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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
12:1-28 Anticipating Exile. The unfolding of events surrounding the collapse of Judah must always be borne in mind when reading Ezekiel. This is especially true for this chapter, as its predictions of exile come during a time when the exile has already begun. This only makes sense in the context of the uncertain between (the deportation during the reign of Jehoiachin, during which Ezekiel was exiled) and (the final fall of Jerusalem, during the reign of Zedekiah). It is the latter complex of events toward which these oracles point. Formulaic markers group them into two pairs: symbolic action is again a vehicle for the divine word in vv. 1-16 and 17-20; the passage of time prompted doubts about this further exile, and these are confronted in the pair of oracles in vv. 21-25 and 26-28.
12:1-20 Exile Predicted. Ezekiel, who was included in the first deportation to Babylon, predicts a further exile by means of symbolic actions, much like chs. 4-5.
12:1-16 Ironically, the issue of perception lies at the heart of this passage. Ezekiel's fellow exiles form the audience whose attitude, one must conclude, remained untouched by their own experience of exile and whose expectations were therefore deluded.
12:2 On Ezekiel's distinctive use of rebellious house (also vv. 9, 25), see note on 2:5-7. The unseeing eyes and unhearing ears emphasize the willfulness of the exiles' ignorance (cf. Isa. 6:9-10; Jer. 5:21).
12:3 In their sight is repeated seven times in vv. 3-7, further underlining the main point of the prophecy. The hope that they will understand (lit., that they will "see") also develops this theme.
12:8-15 The explanation of the symbolic actions has both a broad and a narrow application. Verse 10 targets the prince in Jerusalem--a reference to Zedekiah, whom Ezekiel resolutely refuses to refer to as "king"--while the rest of v. 10 and the plural references of v. 11 broaden the scope to the rest of the remaining Judeans. Verses 12-15 point in specific detail to the fate of Zedekiah narrated in 2 Kings 25, much as did the oracle of Ezek. 11:5-12. Still, this remains a sign for you (plural, 12:11), that is, for Ezekiel's fellow exiles.
12:13 he shall not see it. The fate of Zedekiah is clearly in view here: cf. 2 Kings 25:7; Jer. 52:11.
12:17-20 The demeanor of refugees is the focus of these verses. The symbolic action has some resonance with 4:9-17, but the emphasis here is psychological rather than ritual. The people of the land (12:19) refers to the commoners among Ezekiel's fellow exiles who are now, of course, landless.
12:21-28 Exile Confirmed. Apparently, the delay in fulfillment of the prophecy opened a window for counter-prophecies, which are here rebutted. This pair of oracles may be a longer and shorter version of the same prophecy given on different occasions, somewhat like 7:1-9. These verses provide an affirmation of the predictive element among the Hebrew prophets: their "forth-telling" is sometimes emphasized, but "foretelling" constituted a significant factor in their preaching.
12:21-25 The proverb that authorizes ignoring Ezekiel's warning, quoted in v. 22, is inverted in v. 23. It requires refutation, much as another proverb will in 18:2-3.
12:24 The introduction of the theme of false prophecy sets the stage for the next block of oracles.
12:26-28 Here, the tone is not so much the assumed failure of vision as its supposed interminable delay. But the God who gives the word will also bring it to pass, without fail.
