Ezekiel

An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture

LaMar Eugene Cooper

• Publisher: Holman Reference
• Year: 1994
• ISBN:
  9781433672637
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is for the minister or Bible student who wants to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features include: * commentary based on THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION;* the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary;* sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages;* interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole;* readable and applicable exposition.

SECTION OUTLINE

I. THE PROPHETIC CALL OF EZEKIEL (1:1–3:27)

1. Introduction to the Call (1:1-3)

2. Vision of the Glory of God (1:4-28)

(1) The Windstorm (1:4)

(2) The Four Living Creatures (1:5-14)

(3) The Wheels (1:15-21)

(4) The Platform (1:22-27)

(5) The Response of the Prophet (1:28)

3. Call of the Prophet (2:1–3:15)

(1) The Prophet's Mission (2:1-7)

(2) The Prophet's Motivation (2:8–3:3)

(3) The Prophet's Divine Preparation (3:4-11)

(4) The Conclusion of the Call (3:12-15)

4. Appointment as a Watchman (3:16-21)

5. Reaction of the Prophet (3:22-27)

I. THE PROPHETIC CALL OF EZEKIEL (1:1–3:27)

A characteristic common to prophets of the Old Testament was a special call from God. Many prophets shared elements of their call in their written record.¹ Isaiah had a dramatic call as a prophet to Judah in the eighth century B.C. (see Isa 6:1-9). Amos reviewed elements of his call when he was challenged by the educated religious establishment of his day (Amos 7:13-15). No less sensational was the call of the young priest Ezekiel to his ministry as prophet among the exiles of Babylon.

There are five main segments of the call narrative in 1:1–3:27: (1) an introduction containing dating for the beginning of Ezekiel's ministry (1:1-3); (2) a vision of the glory of God providing the necessary context for his call (1:4-28); (3) the call itself, with specific directives (2:1–3:15); (4) his appointment as a “watchman,” affirming his personal responsibility (3:16-21); and (5) the reaction of the prophet (3:22-27). H. Parunak has produced a more detailed structural analysis of 1:1–3:15 as a chiasm that demonstrates the intricacy of its design:²

A Circumstances of the Vision (1:1-3)

B Divine Confrontation: Chariot's Approach (1:4-28)

C Introductory Word (2:1-2)

D First Commission and Reassurance (2:3-8a)

E Confirmatory Sign (2:8b–3:3)

Second Commission and Reassurance (3:4-11)

Introductory Word (3:12)

Divine Confrontation: Chariot's Departure (3:13)

Circumstances of the Vision (3:14-15)

1. Introduction to the Call (1:1-3)

¹In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

²On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—³the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was upon him.

The Book of Ezekiel is well documented throughout with exact dates of the major messages of the prophet.³ Except for 1:2-3 and 24:24, the book is written in first person. The date, location, and situation of the young priest and a brief biographical and genealogical identification were recorded in vv. 1-3. These verses provide a preface to Ezekiel's call.

1:1 Immediately betraying its narrative framework, the book begins with an introductory formula in the Hebrew text, “And it came to pass” (wayhî). This formula, typical of narrative, elsewhere introduces only the Books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Esther, and Jonah. It focuses attention on the date and circumstances surrounding Ezekiel's call.

Beginning a written record about a person or event by marking the time of a message was a common practice.⁴ The meaning of the “thirtieth year” is unclear.⁵ Several possibilities could explain the meaning of the thirtieth year. It may be a reference to the elapsed time since the beginning of the exilic period in 605 B.C.⁶ But this explanation does not fit well into the chronology given in the remainder of the dated messages.⁷ The rabbinic interpretation of the thirtieth year was that it referred to the elapsed time since the last observance of the Year of Jubilee, which Moses ordered to be observed after seven sabbatical years (Lev 25:8-17).⁸

The suggestion that the thirtieth year refers to Ezekiel's age at the time of his call seems unlikely.⁹ Writers normally did not date material by their date of birth but used pivotal historical events (see, e.g., Isa 1:1; 6:1). The most likely possibility is that it refers to the date of the discovery of the law in the temple and the beginning of the reforms of Josiah (ca. 622–621 B.C.). Ezekiel was called to his ministry in the fifth year of the exile (v. 2), which would have been 593/592 B.C., thirty years after the discovery of the law and the reforms of Josiah. This explanation seems to fit best the context of the message and the chronology of the entire book.¹⁰

The thirtieth year generally is taken to be 593 B.C., and the fourth month, fifth day would be equivalent to July 31, 593 B.C.¹¹ At that time Ezekiel already was in exile by the river Kebar as a relocated captive. The Kebar River was a man-made canal used for irrigation.¹² This canal brought water from the Euphrates River for use in agricultural irrigation. Excavations at Babylon have revealed evidence of Jewish settlements along such a canal called naru kabiri or nehar kebaar.¹³

Foreign countries were considered unclean habitations. The exiles probably would seek running water to use in ritual purification prior to prayer or other religious observances.¹⁴ Ezekiel may have gone there for a time of personal prayer and devotion. It was there by the river that “the heavens were opened”¹⁵ and he saw “visions of God” (cf. 8:3; 40:2). The picture created by Ezekiel's description is of the door being opened into the heavenly throne room of God.¹⁶ The word “saw” may refer to physical sight but also was associated with spiritual insight.¹⁷ It often was used of visionary experiences that characterized the messages of some prophets. Such revelations came in visions, dreams, or inspiration of words directly from God (see Isa 6:1ff.; Zech 1:18; 1 Sam 9:9).

1:2 The year also was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, whose reign ended in 598/97 B.C. Jehoiachin was placed on the throne of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar after he carried Jehoiakim captive in 598 B.C. Jehoiachin was only eighteen years old and proved to be an unwise and unstable ruler. After only three months he too was taken captive to Babylon. He was replaced by his uncle Mattaniah, who was given the throne name Zedekiah (2 Kgs 24:8-17). This was a crucial time in the history of Judah. There were patriots in both Babylon and Jerusalem who believed the exile was only a short-term event. They plotted against Babylon to restore independence to the Israelite state. Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah warned unheeding ears that the exile would last much longer and Jerusalem would be destroyed, not restored.¹⁸

1:3 The frequently used formula “the word of the LORD came” is in this verse an emphatic form in Hebrew and could be translated “the word of the LORD indeed came.” This emphatic statement was used here to mark a point of absolute beginning. It may have identified the point at which Ezekiel the priest became Ezekiel the prophet of Yahweh.¹⁹ He was known as the son of Buzi, a Zadokite priest (see 44:15 and cf. 1 Kgs 1:32-35). The expression “hand of the LORD” occurs seven times in Ezekiel (cf. 3:14,22; 8:1 [“the hand of the Sovereign LORD”]; 33:22; 37:1; 40:1) and suggests a state of divine possession in which the prophet received his supernatural revelation.²⁰ It also denotes the divine compulsion of the call of God on the prophet. D. Block has written that although others like Elijah had been gripped and energized by the hand of God (1 Kgs 18:46), “in Ezekiel the ‘hand of Yahweh’ gains complete mastery ov...