Some Key Chapters in the Book

Chapter 18, one of the most famous chapters in Ezekiel, gives priestly decisions (torah) on questions that had become especially pressing because of the people's situation. Though sometimes misinterpreted as a charter of religious individualism, chapter 18 makes two distinct points: (1) 18,1-20 teaches that one generation will not have to suffer for the sins of a previous generation, contrary to an older view preserved in Exodus 20,5. "For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, infllicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation"' (2) 18,21-28 teaches that past sins do not encumber a person currently leading a good life. These teachings were provoked by a fashionable proverb of the time, "Fathers have eaten green grapes, thus their children's teeth are on edge." The proverb implicitly accused God of punishing the innocent descendants of wicked forbears. The prophet denies any "vertical" guilt (between generations) but insists on "horizontal" guilt, that is, the present generation must bear its own guilt. The people are not simply victims of someone else's sin.

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

In the section framed by this chiasm (8,4-11,21), the angelic guide gives Ezekiel a tour of the corrupt practices that have polluted the Temple and the social wrongs that have ruined the people (8,5-18). Punishment is imposed (9,10-11). Meanwhile, the glory of the Lord begins to move, on its way to leave the Temple (10,4-5); the cherubim stop at the entrance of the east gate (10,8-22). Next, in a passage that balances the description of the first group of men in Chapter 8, the spirit brings Ezekiel to the east gate to view more evidence of wicked behavior (11,1-13). In 11, 14-21, a reassuring word comes to Ezekiel that the exiles will not lose their property back in Judah. Though the Lord removed them far away among the nations, yet he has been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone (11,16, different translation from NAB). The Lord abandons his Temple. At the time of this vision, perhaps not too long after the prophet's commission in 593, the exiles were unprepared for the possibillity that the Temple might be destroyed.

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

The vision of the corruption of the Temple and the departure of the glory (8,1-11,25) can be confusing. Chapters 8 through 11 are linked to the opening vision in chapters 1 through 3 in reverse order: the luminous figure in 8,2 is linked to 1, 27; the throne in 10,1, to the throne in 1,26; the sounds of wings in 10,5, to the sounds of wings in 1,24; the wheels in 10,9-13, to the wheels in 1,15-18, and the faces in 10,14, to the faces in 1,10. The "cherubim" in chapter 10 are the same as the "living creatures" in chapter 1. A chiasm, or sandwich structure, shapes chapters 8 through 11: A. Ezekiel converses with the elders "8,1a) B. The hand of the Lord fell upon him (8, 1b) C. A lulminous figure (8,2-3) The glory of the Lord (11,22-23) B. The spirit lifted him up (11,24b) A. Ezekiel tells the exiles what the Lord has revealed to him (11,25)

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

More than any other prophet, Ezekiel uses gestures to provoke his audience to question him. The gestures are a kind of street theater to capture the attention of an unreceptive audience, On one occasion, Ezekiel was told to take a brick, sketch a city on it, build miniature siege works against it, and put a metal plate between himself and city; he then was told to lie on his left side for 390 days, then on his right side for forty days. He had also to eat bread made of different grains (as one might in a siege) and ration his water. This action was an anticipation of the disasters lying ahead for the people when Jerusalem would be destroyed (chapter 4). The prophet was evidently actiing out the disaster that the people were refusing to face as they clung to hopes of a speedy return to their normal lives in Judah. The people will lie helpless as they "bear their punishment." The prophet's sign of not mourning one's wife in 24, 15-27 is an example of a sign provoking a reactiion: "Then the people asked me, Will you not tell us what all these things that you are doing mean for us?" (24,19)

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

Though the gesture of eating the scroll seems bizarre, it was typical of Ezekiel to use traditional material with unusual concretization and dramatization. In any event, Ezekiel's writings seem to have been arranged with exceptional artistry and confidence in the power of the written word to instruct and teach. One last point; the mobile throne shows the Lord able to leave the Jerusalem Temple and meet the exiles in their new residence; such mobility will be demonstrated negatively by the departure in chapter 11 and positively by the return in chapter 43.

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

To perceive the full significance of the divine manifestation, one must take into consideration the commission in 1,28-3,15. One can assume from the commission to preach to a hardhearted people that Ezekiel was already an outcast from his community. Instead of facing the impending disaster, the people put their faith in prophets who said the whole thing would soon be over. The majestic vision vindicated the prophet's minority view; the Lord told him his community would not believe his message and yet he must speak, saying, "Thus says the Lord God." Further, in 3,1-3 the Lord commanded him to eat the scroll like Jeremiah, "When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart: (Jer 15,16; cf. Pss 119,103).

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

They moved as one; below and alongside each there was a wheel rimmed with eyes, and above them was a shining expanse. As the creatures; wings slackened and the apparition came to a halt, the prophet looked up and saw a sapphire throne upon which a human figure sat, glowing, ringed by a rainbow. It was the throne of God. The order of the narrative is the order of the prophet's perception: sights, then sounds; the lower part of the vision, then the upper; the movement of the apparition, then the halting. (These remarks do not apply to 1,8b-12, which are dislocated.) Though unparalleled in its bold portrayal of divinity, the vision is also traditional; Psalms 18,8-14 (parallel in 2 Sm 22) is a similar storm appearance; the composite creatures are found in Isaiah 6 and attested in Mesopotamian and Syrian religious symbolism.

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Some Key Chapters in the Book

In the vision of the throne chariot and the commission (1,2-3,15), the prophet stood alone beside the Chebar canal and saw a large luminous cloud moving in his direction. It was radiant (1,4), like the luminous clouds that accompanied appearances of the Lord in such ancient traditions as Exodus 19,9;24,16;33,9; and 34,5. As it came near, he discerned four creatures, all radiant, in its lower part; they had human feet and hands but with four wings and four faces.

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Outline of the Book of Ezekiel

1. Impending Doom (1-24)

     A. Title and introduction (1, 1-3)

     B. Vision of the Enthroned One and Commission of Ezekiel

          1. Vision of the divine throne (1, 1-28)

          2. Commissioning of the prophet (2,1-3,27)

     C. Symbolic Acts and Oracles

          1. Three symbolic actions (4,1-5,4)

          2. Three matching oracles (5,5-7,27)

      D. Vision of Divine Judgment on the Temple

           1. The abominations committed in the Temple (8,1-9,11)

           2. God departs from the city (10,1-11,25)

       E. Condemnation of Leaders and People

            1. Symbolic gesture foreshadowing the exile (12,1-28)

            2. Condemnation of false prophets (13,1-23)

            3. Idolatry versus right behavior (14,1-23)

         F. Allegories and Metaphors of Judgment

            1. Allegory of the vine wood (15,1-8)

            2. Allegory of Jerusalem as God's faithless wife (16,1-63)

            3. Allegory of the two eagles (17,1-24)

            4. Priestly decisions on intergenerational responsibility (18,1-32)

            5. Two allegories on the king (19,1-14)

        G. Final Indictment and Condemnation

            1. Review of the Exodus (20,1-44)

            2. The sword oracles (20,1-21,32)

            3. The guilt of Jerusalem (22,1-31)

            4. The allegory of the two sisters (23,1-49)

            5. Two signs of the end (24,1-27)

II. Restoration (33-48)

        A. Oracles against Foreign Nations

            1. Against neighboring states (25,1-17)

            2. Against Tyre (26,1-28,19)

            3. Against Sidon (28,20-26)

            4. Against Egypt (29,1-32,32)

        B. Justice in the Land

            1. The second commission of the prophet (33,1-33)

            2. The good Shepherd replaces false shepherds (34,1-31)

            3. Oracles against the mountains of Edom (35,1-15)

            4. Blessings on the mountains of Israel (36,1-15)

            5. Renewal of Israel (36,16-38)

            6. The people are brought back to life

                a. Vision of dry bones (37,1-14)

                b. The two sticks rejoined (37,15-28)

        C. The conquest of Gog of Magog

            1. Gog's attack on the people of God (38,1-23)

            2. God's victory (39,1-29)

        D. The New Temple and the New Worship

            1. Description of the new Temple

               a. The Temple court (40,1-47)

               b. Inside of the Temple (40,42-48,20)

               c. The return of the Lord (43,1-12)

            2. Prescriptions for worship

               a. Altar of sacrifice (43,13-27)

               b. Priestly ministers (44,1-31)

               c. Division of the land (45,1-17)

               d. Regulation of the feasts (45,18-46,24)

            3. The river issuing from the door of the Temple (47,1-12)

            4.Boundaries of the new land

               a. National boundaries (47,13-23)

               b. Land allotments for each tribe (48,1-29)

               c. The new city (48,30-35)

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The Literary Structure of the Book

Within the structure, there are some correspondences between chapters 1 through 24 and 25 through 48. The news of the destruction of Jerusalem plays a key role in the book. Shortly before the city fell in July 586, Ezekiel's wife died, and the propet was forbidden to perform the mourning rites for her as a symbol of the loss of the city (24, 15-27). He was also struck dumb (3, 26-27; 24, 27). When the news comes, he was able to speak (34, 21-22) and proclaimed the Lord's restoration. In 3, 16-21, Ezekiel was made a sentinel charged with telling his people of their impending destruction. When the destruction took place, his sentinel task was reaffirmed (33, 1-9) for the new phase in God's plan for the people. In 36, 1-5, the prophet blessed the mountains of Israel, reversing his earlier dununciations in 6, 1-10; the mountains evidently stand for the entire land.

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The Literary Structure of the Book

Angelic servants kill all those within who have not been marked as contrite, a harbinger of the slaughter that will take place when the Temple is destroyed. In the ancient Near East no temple is destroyed unless its god has already abandoned it. The glory abandons the city, lifted up by the wings of the cherubim. Ezekiel describes the vision to his fellow exiles and attempts to show them its significance. In the last vision (40-48) the Lord returns to the temple-city, rebuilt on a heavenly model and protected from all corrupting foreign influence. A new torah or authoritative teaching is given and all is made ready for a new people.

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The Literary Structure of the Book

This opening scene foreshadows the departure of the glory from Jerusalem in 10, 1-11, 25 and the return in 43, 1-12. A deity able to move, unlike the traditional picture of the deity dwelling in the Temple in Jerusalem, is an ominous beginning to the book. Ezekiel's unpopular message has evidently isolated him from the other exiles as he sits alone at the banks of the canal. God finds him by a canal outside the city. The next vision (8-11) is pivotal in the book: an angelic figure transports Ezekiel from Babylon to Jerusalem, gives him a tour of the Temple, and points out men committing cultic abominations and injustice against others.

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The Literary Structure of the Book

Three visions provide a complementary structure: chapters 1 to 3, 8 to 11, and 40 to 48. The first depicts the prophet's call, the second is the judgment against Jerusalem and the Temple, and the third is the restoration of the Temple and the arrangement of the holy land. Ezekiel 43, 3 expressly relates the three visions: "The vision was like that which I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like that which I had seen by the river Chebar." Although there are visions in other prophetic books (Zec 1-6), only in Ezekiel are they woven into the architecture of the book. In the first vision, Ezekiel sees the glory (Hebrew kabod) of God that dwelt in the tabernacle in the wilderness and in the Temple in Jerusalem. Phrasing carefully in order to safeguard the sacrality and otherness of the glory, the prophet describes only the wheels of the divine throne. The throne is mobile; it is in Babylon rather than Jerusalem.

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The Literary Structure of the Book

The first part announced the fall of the city and urged Israel to give up its delusions and false hopes of speedy relief. Divine judgment had to come, for only a divine action makes possible the reign of God. The reign of God means, fist, the overturning of the false rule of the pagan nations (25-32) and, second, the implementation of the justice of God in the land (33-48). The implementation has three aspects: (1) a new exodus and conquest of the land (33-37); (2) the vanquishing of primordial evil greater than that in any one nation (38-39); and (3) the new temple-city, the return of the Lord who departed in chapter 11, the regulations of the new worship, the river coming from the Temple, and the new encampment of the tribes around the temple-city (40-48). A detailed outline illuminates the significance of the structure...(coming later this week)

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The Literary Structure of the Book

Of all the prophetic books, Ezekiel is arranged with the most skill and purpose. To some extent, the structure is the message. Chapter 1 through 24 are oracles against Judah; 25 through 32 are oracles against foreign nations; and 33 through 48 are oracles of restoration for Judah and Jerusalem. Since the oracles against the foreign nations are by that fact for Judah, they can be viewed under restoration. The whole book falls into two equal parts, doom (1--24) and restoratiion (25-48). Like a good sentinel (3, 16-21; 33, 1-6). Ezekiel preached doom and warning right up to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. After that great event, his task was to preach restoration. The two halves of the book are closely connected.

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The Traditions That Ezekiel Used

That enemy is Gog of the land of Magog. Only when he and his armies are defeated (38-39) can the Temple be built. With Gog of the land of Magog eliminated, the Lord can build his city and decree new ordinances. When one appreciates the mythic nature of these chapters, one realized that Ezekiel is speaking of the far future in these chapters. Before the new world can come in definitively, evil itself, which is more than the evil of any one nation, has to be defeated. One can see how a mythological perspective enables the prophet to speak of matters that transcend history as such, yet without cutting loose from history, for he is speaking of history's goal.

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The Traditions That Ezekiel Used

Though every version of the combat myth was unique, there was a basic polot; a power (often depicted as a monster) threatens the cosmic and political order of the universe. The assembly of the gods cannot find a senior god to repel the monster; the assembly appoints a young god, promising him kingship if he succeeds. Defeating the monster, the god restores the prethreat order (in some versions creates the world), builds a palace, and is acclaimed king by the gods. In biblical adaptations of the combat myth, the victory of the warrior God is normally the creation of the world or the creation of Israel. Ezekiel's adaptation of the combat myth is clearest in chapters 38 through 48. Before the Lord can build his palace and city, an enemy, greater and more resistant than the historical nations mentioned in chapters 25 through 32, must be faced and defeated.

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The Traditions That Ezekiel Used

The Lord is here portrayed as the divine warrior, a familiar portrayal in ancient Near Eastern religion and art (and in the Bible as well, for example, in Ex 15; 1Kgs. 18,41-46; 19, 1-18). How much more effective and "true" is Ezekiel's mythic-historical report of his experience in 1, 3-3, 15 than a bare and unadorned statement that the Lord had appeared to him! Ezekiel's language conveys a sense of the transcendent. The mythic motifs are not mere decoration, however. They occur within a story, called by modern scholars " the combat myth," which was widely known in the ancient Near East from the third millennium BC to well into the common era. Ezekiel assumes that his hearers and readers know the story.

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The Traditions That Ezekiel Used

Ezekiel also draws on mythological traditions. According to one definition, a myth is a traditional story set in the promordial past and involving supernatural elements. Myth and history are not necessarily opposed; mythological concepts and language were emmployed by biblical authors to show the transcendent significance of the historical laws and events they interpreted. Ezekiel, for example, used mythological language to describe his vision at the Chebar canal: the Lord appears to him in a storm cloud, luminous yet dark with water, borne by four composite figures having traits of animals and humans.

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