The Land of Israel in the Book of Ezekiel

Description

The Land of Israel in the Book of Ezekiel is a key text in the New Testament canon. It has recently received a great deal of attention, prompting a resurgence of scholarly works, and a need to re-engage with some of the foundational works of scholarship on the text. The history of research on Hebrews is presented in this volume of critical readings, edited by Scott D. Mackie. The volume is organized thematically, addressing the following sub-areas: theology, Christology and pneumatology; eschatology; authorship and audience; structure and Greco-Roman influences; the relationship with contemporaneous Judaism, and soteriology. Each section is prefaced by an introduction and summary of the particular theme in Hebrews. At the end of each section is an annotated bibliography to point researchers towards further readings in and engagements with these key themes. Cover Title Copyright Contents Preface Abbreviations Introduction 1. Research Topic 2. Current State of Research 3. Research Questions 4. Thesis Statement 5. Methodological Approach 6. Structure of the Book Chapter I. The Context of the Motif of the Land in the Book of Ezekiel 1. The Theological Context of Ezekiel’s Prophecy concerning the Land 1.1. The Questioned Status of the Land of Israel 1.2. The Crisis of the Zion Theology 1.3. The End of David’s Dynasty 2. The Semantic Field of the Book of Ezekiel 2.1. Land as a Geomorphological Entity 2.2. Land as an Anthropo-Geographical Entity 2.3. Land as a Metaphor 2.3.1. The Metaphoric Substitution of the Land 2.3.2. Land as an Element of a Simile 2.3.3. Land in Metaphoric Interaction 3. The Structural Position of the Land of Israel in the Book of Ezekiel 3.1. The Synchronic Perspective on the Structure of the Book of Ezekiel 3.2. The Motif of the Land as an Element of Resumptive Exposition in the Book of Ezekiel Chapter II. The Phenomenology of the Land of Israel 1. The Subjecthood of the Land of Israel 1.1. The Land as the Addressee of the Oracles 1.2. The Relationality of the Land of Israel 1.2.1. The Relationship with Yahweh 1.2.2. The Relationship with Yahweh’s People 1.2.3. The Relationship with the Nations 1.3. The Land of Israel and the Knowledge of Yahweh 2. The Land’s Solidarity with Israel’s Sin 2.1. The Sin of the Land of Israel 2.2. The Land of Israel as a Victim of Human Sins 2.2.1. Social Sins 2.2.2. Cultic Sins 2.3. The Lost Purity of the Land of Israel 3. The Punished Land 3.1. The Land of Israel on the Day of Yahweh 3.2. The Devastated Land of Israel 3.3. The Question of the Land’s Future Chapter III. The History of Israel Written from the Perspective of the Land 1. The Salvific History and the Land of Israel 1.1. The Theology of History in Ezekiel 20 1.2. Exodus as the Key to Understanding the History of the Land of Israel in Ezekiel 20 1.3. The Character of Ezekiel’s Vision of Exodus in the Context of the Land of Israel 2. God’s Promise of the Land in Ezekiel 20 2.1. The Promised Land as an Element of the Covenant 2.2. The Obstacles to the Fulfilment of the Promise of the Land 2.3. The Soteriological Gift of the Land 3. Problematic Ownership of the Promised Land during the Babylonian Exile 3.1. The Dispute over the Land in Ezekiel 11:14–21 3.1.1. The Historical Context of the Dispute 3.1.2. Problematic Claims to the Land 3.1.3. The Status of the Land of Israel 3.2. The Dispute over the Land in Ezekiel 33:23–29 3.2.1. The Historical Context of the Dispute 3.2.2. Problematic Claims to the Land 3.2.3. The Status of the Land of Israel 3.3. The Nations’ Claims to the Land of Israel 3.3.1. The Historical Context of the Dispute 3.3.2. Problematic Claims to the Land 3.3.3. The Status of the Land of Israel Chapter IV. The Land of the New Covenant 1. The Position of the Land of Israel in Salvation Oracles 1.1. The Rhetoric of the Land of Israel in Ezekiel 34–39 1.2. The Recovered Subjecthood of the Mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 36:1–15) 1.3. The Dynamics of the Restoration of the Land of Israel 1.3.1. The Demographic Dimension 1.3.2. The Material Dimension 1.3.3. The Political Dimension 1.3.4. The Religious Dimension 2. The Role of the Land in the New Covenant 2.1. The Position of the Land in the Structure of the New Covenant 2.1.1. The Continuity of the Covenant and the New Land of Israel 2.1.2. The New Covenant and the Land’s Repopulation 2.1.3. The Novelty of the Covenant of Peace 2.2. The New People in the Renewed Land 2.3. The Land of the Covenant of Peace 2.3.1. Ezekiel’s Predictions of the Covenant of Peace vis-à-vis Biblical and Extra-Biblical Traditions 2.3.2. Yahweh’s Presence as the Essence of the Covenant of Peace 3. The Eschatological Perspectives of the Restoration of the Land of Israel in Ezekiel 38–39 3.1. Ezekiel 38–39 against the Backdrop of Ezekiel’s Salvation Oracles for Israel 3.1.1. Ezekiel’s Authorship of the Gog Oracle 3.1.2. The Theological Aim of the Gog Oracle 3.2. The Temporal Dimension of the Revival of the Land of Israel in Ezekiel 38–39 3.3. The Spatial Dimension of the Revival of the Land of Israel in Ezekiel 38–39 Chapter V. The Vision of the New Land of Israel in Ezekiel 40–48 1. Yahweh’s Presence in the Land of Israel 1.1. The Structure of Ezekiel’s Vision in Ezekiel 40–48 1.1.1. The Diachronic Perspective 1.1.2. The Synchronic Perspective 1.2. The Return of Yahweh’s Glory to the Land of Israel (Ezekiel 43:1–12) 1.2.1. Yahweh’s Freedom towards the Land of Israel 1.2.2. Yahweh’s Reign over the Land 1.2.3. Yahweh as the Source of the Sanctity of the Land of Israel 1.3. Yahweh’s Presence Transforming the Land (Ezekiel 47:1–12) 1.3.1. The Territorial Dimension of the Land’s Transformation 1.3.2. The Theological Dimension of the Land’s Transformation 2. The Theological Geography of the Land of Israel 2.1. The External Borders of the Land of Israel 2.1.1. The Identification of the Toponyms in Ezekiel 47:15–20 2.1.2. The Rhetorical Dimension of the New Borders of the Land of Israel 2.2. The Intertribal Borders within the Land of Israel 2.2.1. The Distribution of Israel’s Tribes in the Restored Land 2.2.2. The Rhetoric of the New Intertribal Borders 2.3. The Sacral Concept of the Borders of the Land of Israel 3. The Land as the Inheritance of the People of the Covenant 3.1. The Inheriting of the Land by Israel’s Tribes 3.2. The Inheriting of the Land by גור 3.2.1. The Status of גור in the Hebrew Bible 3.2.1. The Status of גור in the Ezekiel 47:12–23 Conclusion Bibliography Index of References Index of Authors