Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/452

* EZEKIEL. 404 EZEKIEL. inoval of household goods, and bread eaten with tren False prophets reproved and 8) Idolatrous elders condemned. rejection of Jerusalem, i '1 by the i an unfruitful vine. (10) (iod's con ' love, against which Israel had red to kind care shown to a child birth. (11) Judgments on Israel ■ to Egypt for help against Babylon ider the emblem of two great eagles, rep esenting Nebuchadnezzar, and the other raoh. (12) Judgment denounced on every sor for his own sin-, contrary to the common proverb implying that children suffer for r fathers' faults. ' (13) Captivity of the Jew- ish kings, represented by lions pursued and cap- ,!. and of the Jewish people, by a vine rched, torn up, and planted in the wilderness. ercies to Israel, and their continued transgression reviewed; and. while final forgive- ln ■•-> is promised to the penitent, impending judg- i- are declared. (15) A consumed forest represents Jerusalem destroyed, and a sharp sword, Nebuchadnezzar cutting down Ammonites and Jews. (1(5) Recital of sins committed in Jerusalem by all classes of the people, and judg- ments on them denounced. (17) Idolatries of Samaria and Jerusalem, and their punishment. (18) Dreadful destruction of Jerusalem again proclaimed. Part ii. consists of prophecies against various nations around Judea (chs. xxv.-xxxii.), subdi- ■d into three sections. (1) Against the Am- monites, Moabites, Edomites, and Philistines. i 2 I ga inst Tyre ( represented, in its beauty, wealth, and renown, as the anointed cherub on the mountain of God), with a promise of return- ing prosperity to Israel. (3) Against Egypt. In the last two prophecies Nebuchadnezzar is named as the instrument appointed to carry out purposes. Part iii. embodies the promises of future de- liverance to Israel (chs. xxxiii.-xxxix), subdi- vided into five sections. ( 1 ) The prophet is com- pared to a watchman appointed to give warning of danger, and is exhorted to be faithful. While under the power of the prophetic spirit, being in- formed that Jerusalem had been taken by Nebu- chadnezzar, he foretells the desolation of the land, and reproves the hypocrisy of the cap- tive- around him. (2) The' rulers, civil and ecclesiastical, condemned as unfaithful shepherds, and a general restoration of the people promised under the guidance of the good shepherd, David the prince. (3) Judgments against Edom again foretold. (1) Promises of restoration renewed to Israel, under the emblems of fruit ful moun- tains, sprinkled water, a new heart, dry bones ed to life, and two sticks unite, I together. (5) Destruction of Gog (i.e. the Scythian forces advancing from the north), followed by blessings to I -raid. The fourth series of discourses (chs. xl.-xlviii.), while forming pari of the general picture of the toration, is separated by its character from the rest of the book, and reveals the priestly interc I Of Ezekiel. It gives (It an elaborate picture of the future temple based apparently on the temple of Solomon; (2) a description of the altar and offerings; (3) the functions of the pi territorial distribution of the tri'ie and boundaries of the land. Ther features of Ezekiel'- prophecies that are of special significance: (1) the visions, and (2) the descriptions of the temple cult. The former marks the beginning of that tendency in Jewish thought that led to the production of the extensive apocalyptic literature (q.v.), chiefly between the second century B.C. and the second century a.d. (See Cherub; Apocrypha.) The latter stands midway between the Deuterono- mic code and the final priestly legislation, for which it paves the way. Ezekiel's pro gramme and general notions of the functions and privileges of the priest were followed largely in the so-called Holiness Code (Lev. xvii.-xxvi.), though the latter represents an even more ad- vanced ritualistic standpoint. A notable differ- ence, however, between Deuteronomy and Ezekiel is that, whereas according to the former all Levites are priests, according to Ezekiel only the Zadokites are recognized, while in the still later Holiness Code only descendants of Aaron are regarded as priests. Again, as regards festive seasons, Deuteronomy mentions three great festi- vals — Passover, Weeks, and Booths — whereas Eze- kiel omits the second, but adds a special ceremony of purification for the first days of the first and seventh months, and the Holiness Code has in addition to the three given in Deuteronomy, the Feast of Trumpets (the post-exilic New Year's Day) and the Day of Atonement. The direction thus given by Ezekiel to the elaboration of the cult was followed in succeed- ing generations. It is his spirit which pervades the perfected Priestly Code, and in a significant sense it is Ezekiel who may be denominated the forerunner of post-exilic Judaism, which centres around the temporary cult and ceremonial minu- tiae. This constitutes his main claim to an immor- tal position in Hebrew history. In moral sublim- ity and in eloquence he is surpassed by Isaiah and others, in profundity of feeling and unalloyed pa- triotism by Jeremiah ; but it is Ezekiel who, draw- ing from the past with its tribulations and final catastrophe the lesson that the future restoration and the future happiness of the people depend upon their observance of Jehovah's decrees, re- gards it as the most important task of the leaders to determine in the most minute way exactly what Jehovah has commanded, exactly how He is to be worshiped, and then to spare no efforts in the endeavor to have these regulations carried out. Salvation rests upon the temple cult, the con- stitution of a legitimatized priesthood, and upon the strict obedience of the people in observing the Sabbath and festivals, in paying tithes, bring- ing sacrifices, and observing all such laws as are placed before them by the authority given to their religious leaders — the priests. Consult the commentaries, particularly Smend, Keil, l>a id- son, Bertholet, Toy, and Kratschmarj also Cor- nill. Der Prophet' Ezechiel geschildert (Heidel- berg, 1882), and Dos Buch des Propheten Eze- chiel (Leipzig, LS86) ; D. H. Miiller, Ezechiel Studien (Vienna, 1804). EZEKIEL, Moses Jacob (1844—). An American sculptor, born in Richmond, Va. He was educated in his native city, and fought in the Civil War. In 1869 he entered the AcadenVJ oi it in Berlin, where he studied under Wolf, and in 1873 received the Michael Beer Prize for sculpture, the first American to obtain that dia i inction. Be then went to Rome and set up his Studio in the ruin- of the Baths of Diocletian.