Introduction:
Ezekiel was an exiled priest sent to live in Babylonia in 597BCE. He began his prophetic ministry while in exile and it is during this time that he received the vision of the dry bones. In this essay I will address the background, form, content and meaning of Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones.
Background to Ezekiel’s Prophecy:
Before Ezekiel began his prophecy there was widespread conflict in the Northern and Southern kingdoms of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians, Egyptians and the Babylonians. In 597 BCE the Babylonians took control of Jerusalem with members of royalty, nobles, craftsmen and smiths being sent into exile. In 2 Kings 24:14 it is stated that “only the poorest people in the land” escaped exile, though this is likely to be an exaggeration as people living in rural areas more than likely survived relatively unharmed (Darr, 2001). The living conditions of the exiled people have been widely debated. The exiled community was permitted to preserve its language, religion and internal governance by the elders; however they bore the scars of the previous wars and of being deported and some were forced into labour (Barton & Muddiman, 2001).
The book of Ezekiel contains little biographical information about the person of Ezekiel; however from it we know that his father’s name was Buzi, and that the name Ezekiel means “God Strengthens” or “May God Strengthen” (Darr, 2001). It is believed that Ezekiel was exiled in 597BCE to Chebar in Babylon with the first group of exiles (Miller, 1987). The fact that he was exiled with the first group of exiles suggests that he was a prominent and wealthy figure in Jerusalem. Ezekiel was either a priest or a priest in training at the time of his deportation “the word of the ...
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...known as Ephraim (Brown, et al., 1990). From this it is obvious that Ezekiel did not just think of or want justice for the Judean community, but also for the Northern kingdom which was destroyed by the Assyrians in 721BCE (Darr, 2001). The promise to restore the northern kingdom comes as a surprise as the vision occurred one hundred and fifty years after its destruction. However, the restoration that Yahweh will bring will be the restoration of his own kingdom, not just the kingdom of Judah (Darr, 2001).
Conclusion:
It is clear to see that Ezekiel’s vision is one of restoration and hope. This essay has evaluated the background of his prophecy, and the form, content and meaning of his vision of the dry bones found in ch. 37. The vision is both distinctive and unconventional. Ezekiel’s use of powerful imagery and symbolism successful conveys his message and meaning.
LaHaye, Tim, and Ed Hindson. The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy. Eugene, OR.: Harvest House Publishers, 2004.
Anson Rainey and R. Steven Notley are the authors of The Sacred Land Bridge, which is an Atlas of the biblical world and includes maps, pictures, and historical cementation as to the significance of this region. The biblical world that this atlas focuses on is defined as the eastern Mediterranean littoral, or more commonly called the Levant in modern archeological discussions. In my critique of this book I will be focusing on pages 30-34 which will define the boundaries and explain the importance of the Levant.
Among Jewish peasantry at the time of Jesus were two distinct types of prophets: the action prophets, who "led sizable movements of peasants from the villages of Judea in anticipation of God's new, eschatological act of liberation," and the oracular prophets, who delivered oracles of either judgment or deliverance (185). The former, as illustrated by the case of Theudas, appea...
Joines, Karen Randolph. Serpent Symbolism in the Old Testament: A Linguistic, Archaeological, and Literary Study. Haddonfield, NJ: Haddonfield House, 1974. Print.
Hindson, E. E., & Yates, G. E. (2012). The Essence of the Old Testament: A survey. Nashville, Tenn: B & H Academic.
Ezekiel lived in a time of international crisis and conflict. Assyria was the world power in the area under the rule of Tiglath-pilesar III. In 724 B.C Israel raged war upon Assyria, and Israel was no match for Assyria. In 627 B.C the last of the able Assyrian rulers, Ashurbanipal died. Following the death of Ashurbanipal, Babylon under Nebuchadrezzer II wanted independence from Assyria. In 614 B.C the Assyrians under Nineveh surrendered to the rising Babylonians. In 605 B.C the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians and established themselves as the leading power in the area. During all of this warring, Judah allied itself with Babylonia and kept her independence. However, in 597 BCE, after failing to continue their payment of tribute, Babylonia besieged Jerusalem. Nebuchadrezzer II, king on Babylonia, installs a puppet king, Zedekiah, in order to keep the Judeans in line. Nevertheless, Zedekiah rebels also. In 586, Babylonia exiles the most of the rulers and people of Judah to Babylonia, leaving only the poorest, and decimates Jerusalem, including the temple. Since the people believed the “Zion Theology,” which said Jerusalem is God’s choice of Zion and the monarchy comes from David, exile left the Judeans completely lost. The responses varied among the exiled Judeans, since they assumed that they were safe, after the temple wasn’t destroyed during the first destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of Israel. One response was lament, a feeling or an expression of grief, over their loss. Another was anger towards the Babylonians. A further response was anger toward neighbors who failed to aid them. Moreover, some Judeans turned to Marduk, chief god of the gods of Babylonia, figuring that he overpowered Yahweh, the god of the Judeans. Finally, the Judeans thought judgment had befallen them for their sins against Yahweh and Yahweh revoked his protection of Jerusalem. The Judeans remained in exile, until 538 BCE.
Studying the Old Testament is not as straightforward as some may think. Being able to recall stories of the Bible does not necessarily mean you have a thorough grasp on the history of Israel and the surrounding nations. Some people read and discuss the Bible without a solid understanding of the history and social issues that were going on at the time. Being able to relate to the stories in the Bible and struggle with some of the same problems faced by the people in the Bible gives you a greater appreciation for the works in the Bible. I feel that having a firm understanding of all the related history of Israel gives a student of the Old Testament a far greater understanding of why these stories are in the Bible and what was meant to be learned from them. In this paper I give brief, yet significant, explanations of the Old Testament from the death of King David to the Maccabean revolt.
After conquering northern Israel in 722 B.C.E., the Assyrians engendered centuries of political intrigue and laid the foundation for future unscrupulous kingdoms and idolatrous people.1 Once the Babylonian empire overthrew Josiah, the King of Judah, Habakkuk began to compose a prophetic book, questioning the ways of God. Above all, Habakkuk could not comprehend why “the evil circumvented the just”2; he thought that the impiety of the world did not correlate with a supposedly just God.3 Throughout his narrative, this biblical prophet came to understand that “the just man, because of his faith, shall live” (Hb 2,4). Eventually discovering that righteousness and faith in God lead to justice, Habakkuk cried out to the people of Judah through his prophetic words, assuring that divine intervention would eradicate the wickedness and oppression.
Boadt, Lawrence. Reading the Old Testament, An Introduction. 2nd. Edited by Richard Clifford and Daniel Harrington. New York/Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2012.
... of Israel, 2d ed.: A Theological Survey of the Old Testament. Garden City: Baker Academic, 2002.
The general message is for the people to clean up their act and repent so these bad things won’t happen. Bibliography Works Cited Chisholm, Robert B., Jr. Interpreting The Minor Prophets. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990. Brown, William P. Westminster Bible Companion: Obadiah Through Malachi.
Some of the contents of the scrolls, as mentioned above, had never been seen before in the archeological or religious communities. Being so, much skepticism concerning the scrolls, their meaning, their true origin and their authors has arisen. Of course, not all of these topics can be tackled at once and surely not all of the questions can be answered, especially because there is no proof of their true origin or their true authors, but certainly one can attempt to enlighten others with the hardships that are faced, even now, by the scribes who wrote them. In viewing the living conditions during the time that the scrolls were written and then comparing the conditions to those of today, one will have a much deeper understanding of what “hardship” means in the scribal world. Based on this comparison and a near-complete list of typical errors that plague current and ancient authors, one will not only see the types of difficulties involved with replication, but will also realize through doubt and reason that using these scrolls as a source of biblical facts is a hazardous idea.
LaSor, W., Hubbard, D., Bush, F., & Allen, L. (1996). Old Testament survey: The message, form, and background of the Old Testament (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans
Ezekiel role was of a watchman, who must alert the people of Israel to the will of the Lord (Tullock, J. 2012). The watchman has an unbelievably important task of protecting his people (Tullock, J. 2012).This can be contrasted with the role assigned to Jeremiah, which seems to be that of the suffering servant (Tullock, J. 2012). Ezekiel preached a message of doom and judgment but his condemnations tend to emphasize the people’s idolatry and their moral impurity (Tullock, J. 2012). Ezekiel also made it clear that those who ignore the warnings are doomed. Those who heed will be spared, and in this, he sounds the theme of individual responsibility (Tullock, J., and McEntire, M. (2012).
The Bible has a large amount of stories about war and destruction. Some of the stories are historical writings, but not all. God of the bible is omniscient and God uses this to give humanity a unique look into our future. The stories of destruction that this paper will look at are some of the future visions given to humanity by God. The apocalyptic literature are the recorded visions given to believers and they are used to warn people of the impending doom of the world. The bible takes different approaches to the same topic in order to make the message fully know.