Ezekiel's God (BA3320C)

Undergraduate, 18.0 points

Content

Ezekiel was a prophet of the Exile. His intended audience was not only the exilic community in Babylon but also the remnant community in Jerusalem after 597 BCE. His prophetic language is highly imaginative and visual. The Book of Ezekiel shows great interest in the cult, ritual and the priesthood of the Jerusalem Temple. The Book contains three great visions in narrative form: the call of the prophet in chapters 1-3; the departure of the divine presence from the doomed temple in Jerusalem in chapters 8-11; and the vision of the new sanctuary of God in the prolonged narrative in chapters 40-48. This unit will examine these three great visions in the Book in some detail. The visions offer a sustained and unique insight into Ezekiel’s understanding of God, both in terms of divine presence and divine absence, and how God is to be worshipped in the new circumstances of exile. The visions offer new hope for a different future.

Unit code: BA3320C

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 3

Unit discipline: Old Testament

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Indicate a broad knowledge of the background of the Book of Ezekiel in terms of the Jerusalem cult and priesthood in the immediate pre-exilic period
2.

Describe the principal narrative features of the three vision accounts
3.

Formulate several of the key features of Ezekiel’s theology of divine presence/absence
4.

Demonstrate key exegetical skills in reading and interpreting the three texts
5.

Appraise and contrast the varied interpretations of the texts in the secondary literature, thus demonstrating the capacity to deal with a range of approaches to the text.

Unit sequence

BS1001C and BS1002C, and two Biblical studies units at second level

Pedagogy

Intensive 6 hours per day over six sessions Lectures, seminars, interactive class work, research projects

Indicative Bibliography

  • Block, Daniel. The Book of Ezekiel: Chapters 1-24. NICOT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.
  • ––– The Book of Ezekiel: Chapters 25-48. NICOT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.
  • Bowen, Nancy R. Ezekiel. Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010.
  • Duguid, Iain M. Ezekiel and the Leaders of Israel. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994.
  • Hiebel, Janina M. Ezekiel’s Vision Accounts as Interrelated Narratives: A Redaction-critical and Theological Study. BZAW 475. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015.
  • Joyce, Paul M. Ezekiel: A Commentary. New York: T. & T. Clark, 2007.
  • Kutsko, John. Between Heaven and Earth: Divine Presence and Absence in the Book of Ezekiel. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2000.
  • Odell, Margaret S. Ezekiel. Macon: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2005.
  • Tuell, Steven. Ezekiel. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009.
  • Zimmerli, Walther. Ezekiel 1: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel: Chapters 1-24. Edited by Frank Moore Cross and Klaus Baltzer. Translated by Ronald E. Clements. Hermeneia series. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979.
  • ––– Ezekiel 2: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel: Chapters 25-48. Edited by Paul D. Hanson. Translated by James D. Marlin. Hermeneia series. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

3,500 -word essay

 0 70.0
Seminar or Tutorial

1,500-word seminar paper

 0 30.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 1 Nov, 2016

Unit record last updated: 2019-09-02 16:27:46 +1000