The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25–48

By Daniel I. Block

This work completes Daniel Block's two-volume commentary on the book of Ezekiel. The result of twelve years of studying this difficult section of Scripture, this volume, like the one on chapters 1-24, provides an excellent discussion of the background of Ezekiel and offers a verse-by-verse exposition that makes clear the message of this obscure and often misunderstood prophet. Block also shows that Ezekiel's ancient wisdom and vision are still very much needed as we enter the twenty-first century.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Release date: Jun 19, 1998
• ISBN: 9781467423717

Book preview

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 to 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, abbreviation list, and indexes.

© 1998 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /

P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Block, Daniel Isaac, 1943-

The Book of Ezekiel: chapters 25–48 / Daniel I. Block.

p. cm.

Includes indexes.

eISBN 978-1-46742-371-7

ISBN 978-0-8028-2536-0 (cloth: alk. paper)

1. Bible. O.T. Ezekiel XXV–XLVIII—Commentaries. I. Title.

BS1545.3.B575 1998

224´.4077—dc2196-49758          CIP

www.eerdmans.com

In gratitude to

HENRY J. HARDER

WALTER C. KAISER

ALAN R. MILLARD

CONTENTS

General Editor’s Preface

Author’s Preface

Abbreviations

TEXT AND COMMENTARY

PART 2: MESSAGES OF HOPE AND RESTORATION FOR JUDAH/ISRAEL (25:1–48:35)

I. Negative Messages of Hope: The Oracles Against Foreign Nations (25:1–32:32)

A. ORACLES OF JUDGMENT CONCERNING THE FIVE NATIONS (25:1–28:23)

1. Short Oracles Against Israel’s Neighbors (25:1–17)

2. The Oracles Against Tyre (26:1–28:19)

B. YAHWEH’S AGENDA FOR THE NATIONS (28:20–26)

1. Yahweh’s Theological Goal (28:20–23)

2. Yahweh’s Design for Israel (28:24–26)

C. ORACLES OF JUDGMENT CONCERNING EGYPT (29:1–32:32)

1. The Oracle Against Pharaoh, the Crocodile of the Nile (29:1–16)

2. The Land of Egypt: Nebuchadrezzar’s Consolation Prize (29:17–21)

3. The Day of Yahweh in Egypt (30:1–19)

4. Breaking the Arms of Pharaoh (30:20–26)

5. The Doom of the Pharaonic Tree (31:1–18)

6. The Doom of the Pharaonic Monster (32:1–16)

7. Egypt’s Descent into Sheol (32:17–32)

II. The End of an Era (33:1–33)

A. THE FINAL SUMMONS (33:1–20)

1. The Charge for the Prophetic Watchman (33:1–9)

2. The Appeal of the Prophetic Watchman (33:10–20)

B. THE FINAL WORD (33:21–22)

C. THE FINAL DISPUTATION: STAKING OUR CLAIMS (33:23–29)

1. The Popular Quotation (33:23–24)

2. The Prophet’s Response (33:25–29)

D. THE FINAL VINDICATION (33:30–33)

III. Positive Messages of Hope for Israel: The Gospel according to Ezekiel (34:1–48:35)

A. PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS: STAND BY AND SEE THE SALVATION OF YAHWEH! (34:1–39:29)

1. The Salvation of Yahweh’s Flock (34:1–31)

2. The Restoration of Yahweh’s Land (35:1–36:15)

3. The Restoration of Yahweh’s Honor (36:16–38)

4. The Resurrection of Yahweh’s People (37:1–14)

5. Yahweh’s Eternal Covenant with Israel (37:15–28)

6. The Guarantee of Yahweh’s Protection over Israel (38:1–39:29)

B. ENVISIONING THE GOOD NEWS: STAND BY AND SEE THE RETURN OF YAHWEH! (40:1–48:35)

1. The New Temple (40:1–43:11)

2. The New Torah (43:12–46:24)

3. The New Land (47:1–48:29)

4. The New City (48:30–35)

Notes

INDEXES

I. Selected Subjects

II. Authors

III. Scripture References

IV. Extracanonical Literature

V. Selected Hebrew Words and Phrases

GENERAL EDITOR’S PREFACE

Long ago St. Paul wrote: I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth (1 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 commentary 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 wisely 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 research. 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 and ethnic readings. NICOT volumes also aim to be irenic in tone, summarizing 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 series, however, is that it speaks from within that interpretive tradition known as evangelicalism. Evangelicalism is an informal movement within Protestantism that cuts across traditional denominational lines. 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 gratitude to God for two marvelous gifts—the Scriptures themselves and keen-minded scholars to explain their message—I welcome readers of all kinds to savor the good fruit of this series.

ROBERT L. HUBBARD, JR.

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 colleagues of Bethel Theological Seminary (St. Paul, Minn.) for their encouragement 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 encouragement 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 energies in my life and ministry, particularly the three men to whom this volume is dedicated. Just as Noah, Job, and Daniel, whom Ezekiel lists as paragons of virtue in chapter 14, inspired the ancient Israelites to lives of faith and service, so this trio of men has encouraged me in my spiritual and academic pilgrimage. I am grateful to Rev. Henry Harder, whose preaching ignited in my heart a love for the Scriptures, especially the Old Testament, when I was a university student in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I am indebted to Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, my seminary professor and advisor, whose inspiring instruction fanned that spark into flame. My sincerest thanks are expressed to Alan R. Millard, my mentor in doctoral studies, who ushered me into the fascinating cultural world from which the book of Ezekiel arose. I dedicate this volume to these three in deepest gratitude for the unique part each of them has played in my academic and ministerial service.

But even as I honor my mentors, I express my gratitude to God for the fourteen years I have spent with another of his servants, the prophet Ezekiel. My desire is that this commentary might assist all who read it to hear and understand the message of this extraordinary messenger of God. At the same time, I offer this work as a sacrifice of praise to Jesus Christ. May the Lord, who has graciously redeemed us, receive the honor and glory due to him alone.

DANIEL I. BLOCK

ABBREVIATIONS

AARSR American Academy of Religion Studies in Religion

AB Anchor Bible

ABD D. N. Freedman, et al., eds. Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992

AfO Archiv für Orientforschung

AHW W. von Soden, Akkadisches Handwörterbuch. 3 vols. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1965–81

AJA American Journal of Archaeology

AJBA Australian Journal of Biblical Archaeology

AJSL American Journal of Semitic Languages

Akk. Akkadian

ALUOS Annual of Leeds Oriental Society

AnBib Analecta biblica

ANEP J. B. Pritchard, ed. Ancient Near Eastern Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969

ANET J. B. Pritchard, ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3rd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969

AnOr Analecta orientalia

AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament

ARAB D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia. 2 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1926–27

Arab. Arabic

Aram. Aramaic

ARM Archives royales de Mari

ArOr Archiv orientalni

ASTI Annual of the Swedish Theological Institute

ATANT Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments

AusBR Australian Biblical Review

AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies

AV Authorized (King James) Version

BA Biblical Archaeologist

Bab. Babylonian

BAR Biblical Archaeologist Reader

BARev Biblical Archaeology Review

BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

BBB Bonner biblische Beiträge

BBET Beiträge zur biblischen Exegese und Theologie

BBR Bulletin of Biblical Research

BDB F. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Repr. Oxford: Clarendon, 1959

BeO Bibbia e oriente

BETL Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium

BHS Biblica hebraica stuttgartensia

BHT Beiträge zur historischen Theologie

Bib Biblica

BibLeb Bibel und Leben

BibOr Biblica et orientalia

BJRL Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester

BKAT Biblischer Kommentar: Altes Testament

BN Biblische Notizen

BO Bibliotheca orientalis

BR Biblical Research

BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin

BUS Brown University Studies

BWANT Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament

BZ Biblische Zeitschrift

BZAW Beihefte zur ZAW

CAD I. J. Gelb, et al., eds. Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1956–

CahRB Cahiers de la Revue biblique

CB Century Bible

CBC Cambridge Bible Commentary

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina

CD Cairo (Genizah text of the) Damascus Document

CIS Corpus inscriptionum semiticarum

CML J. C. L. Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends. Rev. ed. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1978

ConBOT Coniectanea biblica, Old Testament

CRAIBL Comptes rendus de l’Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres

CTA A. Herdner, ed. Corpus des tablettes en cunéiformes alphabétiques. 2 vols. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1963

DBSup Dictionnaire de la Bible, Supplément

DDD K. vander Toorn, et al., eds. Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Leiden: Brill, 1995

DISO C.-F. Jean and J. Hoftijzer, Dictionnaire des inscriptions sémitiques de l’ouest. Leiden: Brill, 1965

DNWSI J. Hoftijzer and K. Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-west Semitic Inscriptions. 2 vols. Handbook of Oriental Studies 2. Leiden: Brill, 1995

EAEHL M. Avi-Yonah and E. Stern, eds. Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. 4 vols. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1975–78

EB Echter Bibel

Egyp. Egyptian

EM Encyclopedia Miqrait

EncJud Encyclopedia Judaica

ErFor Erträge der Forschung

ErIsr Eretz Israel

ETL Ephemerides theologicae lovanienses

ETSMS Evangelical Theological Society Monograph Series

ExpTim Expository Times

FB Forschung zur Bibel

FOTL Forms of the Old Testament Literature

FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments

Gk. Greek

GKC Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar. Ed. E. Kautzsch. Tr. A. E. Cowley. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon, 1910

Greg Gregorianum

GTJ Grace Theological Journal

HALAT W. Baumgartner, et al., eds. Hebräisches und aramäisches Lexikon zum Alten Testament. 4 vols. Leiden: Brill, 1967–90

HALOT W. Baumgartner, et al., eds. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Trans. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson. Leiden: Brill, 1994.

HAR Hebrew Annual Review

HAT Handbuch zum Alten Testament

HBC J. L. Mays, et al., eds. Harper’s Bible Commentary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988

HBD P. J. Achtemeier, et al., eds. Harper’s Bible Commentary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985

Heb. Hebrew

HS Hebrew Studies

HSAT Heilige Schrift des Alten Testaments

HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs

HSS Harvard Semitic Studies

HTR Harvard Theological Review

HTS Hervormde Teologiese Studies

HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual

IB G. A. Buttrick, et al., eds. Interpreter’s Bible. 12 vols. Nashville: Abingdon, 1953–56

IBD J. D. Douglas, et al., eds. Illustrated Bible Dictionary. 3 vols. Leicester: Tyndale; Wheaton, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1982

ICC International Critical Commentary

IDBSup K. Crim, ed. Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Supplementary Volume. Nashville: Abingdon, 1976

IEJ Israel Exploration Journal

Int Interpretation

IOS Israel Oriental Society

ISBE G. W. Bromiley, et al., eds. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Rev. ed. 4 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979–88

JANES Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society

JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society

JB Jerusalem Bible

JBC R. E. Brown, et al., eds. Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1968

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JBLMS JBL Monograph Series

JCS Journal of Cuneiform Studies

JDS Judean Desert Series

JESHU Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient

JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JJS Journal of Jewish Studies

JNSL Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages

JQR Jewish Quarterly Review

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JSOTSup JSOT Supplements

JSS Journal of Semitic Studies

JSSEA Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities

JTS Journal of Theological Studies

KAI H. Donner and W. Röllig, eds. Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften. 3 vols. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1962–71

KAT Kommentar zum Alten Testament

KB L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti libros. 2nd ed. Leiden: Brill, 1958

LÄ W. Helck and E. Otto, eds. Lexikon d’Ägyptologie. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1972–

LD Lectio divina

Leš Lešonénu

LSJ Liddell, Scott, Jones, Greek-English Lexicon. 9th ed. Repr. Oxford: Clarendon, 1961

LXX Septuagint

MIO Mitteilungen des Instituts für Orientforschung

ms(s). manuscript(s)

MT Masoretic Text

NASB New American Standard Bible

NCBC New Century Bible Commentary

NEB New English Bible

NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament

NIV New International Version

NJPS New Jewish Publication Society Version

NovTSup Novum Testamentum, Supplements

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NTS New Testament Studies

OBO Orbis biblicus et orientalis

OBT Overtures to Biblical Theology

Or Orientalia

OTL Old Testament Library

OTP J. H. Charlesworth, ed. Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. 2 vols. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1983–85

OTS Oudtestamentische Studiën

par. parallel

PEFQS Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement

PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly

PG J.-P. Migne, ed. Patrologiae Graeca. 162 vols. Paris: 1857–66

PJ Palästina-Jahrbuch

PL J.-P. Migne, ed. Patrologia Latina. 221 vols. Paris: 1844–64

PRU Palais royal d’Ugarit

PTMS Pittsburgh Theological Monograph Series

Qad Qadmoniot

RA Revue d’assyriologie

RAI Rencontre assyriologique internationale

RB Revue biblique

REB Revised English Bible

REJ Revue des études juives

RevQ Revue de Qumran

RHR Revue de l’histoire des religions

RivB Rivista biblica

RLA G. Ebeling, et al., eds. Reallexikon der Assyriologie. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 1932–

RS Ras Shamra

RSP Ras Shamra Parallels. 3 vols. AnOr 49–51. Vols. 1–2 ed. L. Fisher; vol. 3 ed. S. Rummel. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1972–81

RSPT Revue des sciences philosophiques et théologiques

RSV Revised Standard Version

SANE Sources from the Ancient Near East

SAOC Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations

SBB Stuttgarter biblische Beiträge

SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series

SBLMS SBL Monograph Series

SBLSBS SBL Sources for Biblical Study

SBLSCS SBL Septuagint and Cognate Studies

SBS Stuttgarter Bibelstudien

SBT Studies in Biblical Theology

ScrHier Scripta Hierosolymitana

SJLA Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity

SJOT Scandinavian Journal of Theology

SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series

SOTSMS Society for Old Testament Studies Monograph Series

SR Studies in Religion/Sciences religieuses

ST Studia theologica

Syr. Syriac

TA Tel Aviv

Targ. Targum

TBT The Bible Today

TCS Texts from Cuneiform Sources

TDNT G. Kittel and G. Friedrich, eds. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. 10 vols. Tr. G. W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964–76

TDOT G. Botterweck and H. Ringgren, eds. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Tr. D. Green, et al. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974–

TEV Today’s English Version

THAT E. Jenni and C. Westermann, eds. Theologisches Handwörterbuch zum Alten Testament. 2 vols. Munich: Kaiser, 1971–76

TLZ Theologische Literaturzeitung

TOTC Tyndale Old Testament Commentary

TQ Theologische Quartalschrift

TSK Theologische Studien und Kritiken

TSSI J. C. L. Gibson, ed. Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions. 3 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1971–82

TTZ Trierer theologische Zeitschrift

TynBul Tyndale Bulletin

TZ Theologische Zeitschrift

UF Ugarit-Forschungen

UT C. Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook. AnOr 38. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1965

UUÅ Uppsala universitetsårsskrift

VAB Vorderasiatische Bibliothek

VT Vetus Testamentum

VTSup Vetus Testamentum, Supplements

WBC Word Biblical Commentary

WMANT Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament

WTJ Westminster Theological Journal

WZKM Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes

ZA Zeitschrift für Assyriologie

ZAH Zeitschrift für Althebraistik

ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

ZDMG Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft

ZDPV Zeitschrift des deutschen Palästina-Vereins

ZRGG Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte

ZThK Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche

ZWT Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie

PART 2

MESSAGES OF HOPE AND RESTORATION FOR JUDAH/ISRAEL (25:1–48:35)

I. Negative Messages of Hope: The Oracles Against Foreign Nations (25:1–32:32)

♦ Nature and Design

Ezekiel 25:1 marks a major break in the collection of Ezekiel’s oracles. Until this point his prophecies had dealt with the fate of Jerusalem, climaxing in the specific prediction of the city’s fall in 24:25–27. It is possible that the account of the fulfillment of this prophecy in ch. 33 followed immediately after the prediction in an earlier edition of these oracles. The editor(s) may have felt the need for a buffer between the prophet’s harsh pronouncements of judgment in chs. 4–24 (i.e., chs. 4–24 plus ch. 33) and the hopeful oracles of chs. 34–48. One may view the genre of the oracles against the nations as transitional or hybrid forms. Like the preceding messages concerning Jerusalem, chs. 25–32 consist exclusively of judgment oracles. But no longer are they directed against Judah/Israel. Indeed, in anticipating the judgment of the enemies of God’s people, they function as indirect messages of hope, a conclusion reinforced by the fragment separating the oracles against Tyre from those directed against Egypt (28:24–26). The resulting structure of the book (oracles of judgment—oracles against foreign nations—oracles of deliverance) bears a striking resemblance to other collections, specifically those of Isaiah, Zephaniah, and the LXX arrangement of Jeremiah. Oracles against foreign nations were apparently considered transitional, linking words of woe with proclamations of good news.

Nonetheless, to speak of the oracles against foreign nations as a distinctive genre is misleading.¹ Ezekiel’s prophecies in this collection display no functional or formal differences from his oracles of judgment against Judah/Israel. The reasons for judgment are similar (social sins, hubris, etc.), the divine punishment is the same (the curses against Judah are turned against Judah’s enemies), the vocabulary and tone are similar, and the forms are the same.² Ezekiel’s audience would undoubtedly have welcomed these prophecies because they portrayed their enemies as the objects of Yahweh’s judgment.³

Not all of Ezekiel’s oracles against foreign nations are gathered in chs. 25–32. In ch. 35 an extended message concerning Edom interrupts his salvation oracles. Some scholars place the oracles against Gog in chs. 38–39 within this class as well.⁴ The prophet may well have proclaimed additional oracles against the nations listed here, to say nothing of the nations not found in this collection. Conspicuously absent are messages addressed to the most powerful nation of the day, and the one most affecting Judean affairs, Babylon.⁵ From 21:33–37 (Eng. 21:28–32) it is evident that Ezekiel occasionally drew Babylon into his judgmental pronouncements, but oracles of the type found in this part of the book are absent entirely. This absence may undoubtedly be attributed to the prophet’s pro-Babylonian stance in political matters. To him Babylon was the sword in Yahweh’s hand, executing his judgment on Judah. Indeed, the objects of divine wrath in these texts seem to have been selected deliberately, not only because they rejoiced over the demise of Judah but also because they stood in Nebuchadrezzar’s divinely ordained path. This view would account for the inordinate attention given to Tyre and Egypt, who represented the principal obstacles to the fulfillment of the Babylonian’s mission.

As already suggested, the function of these oracles is not simply to provide a transition between oracles of judgment against Judah and messages of hope for the nation. The nations addressed by Ezekiel all represented the enemies of Israel. Thus a divine pronouncement of judgment on them also served as a backhanded message of hope. Evidence for this understanding is found in the broad symmetrical structure of these oracles. Positioned at the center of this section is the key that unlocks the entire unit. The words of hope inserted in 28:24–26 function as a fulcrum, dividing Ezekiel’s oracles against foreign nations into two sensitively balanced halves, virtually identical in length (see the diagram on p. 5).

This large section (chs. 25–32) displays other signs of deliberate structuring as well. It is dominated by the number seven.⁶ Seven nations/states are addressed: Bene Ammon (25:1–7), Moab (25:8–11), Edom (25:12–14), Philistia (25:15–17), Tyre (26:1–28:19), Sidon (28:20–23), and Egypt (29:1–32:32), a pattern reminiscent of Amos’s proclamations against nations foreign to the northern kingdom in Amos 1:3–2:5.7 But no effort is made to reduce these oracles to a common length. The prophecies against Egypt are equal in length to the sum of the previous six. Even among the latter there is great variation, from the short prophetic vignettes against Bene Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, and Sidon, to almost three chapters devoted to Tyre. Seven mini-oracles are incorporated into the first half.⁸ Seven oracles against Egypt are preserved in 29:1–32:32, signaled by the sevenfold occurrence of the word-event formula.⁹ Seven date notices break up the oracles.¹⁰

Like Amos’s oracles against the nations, Ezekiel’s appear to be geographically arranged. In the first half (25:1–28:23) the prophet begins by gazing directly to the east (Bene Ammon), and, moving in a clockwise direction, he deals successively with Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, and Sidon.¹¹ Structurally these prophecies divide into three major parts: (1) short oracles against the five nations (25:1–26:6); (2) additional Tyrian oracles (26:7–28:19); (3) a short oracle against Sidon. The classification of 26:1–6 among the oracles in ch. 25 may be questioned, especially since its introductory date notice appears to signal a new subunit, the oracles against Tyre that extend through most of the next three chapters. However, this discrepancy should not blind the reader to the fact that it has much stronger stylistic and structural affinities with the foregoing oracles than with the texts that follow.

Even so, scholars disagree about the number of separate prophecies contained in 25:1–26:6. Specifically, do 25:1–7 represent two independent oracles editorially combined,¹² or is the prophet issuing a single message in two parts? The latter is more likely, not only because the two segments are deliberately and uniquely connected by the particle kî, but also because the general nature of vv. 6–7 seems to presuppose vv. 3–5. Without vv. 3–5 a reason for Bene Ammon’s joy over the land of Israel is missing. Furthermore, Yahweh’s declaration of his determination to eliminate Bene Ammon as a nation in v. 7 is much more powerful if it is viewed against the backdrop of Bene Ammon’s gloating over the annihilation of Israel in v. 3. Nevertheless, as the synopsis in table 1 indicates, both panels of this oracle preserve many of the formulaic features of the separate oracles that follow. With some variation, these mini-oracles tend to follow the standard structure of judgment oracles, each panel consisting of: (1) the introductory citation formula (26:1–6 being an exception); (2) the indictment introduced by yaʿan, because (28:21–22 being an exception); (3) the punishment introduced by lākēn, therefore, followed by two or more announcements of divine actions;¹³ (4) the effect, described by means of the recognition formula. In view of the similarities already mentioned it is perhaps not surprising that this well-defined structure finds its closest parallel in Amos’s oracles against the foreign nations (1:3–2:8), though Ezekiel’s pronouncements lack Amos’s second element, the proclamation of irreversible judgment.¹⁴ Another common feature is the absence of mythological or religious motifs that characterize many of the other oracles against the nations that follow in Ezekiel (chs. 27–32) and those found in the other major prophets, Isaiah (chs. 13–23) and Jeremiah (chs. 46–51).

Table 1: Prophetic Formulas in Ezekiel’s Short Oracle Against Nations

Stylistically and lexically the oracles display considerable overlapping (table 2). Each describes the judgment pronounced on the respective nations in broad terms, the emphasis being on Yahweh’s personal initiative and involvement. But the pool of verbs and idioms used to describe his action, particularly in the first six, is limited.¹⁵ Indeed, of the twenty-one verbal forms only four occur once.¹⁶ Numerous nominal links are also present,¹⁷ creating the impression of a tightly knit, composite literary entity. This effect is strengthened by the features shared by the oracles against Bene Ammon and Tyre, which frame the entire unit: extended introductory statements involving the word-event formula and the direct address of the prophet as ben-ʾādām (human), the reference to the addressee in the second person, and particularly the quoted interjection heʾāḥ (Aha), which occurs only in 25:3 and 26:2.

The recognition of these links between 26:1–6 and the foregoing should not obscure its connections with the following. In fact, this short section is transitional, 26:7–14 providing an exposition of the judgment pronounced on Tyre in vv. 3–6. Not only are the general comments found in vv. 3–6 replaced by specific details; but the focus also shifts from the divine activity to that of Nebuchadrezzar, Yahweh’s agent. Vv. 15–21 describe the effects of the judgment of Tyre on the nations that witness the event. By contrast, 27:1–36 and 28:1–19 obviously represent independent oracles, each possessing its own introductory word-event formula.

The general nature of all these short oracles makes it impossible to date any of the oral pronouncements, except that the charges in each case presuppose the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Ezekiel’s pronouncements of judgment on Israel’s enemies would have excited the patriotic sensitivities of the Judean exiles. Although some have compared these prophecies with political pamphlets,¹⁸ the recognition formula with which each ends suggests that the prophet’s intention went far beyond merely satisfying nationalistic longings. These are proof sayings (Erweisworte), whose aim is to announce each divine intervention in international affairs as a moment of self-disclosure for Yahweh.

A. Oracles of Judgment Concerning the Five Nations (25:1–28:23)

1. Short Oracles Against Israel’s Neighbors (25:1–17)

a. The Oracle(s) Against Bene Ammon (25:1–7)

¹The following message of Yahweh came to me: ²"Human, set your face toward Bene Ammon, and prophesy against them, ³and say, ‘O Bene Ammon!¹⁹ Hear the word of the Lord20 Yahweh! Thus has the Lord Yahweh declared: Because you exclaimed,²¹ Aha! against my sanctuary, when it was desecrated,²² and against the land of Israel, when it was laid waste, and against the house of Judah, when they went off into exile—

⁴Therefore I am handing you23 over to the Qedemites, as dispossessed property.²⁴ They will set up25 their encampments26 and pitch their dwellings within you. They will devour your produce and drink your milk. ⁵But I will transform Rabbah27 into a pastureland for camels,²⁸ and Bene Ammon into a resting place29 for flocks. Then you30 will know that I am Yahweh.

⁶For thus has the Lord Yahweh declared: Because you clapped31 your hand, and stamped your feet, and rejoiced with utter contempt32 over the land of Israel, ⁷therefore see,³³ I have stretched34 out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as booty35 to the nations. I will cut you off from among the peoples, and destroy you from the countries. I will eliminate you.³⁶ Then you will know that I am Yahweh.’ "

1–3 The placement of the oracle against Bene Ammon at the head of the oracles against foreign nations and the elaborate introduction37 suggest that among the community of nations Bene Ammon had a special fascination for Ezekiel. As in 21:23–37 (Eng. 18–32), the prophet refers to the hypothetical addressee by the long form of the name, Bene Ammon. Although most translate the expression with a gentilic, Ammonites, on the analogy of bĕnê yiśrāʾēl (lit. sons of Israel), this practice is questionable for several reasons. First, of the following oracles only the Philistines are referred to by a gentilic.³⁸ Second, this compound form of the name is used consistently for the nation and the country throughout the OT.³⁹ Third, extrabiblical texts also prefer compound forms of the national name. The simple form Am-ma-na is attested twice, but the Akkadian sources display an overwhelming preference for bît A-ma-na. One text uses ba-an Am-ma-na, which seems to be a simple transliteration of West Semitic bn ʿmwn.⁴⁰ But the most important evidence comes from the indigenous Tell Siran Bottle Inscription, which names three Ammonite rulers, each of whom is identified as mlk bn ʿmn, king of Bene Ammon.⁴¹ The prefixed element was apparently an integral part of the national name.⁴² Fourth, in the present context the gender of Bene Ammon alternates between masculine and feminine.⁴³ The feminine gender is seldom if ever used of a nation as such, unless the territory of the nation is in view. While many see in this inconsistency evidence of more than one editorial hand,⁴⁴ it is preferable to see here an alternation in focus between the nation and the land it occupies. In any case, if one does not adopt the transliteration of the full form Bene Ammon, the simple form Ammon is certainly preferable to the gentilic Ammonites, unless of course one is speaking about the population.

It is not surprising that this collection of oracles begins with a message concerning Bene Ammon. No doubt Nebuchadrezzar’s earlier decision to attack Jerusalem rather than Rabbah (21:23–27 [Eng. 18–22]) had dismayed the exiles, and left them wondering whether Bene Ammon would remain untouched by the Babylonian emperor’s western campaign. From their taunt over Jerusalem’s calamity (21:33 [Eng. 28]) the Ammonites themselves seem to have thought they had escaped the disaster. But the following announcement of the sword had served notice of Yahweh’s response to such smugness. Here the message first announced in the earlier context will be expanded.

According to biblical tradition, the Ammonites were distant relatives of the Israelites, being descended from Lot, the nephew of Abraham (Gen. 19:38). But in contrast to Moab, their national territory was not well defined geographically. The heartland consisted of the area around Rabbah (modern Amman), extending southward to the Arnon River, which served as a border with Moab. The land of Bene Ammon was bounded on the east by the vast desert of Arabia, on the north by the mountains of Gilead, and on the west by the territory occupied by the Transjordanian Israelite tribes.

Israelite relations with Bene Ammon were stormy from the beginning. While the Ammonites appear to have established themselves in this region shortly before the arrival of the Israelites, the lack of well-defined borders led to frequent clashes, particularly for the Transjordanian tribes (Judg. 10–11; 2 Sam. 10–12). When David’s attempts at peaceful relations with King Hanun were rebuffed, David attacked Bene Ammon and added the country to his personal kingdom (2 Sam. 10–12). Sometime after the death of Solomon Bene Ammon regained its independence, but under Uzziah and Jotham they were paying tribute to Judah once again (2 Chr. 26:8; 27:5). The threat of the Assyrian hordes in the 9th century had led to a military alliance between Bene Ammon and Israel (under Ahab), along with several other Levantine states.⁴⁵ In the following centuries Tiglath-pileser III and Esarhaddon received tribute from Bene Ammon, and Ashurbanipal engaged Arab forces in Ammonite territory.⁴⁶ In 605, after the battle of Carchemish, Bene Ammon’s fate was closely linked with that of Judah. Ammonites were among the forces of Nebuchadrezzar involved in the punishment of Jehoiakim for his rebellion in 598 (2 K. 24:1–2). Since early in his reign Zedekiah had joined an alliance against the Babylonians that included Bene Ammon,⁴⁷ however, one may imagine the Ammonites’ relief over Nebuchadrezzar’s decision to attack Jerusalem rather than their own capital.

In the light of the long-standing hostility between Judah and Bene Ammon, the schadenfreude expressed in this oracle is understandable. Bene Ammon’s malicious delight is expressed verbally with the paralinguistic exclamation, heʾāḥ, Aha!⁴⁸ By means of three deliberately constructed parallel clauses, the specific reasons for her scorn are cited: the desecration of Yahweh’s sanctuary, the laying waste of the land of Israel, and the deportation of the population of Judah. These three actions strike at the heart of Judean national self-consciousness, disrupting the deity-land-people relationship. As far as Bene Ammon was concerned, the inveterate foe was destroyed and would surely never bother her again.

4–5 But the Ammonites failed to realize that contrary to appearance, Yahweh had not given up his patron status. He would not stand idly by while the world taunted his people and his land. Vv. 4–5 describe his reaction by means of a single verb used in two different senses: he will deliver (nātan lĕ) Bene Ammon into the hands of their own enemies to the east, and transform (nātan lĕ) her capital, Rabbah, into a habitation for livestock.⁴⁹ The Ammonites may have escaped the onslaught of the mighty Babylonians, but they will fall to the Qedemites. The expression bĕnê qedem (lit. sons of the east, easterners) is not a proper name or a self-designation, but a vague label used by westerners to denote the nomadic groups that migrated about the Arabian desert, occasionally raiding the settled communities of the Transjordan and even Cisjordan itself.⁵⁰ Although Isaiah had envisioned Israel’s ultimate conquest of the Qedemites along with Edom, Moab, and Bene Ammon, in the 6th and 5th centuries the Qedemites were still wreaking havoc in the area.⁵¹ Situated on the edge of the desert, Bene Ammon was most vulnerable to the incursions of the Arab tribes.

According to this oracle, having received the land of Bene Ammon from Yahweh as their own property (môrāšâ), the Qedemites will make themselves at home, erecting their own encampments, pitching their tents (miškānîm) right within the Ammonite heartland, and devouring the produce of land and livestock, a humiliating prospect for the nation. In v. 5 the emphasis returns to Yahweh’s actions. He will turn the pride of Bene Ammon—their capital, Rabbah—into a city of animals, a place where Arabs rest their camels and bed their flocks.

6–7 Although opening with a new citation formula, this fragment is linked logically to v. 5 by the particle kî (For). From here on the treatment of Bene Ammon as masculine reflects the shift in focus from the land of Bene Ammon to the human population; the gestures described in v. 6 are human actions, not the behavior of a country. Yahweh’s second charge against Bene Ammon is essentially the same as in vv. 3–4, though the crime of malicious delight over the fall of Jerusalem is expressed by two nonverbal gestures, instead of the paralinguistic heʾāḥ. The Ammonites were clapping their hands and stamping their feet with glee over Jerusalem’s fall. Unlike 6:11 and 21:19, 22 (Eng. 14, 17), where the same gestures occur as expressions of anger, here the actions express intense scorn and malicious delight, an interpretation confirmed by the presence of šāʾṭĕkā (lit. your contempt), which is unique to Ezekiel.⁵² Since no new cause of Bene Ammon’s glee is specified, this may be supplied from the previous panel.

This time Yahweh’s reaction is expressed in even more general terms. He will clap his own hands and stretch out his hand against her. Reiterating v. 4, Yahweh declares that he will seize Bene Ammon and hand over her population to enemy nations as spoils of war. While the aggressors are not identified, Yahweh’s goal is announced with three devastatingly painful declarations: he will cut her off from the peoples (hikrît), cause her to perish (heʾĕbîd), and destroy her (hišmîd). In short, he will personally eradicate the nation from history and wipe her off the map. With ironic justice, she who had rejoiced over the destruction of Judah (v. 3) would now suffer the same fate. The oracle ends abruptly with a concluding recognition formula. In this act of damnatio memoriae, the removal of the nation from the ancient Near Eastern political and ethnic scene, the mystery of the divine person would be revealed.⁵³ For those who rejoice over the demise of God’s people and mock them, there is no mercy.

b. The Oracle Against Moab (25:8–11)

⁸" ‘Thus has the Lord Yahweh declared: Because Moab54 is saying, "Look! The house of Judah55 is just like all the nations."

⁹Therefore, I will open up the flank of Moab, removing the cities, its cities56 from all its territory,⁵⁷ the pride58 of the land: Bethjeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. ¹⁰And I will deliver it,⁵⁹ along with Bene Ammon,⁶⁰ to the Qedemites as dispossessed property, so that Bene Ammon might not be remembered61 among the nations.⁶² ¹¹Thus I will execute judgments in Moab, and they will know that I am Yahweh.’ "

Now Ezekiel abandons the second person of direct address in favor of the third person. This mini-oracle is linked closely with the preceding by the reference to the Qedemites as agents of Yahweh’s judgment, the deliverance of Moabite territory to them as dispossessed property (nātan lĕmôrāšâ), and the reintroduction of Bene Ammon, which the prophet cannot seem to get out of his mind. The Moabites, descended from Lot in a line parallel to the Ammonites (Gen. 19:37), occupied the highland region east of the Dead Sea, from the Arnon River to the north and from Wadi Zered to the south.⁶³ The relationship between Moab and Israel was stormy from the beginning.⁶⁴ In recent times, the forces of Nebuchadrezzar attacking Jehoiakim of Jerusalem had included Moabites as well as Ammonites (2 K. 24:2). Although Zedekiah managed a brief alliance with these two states in common cause against Babylon (Jer. 27:3), when Jerusalem fell in 586 B.C. both countries stood by, taunting their devastated neighbor (see Jer. 48:27–35; Zeph. 2:8).

8 Compared to Jeremiah’s oracle against Moab (Jer. 48:1–47), Ezekiel’s prophecy is extremely short. Casting the charge in the form of a direct quotation, Yahweh accuses Moab of denying Judah’s special status among the nations.⁶⁵ The comment is reminiscent of Israel’s own selfdepreciating remarks in Ezek. 20:32, in which Israel complained that since they were being treated like all of the other nations, they might as well serve gods of wood and stone. While one may speculate about the extent to which other nations were aware of Israel’s theological claims to special status among them, this statement is certainly intended as a denial of her election. Consequently, the Moabite taunt is not only against her neighbor, but also a direct assault on Yahweh himself, who had granted this status to his people.

9 Yahweh could not tolerate such blasphemous assertions. In response he will personally turn the tables, making Moab go the way of all the nations: she will be destroyed like the rest. Her destruction will involve two divine acts. First, Yahweh will open her western frontier, the side opposite Judah, and deprive her of all her cities. Used geographically, ketep refers to a mountain ridge or slope, perhaps as seen from a neighboring region.⁶⁶ In this context the verb pātaḥ, to open, evokes images of opening the gates of a city in conquest.⁶⁷ But the key to conquering a nation is found in gaining control of its principal cities, here described as ṣĕbî ʾereṣ, the glory of the land. The ambiguous phrase mēʿārāyw miqqāṣēhû, its towns, to its last one, or its cities to its frontier, describes the extent of Moab’s losses. Three representative cities are named: (1) Beth-jeshimoth, located at the site of modern Tell el-‘Azeimeh, approximately 2½ kilometers northeast of the entrance of the Jordan into the Dead Sea; (2) Baal-meon, an abbreviation for the full form Beth-baal-meon (Josh. 13:17; cf. Num. 32:38; Jer. 48:23), preserved in modern day Maʾīn, 5 miles southwest of Medeba and about 8 miles east of the Dead Sea; (3) Kiriathaim, modern Khirbet el-Qureiyāt, about 6 miles west of Medeba.⁶⁸ These three sites lie on a line from the Jordan Valley (Beth-jeshimoth), southeastward via the ascent (Beth-baal-meon) to the top of the plateau (Kiriathaim). Remarkably, none of these cities is located in the Moabite heartland. Instead they represent Reubenite sites in the Mishor, the region north of the Arnon River, which raises the question of how their destruction can be a sign of the demise of Moab. Either Ezekiel concedes this region to Moab on historical grounds, or he rejects all Israelite claims to the Transjordan for theological reasons.⁶⁹ His vision of ideal Israel in 47:13–48:29 omits any reference to the Transjordan.

10 Second, Yahweh will deliver Moab into the hands of the Qedemites along with Bene Ammon. Although the reference is probably to a different occasion, Josephus recounts that five years after the fall of Jerusalem Nebuchadrezzar overran both of these countries (Ant. 10.9.7, §§181–82).

The pronouncement concludes awkwardly with a final word for Bene Ammon, whose anticipated fate is even worse than that of Moab. The assertion that she would not be remembered among the nations any more is equivalent to being cut off from the peoples (cf. v. 7), but echoes more closely the fate of Babylon announced in 21:37 (Eng. 32). This sentence did not mean merely being forgotten or relegated to political insignificance, but utter destruction of the population, so that there will be no one who may be called an Ammonite.⁷⁰

11 As for Moab, her judgment is expressed in vague formulae.⁷¹ When it has been carried out, however, Yahweh’s goal of revealing the mystery of his person to this foreign nation will also have been served.

c. The Oracle Against Edom (25:12–14)

¹²" ‘Thus has the Lord Yahweh declared: Because Edom has treated the house of Judah with bitter vengeance, and incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge72 against them—

¹³Therefore, thus has the Lord Yahweh declared: I will stretch73 out my hand against Edom, cutting off from it both human and beast and turning it into a wasteland. From Teman to Dedan74 they will fall by the sword. ¹⁴And I will inflict my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. And they will deal with Edom according to my wrath and according to my fury. Then they will know my vengeance. The declaration of the Lord Yahweh.’ "

Like the prophecies against Bene Ammon and Moab, the oracles against Edom and the Philistines are closely connected in form but especially by the Leitwort nāqam, to take vengeance. This oracle against Edom is a mere forty-seven words, but it will not be Ezekiel’s last word against the nation. In ch. 35 he will come back with a much more fully developed attack.

Being descended from Esau, the older brother of Jacob, the Edomites were even more closely related to Israel than the Ammonites and Moabites. While Gen. 32 suggests that the clan of Esau had moved into the region of Seir soon after they had split off from the household of Isaac, the Israelites recognized the region of Mount Seir as Edom’s divinely granted yĕrûššâ, possession, just as Canaan belonged to them (Deut. 2:5). The Edomite heartland consisted of the mountainous region east of the Arabah, extending southward from the Brook Zered (Wadi el-Ḥaṣa) as far as the Gulf of Aqaba.⁷⁵ Since the Edomites have left us no written records, our reconstruction of their history depends primarily on Israelite records, which tend to be biased in the extreme, reflecting the hostility that existed between the two nations from the beginning.⁷⁶ The biblical emphasis on the kinship of Edom and Israel renders the former’s persistent opposition to the latter even more poignant. In Num. 20:15 Moses’ appeal for special consideration was based on a recognition of their brotherhood. Deut. 23:7–8 warns the Israelites not to hold Edomites in contempt, for he is your brother, and even permitted intermarriage in the third generation. In the 8th century, Amos had charged Edom with pursuing his brother with the sword and stifling his compassion toward him (1:11). Later Obadiah picked up this theme, accusing Esau of violence to his brother Jacob and gloating over the misfortune of the sons of Judah (Obad. 10–14).

12 In contrast to Jeremiah’s detailed and often convoluted oracle against Edom (Jer. 49:7–22), Ezekiel’s prophecy is cryptic and general, like the other oracles in this chapter. He opens with a charge of bitter vengeance toward the house of Judah, cast in the form of two typically Semitic cognate phrases. The first, ʿāśâ binqōm nāqām, to act with vengeful vengeance, may be general in nature, but used here of humans it highlights the malicious passion of the perpetrator. The second, ʾāšam ʾāšôm, to incur grievous guilt, employs the infinitive absolute as a cognate accusative to intensify the idea of the verb.⁷⁷ While the crime is not specified, it undoubtedly relates to Edom’s abandonment of his brother in the critical hour, and Edom’s glee at the razing of Jerusalem (cf. Ps. 137:7).

13 The announcement of judgment consists of four declarations of divine intervention, highlighting the devastating effects of Yahweh’s actions: the land will be laid waste and its entire population, human and animal, decimated by the sword. The scope of the disaster is defined by From Teman to Dedan. Teman signifies south in general; as a geographic designation it denotes either Edom as a whole, the southernmost Levantine state, or the part of the state surrounding the northern capital of Bozrah.⁷⁸ Dedan is identified with the modern town of al-‘Ula, situated at a major oasis, which was an important station on the frankincense road from Yemen to Palestine from ancient times.⁷⁹ In biblical genealogies Dedan appears as a descendant of Raamah son of Cush (Gen. 10:7; 1 Chr. 1:9) and as a grandson of Abraham by Keturah (Gen. 25:3; 1 Chr. 1:32). Dedan appears never to have been considered part of Edom, which raises questions about Ezekiel’s (and Jeremiah’s) association of Dedan with Edom. While differing slightly in form, the expression from Teman and Dedan is reminiscent of the common phrase from Dan to Beer-sheba, which delimited the extremities of Israel.⁸⁰ Ezekiel’s phrase functions merismically, like human and animal, for all Edom, from north to south, even beyond the nation’s recognized borders.

14 The tables turn with poetic justice. First, the nation that had taken excessive vengeance on Judah should prepare for divine revenge in fullest measure. Yahweh’s comment, nātattî niqmātî, I will inflict my vengeance, recalls the divine epithet ʾēl nĕqāmôt, God of vengeance (Ps. 94:1), the phrase niqmat yhwh, the vengeance of Yahweh (Jer. 50:15, 28), and especially the declaration lî nāqām wĕšillēm, Vengeance and retribution are mine (Deut. 32:35). The issue here is Yahweh’s defense of his people. He will stand up on their behalf against the aggressor.

Second, in another ironical twist, the victims of Edomite vengeance are hereby identified as the agents of divine vengeance. Ezekiel’s portrayal of the turning of the tables on Edom recalls a similar and even more explicit movement in the prophecy of Obadiah (vv. 15, 18):

As you have acted, so it will be done to you;

Your conduct will return on your own head.…

The house of Jacob will be fire,

And the house of Joseph a flame,

But the house of Esau will be straw.

They will burn it and devour it,

Leaving no survivor of the house of Esau.

It is difficult to correlate the destruction envisaged by Ezekiel with the known course of history. By the 5th century (Mal. 1:3–4), Edom had been dislodged from its ancient homeland in Seir, presumably as a result of a series of events set in motion by Nabonidus’s monopoly over the trade routes in the mid-6th century B.C. A few decades later, however, in Ezra and Nehemiah’s time, the Edomites had ceased to be a factor in Levantine affairs. Outside opposition to the new commonwealth of Jews in Jerusalem was spearheaded by the troika of Tobiah the Ammonite, Sanballat the Horonite, and Geshem the Arab (Neh. 2:18; 6:1–2). By the 4th century, Arabic Nabateans had taken over Petra, in the Edomite heartland. Under Nabatean pressure the last remnants of the Edomites appear to have moved across the Arabah to southern Judah, where the memory of their origins was preserved in the new name given to this region, Idumea.

Third, unlike earlier prophecies in which Israel was the object of Yahweh’s fury, now the nation is portrayed as the agent of divine vengeance against the enemy. Unlike many other forms of the formula, which identify the goal of divine action as the recognition of the person of Yahweh in general, the concluding recognition formula declares Yahweh’s aim as having the Edomites recognize in the actions of the Israelites his own vengeful judgment. The final signatory formula seals Edom’s fate and guarantees the fulfillment of Yahweh’s goals.

Ezekiel’s vision of Edom’s future transcends specific historical events, focusing on the divine causation and the ultimate effects of his action. As the patron of Israel, Yahweh assumes responsibility for punishing those who commit crimes against his people. Although the text offers no clues about the audience’s response, Yahweh’s warm designation of his people as my people Israel (ʿammî yiśrāʾēl) looks forward to a time when the suspended covenant will be in force again. The exiles should have welcomed this expression alone as a welcome message of hope.

d. The Oracle Against the Philistines (25:15–17)

¹⁵" ‘Thus has the Lord Yahweh declared: Because the Philistines have acted with vengeance, and taken bitter revenge81 with utter contempt, destroying with everlasting enmity82—

¹⁶Therefore, thus has the Lord Yahweh declared: Look! I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, cutting off the Cherethites, and destroying the survivors of the seacoast.⁸³ ¹⁷I will execute extreme vengeance upon them, with furious wrath.⁸⁴ And they will know that I am Yahweh, when I have inflicted my vengeance upon them.’ "

15–17 Whereas 16:27, 57 had introduced the Philistines (pĕlištîm) as witnesses to Jerusalemite abominations, this oracle concerns them directly. The origins of the Philistines remain uncertain, but they are generally classified among the Sea Peoples who appeared in the eastern Mediterranean in the 13th century B.C. According to Israelite tradition (Amos 9:7) the Philistines arrived from Caphtor, usually identified with the Aegean island of Crete. However, the Table of Nations (Gen. 10:14; 1 Chr. 1:12) identifies them as Hamitic in descent, suggesting an earlier migration to Crete from the Delta region of Egypt.⁸⁵ When the Israelites arrived in Canaan from Egypt, the Philistines were firmly entrenched in the five major cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza (Josh. 13:2–3), and conflicts between these two groups of newcomers were inevitable.⁸⁶ During David’s time as a fugitive from Saul, he established good relations with the Philistine king of Gath (1 Sam. 27), and even after he became king he employed a contingent of Philistines in his personal service.⁸⁷ But the Philistines remained a menace in Israel’s southwestern flank until, in response to Yahweh’s charge, David delivered a decisive blow against them (2 Sam. 5:17–25).

Although their history was closely linked to the Judean state, the Philistines were able to maintain their separate identity over the centuries.⁸⁸ But like the rest of the Levant, in the 8th century they fell under the control of Assyria.⁸⁹ The role of the Philistines in Judah’s final decades is unclear. After the fall of Carchemish, Nebuchadrezzar responded to Ashkelon’s refusal to pay homage to him by laying the city waste and carrying its king off into exile.⁹⁰ The last cuneiform reference to the Philistines occurs in Nebuchadrezzar’s list of court officials, which includes among others the kings of Ashdod and Gaza.⁹¹ In view of the long-standing feud between Judah and the Philistines, it is reasonable to suppose that the latter had joined the Edomites in vengeful actions against Judah at the time of its fall, though the specific occasion to which Ezekiel refers is nowhere recorded.⁹²

Ezekiel’s oracle against the Philistines divides into the customary three parts: the indictment (v. 15), the announcement of judgment (vv. 16–17a), and the effect of the judgment (v. 17b). The form of the opening charge of vengeful activity presents this oracle as a twin to the previous prophecy against the Edomites,⁹³ which probably also explains the absence of any reference to Judah as the object of the Philistine hostility (cf. v. 12). The phrase bĕšĕʾāṭ bĕnepeš (lit. with scorn in the soul) links this oracle with the earlier Ammonite oracle as well (v. 6). The Philistines’ sinister intentions are described in the last line of v. 15; finally they have an opportunity to give full vent to their long-standing hatred toward Judah.

Unlike the previous oracles, the announcement of judgment focuses exclusively on Yahweh’s intervention, without reference to agents, and has the divine activity directed entirely against a population, not its land. The action is described in four pronouncements arranged in an ABBA pattern, two specific announcements being sandwiched between general statements. The combination of Yahweh’s outstretched hand (wĕnātattî yādî) and his cutting off (wĕhikrattî) is familiar from the previous oracle. But wĕhikrattî ʾet-kĕrētîm, which involves a sensitive wordplay, introduces the antagonists by a new name, Cherethites. Related to the name Crete, this designation identifies another subgroup of the Sea Peoples.⁹⁴ The use of the verb heʾĕbîd, to destroy (cf. v. 7), and the reference to the survivors of the seacoast in the third statement highlight the intensity of Yahweh’s actions. With true poetic justice, the offenses of the Philistines will return upon their own heads. Vengeance belongs to God, particularly when his people have been abused. With chastising fury Yahweh will break into the smug violence of the Philistines, and when he acts with his own vengeance, they will recognize him as the source of their demise.

Like the previous oracles, this message should have brought hope to Ezekiel’s compatriots in exile. Although they have been abandoned by Yahweh and experienced the full force of his wrath themselves, the announcement that their divine protector would rise again to defend their cause was intended to instill new optimism about the future.

2. The Oracles Against Tyre (26:1–28:19)

♦ Nature and Design

As noted earlier, on the basis of its form and the general nature of its content, the short oracle against Tyre preserved in 26:2–6 belongs to the collection found in ch. 25. However, Ezekiel’s particular interest in Tyre becomes apparent immediately. This mini-oracle is introduced by its own word-event formula, which had been absent since 25:1; and for the first time a prophecy against a foreign nation is introduced by a date notice (26:1). Even more impressive, in the remainder of the chapter the prophet offers a detailed exposition of the oracle in three parts. Furthermore, he will follow this oracle with two additional lengthy prophecies, the first cast in the form of a lament against the city (27:1–36), and the second as a two-part message for the king of Tyre (28:1–19).

A striking organizing feature of the oracles against Tyre as a block is the threefold occurrence of variations of the refrain ballāhôt ʾettĕnēk (hāyît/hāyîtā) wĕʾênĕkā ʿad-ʿôlām/lĕʿôlām, "Terrors I will send you (you will become) and you will cease to