Ezekiel
A Focused Commentary for Preaching and Teaching
John W. Hilber
EZEKIEL
A Focused Commentary for Preaching and Teaching
Copyright © 2019 John W. Hilber. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
Cascade Books
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3
Eugene, OR 97401
www.wipfandstock.com
paperback isbn: 978-1-4982-9421-8
hardcover isbn: 978-1-4982-9423-2
ebook isbn: 978-1-4982-9422-5
Cataloging-in-Publication data:
Names: Hilber, John W. (John Walter), author.
Title: Ezekiel : a focused commentary for preaching and teaching / John W. Hilber.
Description: Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: ISBN: 978-1-4982-9421-8 (paperback). | ISBN: 978-1-4982-9423-2 (hardcover). | ISBN: 978-1-4982-9422-5 (ebook).
Subjects: LCSH: Bible—Ezekiel—Commentaries.
Classification: BS1545.3 H47 2019 (print). | BS1545.3 (epub).
Manufactured in the U.S.A. October 10, 2019
Scripture quotations that head verse divisions and those marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016.
Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.
Scripture quotations marked (NET) are taken from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996–2016 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. Used by permission. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NJPS) are taken from the TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures: the new JPS translation according to the traditional Hebrew text, copyright © 1985. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Unless indicated, other translations are my own.
For Charlotte,
my wise and faithful ally
Preface and Acknowledgments
When wrestling with the task of preaching and teaching, it is essential to attend to the main point and key themes that drive the main point of each passage. No one likes their words to be taken out of context, and this holds true for the biblical authors. The primary goal of this commentary is to focus attention on what mattered most to Ezekiel and to craft a direction and scope of application that the prophet himself would recognize were he to preach to God’s people today. A discussion of the interpretive model behind this can be found in the Bridge to Application section of the Introduction.
The English-speaking world is blessed with an abundance of good Bible translations. However, as many people are aware, these translations do not always align. The preacher or teacher who cannot work directly with the Hebrew text has difficulty taking this into account in exposition. So, in addition to focusing on the most urgent interpretive issues of the text, another goal of this commentary is to explain in simple terms the reasons behind significant translation differences. The NIV text heads each verse-section of the commentary as the starting point for discussion. Other translations are brought into discussion where relevant.1 Embedded in some verses in Ezekiel are particularly complicated or troubling biblical-theological issues. Hence, special topical discussions address these at appropriate locations throughout the commentary. Throughout the writing of the commentary, I continually asked myself—If I were teaching this passage, what would I most need to understand, and how is it relevant to modern times?
This commentary “began life” as part of the Teach the Text series for Baker Publishing, before the series was unfortunately discontinued. My thanks to John H. Walton for casting the wonderful vision for that series and asking me to undertake Ezekiel. There are many good commentary series in print, but few offer the clear guidance and methodological consistency for bridging the gap between interpretation and application that Walton envisioned. I also thank Cascade Books for their willingness to pick up an “orphaned” commentary that was half-way complete at the time! My editor, K. C. Hanson, deserves praise for bringing better clarity in many places.
This is not a technical commentary. But the discerning reader will observe in the footnotes that I have benefited greatly from two technical commentaries in particular. Moshe Greenberg’s Anchor Bible commentary and Daniel Block’s commentary in the New International Commentary: Old Testament were my faithful companions throughout. Special thanks are in order to Stephen Cook, who graciously gave me prepublication access to his wonderful volume on Ezek 38—48, which completes the Anchor Bible commentary on Ezekiel. If the reader is interested in more comprehensive treatment of the many difficulties in the book of Ezekiel, he or she can do no better than consult these works, which are in many ways quite accessible for the average pastor or serious lay teacher. Often my foototes guide the reader to the appropriate pages of these commentaries. Finding help with questions on cultural background is often difficult, and so the reader is frequently directed in the footnotes to Daniel Bodi’s treatment of Ezekiel in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. This series makes an excellent companion for study, especially for its many visual aids and citations of ancient texts from the world of the Old Testament that enrich our understanding of the Bible. The electronic edition of this resource allows use of its rich visual images.
My thanks extend especially to my wife, Charlotte, who not only endured
