Ezekiel 11 Explained

Ezekiel 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet/priest Ezekiel, and is one of the Books of the Prophets.^[1] In this chapter, Ezekiel pronounces judgment on Jerusalem's "wicked counsellors" and promises that God will restore Israel.^[2]

Text

The original text was written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 25 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q73 (4QEzek; 50–25 BCE) with extant verses 1–3, 5–11;^{[3] [4]} and 11Q4 (11QEzek; 50 BCE–50 CE) with the extant verse 19.^{[3] [5]}

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B;

ak{G} ^B; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; ak{G} ^A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; ak{G} ^Q; 6th century).

Evil in high places (11:1–12)

Verse 1

Moreover the spirit lifted me up,

and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh eastward:

and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men;

among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur,

and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.^[6] In his vision, Ezekiel moves from the northern gateway of the temple's inner court (8:3 9, 14) to the east gate. The 25 men who are assembled there are "evidently a separate group" from the group of "about twenty-five men" who assembled at the inner court's northern entrance (8:16 9),^[7] as this group are condemned for their wicked counsel whereas the earlier group are condemned for their sun-worship.

• "Jaazaniah, the son of Azur" is not to be confused with "Jaazaniah, the son of Saphan", mentioned in Ezekiel 8:11. A seal dated to 7th century BC with the name "Jaazaniah" has been found, although the exact identification to which Jaazaniah is difficult.
• "Pelatiah" (Hebrew: פלטיהו ; Greek: Φαλτιας, Φαλεττι(α); Pelatyahu or Pelatyah): means "whom Jehovah delivered". His death, which occurred on hearing Ezekiel's prophecy, is noted in Ezekiel 11:13.^[8]

A promise of restoration (11:13–21)

Verse 13

Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?”^[9]

• "While I was prophesying" is interpreted as "as soon as I had finished" in the Easy-to-Read Version.^[10]
• "Pelatiah the son of Benaiah": Mentioned in Ezekiel 11:1 as a 'principal man among the twenty-five princes, who made all the mischief in Jerusalem' (cf. Ezekiel 11:2). Although it seems to be a vision at the time (as the slaying of the ancient men in Ezekiel 9:6), but it was a prophecy that would be done in fact, so the prophet thought this as a part of the common destruction on all the inhabitants of the Jerusalem, and he 'earnestly deprecated' that severe judgment (cf. Ezekiel 9:8).^[11]

God’s glory leaves Jerusalem (11:22–24)

Verse 22

Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.^[12]

• "Cherub" (Hebrew: כרוב ; plural: Cherubim) is defined in Brown-Driver-Briggs as "the living chariot of the theophanic God". Lutheran theologian Wilhelm Gesenius describes it as "a being of a sublime and celestial nature".

Verse 23

And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city,

and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.^[13]

• "Glory" (Hebrew: כבוד ): among other meanings of the Hebrew word, "abundance, riches" or "honour, splendour", which accompanies or surrounds the presence of God (YHWH) as in 2 Exodus; 2 1 Kings; 2 Isaiah; Ezekiel 1:28, compared to 2 Luke.
• The "mountain which is on the east side of the city": is interpreted by New Oxford Annotated Bible as "the Mount of Olives".^[14]

Verse 24

Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me.^[15] Some versions refer to Babylonia rather than Chaldea.^[16] The International Standard Version explains that at this point, "the vision that I had been observing ended",^[17] concluding an account which commenced in chapter 8.

See also

• Cherub
• Jaazaniah the son of Azur
• Jerusalem
• Pelatiah the son of Benaiah
• Judah
• Mercy seat
• Shekinah
• Temple of Solomon
• Related Bible parts: Leviticus 18, Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1, Luke 2, Romans 12

Bibliography

• Book: Bromiley , Geoffrey W. . International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: vol. iv, Q-Z. 1995. Eerdmans. 9780802837844.
• Book: Brown. Francis. Briggs. Charles A.. Driver. S. R. . The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. 1994. reprint. Hendrickson Publishers. 978-1565632066.
• Book: Clements , Ronald E . Ezekiel. Westminster John Knox Press. 1996. 9780664252724.
• Book: Fitzmyer, Joseph A.. A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Joseph Fitzmyer . William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 2008 . 9780802862419 . Grand Rapids, MI . February 15, 2019.
• Book: Gesenius , H. W. F. . Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures: Numerically Coded to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, with an English Index.. Tregelles. Samuel Prideaux. 1979. 7th. Baker Book House.
• Book: Joyce , Paul M. . Ezekiel: A Commentary. Continuum. 2009. 9780567483614.
• Book: Ulrich. Eugene. The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. 2010. Brill.
• Book: Würthwein, Ernst . Ernst Würthwein . The Text of the Old Testament . Wm. B. Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 1995 . Erroll F.. Rhodes . 0-8028-0788-7 . January 26, 2019.

External links

Jewish

• Ezekiel 11 Hebrew with Parallel English
• Ezekiel 11 Hebrew with Rashi's Commentary

Christian

• Ezekiel 11 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate

Notes and References

1. Theodore Hiebert et al, 1996, The New Interpreter's Bible: Volume VI. Nashville: Abingdon
2. Section headings in the New King James Version
3. https://thewaytoyahuweh.com/dead-sea-scrolls/general-info/#ezekiel Dead sea scrolls - Ezekiel
4. https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q73-1 4Q73 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
5. https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/11Q4-1 11Q4 - 11QEzek at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
6. 11:1 KJV KJV
7. Galambush, Julie (2007), 25. Ezekiel in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 541-542
8. [Charles Ellicott|Ellicott, C. J.]
9. 2 Ezekiel

   NKJV

10. 2 Ezekiel

    ERV

11. Benson, Joseph. Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. Ezekiel 11. Accessed 9 Juli 2019.
12. 11:22 KJV KJV
13. 11:23 KJV KJV
14. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Editors. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2007. pp. 1193-1194 Hebrew Bible.
15. 2 Ezekiel NKJV
16. E.g. the New International Version
17. 2 Ezekiel

    ISV