translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: EZK

label: NET study note

text: Lions probably refer to Judahite royalty and/or nobility. The lioness appears to symbolize the Davidic dynasty, though some see the referent as Hamutal, the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz and Zedekiah. Gen 49:9 seems to be the background for Judah being compared to lions.


text: The description applies to king Jehoahaz ( 2 Kgs 23:31-34 ; Jer 22:10-12 ).


text: The identity of this second lion is unclear; the referent is probably Jehoiakim or Zedekiah. If the lioness is Hamutal, then Zedekiah is the lion described here.


text: The east wind symbolizes the Babylonians.


text: This metaphor depicts the Babylonian exile of the Davidic dynasty.