Ezra 9:3 - When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled the hair out of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.
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What does "Ezra 9:3" mean?
This verse, Ezra 9:3, describes Ezra's profound emotional and spiritual distress upon learning about the Israelites' unfaithfulness to God by intermarrying with foreign women after their return from exile in Babylon. Let's break down the actions and their meanings:
"When I heard this thing..." This sets the context. Ezra has just been informed of the Israelites' transgression of marrying foreign women, which violated God's law and threatened the purity of their religious identity.
"...I tore my garment and my robe..." Tearing clothing was a common expression of intense grief, mourning, despair, and repentance in ancient Near Eastern cultures. It symbolized a breaking or rending of the person's inner self. In this case, Ezra is showing his sorrow and anguish over the people's sin.
"...and pulled the hair out of my head and of my beard..." This action is even more extreme. Pulling out hair, particularly from the head and beard, was another sign of extreme mourning, humiliation, and shame. It demonstrated the depth of Ezra's emotional pain and horror at the situation. It was an act of self-abasement and symbolic self-inflicted injury.
"...and sat down confounded." "Confounded" means bewildered, confused, dismayed, and deeply troubled. Ezra is so overwhelmed by the news and the implications of the Israelites' actions that he is left speechless and utterly dismayed. He is unable to act or think clearly, paralyzed by the gravity of the situation.
In summary, Ezra's actions are a dramatic display of his profound grief, shame, and distress upon learning that the Israelites had disobeyed God's law by intermarrying with foreign women. He tears his clothes, pulls out his hair, and sits in stunned silence, demonstrating the severity of his emotional and spiritual anguish over the people's sin and its potential consequences for their relationship with God.
It also highlights Ezra's deep commitment to God's law and his fear of divine judgment upon the people. This sets the stage for his subsequent prayer of confession and repentance in the rest of the chapter.
Ezra 9:3 - When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled the hair out of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.
What does "Ezra 9:3" mean?
This verse, Ezra 9:3, describes Ezra's profound emotional and spiritual distress upon learning about the Israelites' unfaithfulness to God by intermarrying with foreign women after their return from exile in Babylon. Let's break down the actions and their meanings:
"When I heard this thing..." This sets the context. Ezra has just been informed of the Israelites' transgression of marrying foreign women, which violated God's law and threatened the purity of their religious identity.
"...I tore my garment and my robe..." Tearing clothing was a common expression of intense grief, mourning, despair, and repentance in ancient Near Eastern cultures. It symbolized a breaking or rending of the person's inner self. In this case, Ezra is showing his sorrow and anguish over the people's sin.
"...and pulled the hair out of my head and of my beard..." This action is even more extreme. Pulling out hair, particularly from the head and beard, was another sign of extreme mourning, humiliation, and shame. It demonstrated the depth of Ezra's emotional pain and horror at the situation. It was an act of self-abasement and symbolic self-inflicted injury.
"...and sat down confounded." "Confounded" means bewildered, confused, dismayed, and deeply troubled. Ezra is so overwhelmed by the news and the implications of the Israelites' actions that he is left speechless and utterly dismayed. He is unable to act or think clearly, paralyzed by the gravity of the situation.
In summary, Ezra's actions are a dramatic display of his profound grief, shame, and distress upon learning that the Israelites had disobeyed God's law by intermarrying with foreign women. He tears his clothes, pulls out his hair, and sits in stunned silence, demonstrating the severity of his emotional and spiritual anguish over the people's sin and its potential consequences for their relationship with God.
It also highlights Ezra's deep commitment to God's law and his fear of divine judgment upon the people. This sets the stage for his subsequent prayer of confession and repentance in the rest of the chapter.