Lexical Summary rogzah: Turmoil, agitation, trembling Original Word: רָגְזָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance trembling Feminine of rogez; trepidation -- trembling. see HEBREW rogez NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfem. of rogez Definition a quivering, quaking NASB Translation quivering (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs רָגְזָה noun feminine a quivering, quaking; — ׳ר Ezekiel 12:18 ("" רַעַשׁ). Topical Lexicon Textual Occurrence רָגְזָה (ragzah) appears a single time in the Hebrew canon, in Ezekiel 12:18. The word names the trembling or quivering that accompanies dread. In Ezekiel’s enacted sign, the prophet is instructed, “Eat your bread with trembling and drink your water with quivering and anxiety” (Ezekiel 12:18). Prophetic Context in Ezekiel Ezekiel 12 records a series of sign-acts announcing the coming siege and exile of Jerusalem (circa 588-586 BC). By eating and drinking in a visibly agitated state, Ezekiel becomes a living oracle. The trembling (רָגְזָה) dramatizes the inner turmoil that will soon grip the inhabitants of the city when famine, sword, and captivity descend. The sign is not mere theatrics; it is God-ordained communication directed at a deaf and rebellious audience (Ezekiel 12:2). Historical Setting At the time of the prophecy, a first wave of deportees (including Ezekiel) already lived by the Chebar Canal in Babylon. Jerusalem’s leadership, however, still imagined deliverance. The Babylonian threat seemed distant, and prophetic voices promising peace remained popular (Jeremiah 28). Into that complacency, Ezekiel’s trembling meal warns of unavoidable national collapse. רָגְזָה reinforces the certainty and immediacy of judgment: their daily routines will soon be marked by fear and scarcity. Thematic Associations 1. Judgment: Trembling meals anticipate siege conditions (cf. Leviticus 26:26-37). Intertextual Links Although רָגְזָה is unique, the root רגז (“to tremble, quake”) surfaces elsewhere: These passages frame trembling as both an involuntary reaction to divine judgment and an appropriate posture of reverence. Ezekiel 12:18 leans toward the former yet implicitly summons the latter; those who heed the sign may exchange terror for salvific fear. Theological Significance 1. Human sin invites divine wrath. Trembling is the rational response when covenant curses (Deuteronomy 28) approach fulfillment. Ministry and Pastoral Application • Proclamation: Modern preaching must reclaim Ezekiel’s urgency. Spiritual lethargy—whether individual or corporate—requires vivid reminders that sin’s wages are real. Christological and Eschatological Perspective At the cross, the trembling due humanity converges on the sinless Son (Matthew 27:45-54). His distress secures peace for all who believe (Isaiah 53:5). Yet an eschatological trembling remains for the impenitent: “People will faint from fear…and the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:26). Ezekiel’s trembling meal therefore anticipates both Calvary’s substitutionary judgment and the final shaking of all things (Hebrews 12:26-27), urging every generation to flee wrath and find refuge in Christ. Forms and Transliterations בְּרָגְזָ֥ה ברגזה bə·rā·ḡə·zāh berageZah bərāḡəzāhLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Ezekiel 12:18 HEB: תֹּאכֵ֑ל וּמֵימֶ֕יךָ בְּרָגְזָ֥ה וּבִדְאָגָ֖ה תִּשְׁתֶּֽה׃ NAS: your water with quivering and anxiety. KJV: thy water with trembling and with carefulness; INT: eat your water quivering and anxiety and drink 1 Occurrence |
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