Ezekiel Introduction

Ezekiel Introduction The name Ezekiel means “God strengthen,” or “God is strong.” His ministry as a prophet began in 590 BCE and ended in 570 BCE. His writing was done while he was in captivity in Babylon, writing to the Jews in Jerusalem, in which he described some of the events reported to him during the time of warfare and the fall of Jerusalem. He was a priest and the son of a priest named Buzi. With the Babylonian Captivity he was carried away as a young man, being taken captive along with King Jehoiachin in 598 BCE, a number of years before the destruction of Jerusalem. He lived in Tel-Abib (hill of the storm god) where a Jewish community tried to eke out a living. Tel-Abib was located along the banks of the Chebar. The Chebar is described as a river but actually it was a canal which diverted water toward the north of the Euphrates River. Ezekiel was married but his wife died suddenly just as the siege of Israel began. In the year 593 BCE he experienced a vision somewhere in Mesopotamia during a thunderstorm in which he experienced a call to be a prophet of God. The first portion of the book of Ezekiel deals with his seeking to establish hope on the part of the exiles that they might deal with their captivity in a foreign land. News of the fall of Jerusalem (which took place August 15, 586 BCE) reached Ezekiel on January 8, 585 BCE. After this his message became one that sought to reassure the people that Jerusalem and the temple would again be restored and worship, and living on their part, would return to be as it had been in the past. The book is carefully organized in its planning – the time before the fall, the arrival of the sad news that Jerusalem had fallen and the assurance of the restoration of Jerusalem. The text, however, is not as well organized. In the later 1800s it was felt that Ezekiel was the sole author of the book. In the 1900s critics felt most of the book was the work of editors and very little was actually done by Ezekiel. The difficulty with that concept was that no one knew what might actually have been written by Ezekiel and those who studied the book could come to no conclusions. In more recent studies it is felt that the book is basically the work of Ezekiel but has ‘suffered’ by the additions of a number of editors who did not do justice to Ezekiel’s work. The text, as the result of the editors work, is unbelievably corrupt. One must turn to the LXX (Septuagint – Greek translation done ca. 300 BCE) for assistance along with other sources among the papyri (Chester Beatty, and John H. Scheide collection) for help along with the Targums. One fragment was found among the books in Cave 1 of the Dead Sea Scrolls but this only has 4:16 – 5:1. The footnotes often have the entry ‘obscure text’ or hint that the translation is an attempt to translate a difficult passage. Ezekiel’s prophetic message is characterized as a promise of salvation in a new covenant. Ezekiel laid down the conditions necessary to obtain that salvation. He was a caring prophet whose unique and apocalyptic visions provide hope --- then and now. The book divides into three parts: I. The present sins and the prediction of more deviation of the promised law. II The destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. III Prophecy characterized as a promised salvation in a new covenant. Ezekiel would lay down the conditions necessary to obtain that salvation. The last 8 chapters provide a vision for the future. Ezekiel I. Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem 1:1 – 24:27 A. Call and Commission 1:1 – 3:27 1. Superscription 1:1 – 3 1 1 [When I (Ezekiel) was] thirty years [old] on the fifth day of the fifth month while among the exiled community along the banks of the river Chebar 2 heaven opened, 3 and I saw visions from God. 2 [It was the fifth day of the month --- the fifth year --- (it 4 was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin.) 3 The word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel, the son of Buzi 5 in the land of the Chaldeans along the bank of the river Chebar. I felt the power of the Lord 6 upon me.] 7 e. The Throne-Chariot Vision (or, Theophany) 1:4 – 28 8 9 10 4 As I looked, seeing a stormy wind swooping out of the north and a great cloud, enveloped in brightness and fire from which flashes appeared continuously and in the center of the fire 11 these seemed to be radiating like the dazzling splendor of 12 gleaming bronze. 5 From the midst of it there appeared figures that had a resemblance to living creatures (or, seeming to have human form). This is how they looked: 13 They had the form of human beings. 6 However each had four faces and each 14 15 had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight and they had hoofs like those of a calf’s 16 hoohs, which glittered like polished brass. 8 They had human hands under their wings 1 The Hebrew text simply says “In the thirtieth year” which does not refer to anything. LXX: “” Scholars feel the reference is to the age of Ezekiel. He was a priest and the priestly functions began at the age of thirty which would mark the beginning of priestly duties for him. Like the prophets before him Ezekiel was about to proclaim the judgment of God. He received the call to do so in a vision in Babylon, a vision of the throne-chariot of Yahweh. 2 This was a canal which diverted the water of the Euphrates, causing it to flow through Nippur, present day Shall en-Nil. 3 Either verse: 1 or verse 2, presumably verse 2, is from the hand of a later revisionist, though possibly it is simply a later gloss. 4 Some scholars feel the date would be July 592 BCE. 5 This could also be translated: “Ezekiel the son of Buzi the priest.” 6 Literally: “I felt the hand of the Lord.” 7 These opening words (verses 1 – 3) signal the difficulty with which the book of Ezekiel is filled. The LXX ends verse three with “in a trance.” 8 Cf. ANET: 109d – 110a. 9 Ezekiel witnesses a coming storm. The vision experience produces the spectacle of the ‘throne-chariot’ and glory of Yahweh. 10 North was considered by many at that time to be the abode of God. 11 LXX adds: “” 12 The exact meaning of the Hebrew word “lmXx” is doubtful. LXX: “” Vulgate: “electrum” A few translators interpret it as “amber.” Possibly the appearance is that of an alloy of gold and silver, i.e. a bright metal. 13 LXX: “” “The likeness of man was upon them.” 14 So: LXX & Syriac. An attempt to understand an obscure text! 15 Literally: “soles of their feet were like the hoofs of a calf.” TAN: “[fused into] a single leg.” MFT: “rounded,” not hoofs. 16 LXX: “and their feet were winged.” This is possible with a slight emendation reading pk for pnk. In this vision the four living creatures apparently support the platform (vault, firmament v. 21) on which is God’s throne. ICC: “and the hands of man were upon the sides of the form of them.” on all four sides, 17 and all four each had four faces and their wings on their four sides 18 19 (or, in the four directions). 9 Each one’s wings touched the others. When each one moved they did not turn, moving straight forward (or, moving in the direction of any of their faces). 20 10 As for their likeness: each had the face of a human being in front; the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side and the face of an eagle on the 21 22 back side. 11 Such were their faces, and their wings were separated upward; each creatures two wings were extended so they touched the wings of the other creatures 23 24 25 while their two other wings covered their bodies. 12 [Each was able to turn forward, whenever the spirit (or, wind) 26 impelled them to move. They did so without swerving as they moved.] 27 28 13 In the midst of the living creatures there was something giving the appearance of burning coals, 29 with the appearance of fiery torches 30 that kept moving back and forth between the living creatures. The fire was radiant. Lightning issued from 31 the fire. 14 The living creatures sped back and forth, giving the appearance of flashes of lightning. 32 15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw one wheel on the ground next to each 33 of the living creatures, one wheel with each of the creatures. 16 As for the appearance of the wheels, and their construction: the appearance was like the gleaming of yellow jasper, 34 and the four looked alike. Their construction appeared to be that of a wheel in 35 the midst of a wheel (or, a wheel intersected by a wheel). 17 When they moved, they 17 LXX: “and the hand of a man was under their wings on their four sides.” In the LXX the word translated “sides” is literally “parts.” 18 Archaeological evidence depicts Assyrian “cherubs” having a similar appearance.

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