Exilic Prophecy (Hebrew)

Our study of exilic prophecy will focus on the often-neglected book of Ezekiel. While this book offers a number of challenges for modern readers with its bizarre sign acts, oracles of judgment, and fantastic visions – these features communicate a unique and important message that should contribute to our picture of God and his relationship with his world. In particular, the book of Ezekiel portrays the holiness of God and the betrayal of his people in confronting and shocking language.

This unit will highlight relevant features of ancient Near East culture, particularly those associated with Babylon during the exilic period. A consistent focus of each lecture will be the rhetorical function of the book, where we will discuss how the text is designed to impact readers, both ancient and contemporary.