Boiling Pot

The boiling pot is given to Ezekiel as a parable directed at "the rebellious house," staging the cooking of meat in a cauldron as an oracle against Jerusalem.

The Parable of the Cauldron

The prophet is told to "utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh, Set on the cauldron, set it on, and also pour water into it" (Eze 24:3). The cauldron is to be filled deliberately: "gather its pieces into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones" (Eze 24:4). The choice of meat is then specified, and the fire is built up beneath: "Take the choice of the flock, and also pile the bones under it; make it boil well; yes, its bones were boiled in the midst of it" (Eze 24:5). The image is the parable in compressed form — a pot set on, filled with the best portions, brought to a hard boil.