Ezekiel: Priest, Prophet, Visionary (BA9321C)

Postgraduate, 24.0 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 chapters 40-48. This unit will examine these three great visions in the Book in 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: BA9321C

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Old Testament

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

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

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

Critically evaluate Ezekiel’s theology of divine presence/absence as the unifying theme of the vision narratives
4.

Demonstrate advanced exegetical skills in reading and interpreting select texts from the book of Ezekiel
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

BA8001C and BN8001C

Pedagogy

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.
  • Cook, Stephen L. Ezekiel 38–48: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Yale Bible 22B. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018.
  • 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.
  • Sweeney, Marvin A. Reading Ezekiel: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Reading the Old Testament Series. Macon: Smyth and Helwys, 2013. [ebook available]
  • 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 (%)
Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper

2000-word seminar paper

 2000 30.0
Essay

5000-word essay

 5000 70.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Maggie Kappelhoff on 19 Jul, 2021

Unit record last updated: 2021-07-19 12:59:35 +1000