The Glory Of Yahweh Name Theology And Ezekiel S Understanding Of Divine Presence

This book is the author's doctoral dissertation, made available here directly by the author. This dissertation is also available on the ProQuest Dissertations database under the title, "The Glory of Yahweh, Name Theology, and Ezekiel's Understanding of Divine Presence" (2011). The work looks at two different biblical conceptions of how divine presence operates. Through Ezekiel's portrayal of the Glory of Yahweh, the prophet offers an understanding of earthly divine presence that differs in important ways from how the divine presence is understood in Deuteronomistic thought. From his exile in Babylonia in the sixth century B.C.E., Ezekiel depicts God's Glory with no exclusive connection to the Temple or the land. The Glory vacates the Temple to allow for its destruction and appears in Babylonia, where God disputes the contention that the exiles are now far from him. This schema contrasts sharply with the Deuteronomistic theology of the one "chosen place." Ezekiel's portrait of the Glory finds its inspiration in the Priestly account of the Exodus wanderings before the Tabernacle's existence. In Priestly tradition, this was the only time the Glory ever appeared outside a sanctified structure. These appearances occurred outside Israel, while the people were dislocated, without a physical sanctuary - a situation homologous to Ezekiel's own.

How is Yahweh to be differentiated from other deities? What is Yahweh's relationship to Israel in exile?".

This powerful collection of essays focuses on the representation of God in the Book of Ezekiel. With topics spanning across projections of God, through to the implications of these creations, the question of the divine presence in Ezekiel is explored. Madhavi Nevader analyses Divine Sovereignty and its relation to creation, while Dexter E. Callender Jnr and Ellen van Wolde route their studies in the image of God, as generated by the character of Ezekiel. The assumption of the title is then inverted, as Stephen L. Cook writes on 'The God that the Temple Blueprint Creates', which is taken to its other extreme by Marvin A. Sweeney in his chapter on 'The Ezekiel that God Creates', and finds a nice reconciliation in Daniel I. Block's chapter, 'The God Ezekiel Wants Us to Meet.' Finally, two essays from Christian biblical scholar Nathan MacDonald and Jewish biblical scholar, Rimon Kasher, offer a reflection on the essays about Ezekiel and his God.

Pikor anaylzes the land of Israel in the book of Ezekiel showing how its preoccupation with the Babylonian exile and the loss of the Promised Land that this entails is directly linked to the danger this poses to Israel's covenant with God. Pikor examines the motif of land in its literary and historical contexts and in relation to the oracles of salvation in chapters 34-39 as well as the vision of the new Israel and the return of Yahweh's Glory to the temple. Pikor begins by examining the motif of land in its literary and historical contexts. The main body of the book then addresses specific sections of Ezekiel. Chapter two analyzes the oracles of punishment addressed to Israel, in which the land undergoes a process of anthropomorphization. Chapter three situates the punishment experienced by Ezekiel and his listeners in a broader historical context suggested by the prophet in Ezekiel 20. Chapter four analyses the oracles of salvation in Ezekiel 34–39, in which the restoration of the land of Israel remains intertwined with the promise of the new covenant. Finally, chapter five addresses the closing vision of the new Israel (Ezekiel 40–48), which is characterized by the territorial dimension of the future restoration. This feature is shown via analysis of the rhetoric of the land, the crucial element of which is the return of Yahweh's Glory to the temple. God's presence adds sacral value to the land in which his covenant with his people is to be realized. The covenant will be finalized through Israel's repopulation of the renewed land.

Delve into Ezekiel’s tumultuous world, discovering his role as YHWH’s מוֹפֵת, a unique ‘sign’, among many others, and a divine communicator. Does the Exile’s trauma find an ‘ameliorating’ perspective through Ezekiel’s symbolic actions and identity? From temple absence to YHWH’s ‘glory’ departure, from loss and prohibited grief to intermittent mutism, is Ezekiel a response to a communication crisis between YHWH and Israel? Uncover how מוֹפֵת’s elusive meaning sheds light on Ezekiel’s role as an ‘embodiment’ of YHWH’s presence, a bridge in YHWH’s intricate relationship with Israel. Through meticulous exegesis and linguistic-theological analysis, you will experience afresh Ezekiel’s narrative and theology.

This book unlocks the Jewish theology of YHWH in three central stages of Jewish thought: the Hebrew bible, rabbinic literature, and medieval philosophy and mysticism. Providing a single conceptual key adapted from the philosophical debate on proper names, the book paints a dynamic picture of YHWH’s meanings over a spectrum of periods and genres, portraying an evolving interaction between two theological motivations: the wish to speak about God and the wish to speak to Him. Through this investigation, the book shows how Jews interpreted God's name in attempt to map the human-God relation, and to determine the measure of possibility for believers to realize a divine presence in their midst, through language.

Jason Gile argues that the ideas of Deuteronomy influenced Ezekiel's response to the crisis surrounding the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile in significant ways, shaping how he saw Israel's past history of rebellion against Yahweh, present situation of divine judgment, and future hope of restoration. By examining Ezekiel's use of Deuteronomy's language and concepts, Gile stresses that the prophet not only accepted distinctive elements of Deuteronomic theology but in some cases drew from specific texts. The main body of this volume describes Deuteronomy's influence on Ezekiel under five main categories: Ezekiel's language and conception of idolatry, the rise and fall of Israel in chapter 16, Ezekiel's view of Israel's history in chapter 20, the scattering of Israel as an image for exile, and the related motif of gathering as an image for return to the land. Gile concludes that Ezekiel's use of its language for his messages of indictment, judgment, and hope shows that the prophet regarded Deuteronomy, along with the Holiness Code, as Yahweh's torah given to Israel in the wilderness.