Can These Bones Live? The Problem of the Moral Self in the Book of Ezekiel

222 Pages·2000·11.554 MB·English

by  Jacqueline E. Lapsley

Jacqueline E. Lapsley
Can These Bones Live?
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die
alttestamentüche Wissenschaft
Herausgegeben von
Otto Kaiser
Band 301
W
DE
G
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
2000
Jacqueline E. Lapsley
Can These Bones Live?
The Problem of the Moral Self
in the Book of Ezekiel
w
DE
G
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
2000
© Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI
to ensure permanence and durability.
Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
Lapsley, Jacqueline E.:
Can these bones live? : the problem of the moral self in the book of
Ezekiel / Jacqueline E. Lapsley. - Berlin ; New York : de Gruyter,
2000
(Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ;
Bd. 301)
Zugl.: Princeton, NJ, Univ., Diss.
ISBN 3-11-016997-5
© Copyright 2000 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin.
All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permis-
sion in writing from the publisher.
Printed in Germany
Cover design: Christopher Schneider, Berlin
Printing: Werner Hildebrand, Berlin
Binding: Lüderitz Sc Bauer-GmbH, Berlin
For Greg

Acknowledgments
Academic work can seem a solitary endeavor. Happily, I have discovered this to
be largely an illusion. At Emory I was especially blessed to have been among
scholars who think critically but creatively, and who seek to nurture intellectual
passions in themselves and others with integrity and with a sense of joy in
discovery. For teaching me much, challenging me often, and making graduate
school more fun than I had imagined, I thank my professors, John Hayes, Max
Miller, Gene Tucker, and Neal Walls, and classmates, Carleen Mandolfo, Tim
Sandoval, Amy Merrill Willis, and Armin Siedlecki. Graduate study has been an
excellent crucible for forging deep and lasting friendships.
I am grateful for the work of my dissertation committee: Martin Buss, for his
wide-ranging philosophical reflections, and his patience in letting me go my own
way. Timothy Jackson, for entire weekends consumed with E-mails on
philosophical matters and for his untiring energy and enthusiasm for sorting out
ethical categories, and for this project in general. Steve Kraftchick, for his
unflinching critical standards, for always asking the most difficult questions, and
for consistently having an open door and a listening ear over the years. The
generous and unfailing support of Carol Newsom, including careful and time-
consuming readings of these pages, has seen me through from beginning to end
on this project. The quality of her mind, the giftedness of her teaching, and the
generosity of her spirit are ever before me as reminders of what it is possible to
be as an intellectual, as a teacher, and as a human being.
I also want to thank Princeton Theological Seminary for making it possible
for me to work on my dissertation, including their continuing support of quality
and affordable daycare. The Biblical Department provided a warm and
encouraging welcome. I am especially grateful to Dennis Olson and Choon
Leong Seow for the loan of time-saving teaching materials, as well as to Patrick
Miller, Beverly Gaventa, and Katharine Sakenfeld for their very generous
counsel, support, and friendship. Thanks also go to Brian Alderman for help
with the Hebrew fonts, and to Bryan Bibb for his tireless formatting work.
Jim and Helen Lapsley have offered much love, encouragement, and
financial support over the years, for which I am grateful. My daughter Emma
rejuvenated my spirit daily by her presence. My greatest debt is to my beloved
husband, Greg Bezilla, who has lived through the writing of this work with
boundless grace and patience, and who has been a caring and loving spouse, as
well as a devoted father, throughout it all.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
I. Imagining the Moral Self 1
A. The Recurring Tension 1
B. The Tension in Ezekiel 3
C. Thesis Statement 6
II. Practical Matters 8
A. Terminology 8
B. Philosophical Assumptions 11
C. Unity, Authorship, Method 12
Chapter 2: A History of Scholarship 15
I. Early Concerns 17
A. Pre-Modern Period 17
B. Divine Sovereignty and Human Duty 18
II. Individualism 19
A. Ezekiel and the Triumph of Individualism 19
B. Critique of the Individualism Hypothesis 22
C. The Larger Goal of Language of the Individual 23
III. Wrestling with the Tension 26
A. Michael Fishbane 26
B. Paul Joyce 28
C. Gordon Matties 31
IV. A New Framework 35
A. Repentance and Determinism 35
B. Repentance and Determinism:
Recent Efforts to Confront the Tensions 37
Chapter 3: Biblical Portraits of the Human Moral Self Outside of Ezekiel. . 43
I. Virtuous Moral Selfhood: The Dominant View 45