יחזקאל, פרק ט״ז, פסוק ג׳

A harsh prophecy of rebuke targets Jerusalem, personifying the city as a woman with deeply flawed roots. Ezekiel, living in the Babylonian exile, is commanded to send this message as a letter to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, holding onto the hope that they will listen and repent [רד״ק].

The prophecy focuses heavily on the origins of the people. The primary approach among commentators is that the message highlights a place of permanent settlement, distinguishing it from a mere temporary residence [מלבי״ם]. Alternatively, the focus points directly to the very root, origin, and birth of the nation [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Jerusalem is described as originating in the land of Canaan, born to an Amorite father and a Hittite mother. Commentators agree that this is not a description of actual family lineage, but rather a powerful metaphor for the wicked actions of the city's residents. Their behavior has become so corrupt that they seem to have completely adopted Canaanite culture, making it appear as though they were born there and that these ancient nations are their true parents [רד״ק, מצודת דוד].

Delving deeper into the metaphor, the father represents the broader culture from which a person learns, while the mother symbolizes the earth from which one draws nourishment and absorbs the surrounding atmosphere. The Amorites were known as the most wicked of nations, and Hittite women were notorious for their poor character traits. This imagery captures the condition of the Israelites before they united into a distinct nation, a time when they were still deeply sunk in the impurity of their environment [מלבי״ם].

Alongside this negative moral interpretation, other approaches connect the imagery to the actual history of the nation's founders. One perspective suggests a historical and ancestral link, noting that the forefathers originated from regions associated with these very nations [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Conversely, another viewpoint interprets these references as a positive nod to Abraham and Sarah, the true father and mother of the nation. According to this approach, they achieved their greatness specifically within the land of Canaan, and it was the children of Heth who provided Sarah with her honorable burial place [רש״י].