John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 4:9

"Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof; [according to] the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, even three hundred and ninety days, shalt thou eat thereof." — Ezekiel 4:9 (ASV)

It is undoubtedly true that this verse applies to the siege, because God indicates that the city would then suffer famine. A little later, however, He adds another vision. From this, we understand that the subject is not only the siege of Jerusalem but also the general vengeance of God against all the tribes—a vengeance that had fallen on the Jews through their alliance with them and eventually ended in the siege.

But here God shows the future condition of the city of Jerusalem. This variety of bread is a sign of scarcity. We normally make bread from wheat; if a region is barren, barley or vetches are eaten there. If we have only a moderate supply, wheaten bread is still used. But when lentils, beans, millet, and spelt are used, a more severe scarcity is depicted.

In the time of Jerome, the name spelt was used for "zea," since he says it was "common" among the Italians. I do not know how this aligns with what Jerome calls "vetches." In his Commentaries, he says it is "zea" and uses that name for spelt, which was then a type of wheat. In any case, when leguminous plants are mixed with wheat, and when barley and spelt are used, it indicates a deficiency in ordinary food.

It is as if the Prophet Ezekiel were to denounce to the Jews a deficiency in the harvest they were then reaping while they were free, for this vision was offered to the Prophet before the city was besieged. Hence, he threatened scarcity and famine at a time when they were still eating bread made of pure wheat.

For He orders all these things to be put in one vessel. From this, we understand that this mixture would be not at all acceptable to delicate palates, for we know that beans and lentils are coarser than wheat and cannot be kneaded into a proper dough, since the wheat and pulse are dissimilar. For this reason, then, God places them in one vessel. Then it is added — thou shalt make bread for thee according to the number of the days. The days numbered here are the three hundred and ninety; there is no mention of the forty days, but it may be a part representing the whole. Now it follows: