What Does Ezekiel 20:1 Mean?
And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to seek the LORD, and settled before me.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me.THE KEY
The Hebrew joins seeking with sitting: inquiry is a way of coming near, then remaining before the word.
THE MEANING
When you seek the LORD, your question draws you near, and you take your place before the one who bears the word. The verse holds active inquiry together with settled presence, so the encounter is already underway before an answer is spoken.
THE ROOT
לִדְרֹשׁ
lidrosh
GROWS FROM
דרש
to seek, inquire, or resort to
The root דָּרַשׁ (darash, seek or inquire) carries more than putting a question into words: it is a movement toward the one being sought. Here the elders’ inquiry is an approach to the LORD, not merely a request for information.
ALSO GROWS
midrash: inquiry, exposition, or interpretation
מִדְרָשׁ
This branch shows seeking extended into careful engagement with a word; inquiry can become the work of understanding.
derishah: inquiry, request, or demand
דְּרִישָׁה
The same root can name a serious claim or request, giving the elders’ enquiry a weight beyond casual curiosity.
וַיֵּשְׁבוּ
vayyeshvu
GROWS FROM
ישב
to sit, dwell, or remain
The root יָשַׁב (yashav, sit or dwell) connects a physical posture with taking up a place and remaining there. Paired with דָּרַשׁ (darash, seek or inquire), it shows search and settled presence as two parts of the same approach.
ALSO GROWS
yoshev: one who sits or dwells
יֹשֵׁב
The seeker’s posture belongs to the same root as dwelling, suggesting presence that lasts beyond the moment of asking.
moshav: seat, dwelling, or settlement
מוֹשָׁב
This branch extends sitting into a place one occupies, illuminating the elders’ act of taking their place before Ezekiel.
THE PATTERN
Seeking God is an active approach that brings the seeker into encounter.
When you say, Seek my face; my heart says to you, Your face, LORD, I will seek.And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.THE THREAD
And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.The word translated “search” shares the root דָּרַשׁ (darash, seek or inquire) with “enquire” in Ezekiel. The elders’ inquiry and the whole-hearted search share one seed: seeking draws the heart toward encounter.
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