RT Article
T1 Ezekiel's immobility and the meaning of ‘the house of Judah' in Ezekiel 4
JF Journal for the study of the Old Testament
VO 44
IS 1
SP 182
OP 197
A1 Crouch, Carly L. 1982-
LA English
PB Sage
YR 2019
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1686958110
AB Ezekiel 4.4-6 recounts a sign-act in which the prophet is instructed to lie first on his left side and then on his right, to symbolise the עוןof the house of Israel and the עוןof the house of Judah. The interpretive crux of the passage concerns the identification of ‘the house of Israel’ and ‘the house of Judah’, usually understood as either the northern and southern kingdoms or as interchangeable terms for the same entity. This article challenges the assumptions about Israel and Judah which underlie these interpretations, re-examining the terms’ use in the immediate and wider contexts in order to argue that the condemnation of the house of Judah in 4.6 extends a sign-act originally concerned only with the inhabitants of Jerusalem to the inhabitants of the country as a whole. The interpretation explains the specifications of ‘left’ and ‘right’ and the significance of the 40 years allotted to Judah, as well as enabling a consistent meaning for the key term עון.
K1 Ezekiel
K1 House of Israel
K1 House of Judah
K1 sign-acts
DO 10.1177/0309089218778591