יחזקאל, פרק כ״ד, פסוק כ״ו

The arrival of a lone survivor from the siege of Jerusalem brings the bitter reality of the city's fall to the exiled prophet in Babylon. Having escaped the devastating war in Judah, this refugee travels to deliver the heavy news, forcing the prophet to confront the destruction of his homeland.

A significant chronological gap exists between the actual fall of Jerusalem and the arrival of this news. The city was destroyed during the summer, yet the survivor did not reach the exiled community in Babylon until months later, in the middle of winter. Because of this delay, the survivor could not possibly have arrived on the exact day the destruction occurred [רש״י, רד״ק, מלבי״ם].

Commentators offer two main ways to understand the timing of this encounter. One approach suggests that the reference to a specific day actually points to a broader period or era rather than a literal twenty-four-hour timeframe [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The lengthy delay in the news reaching Babylon occurred because the victorious Babylonian army did not immediately return home. Instead, they took their captives and proceeded to conquer additional territories before finally making the long journey back [רד״ק].

A different perspective resolves the timeline by focusing on the sequence of events. According to this view, there is a direct connection between the survivor's arrival and the prophet's reaction. On the specific day the refugee finally arrives to share the tragic news, the prophet's temporary silence will end, and he will begin to prophesy once again [רש״י, מלבי״ם].

The nature of how this news is delivered highlights a deep contrast between those who lived through the horror in Jerusalem and those waiting in exile. The prophet will not witness the ruin of the city with his own eyes. Rather, he is forced to experience the tragedy entirely through his ears, absorbing the shock and grief solely through the spoken testimony of the one who survived [רד״ק].