Original Word: מִשְׁקוֹל
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: mishqowl
Pronunciation: mish-kohl
Phonetic Spelling: (mish-kole')
KJV: weight
NASB: weight
Word Origin: [from H8254 (שָׁקַל - weighed)]

1. weight

weight

From shaqal; weight -- weight.

see HEBREW shaqal

Word Origin
from shaqal
Definition
heaviness, weight
NASB Translation
weight (1).

מִשְׁקוֺל noun [masculine] heaviness, weight; — ׳בְּמ Ezekiel 4:10 by weight.

Definition and Unique Occurrence

מִשְׁקוֹל (mishqol) denotes a measured “weight.” It appears once in the Old Testament—Ezekiel 4:10—where the prophet is commanded to weigh out his daily food ration during a prophetic sign-act.

Context in Ezekiel

During the Babylonian exile, Ezekiel was instructed to dramatize Jerusalem’s coming siege (Ezekiel 4:1-17). As part of the enactment, the Lord said, “Your food that you eat shall weigh twenty shekels a day and be eaten at set times” (Ezekiel 4:10). Mishqol underscores the precision of God’s decree: famine would be so severe that survivors would count every morsel. Yet even in judgment, the measured allotment hints at divine restraint—God limits the hardship so a remnant survives.

Historical Background of Siege Rations

Ancient Near-Eastern armies often starved besieged cities into surrender. Records from Assyria and Babylon describe cutting supplies to crippling levels. Twenty shekels (about eight ounces) of bread a day is near starvation; the prophet’s weighed diet mirrored real conditions that would strike Jerusalem in 587 BC (compare Jeremiah 52:6).

Symbolic Implications of Weighed Provisions

1. Judgment—The ration dramatizes covenant curses foretold in Leviticus 26:26: “When I cut off your supply of bread… they will dole out the bread by weight.”
2. Sovereignty—God sets the exact measure; nothing is random in His dealings (Job 28:25).
3. Preservation—Even under wrath, the Lord preserves life, prefiguring Romans 11:5’s “remnant chosen by grace.”

Broader Biblical Motif of Weights and Measures

While mishqol is unique to Ezekiel 4:10, Scripture frequently employs weights:
• Honest scales delight the Lord (Proverbs 11:1; Deuteronomy 25:13-16).
• Unjust weights invite judgment (Amos 8:4-6).

These passages reveal that accurate measurement reflects God’s justice, contrasting with the hypocrisy that led to Jerusalem’s downfall.

Ministry Applications

• Integrity—Believers are to conduct business with exactness, mirroring God’s righteous standards.
• Stewardship—Like Ezekiel, ministers must portion spiritual “food” faithfully (Luke 12:42).
• Dependence—The ration reminds saints that daily bread comes from the Father’s hand (Matthew 6:11), fostering humility and trust.

Christological and Eschatological Considerations

Revelation 6:5-6 portrays black-horse famine where grain is weighed at inflated cost—an echo of mishqol’s siege imagery. Such parallels direct attention to Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, who alone satisfies enduring hunger (John 6:35). The weighed ration thus becomes a shadow pointing to the gospel: judgment merited, provision measured, salvation ultimately supplied without measure (John 1:16).

Practical Lessons for Believers Today

1. Sin has measurable consequences; repentance averts greater loss.
2. God’s discipline is calibrated for correction, not destruction (Hebrews 12:6-11).
3. In scarcity or abundance, gratitude for each “weighed” blessing honors the Giver.

Mishqol may appear only once, yet its single use powerfully conveys God’s exacting justice, merciful limitation, and call to upright living—a message timeless for the Church.

בְּמִשְׁק֕וֹל במשקול bə·miš·qō·wl bemishKol bəmišqōwlInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts