The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25-48

847 Pages·1998·55.978 MB·English

by  Daniel I. Block

The Book of
EZEKIEL
Chapters 25-48
DANIEL I. BLOCK
WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN / CAMBRIDGE, U.K.
Publisher's Note
This commentary was planned and written as a single volume, but its length dictated
the need to publish it in two volumes. The reader should note that the Introduction the
entire book of Ezekiel is presented in volume 1; this second volume comprises only
commentary on chapters 25-48 of Ezekiel.
For the reader's convenience, each volume has its own table of contents, abbrevia
tion list, and indexes.
© 1998 Wm. B. Eerdrnans Publishing Co.
255 Jefferson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503 I
P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
03 02 01 00 99 98 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in·PubUcatiOD Data
Block, Daniel Isaac, 1943-
The Book of Ezekiel: chapters 25-48 I Daniel I. Block.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-8028-2536-2 (cloth: alk. paper)
l. Bible. O.T. Ezekiel XXV-XLVIII - Commentaries. I. Title.
BS l545.3.B575 1997
224'04077 -dc21 96-49758
CIP
In gratitude to
HENRY 1. HARDER
WALTER C. KAISER
AlAN R. MILlARD
CONTENTS
General Editor's Preface xi
Author's Preface xiii
Abbreviations xiv
TEXT AND COMMENTARY
PART 2: MESSAGES OF HoPE AND RESTORATION FOR
JUDAu/lSRAEL (25:1-48:35)
I. Negative Messages of Hope: The Oracles Against
Foreign Nations (2?:1-32:32) 3
A. ORACLES OF JUDGMENT CONCERNING THE
FIVE NATIONS (25:1-28:23) 13
1. Short Oracles Against Israel's Neighbors (25:1-17) 13
2. The Oracles Against Tyre (26: 1-28: 19) 28
B. YAHWEH'S AGENDA FOR THE NATIONS
(28:20-26) 121
1. Yahweh's Theological Goal (28:20-23) 123
2. Yahweh's Design for Israel (28:24-26) 125
C. ORACLES OF JUDGMENT CONCERNING EGYPT
(29: 1-32:32) 128
1. The Oracle Against Pharaoh, the Crocodile of the
Nile (29:1-16) 131
2. The Land of Egypt: Nebuchadrezzar's Consolation
Prize (29:17-21) 145
3. The Day of Yahweh in Egypt (30:1-19) 154
vii
T"'~ ROOK OF EI.I·:Kml.
4. Breaking the Arms of Pharaoh (30:20-26) 171
5. The Doom of the Pharaonic Tree (31: 1-18) 178
6. The Doom of the Pharaonic Monster (32:1-16) 197
7. Egypt's Descent into Sheol (32:17-32) 212
ll. The End of an Era (33:1-33) 234
A. THE FINAL SUMMONS (33:1-20) 236
1. The Charge for the Prophetic Watchman (33:1-9) 237
2. The Appeal of the Prophetic Watchman (33:10-20) 244
B. THE FINAL WORD (33:21-22) 253
C. THE FINAL DISPUTATION: STAKING OUR
CLAIMS (33:23-29) 256
1. The Popular Quotation (33:23-24) 258
2. The Prophet's Response (33:25-29) 261
D. THE FINAL VINDICATION (33:30-33) 263
III. Positive Messages of Hope for Israel: The Gospel
according to Ezekiel (34:1-48:35) 268
A. PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS: "STAND BY
AND SEE THE SALVATION OF YAHWEH!"
(34: 1-39:29) 273
1. The Salvation of Yahweh's Flock (34:1-31) 273
2. The Restoration of Yahweh's Land (:.i5:1-36:15) 309
3. The Restoration of Yahweh's Honor (36:16-38) 337
4. The Resurrection of Yahweh's People (37:1-14) 367
5. Yahweh's Eternal Covenant with Israel (37:15-28) 393
6. The Guarantee of Yahweh's Protection over Israel
(38:1-39:29) 424
B. ENVISIONING THE GOOD NEWS: "STAND BY
AND SEE THE RETURN OF YAHWEH!"
(40:1-48:35) 494
,
1. The New Temple (40:1-43:11) 506
2. The New Torah (43:12-46:24) 590
3. The New Land (47:1-48:29) 686
4. The New City (48:30-35) 734
viii
CONTENTS
INDEXES
I. Selected Subjects 747
II. Authors 757
III. Scripture References 766
IV. Extracanonical Literature 806
V. Selected Hebrew Words and Phrases 808
ix
GENERAL EDITOR'S PREFACE
Long ago St. Paul wrote: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the
growth" (l Cor. 3:6, NRSV). He was right: ministry indeed requires a team
effort - the collective labors of many skilled hands and minds. Someone digs
up the dirt and drops in seed, while others water the ground to nourish
seedlings to growth. The same team effort over time has brought this com
mentary series to its position of prominence today. Professor E. J. Young
"planted" it forty years ago, enlisting its first contributors and himself writing
its first published volume. Professor R. K. Harrison "watered" it, signing on
other scholars and ~isely editing everyone's finished products. As General
Editor, my hands now tend their planting, and, true to Paul's words, through
four decades God has indeed graciously "[given] the growth."
Today the New International Commentary on the Old Testament enjoys
a wide readership of scholars, priests, pastors, rabbis, and other serious Bible
students. Thousands of readers across the religious spectrum and in countless
countries consult its volumes in their ongoing preaching, teaching, and re
search. They warmly welcome the publication of each new volume and eagerly
await its eventual transformation from an emerging "series" into a complete
commentary "set." But as humanity experiences a new century of history, an
era commonly called "postmodern," what kind of commentary series is
NICOT? What distinguishes it from other similarly well-established series?
Its volumes aim to publish biblical scholarship of the highest quality.
Each contributor writes as an expert, both in the biblical text itself and in the
relevant scholarly literature, and each commentary conveys the results of wide
reading and careful, mature reflection. Ultimately, its spirit is eclectic, each
contributor gleaning interpretive insights from any useful source, whatever
its religious or philosophical viewpoint, and integrating them into his or her
interpretation of a biblical book. The series draws on recent methodological
innovations in biblical scholarship, e.g., canon criticism, the so-called "new
literary criticism," reader-response theories, and sensitivity to gender-based
xi
TilE BO()K OF EZEKIEl.
and ethnic readings. NICOT volumes also aim to be irenic in tone, summariz
ing and critiquing influential views with fairness while defending their own.
Its list of contributors includes male and female scholars from a number of
Christian faith-groups. The diversity of contributors and their freedom to draw
on all relevant methodologies give the entire series an exciting and enriching
variety.
What truly distinguishes this ~eries, however, is that it speaks from
within that interpretive tradition known as evangelicalism. Evangelicalism is
an informal movement within Protestantism that cuts across traditional de
nominationallines. Its heart and soul is the conviction that the Bible is God's
inspired Word, written by gifted human writers, through which God calls
humanity to enjoy a loving personal relationship with its Creator and Savior.
True to that tradition, NICOT volumes do not treat the Old Testament as just
an ancient literary artifact on a par with the Iliad or the Gilgamesh Epic. They
are not literary autopsies of ancient parchment cadavers but rigorous, reverent
wrestlings with wonderfully human writings through which the living God
speaks his powerful Word. NICOT delicately balances "criticism" (i.e., the
use of standard critical methodologies) with humble respect, admiration, and
even affection for the biblical text. As an evangelical commentary, it pays
particular attention to the· text's literary features, theological themes, and
implications for the life of faith today.
Ultimately, NICOT aims to serve women and men of faith who desire
to hear God's voice afresh through the Old Testament. With gratituQe to God
for two marvelous gifts - the Scriptures themselves and keen-minded schol
ars to explain their message - I welcome readers of all kinds to savor the
good fruirof this series.
ROBERT L. HUBBARD, JR.
xii
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
The publication of this book completes the commentary whose first volume
appeared in 1997. The entire manuscript was submitted in March of 1994.
Because my energies have been consumed with other projects, I have been
unable to incorporate the advances in our understanding of Ezekiel 25-48 that
have been made since then. I regret especially not having had access to the
second volume of Moshe Greenberg's Anchor Bible commentary on this most
intriguing of biblical books. No scholar has had a greater influence on my
understanding of and approach to the book than Professor Greenberg.
For clarification regarding the aims and procedures that have driven
my work on Ezekiel the reader is referred to the preface of the first volume.
But here I must reiterate my deepest gratitude to those who have made this
work possible. Thanks are expressed to the administration and faculty col
leagues of Bethel Theological Seminary (St. Paul, Minn.) for their encourage
ment during twelve years of research and composition of this commentary.
More recently, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, Ky.)
has graciously provided financial assistance and support for a proofreader of
the page proofs. I repeat my expression of indebtedness to the late R. K.
Harrison and his successor Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. for their encouragement to
me to participate in the NICOT commentary series. Special personal thanks
are extended to Mr. Gary Lee for his scrupulous editing of my manuscript, to
Rick Mansfield for checking all the biblical references, and to Gloria Metz
for her extraordinary skill and assistance in translating ideas from my head
to computer-generated hard copy, as reflected in the figures in this volume.
Above all these, I repeat my thanks to my wife Ellen and my children Jonelle
and Jason for their unwavering loyalty and support. Without their daily en
couragement I should have grown weary and despaired of ever completing
the project, and without Ellen's kind assistance in preparing the indexes this
volume might never have appeared.
Finally, I declare my sincere gratitude to all who have invested their
xiii