8383. teun
Lexical Summary
teun: Error, wandering

Original Word: תְּאֻן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: t'un
Pronunciation: teh-OON
Phonetic Spelling: (teh-oon')
KJV: lie
NASB: toil
Word Origin: [from H205 (אָוֶן - iniquity)]

1. naughtiness, i.e. toil

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
lie

From 'aven; naughtiness, i.e. Toil -- lie.

see HEBREW 'aven

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from the same as aven
Definition
toil
NASB Translation
toil (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
תְּאֻנִים noun [masculine] toil Ezekiel 24:12 הֶלְאָת ׳תּ she hath wearied (me or herself) with toil (but Co strike out as dittograph compare ᵐ5).

II. און (compare Arabic (medial ) be at rest, at ease, enjoy life of plenty; one enjoying a life of ease, freedom from toil & trouble).

Topical Lexicon
תְּאֻן (Strong’s Hebrew 8383)

Figurative Meaning in Ezekiel 24

The lone biblical occurrence appears in Ezekiel 24:12, where תְּאֻן denotes the stubborn “thick scum” or “corrosion” that clings to an iron pot. The prophet is commanded to set the pot on the fire until its defilement is exposed, yet the residue refuses to melt away. The image communicates a moral uncleanness that has become so ingrained in Jerusalem that ordinary means can no longer purge it.

Background of Ezekiel’s Parable of the Boiling Pot

Ezekiel 24 opens on the very day Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem. The LORD instructs the prophet to set a pot on the fire, fill it with choice meat, and then let the liquid boil away until only charred bones and rust remain (Ezekiel 24:3-5, 10-11). The parable indicts the city for bloodshed and idolatry; the inhabitants are like choice cuts ruined by the vessel that contains them. The residual תְּאֻן symbolizes the cumulative guilt that has permeated the nation through persistent sin.

Theological Implications

1. Total Depravity Displayed. The clinging scum declares that sin permeates not only individual acts but the very fabric of a society (Jeremiah 17:9).
2. Inevitability of Divine Judgment. God’s holiness requires that what cannot be cleansed must be consumed (Hebrews 12:29). Even relentless heat—an intensifying of providential pressure—fails to purify the vessel; therefore the city itself faces destruction.
3. The Limit of Human Effort. “It has frustrated every effort; its thick scum does not leave it” (Ezekiel 24:12). When hard-heartedness reaches this point, repentance must be granted from above (Acts 11:18).

Prophetic Significance for Judah and Jerusalem

The siege of 588-586 B.C. fulfilled the warning. Tainted leadership (princes, priests, prophets) had become indistinguishable from the populace in corruption. The fall of Jerusalem proved that covenant privileges offer no immunity when persistent rebellion nullifies them (Leviticus 26:27-33).

Christological Foreshadowing

The futility of the fire anticipates the necessity of a greater cleansing agent. Only the blood of the new covenant can do what repeated judgments could not—“cleanse our consciences from dead works” (Hebrews 9:14). The cross is the crucible where the believer’s impurity is finally dealt with, accomplishing what the Babylonian furnace could only prefigure.

Application in Ministry

• Preaching: Warn against the gradual build-up of tolerated sin; corrosion is usually invisible until crisis hits.
• Pastoral Care: Counsel believers to respond quickly to conviction; procrastination allows residue to harden.
• Church Discipline: A body that refuses to address internal scum invites external judgment (1 Corinthians 5:6-7).
• Missions: National sins, like individual sins, call for the gospel’s cleansing power; cultural critique must be coupled with Christ’s offer of forgiveness.

Personal and Corporate Sanctification

Ezekiel 24 challenges Christians to sustained self-examination (2 Corinthians 13:5). Spiritual disciplines—Word, prayer, fellowship—keep the vessel clean, but only continual reliance on the Spirit ensures that hidden deposits do not accumulate (Galatians 5:16-17).

Related Biblical Themes

• Dross and Refining – Proverbs 25:4; Isaiah 1:25.
• Fire as Purifying Judgment – Malachi 3:2-3; 1 Peter 4:17.
• Cleansing by the Word – John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26.

In sum, תְּאֻן serves as a vivid reminder that sin left unchecked hardens into an irremovable crust. The gospel of Jesus Christ provides the only solvent strong enough to dissolve it.

Forms and Transliterations
תְּאֻנִ֖ים תאנים tə’unîm tə·’u·nîm teuNim
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Ezekiel 24:12
HEB: תְּאֻנִ֖ים הֶלְאָ֑ת וְלֹֽא־
NAS: She has wearied [Me] with toil, Yet her great
KJV: She hath wearied [herself] with lies, and her great
INT: toil has wearied has not

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 8383
1 Occurrence


tə·’u·nîm — 1 Occ.

8382
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