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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
8:1-11:25 Ezekiel's Temple Vision. This is the second of Ezekiel's four dramatic visions, having overt connections with the opening vision (chs. 1-3). It also has strong links to the concluding vision (chs. 40-48), which offers a mirror image to this one. Ezekiel is shown a mounting series of vignettes of idolatrous worship in the temple (ch. 8), the citywide slaughter of idolaters (ch. 9), the destruction of Jerusalem by fire, and the gradual withdrawal of the presence of the Lord from the temple (ch. 10). The vision culminates in the contrast of judgment on wicked officials (11:1-13) with an oracle of hope (11:14-21) before God's glory departs completely (11:22-25). As a whole, the vision emphasizes God's rejection of this generation of Judeans and demonstrates the justice of God's stance.
8:1-18 Transportation and Abominations. Ezekiel is transported in his vision to the temple complex at the heart of Jerusalem (vv. 1-4). In a series of locations, including both the center and the periphery of the temple, various cultic practices, termed abominations, are revealed.
8:1-4 The vision begins with Ezekiel's "physical" transportation from his home in Babylon (v. 1) to the Jerusalem temple (v. 3), a detail without parallel in the canonical OT (but cf. Bel and Dragon 1:33-36). Otherwise the setting is reminiscent of the inaugural vision (Ezekiel 1-3).
8:1 The date formula places this vision in , from the inaugural vision. No triggering event can be linked to this date with certainty, but the events leading up to the sinking of the anti-Babylonian scroll related in Jer. 51:59-64 may lurk in the background. Clearly there were "prophets" among the exiles fomenting rebellion (see Jer. 29:20-23). The elders (Ezek. 8:1) seek a word from Ezekiel.
8:2 The manifestation of God that Ezekiel sees on this occasion is like that of the inaugural vision in 1:27. In 8:4 this connection is made explicit.
8:3 When interpreting chs. 8-11 it must be borne in mind that what Ezekiel sees are dreamlike visions of God. This is spiritual, not "natural" reality. The inner gateway locates Ezekiel within the temple-palace complex, yet not at its center. (For the image of jealousy, see 8:5.)
8:5-6 The first of the four vignettes situates Ezekiel with his back to the altar, facing an image of jealousy, which remains unidentified. The vagueness is deliberate: focus remains on the provocation of divine outrage, not on the specifics of the image itself. It will get worse (still greater abominations; cf. vv. 13, 15). These sins are "greater" in the sense of being more hateful to God; this can be because of such factors as bringing him more dishonor, bringing greater harm to others, expressing more and more defiance to God's warnings or indifference to his love, being more boldly done in public, or being committed by those with greater responsibility.
8:7-13 This second scenario demonstrates the impossible possibilities of visions. To look inside the wall for a literal "room" that could hold
8:10 The images engraved on the walls contravene not only the second commandment (Ex. 20:4) but also the list enumerated in Deut. 4:15-18.
8:11 The presence of Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan among the
8:14-15 Moving farther north, Ezekiel sees women weeping for Tammuz (from the Sumerian name, Dumuzi). This ancient Mesopotamian cult celebrated the shepherd-king and god of vegetation, whose association with sacred marriage seems clear, while claims about his status as a dying and rising god remain controversial. (The term "sacred marriage" describes ancient practices of ritual prostitution intended to ensure agricultural fertility.) Mourning rites among women in his cult are well attested outside of the Bible.
8:16 The final vignette, also the briefest, states simply and starkly the climax of abominations. The twenty-five men are not further identified, but the location between the porch and the altar would normally be reserved for priests. At this sacred place they venerate the sun. Solar worship is prohibited in Deut. 4:19 (see also 2 Kings 23:11). The outrage of this action contrasts with what priests ought to do here (cf. Ps. 26:6-7; Joel 2:17).
8:17-18 The behavior described in vv. 1-16 must be punished by a holy God. The phrase put the branch to their nose remains obscure; it was probably a gesture of derision.
9:1-11 Slaughter in Jerusalem. A team of seven angels carries out the execution of the unfaithful in Jerusalem at God's command. Only one of them is assigned the job of protecting the faithful. The prophet's anguished intervention does not dissuade God from judgment. Cf. the Passover (Exodus 12): a mark protects the faithful from God's agents of death.
9:1-2 The first phrase of v. 1 ironically repeats the closing phrase of 8:18. Hebrew pequddot, here rendered executioners, also carries the sense of "governing officials." The angels of the seven cities of Revelation 1-3 may be an analogy. In Ezekiel 9, destruction is by weapon; in ch. 10 it is by fire.
9:3-7 Verse 3a is a parenthetic aside, foreshadowing the main focus of ch. 10. The seventh angel, in the role of scribe, puts a mark on the foreheads (9:4) of those faithful to the Lord. Preserving a remnant has been a feature of chs. 4-7. Here, the mark is the Hebrew taw, and in the script of Ezekiel's day would be an X. Ancient Christian interpretation saw in this symbol an anticipation of the cross. Verses 6-7 of ch. 9 indicate that the slaughter is to begin where Ezekiel's tour of ch. 8 ended. The command to defile the house (9:7) overcomes the reluctance to pollute the sanctuary with corpses (cf. 1 Kings 1:51; 2 Kings 11:15).
9:6 they began with the elders. Just as the leaders had led the people astray, so now judgment begins with them, from their place before God's house (the temple). This judgment is echoed in Peter's talk of a purifying judgment that will "begin at the household of God" (1 Pet. 4:17).
9:8-10 Ah, Lord God! Ezekiel's impassioned outburst pleads for the remnant, and prompts the question: was the preserving angel finding any faithful? See also 4:14; 11:13; 21:5. God reiterates the firm intention of his justice and pointedly responds to the delusion of divine ignorance voiced by the elders (cf. 8:12 and 9:9).
10:1-22 The Fire and the Glory. Two actions are interwoven here: the second (visionary) phase of city destruction (vv. 1-8), and the further withdrawal of the glory of God from the temple (vv. 9-22).
10:1-8 The man clothed in linen (v. 2), a "preserving angel" in ch. 9, here becomes an incendiary agent of destruction. The narrative remains elusive, as attention oscillates between the angel (10:2, 6-7) and the cherubim, who are both the "throne" for God's presence and the source of the burning coals that will ignite the city (vv. 1, 3-5, 8). On a natural level, sword and fire would coincide; in the vision, they are distinct phases.
10:9-22 Much of the description of the cherubim here overlaps with the account of the "living creatures" in ch. 1, and reference should be made to that passage for an explanation of the common features. Although the description itself already signals this equivalence, the visionary account makes it explicit in 10:15, 20-22. The assault of sight and sound on the senses seems overpowering, as it was in the inaugural vision. While description dominates this section, the action, confined to vv. 18-19, is crucial. At the threshold (v. 18) of the east gate (v. 19), the glory of the God of Israel is poised to depart from the midst of his sinful people slowly and in stages (perhaps symbolizing how he gives the people every opportunity to repent). The language is deliberate: "God of Israel" is used five times in this vision (8:4; 9:3; 10:19-20; 11:22), and four of those with "glory of." Beyond these, this phrasing occurs in Ezekiel only at 43:2 and 44:2, when God's glory returns.
11:1-13 Punishment for Civic Authorities. The new introduction at v. 1 seems to interrupt the vision sequence at this point of tension, with God's glory poised at the threshold. Ezekiel sees
11:1 The named individuals are otherwise unknown; on Pelatiah, see v. 13. The Hebrew behind princes of the people (sare ha‘am) need not refer to royalty, nor does it here; cf. the identical phrase translated "leaders of the people" at Neh. 11:1.
11:2-3 Unfortunately for interpretation, the wicked counsel announced in v. 2 and quoted in v. 3 is obscure. Verse 3a may be either a statement or a question. If the former, the cauldron and meat metaphor is negative ("we're cooked!"); but if the latter, the metaphor is positive ("we won't be burned!"). Since it is unlikely that being cooked is positive, the imagery is best understood to indicate fear, which led to mistrusting God. The metaphor is further developed in ch. 24.
11:6 Although the judgment that multiplies corpses is divine (9:7), it has been provoked by the people's guilt, and they remain responsible.
11:7-12 The focus here is on the distinction between the court officials and the people slain. The outcome here has clarity that the earlier part of the vision lacked: the departure of Zedekiah's court and its destruction at the hands of the Babylonians (see 2 Kings 25:4-7). Note the theological perspective of Ezek. 11:9 (I will bring you out), in contrast to the panicked flight of 2 Kings 25:4.
11:13 The impact of the death of Pelatiah the son of Benaiah on Ezekiel is not immediately obvious. Perhaps it is due to Ezekiel's shock at seeing such an immediate judgment from God in fulfillment of his prophecies. Its significance may also lie in the symbolism of the name itself: "The Lord delivers," the son of "The Lord builds," has died.
11:14-21 Promise of a New Heart, Spirit. Ezekiel's outcry of v. 13 apparently prompts one of the most important statements of hope in the book, one closely connected to the famous "new heart" passage in 36:22-32. In 11:15 the voice of those left in Judah is heard baiting the exiles. The divine response of v. 16 both asserts God's own action in bringing about the exile (I removed . . . I scattered) and redefines the relationship between God and the remnant: the real sanctuary is not the temple but God himself. That new relationship is marked by a new spirit and a heart of flesh (v. 19) provided by God himself, which enables faithful living previously impossible with a heart of stone. There is a theological tension in Ezekiel between divine provision (here and 36:26-27) and human endeavor ("make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit," 18:31).
11:22-25 The Glory of the Lord Departs. The vision concludes on a tragic note: the departure of the God of Israel from his city denotes divine absence and thus death for the people. The mountain . . . on the east is the Mount of Olives. Both the action and location confirm that the emphasis falls on divine absence from Jerusalem rather than (by inference) presence with the exiles. God's absence persists until 43:1-5. The concluding report (11:25) links back to the setting of 8:1.
