"Son of Man Set Your Face", Ezekiel the Refugee Prophet
An examination of the idiom "Set your face toward" suggests a new solution for the problem of the locales of the prophet Ezekiel. In the light of Ugaritic and other ancient texts, this is seen as the idiom of dispatch. With the help of this and other clues, one may reconstruct the travels...
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
College
1983
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
Year: 1983, Volume: 54, Pages: 83-110 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Son of Man
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| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | An examination of the idiom "Set your face toward" suggests a new solution for the problem of the locales of the prophet Ezekiel. In the light of Ugaritic and other ancient texts, this is seen as the idiom of dispatch. With the help of this and other clues, one may reconstruct the travels of Ezekiel. From 592-587, he labored in Palestine; but from 587-568, in the nearby diaspora: Transjordan, Phoenicia, and Egypt. Nebuchadrezzar's invasion of Egypt in 568 was the occasion for his leading a new exodus of Jewish refugees back to the land of Israel by way of Edom. By the thirtieth year of King Jehoiachin's exile, he was back home where he had his vision of resurrected bones. An intriguing question is whether Ezekiel ever went to Babylon. The answer to that question depends upon whether one will follow Louis Finkelstein in interpreting Magog (38:2) as a cypher for Babel, toward which the prophet was to set his face. However, 38:1 — 39:16 is of doubtful genuineness and more probably refers to Alexander the Great. The Judean locale of Ezekiel was in part concealed by a midrashic editing which transformed references to Gilgal (הגלגלה) into references to the exile (הגולה). |
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| ISSN: | 0360-9049 |
| Contains: | In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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