Exalting Jesus in Ezekiel by
Edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, this new commentary series, projected to be 48 volumes, takes a Christ-centered approach to expositing each book of the Bible. Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. Readers will learn to see Christ in all aspects of Scripture, and they will be encouraged by the devotional nature of each exposition. Exalting Jesus in Ezra-Nehemiah is written by Jim Hamilton.
Ezekiel's Hope by
Jacob Milgrom was a man of deep faith and deep learning. As teacher and scholar he is best known for his work on ancient Israel's religion, especially its cultic expression in tabernacle and temple. His command of this subject is evident in his massive, three-volume commentary on Leviticus (Anchor Bible Commentary) and his commentary on Numbers (JPS Torah Commentary). This provides perfect background for one who seeks to instruct us on the final chapters of Ezekiel. In this volume Milgrom guides us engagingly through Ezekiel's oracle against Gog (chs. 38-39) and his final vision of Israel's physical and spiritual restoration (chs. 40-48). Regrettably Professor Milgrom did not live to see his work on Ezekiel appear in print. Given his influence on biblical scholarship far beyond his native Jewish world, it is fitting that this final form of this project be cast as an interfaith dialogue with Daniel Block, who has himself written a major two-volume commentary on Ezekiel (NICOT). This volume offers a window into how one Jewish scholar engaged with the work of a Christian scholar. It invites readers to listen in on their conversation, in the course of which they will also hear the voices of medieval Jewish rabbis, particularly R. Eliezer of Beaugency and R. Joseph Kara. While Block and Milgrom are free to disagree in their reading of particular texts, readers will find this dialogue illuminating for their own understanding of the last chapters of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel, Daniel by
The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series provides up-to-date, evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. Each volume is designed to equip pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge to better understand and apply God's Word by presenting the message of each passage as well as an overview of other issues surrounding the text. The commentary series has been structured to help readers get at the meaning of Scripture, passage-by-passage, through the entire Bible. The New Living Translation is an authoritative Bible translation, rendered faithfully into today's English from the ancient texts by 90 leading Bible scholars. The NLT's scholarship and clarity breathe life into even the most difficult-to-understand Bible passages but even more powerful are stories of how people's lives are changing as the words speak directly to their hearts. That's why we call it The Truth Made Clear -- Publisher description.
Ezekiel, Daniel by
The books of Ezekiel and Daniel provide some of the most memorable stories and images of the Old Testament. Ezekiel, the wild prophet of the Babylonian exile, gave us images of the blazing wheeled throne of God leaving Jerusalem and the valley of dry bones that only God could restore to life. Struggling to prove his authenticity as a prophet, Ezekiel gives hard messages to the people of Israel that predict the fall of Jerusalem and punishment of all the nations. At the heart of the fiery speech and actions, however, is someone trying to explain how Jerusalem could fall and Israel could lose the Promised Land. In the end, there can be no mistake about his message of God's power and the cost of Israel's unfaithfulness. The prophet Daniel's message balances that of Ezekiel's, offering stories of God's faithfulness to those who keep the law. The dramatic stories of the three men in the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lion's den, as well as the account of Susanna and the elders, show God's saving power to those who are faithful. Daniel's message is one of hope for a people living under severe oppression during and after exile. Combining storytelling, prophecy, and apocalyptic, this book puts history in the context of God's larger plan for humanity.
Ezekiel, Daniel by
The Reformation era revolution in preaching and interpreting the Bible did not occur without keen attention to the Old Testament Scriptures. This is especially true with regard to the Hebrew prophets. Ezekiel and Daniel, replete with startling, unnerving imagery and visions, apocalyptic oracles of judgment and destruction, captivated the reformers as they sought to understand their time and themselves through the lens of Scripture. Equally, these prophetic books underscored the covenantal promises to God's people and the hope of restoration, which the Reformers understood to be the righteousness of Christ made available in faith. Reformation commentary on the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel are windows into the biblical, theological and pastoral minds of the reformers as they engage the details of the texts, make theological judgments and apply fresh reading of Scripture to their contemporary hearers. Familiar passages, such as Ezekiel's dazzling vision of the wheels, the building of the temple, or Daniel's four beasts, are given new layers and textures. This volume collects the comments of the monumental figures like Luther, Calvin and Melancthon, alongside many lesser known and read thinkers, such as Heinrich Bullinger, Hans Denck, Giovanni Diodati, Johann Gerhard, John Mayer, Matthew Mead, Johann Oecolampadius, Jakob Raupius, Johann Wigand and Andrew Willet. Several beloved English Puritans are included as well: Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Thomas Manton and John Owen. The wealth of Reformation interpretation on these books of Scripture is brought together for the first time.
Ezekiel 38-48 by
Summary: Stephen L. Cook offers an accessible translation and interpretation of the final sections of Ezekiel. These chapters, the most challenging texts of scripture, describe the end-time assault of Gog of Magog on Israel and provide an incredible visionary tour of God's utopian temple. Following the approach of Moshe Greenberg, the author of the preceding Anchor Yale Bible commentaries on Ezekiel, this volume grounds interpretation of the book in an intimate acquaintance with Ezekiel's source materials, its particular patterns of composition and rhetoric, and the general learned, priestly workings of the Ezekiel school. The commentary honors Greenberg's legacy by including insights from traditional Jewish commentators, such as Rashi, Kimhi, and Eliezer of Beaugency. In contrast to preceding commentaries, the book devotes special attention to the Zadokite idea of an indwelling, anthropomorphic "body" of God, and the enlivening effect on people and land of that indwelling. --! From publisher's description.
Lamentations and Ezekiel for Everyone by
In the Old Testament for Everyone series, Old Testament scholar John Goldingay addresses Scripture from Genesis to Malachi in such a way that even the most challenging passages are explained simply and concisely. The series is perfect for daily devotions, group study, or personal visits with the Bible. In this volume on Lamentations and Ezekiel, Goldingay explores these two prophetic books. Lamentations is considered one of the most tragic books in the Bible, with graphic and blunt language about the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians and the people's feelings of loss and despair amid God's silence. Ezekiel contains the prophet's thoughts after a tumultuous political time that saw many taken away from their homes and sent into exile. Where is God, Ezekiel asked, and what must we do for God to return?
Reading Ezekiel by
In this new volume in the Reading the Old Testament commentary series, biblical scholar Marvin A. Sweeney considers one of the most interesting and compelling books of the Hebrew Bible. Ezekiel is simultaneously one of the Bible’s most difficult and perplexing books as it presents the visions and oracles of Ezekiel, a Judean priest and prophet exiled to Babylonia in the sixth century BCE. The book of Ezekiel points to the return of YHWH to the holy temple at the center of a reconstituted Israel and creation at large. As such, the book of Ezekiel portrays the purging of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the people, to reconstitute them as part of a new creation at the conclusion of the book. With Jerusalem, the Temple, and the people so purged, YHWH stands once again in the holy center of the created world. As Sweeney writes in his introduction, the book of Ezekiel ultimately represents “a profound attempt to encounter the holy in the profane world, and based on that encounter, to sanctify the world in which we live.”
After Ezekiel by
Ezekiel has long been considered the most difficult of all the prophetic books to understand. The prophet's bizarre visions, extraordinary behaviour, and extravagant imagery have perplexed and fascinated readers for more than 2,500 years. The prophet has had an impact not only on theology and the life of Church and Synagogue, but also on culture, art and architecture. The volume brings together 15 new essays on Ezekiel's impact by leading scholars, and they focus on a range of different parts of the book and periods of reception. Historically they cover the reception of Ezekiel from the New Testament to the present day, and include both Jewish and Christian readings of the book. Methodologically, they offer a wide sample of the different approaches to reception/history of interpretation current in contemporary biblical studies.
Between Heaven and Earth: Divine Presence and Absence in the Book of Ezekiel by
It is too often forgotten that every Assyrian'historical'inscription functioned in a very specific context. This context influenced its content and the way in which it was perceived by ancient viewers and readers. Russell's goal is to address the reconstruction of the context of these inscriptions in order to elucidate their original impact. In the past, the palace inscriptions, including Assyrian palace inscriptions, have been published in composite editions with little or no reference to the provenience of the individual exemplars; in addition, the original excavation reports often were more interested in the content of the inscriptions than in their locations. To achieve the objective of placing these inscriptions in their original contexts and thereby provide a base for further study of them, and stimulated by two seasons of renewed excavations at Nineveh during which he studied many inscriptions in situ, Russell returned to the British Museum and Layard's original, handwritten notes from the 19th century excavations at Nineveh--the goal being to catalogue fully and as completely as possible the individual inscriptions and their locations. The results of Russell's labors are here published, including the first publication of several shorter inscriptions. The book is lavishly illustrated, both with museum photos and with photos by the author of many of the inscriptions in situ. The book will no doubt be the basis of all further study of the relationship between inscription and context in the palaces of the Assyrian kings.
Can These Bones Live?: The Problem of the Moral Self in the Book of Ezekiel by
The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.
Ezekiel's Vision Accounts As Interrelated Narratives by
Ezekiel is one of the best-structured books in the Old Testament. It is commonly recognized that the strongly interrelated vision accounts (Ez 1:1-3:15; 8-11; 37:1-14; 40-48) contribute greatly to this impression of unity. However, there is a marked lacuna in publications focusing on the vision accounts in Ezekiel as an interconnected text corpus. The present study combines redaction-critical analysis with literary methods that are typically used in a synchronic approach. Drawing on the paradigm of Fortschreibung, it is the first to present a united redaction history that takes into account the growing interconnections and dependencies between the vision accounts. Building on these results, the second part follows the development of selected themes, such as the relationships between characters, the roles of intermediate figures and anthropological and theological implications, throughout the stages of redaction. The study thus represents an important step towards an understanding of the complex redaction history of the book of Ezekiel, and indeed of its theology. The combination of diachronic and synchronic methods makes it relevant for scholars of both directions and is itself a methodological statement.
The Ezekiel Generation by
The Father's Heart for Israel and the ChurchYou live in one of the most critical hours in human history… and G-d is calling you to participate!For the body of Christ to be most effective in these last days, unity is essential. We all have key roles to play in the unfolding of G-d's great agenda for history. Author Grant Berry is on a mission to help you find your place in this hour and see both Jew and Gentile unite to bring G-d's end-time purposes to fruition.In this critical book, you will discover: Why it is so significant that Israel and the Church strengthens their relationship The unique roles that Jews and Gentiles are purposed to play in the end times G-d's burning heart to release His Kingdom through a united people This book is a challenge to the global body of Christ. Will we continue with business as usual, or will we embrace the glorious call to see G-d's family restored in these last days?
Honor, Shame, and Guilt: Social-Scientific Approaches to the Book of Ezekiel by
In this study, Wu explores how the concepts honor, shame, and guilt function in the book of Ezekiel, as well as in the wider contexts of their general use in anthropological or social-scientific approaches to biblical studies. He frames Ezekiel's key terms for honor (kabod) shame (bosh), and guilt ('awah) within an analysis of a broad perspective on these terms in the body of the Old Testament as a way of forming the “concept spheres” within which the specific instances of each term in Ezekiel sit. Wu gleans insight from the dominant contemporary definitions of honor, shame, and guilt in the fields of psychology and anthropology and their application to biblical studies, and he reflects on how this broader context informs and is informed by his analysis of Ezekiel. The study concludes by drawing together the implications and contribution of the analysis of Ezekiel and applying them to the development of social-scientific models for the future.
The Idea of Retribution in the Book of Ezekiel by
After a brief review of recent literature on retribution in the Old Testament, the book seeks to demonstrate that underlying Ezekiel are three principles of retribution: covenant, the disposal of impurity, and poetic justice.
Priestly Rule: Polemic and Biblical Interpretation in Ezekiel 44 by
Whilst prophetic oracles in late prophetic books evidence tensions about the Jerusalem temple and its priesthood, MacDonald demonstrates that the relationships between prophetic oracles have been incorrectly appraised. Employing an interpretative method attentive to issues of redaction and inner-biblical interpretation, MacDonald show that Ezekiel 44 is a polemical response to Isaiah 56, and not the reverse as is typically assumed. This has significant consequences for the dating of Ezekiel 44 and for its relationship to other biblical texts, especially Pentateuchal texts from Leviticus and Numbers. Since Ezekiel 44 has been a crucial chapter in understanding the historical development of the priesthood, MacDonald's arguments affect our understanding of the origins of the distinction between Levites and priests, and the claims that a Zadokite priestly sept dominated the Second Temple hierarchy.
Sworn Enemies: The Divine Oath, The Book of Ezekiel, and the Polemics of Exile by
Sworn Enemies explains how the book of Ezekiel uses formulaic language from the exodus origin tradition - especially YHWH's oath - to craft an identity for the Judahite exiles. This language openly refutes an autochthonous origin tradition preferred by the non-exiled Judahites while covertly challenging Babylonian claims that YHWH was no longer worthy of worship. After specifying the layers of meaning in the divine oath, the book shows how Ezekiel uses these connotations to construct an explicit, public transcript that denies and mocks the non-exiles' appeals to a combined Abraham and Jacob tradition (e.g. Ezek 35). Simultaneously, Ezekiel employs the oath's exodus connotations to support a disguised polemic that resists Babylonian claims that YHWH was powerless to help the exiles. When YHWH swears "as I live" the text goes on to implicitly replace Marduk with YHWH as the deity who controls nations and history (e.g. Ezek 17). Ezekiel, thus, shares the "monotheistic" concepts found in Deutero-Isaiah and elsewhere. Finally, using James C. Scott's concept of hidden transcripts, the author shows how both polemics cooperate to define a legitimate Judahite nationalism and faithful Yahwism that allows the exiles to resist these threatening "others".
What Did Ezekiel See? by
“What Did Ezekiel See?” analyzes the development of early Christian exegesis of Ezekiel 1, the prophet’s vision of the chariot. It demonstrates that as patristic commentators sought to discern this text’s meaning, they attended carefully to its very words, its relation to other biblical books, and the emerging Christian interpretive tradition. In the first six centuries of the common era, three dominant exegetical strands develop concurrently: one which finds in Ezekiel’s vision confirmation of the unity of Old and New Testaments, a second which shows the significance of Ezekiel 1 for discussions of human knowledge of God, and a third which reads the prophet’s vision as illuminating the life of virtue. The book will be useful to students of early Christianity, especially those concerned with the development of Christian exegesis, and to those interested in biblical studies.
After Ezekiel by
Ezekiel has long been considered the most difficult of all the prophetic books to understand. The prophet's bizarre visions, extraordinary behaviour, and extravagant imagery have perplexed and fascinated readers for more than 2,500 years. The prophet has had an impact not only on theology and the life of Church and Synagogue, but also on culture, art and architecture. The volume brings together 15 new essays on Ezekiel's impact by leading scholars, and they focus on a range of different parts of the book and periods of reception. Historically they cover the reception of Ezekiel from the New Testament to the present day, and include both Jewish and Christian readings of the book. Methodologically, they offer a wide sample of the different approaches to reception/history of interpretation current in contemporary biblical studies.
Ezekiel by
Summary: Ezekiel studies are flourishing. The 27 essays collected in this volume were first presented in a series of special sessions under the title "Ezekiel in International Perspective" at the Society of Biblical Literature conferences in St Andrews and Vienna. The principal aim was to widen contact, cultivate understanding, and foster collaboration between international colleagues who, though working on the same ancient text, possess diverse points of view and operate from different methodological frames. The meetings allowed moments of introspection, providing the freedom and opportunity to reflect on questions of appropriate evidence, suitable methodology, and argumentative plausibility, by juxtaposing papers from diverse perspectives. The resulting collection is a portrait of the discipline in the present and a prospectus for future research.
Have You Seen, Son of Man? by
This work examines the Vorlage of LXX Ezekiel 40 48, arguing that it represents a reworking of these chapters in light of the book as a whole. The author applies Skopostheorie, a modern functional theory of translation, to understand the goals of translation in LXX Ezekiel 40 48, which include highlighting the distance and hence authority of the source text, suggesting solutions to problems posed by the text, and updating elements of the vision in light of Hellenistic culture. The goal of the translation was both to preserve the authority and to heighten the persuasive power of these chapters for Hellenistic readers of LXX Ezekiel.
An Introduction to the Study of Ezekiel by
An introduction to the study of Ezekiel that lays out for the reader the central issues for the interpretation of the book of Ezekiel. After explaining how the message of the prophet was relevant to the exilic situation in which he lived, this thorough guide shows how later generations shaped, transmitted, and used Ezekiel in their own communities. The book summarizes the literary shape and contents of Ezekiel, then examines the theories and methodologies used in current scholarship that explain the formation of Ezekiel. Lyons next explains for the reader the theology and major themes of Ezekiel, and closes by evaluating how the arguments of Ezekiel relate to each other as a coherent rhetorical strategy.
John's Use of Ezekiel by
Scholars have long puzzled over the distinctive themes and sequence of John's narrative in contrast to the accounts in the Synoptic Gospels. Brian Neil Peterson now offers a remarkable explanation for some of the most unusual features of the Fourth Gospel, including the exalted language of the Johannine prologue; the focus upon Jesus as Word; the imagery of light and darkness, of glory and "tabernacling"; the roleand rejectionof prophecy; the early placement of Jesus' "cleansing" of the temple and his relation to it; the emphasis on "signs" confirming Jesus' identity; and the prominence of Jesus' "I Am" sayings. Peterson finds important connections with motifs, themes, and even the macrostructure of the book of Ezekiel at just the points of John's divergence from the synoptic narrative. His examination of events and sequence in the Fourth Gospel produces a novel understanding of John as steeped in the theology of Ezekieland of the Johannine Christ as the fulfillment of the vision of Ezekiel.
Mapping Ezekiel's Oracles Against the Nations by
Summary: "Ezekiel 25-32 contains some of the most virulent speeches directed against the neighboring nations of Judah. Assuming the opposing statuses between the nations and Judah, some emphasize that the destruction of the nations in chapters 25-32 means the upcoming salvation of God's people. Presupposing the nations as judged according to a separate standard of morality, others render the judgment executed upon the nations irrelevant to that upon Judah. Are these then the only two readings of Ezekiel's oracles against the nations? In this study, Lydia Lee postulates a third way to perceive the rhetorical roles of the nations in Ezek 25-32. Unraveling the intricate connections between the oracles against the nations and those against Judah, Lee argues that Ezek 25-32 contains a daring message directed not only against the foreign nations, but also against Judah's land, temple, and nation. In the end, Lee places Ezek 25-32 in a broader context, considering how samples of its early reception within the prophetic book affirm or transform the bleak message about the oblique judgment for the house of Judah"-- Provided by publisher.
Messiah's Coming Temple by
One of the Old Testament’s most enigmatic prophecies is Ezekiel’s vision of a new, restored temple in Jerusalem. What would a restored temple be like? How would it operate? And when might it be built? These and many other intriguing questions are addressed in this newly updated and expanded work based on extensive research and discussions with leading Jewish leaders and rabbis in the United States and Israel. Messiah’s Coming Temple provides a thorough vision of this future center of worship during the coming messianic kingdom. Along with biblical interpretation of the key prophecies of Ezekiel regarding Messiah’s coming temple, the work includes photos and descriptions based on a unique and detailed model of the future temple constructed by author John Schmitt.
Prophetic Ministry in Jeremiah and Ezekiel by
This study makes a contribution to the understanding of Old Testament prophetic ministry by comparing selected texts from Jeremiah and Ezekiel relating to the call of each prophet, the images of assayer, potter and watchman, their relationships with the temple and their assessments of deviant prophets. The styles of communication of the two prophets are strikingly different. Interpretive clues regarding the reasons for these differences are found in the settings of each book. While Jeremiah and his people are still in the land with the temple present, Yahweh is perceived as close, and the communication between Yahweh, prophet and people is characterised by intimate dialogue. In Ezekiel's context, far from the temple and their land, Yahweh is presumed to be distant, and communication between Yahweh, Ezekiel and the people employs more visual content. Comparing two such significantly different prophets gives a range of fruitful insights into the relationship between prophetic ministry and local context.
Transforming Visions by
Description: This volume includes nine essays that move Ezekiel's creative reuse of older materials to the foreground of discussion. The essays highlight the transformation of earlier texts, traditions, and theology in Ezekiel. They explore the diverse ways that Ezekiel reshapes Israel's legal texts, rituals, oracles against foreign nations, royal ideology, conception of the individual, remembrance of the past, and hope for the future. The work concludes by noting the subsequent transformation of Ezekiel in scribal transmission and in the New Testament. CONTRIBUTORS: Daniel I. Block, Wheaton College Graduate School Tova Ganzel, Bar-Ilan University Paul M. Joyce, St. Peter's College, Oxford University Beate Kowalski, University of Koblenz-Landau Thomas Krüger, University of Zurich Michael A. Lyons, Simpson University Timothy Mackie, University of Wisconsin-Madison Jill Middlemas, Århus University Paul R. Raabe, Concordia Seminary Baruch Schwartz, Hebrew University William A. Tooman, University of St. Andrews Endorsements: ""Tooman and Lyons present a wide range of significant scholars who address the key issue in Exilic and especially Ezekiel studies today--why and how did an almost total transformation of Israel's Religion take place during the Exile. Before exile, it was centered on active royal, ritualistic, and oracular activity; after exile, it centered on priestly-legislated and tradition-centered guidance of practical observance. The authors offer important insights on the concepts of idolatry, divine and human kingship, individual versus corporate moral responsibility, the role of divine holiness, the Exodus tradition, the importance of priestly viewpoints, and the way the Book of Ezekiel was written and enlarged. This single volume brings together all major trends in Ezekiel studies today."" --Lawrence Boadt, CSP, Professor Emeritus, Washington Theological Union ""The present volume, edited by two rising Ezekiel scholars, Michael A. Lyons and William A. Tooman, makes a substantive contribution to the burgeoning discussion of the book of Ezekiel by emphasizing the theme of transformation, understood in relation to the text of Ezekiel, the traditions on which it draws and by which it developed, and its theological perspectives. Each essay engages a different aspect of the study of the book, and thereby opens and advances scholarly dialog in its own right."" Marvin A. Sweeney, from the Foreword About the Contributor(s): William A. Tooman is Lecturer in Old Testament at University of St. Andrews, Scotland. Michael A. Lyons is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Simpson University. He is the author of From Law to Prophecy: Ezekiel's Use of the Holiness Code.
Trees and Kings by
Summary: "The Old Testament prophets did not hesitate to use the rhetorical conventions accessible to them when delivering their sermons of salvation and judgment. One source of comparison used frequently in the prophets and widely throughout the ancient Near East is the image of a tree. In Trees and Kings, William Osborne evaluates the cultural and cognitive setting that potentially gave rise to this figurative tree imagery, drawing on both comparative study with ancient Near Eastern tree imagery and the cognitive-linguistic approach to metaphor theory. Osborne examines tree metaphors that appear in the texts of Israel's writing prophets, specifically Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. He takes this material as largely reflective of the Israelite prophetic tradition from the 8th-6th centuries BC. Tree imagery in the Old Testament is certainly not limited to these prophetic books, and this study takes many of these texts into consideration in seeking to understand tree imagery in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel better. The question is rarely asked, why do the prophets often defer to the metaphorical use of the tree? The goal of this study is to answer this important question by comparing and contrasting tree metaphors in much of the prophetic literature of the Old Testament with tree imagery and metaphors encountered from the ancient Near East."--Publisher's description.
