Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/818

 EZECHIEL

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EZECHIEL

the idolatrj^ practised in and near the temple (viii); God commands that the guilty be punished and the faithful be spared (ix); God's majesty departs from the temple (x), and also, after the announcement of guilt and punishment, from the city. With this the judgment which the prophet communicates to the exiles ends (xi).

(3) In the third group (xii-xix) many different pro- phecies are brought together, whose sole connexion is the relation they bear to the guilt and pimishment of Jerusalem and Juda. Ezechiel prophesies by sym- bolic actions the exile of the people, the flight of Se- decias, and the devastation of the land (xii, 1-20). Then follow Di\-ine revelations regarding belief in false prophecies, and disbelief in the very presence of

Ezechiel Michelangelo Buonarotti. Sistine Chapel. Vatican

true prophecy. This was one of the causes of the horrors (xii, 21-xiVj 11), to be \Tsited upon the rem- nant of the inhabitants of Jerusalem (xiv, 12-23). The prophet likens Jerusalem to the dead wood of the vine, which is destined for the fire (xv); in an elabor- ate denunciation he represents Juda as a shameless harlot, who surpasses Samaria and Sodom in malice (xvi), and in a new simile, he condemns King Se- decias (xvii). .\fter a discourse on the justice of God (xviii), there follows a further lamentation over the princes and the people of Juda (xix). (4) In the pres- ence of the elders the prophet denounces the whole people of Israel for the abominations they practised in Egj-pt, in the Wilderness, and in Canaan (xx). For these Juda shall be consumed by fire, and Jerusalem shall be exterminated by the sword (xxi). Abomin- able is the immorality of Jerusalem (xxii), but Juda is more guilty than Israel has ever been (xxiii). (5) On the day on which the siege of Jerusalem began, the prophet represents, \nuler the figure of the rusty pot, what was to befall the inhabitants of the city. On the occasion of the death of liis wife. God forliids him to mourn openly, in order to teach the exiles that they should be willing to lose that which is dearest to them without grieving over it (xxiv).

In the .second part (xxv-xxxii), are gathered to- gether the prophecies concerning the Gentiles. He

takes, first of all, the neighbouring peoples who had been exalted through the downfall of Juda, and who had humiliated Israel. The fate of foiu- of these, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Edomites, and the Philistines, is condensed in chapter xxv. He treats more at length of T\Te and its king (xxvi-xxviii, 19), after which he casts a glance at Sidon (xxviii, 20-26). Six prophecies against Egj-pt follow, dating from dif- ferent years (xxLx-xxxii). The third part (xxxiii- xlviii), is occupied with the Divine utterances on the subject of Israel's restoration. As introduction, we have a dissertation from the prophet, in his capacity of authorized champion of the mercy and justice of God. after which he addresses himself to those re- maining in Juda, and to the perverse exiles (xxxiii). The manner in which God will restore His people is only indicated in a general way. The Lord will cause the evil shepherds to perish; He will gather in, guide, and feed the sheep by means of the second David, the Messiah (xxxiv).

Though Mount Seir shall remain a waste, Israel shall return unto its own. There God will purify His people, animate the nation with a new spirit, and re- establish it in its former splendour for the glory of His name (xxxv-xxxvi). Israel, though dead, shall rise again, and the dry bones shall be covered with flesh and endowed with life before the eyes of the prophet. Ephraim and Juda shall, under the second David, be united into one kingdom, and the Lord shall dwell in their mid.-t (xxxvii). The invincibleness and inde- structibility of the restored kingdom are then sj-m- bolioally presented in the war upon Gog, his inglorious defeat, and the annihilation of his armies (xxxviii- xxxix"). In the last prophetic vision, God shows the new temple (xl-xlii), the new worship (xliii-xlvi), the return to their own land, and the new division thereof among the twelve tribes (xlvii-xlviii), as a figure of His foundation of a kingdom where He shall dwell among His people, and where He shall be served in His tabernacle according to strict rules, by priests of His choice, and by the prince of the house of David.

From this review of the contents of the prophecy, it is evident that the prophetic vision, the symbolic ac- tions and examples, comprise a considerable portion of the book. The completeness of the description of the vision, actions and similes, is one of the many causes of the obscurity of the book of Ezechiel. It is often difficult to distinguish between what is essential to the matter represented, and what serves merely to make the image more vivid. On this account it hap- pens that, in the circumstantial descriptions, words are used, the meaning of which, inasmuch as they occur in Ezechiel only, is not determined. Because of this obscurity, a number of copyist mistakes have crept into the text, and that at an early date, since the Septuagint has some of them in common with the earliest Hebrew text we have. The Greek version, however, includes scNTral readings which help to fix the meaning. The genuineness of the book of Ezechiel is generally concecfed. Some few consider chapters xl-xlviii to be apocrj-phal, because the plan there de- scribed in the Iniilding of the temple was not followed, but they overlook the fact that Ezechiel here gives a sjTiibolic representation of the temple, that was to find spiritual realization in God's new kingdom. The Di\-ine character of the prophecies was recognized as early as the time of Jesus the son of .Sirach (Eccles. xlix" 10, 11). In the New Testament, there are no verbatim references, but allusions to the prophecy and figures taken from it are frequent. Compare St. John, X. 10 etc. with Ezcch., xxxiv, 11 etc.; St. Matthew, xiii. 32. ■nnth Ezech.. xvii. 23. In particular St. John, in the .VpocahTise, has often followed Ezechiel. Com- pare .\poc., xviii-xxi with Ezcch., xxvii, xxxviii etc., xlvii etc.

CnHRET. Ezehifl (Tendon. 1SS21: Cobern. Ezehrl and Dnnifl (Now York. \9Ca): Kedpath. The Book of Ezrkiel (Ix)ndon. 1907); Spoeb, Emendaliom in Ihe Text of Eiekiet in Am. Jour-