Ezekiel (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching | INT)

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“Disconcertingly, perhaps, the criterion of discrimination is not religious orthodoxy or orthopraxy but care for the weak and disadvantaged—the hungry, thirsty, and sick, the prisoner and the stranger.” (Page 159)

“Since it would be very confusing to date according to two quite different systems, the reference is probably to the prophet’s age at the time of commissioning. Ezekiel belonged to the Zadokite priesthood, and, according to ritual law, thirty was the minimum age for assuming the office of priest (Num. 4:30). The mysterious divine effulgence (the kabod) which appeared to Ezekiel was also thought to appear at the climax of the ordination service (Lev. 9:6). So it is possible that Ezekiel was called to be a prophet in the same year in which he was ordained priest, perhaps during the act of worship accompanying the ordination.” (Page 16)

“For Ezekiel, spirit is an energy originating in the divine sphere which manifests itself as a force that propels (1:12, 20–21), lifts up (2:2; 3:12, 14, 24), transports (8:3; 11:1, 24; 37:1), and energizes and renews both individual and community (11:19; 18:31; 36:26–27; 37:14; 39:29). The spirit works with the raw material of humanity. Here and throughout the book (ninetythree times) Ezekiel is addressed as ‘mortal’ (literally, ‘son of man’), never by name. The reason may be that in his career, more than in other prophetic careers, it is the office or function rather than the person which is important.” (Page 24)

“The vision by the Chebar canal provided an answer in principle: Yahweh could appear and therefore be worshiped outside the land of Israel, just as, according to the Priestly author, he could appear to Moses in the land of Egypt polluted by idolatry (Exod. 6:28). It remained to work out the appropriate forms of worship in this interim period between the destruction of the old and the erection of the new temple.” (Page 12)