
Addressee sin stated as narrative fact |
| 28:16 | Way0 | wa-ʾachallelekha me-har ʾelohim |
Divine removal/profaning from mountain of God |
| 28:16 | Way0 | wa-ʾabbedkha ... mitokh ʾabne-esh |
Divine destruction/removal from stones of fire |
| 28:17 | xQt0 | ʿal-ʾerets hishlakhtikha |
Hiphil casting to earth |
| 28:17 | xQt0 | lifne melakhim netattikha |
Public exposure before kings |
| 28:18 | Way0 | wa-ʾotsiʾ ʾesh mitokhkha |
Divine causation of fire emerging |
| 28:18 | XQtl | hi ʾakhalatkha |
Fire as feminine subject devours the addressee |
| 28:18 | Way0 | wa-ʾettenkha le-ʾepher |
Final result: given/made ashes |
Key Grammatical Features¶
1. Piel chalal: Divine Profaning and Addressee Defiling¶
The root חלל appears twice as Piel: v.16 אֶחַלֶּלְךָ (1cs + 2ms object) and v.18 חִלַּלְתָּ (2ms). The grammar creates a reversal: the addressee defiles sanctuaries; YHWH profanes/removes the addressee from the divine mountain sphere.
2. Piel abad: Direct Divine Destruction¶
אַבֶּדְךָ is Piel wayyiqtol 1cs with a 2ms object suffix. The form places YHWH as grammatical subject and the addressee as object/patient.
3. Hiphil shalak and yatsa: Causative Judgment¶
הִשְׁלַכְתִּיךָ is Hiphil perfect 1cs + 2ms suffix: "I caused/cast you onto the earth." אֹוצִא is Hiphil wayyiqtol 1cs: "I brought forth fire." Both are causative H-stem forms with explicit divine first-person subjects.
Grammar reference: stem-hiphil.
4. Qal akal: Fire as Grammatical Subject¶
אֲכָלַתְךָ is Qal perfect 3fs + 2ms suffix. Its subject is the feminine pronoun הִיא, referring to אֵשׁ ("fire," feminine in this clause). The chain briefly shifts from YHWH as subject to fire as the immediate grammatical agent.
5. Qal natan: Public Exposure and Final Result¶
נְתַתִּיךָ (v.17) and אֶתֶּנְךָ (v.18) are Qal 1cs forms with 2ms suffixes. In v.17 the complement is לְרַאֲוָה ("for seeing/spectacle"); in v.18 the complement is לְאֵפֶר ("to ashes"). The same basic verb frames exposure and final reduction.
Verb-Chain Summary¶
sin -> I profaned you -> I destroyed you -> I cast you -> I set you for spectacle -> you defiled -> I brought out fire -> it devoured you -> I gave you to ashes.
The grammar alternates indictment verbs addressed to the second person with first-person divine judgment verbs. This is a structural observation only; referent identification belongs to the study.
Cross-References¶
Generated from: hebrew_parser.py --verse/--clause Eze 28:16-18; KJV corpus lookup. Last updated: 2026-05-07