Language:
English
Year of publication:
2021
Titel der Quelle:
Revue Biblique
Angaben zur Quelle:
128,4 (2021) 525-545
Keywords:
Temple of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel) In the Bible
;
Temple of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel) Destruction and pillage
;
Bible. Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Bible. Theology
;
Theodicy Biblical teaching
Abstract:
The theodicy for the destruction of Jerusalem, though extensively developed in Ezekiel 1-24, remains obscure. This situation results from the gathering in the pool of sinners of the exile, of those remaining in Jerusalem, and of the previous generations. This latter group even encompasses the religious elite who promoted the Josiah reform. The present study argues that Ezekiel identifies this collective and transgenerational sin with the replacement, from the reign of Ahaz, of the copper altar by a stone altar for the performance of burnt-offerings in the Jerusalem temple. This premise emerges from an analysis of Ezekiel 8-9, and especially from the significance of the item designated as סמל הקנאה, and its implications concerning the way the copper altar conditions the divine presence in the temple. This interpretation is introduced by the content of Ezekiel 1, where the nature of the celestial domain is exposed. It is confirmed by the metaphor exposed in Ezekiel 24, whose content reveals that the successive religious reforms (Ahaz, Hezekiah, Josiah) prevented the Jerusalem temple from fulfilling its cosmic functions. This original explanation enables Ezekiel to elaborate a theodicy combining an ethic of responsibility with the expression of divine justice.
DOI:
10.2143/RBI.128.4.3289742
URL:
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