Table Of ContentTovaGanzel
Ezekiel’sVisionaryTempleinBabylonianContext
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift
für die alttestamentliche
Wissenschaft
Edited by
John Barton, Reinhard G. Kratz, Nathan MacDonald,
Sara Milstein and Markus Witte
Volume 539
Tova Ganzel
Ezekiel’s Visionary
Temple in Babylonian
Context
ThisresearchwassupportedbytheISRAELSCIENCEFOUNDATION(grantNo.1608/15).
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
1 Ezekiel’sTempleVision:AnIntroduction 1
1.1 Ezekiel’sVisionaryTemple 1
1.2 Ezekiel’sVisionthroughtheLensofHisMilieu 4
1.3 TheTempleVisionasaUnit 7
1.4 ALookAhead 10
2 StudyingtheBookofEzekielinItsBabylonianContext 12
2.1 TheJudeanExilesinBabylonia 12
2.2 BabylonianTempleSources:AnOverview 21
2.3 TheJudeanExilesinPrimaryandSecondarySources 23
2.4 TheTempleVisionandtheBabylonianTemples 29
3 TheLanguageoftheTempleVision 30
3.1 TheLanguageofBabylonia:ATransitionalPeriod 30
3.2 TheLanguageoftheJudeanExiles 33
3.3 LinguisticInfluencesintheTemplePlan 37
3.4 TheNameoftheTemple 42
3.5 TheNameoftheCity 48
4 Ezekiel’sTempleCompoundandtheWorldofBabylonian
Temples 53
4.1 TheVisionaryTemple 53
4.2 TheIsraeliteForerunnersoftheVisionaryTemple 55
4.3 TheStructureofNeo-BabylonianTemples 59
4.4 TheStructureandDimensionsoftheVisionaryTempleinIts
Context 62
4.5 TempleMythologyandItsParallels 81
5 Officials’RolesintheTempleVision 93
5.1 ARestructuredHierarchy 93
5.2 Neo-BabylonianTempleFunctionaries 95
5.3 Ezekiel’sPriestsandLevites 101
5.4 TheNasi 126
vi Contents
6 First-MonthTempleRitualsinEzekiel’sVision 131
6.1 First-MonthTempleRitualsinEzekiel 131
6.2 TheAkītuofNisannuinBabylon 138
6.3 Ezekiel’sPurificationCeremony 141
6.4 AnOverarchingGoal:PreservingtheTemple’sSanctity 146
7 Conclusion 150
Bibliography 153
AbbreviationsofPeriodicals,ReferenceWorks,andSeries 171
IndexofSources 173
IndexofModernAuthors 179
SubjectIndex 183
Acknowledgements
Thisvolumeisanoutgrowthofmyearlierresearch,originallypublishedasan
articlecoauthoredwithShalomE.Holtz:“Ezekiel’sTempleinBabylonianCon-
text.”1 My initial draft was written after reading Caroline Waerzeggers’s book,
The Ezida Temple of Borsippa.2 This was my first acquaintance with a compre-
hensivedescriptionofafunctioningNeo-Babyloniantemple,anditdrovemeto
dig into detailed descriptions of Neo-Babylonian temples. This initial research
developed into an Israel Science Foundation grant (no. 1608/15), which I sub-
mittedinconsultationwithKathleenAbraham.MythanksareduetoKathleen,
adearteacherandcolleague;itistoherthatIowemyinitialacquaintancewith
the Ancient Near East. Kathleen later introduced me to Yuval Levavi, then just
finishing his doctoral work under Michael Jursa. As my research evolved, Yu-
val’scontributiontotheprojectincreased.Yuval’scontributionwasnotlimited
tothecollectionandthoroughevaluationoftherelevantNeo-Babyloniantexts;
healsoexaminedmycomparisonsofthevisionarytempleinEzekieltotheNeo-
Babyloniantemplesandfine-tunedmydescriptionsofthepracticeintheBaby-
loniantemplesthroughoutthebook.Chapter2,section2.3,“TheJudeanExiles
inPrimaryandSecondarySources,”waswrittenprimarilybyYuval.
Shalom Holtz, Michael Lyons, and Corrine Carvalho kindly read the full
draftofthevolume,andtheirvaluablesuggestionsandcommentsareincorpo-
ratedineverychapter.IamgratefultoShalom,Michael,andCorriforthetime
theydevotedtothemanuscriptandfortheirconstantwillingnesstoread,com-
ment,andilluminate.
DeenaGlickman,thebook’seditor,editedthevolumethoroughlyandsys-
tematically time and again. I thank her for her nuanced reading; her editing
constitutedasignificantcontributiontothebook’sfinaledition.
My thanks are extended, too, to the many teachers and colleagues who
have influenced this work by reading a chapter or discussing the book’s argu-
ments with me over the past few years: Shawn Zelig Aster, Elisheva Baumgar-
ten,JonathanBen-Dov,MarcBrettler,SimeonChavel,RaananEichler,Avraham
Faust,UriGabbay,EdGreenstein,PaulJoyce,MichaelJursa,NealKozodoy,Yi-
galLevin,BenjaminSommer,JeffreyStackert,DavidVanderhooft,andCaroline
Waerzeggers.Inaddition,IwouldliketothankthededicatedstaffintheJewish
StudiesReadingRoomattheHebrewUniversity.Mysincereapologiesandgrati-
VetusTestamentum64(2014):211–26.
The Ezida Temple of Borsippa: Priesthood, Cult, Archives, Achaemenid History 15 (Leiden:
NederlandsInstituutvoorhetNabijeOosten,2010).
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110740844-201
viii Acknowledgements
tude go to those whose names I have neglected to mention. Over the years, I
havepresentedmyresearchatconferencesandlectures,anddifferentversionsof
someofthechapterswerepublishedinjournals:“Ezekiel’sTempleinBabylonian
Context.” Vetus Testamentum 64 (2014): 211–226. Co-author: Shalom E. Holtz;
“AndtheNameoftheCityfromThatDayOn:‘YHWHisThere’(Ezek.48:35):A
New Interpretation.” Vetus Testamentum 70 (2019): 1–8; “Priests, Levites, and
the Nasi: New Roles in Ezekiel’s Future Temple.” In The Oxford Handbook of
Ezekiel, ed. Corrine Carvalho (Oxford, 2020), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/
9780190634513.013.8;“First-MonthRitualsinEzekiel’sTempleVision:APenta-
teuchal and Babylonian Comparison.” CBQ 83 (2021), pp. 390–406. The re-
sponses to my lectures and the reviewers’ comments and suggestions to my
initial versions have contributed substantially to this publication, and I thank
them all greatly – though the responsibility for the material here is mine and
minealone.
Mygreatestdebt,however,istomyhusband,Chezi(shortforEzekiel),and
to our children, David, Rinat, Zuri, Tal, Noga, Malachi, and Hallel, for their
patience and support; to paraphrase Rabbi Akiva’s fitting words: "םכלשו ילש
.(א"ע ,נ םירדנ ,ילבב דומלת) "אוה םהלש
Jerusalem,January2021 TovaGanzel
1 Ezekiel’s Temple Vision: An Introduction
. Ezekiel’s Visionary Temple
Ezekiel’s visionary temple holds a unique place within the biblical canon. As
revealed in its text, Ezekiel’s persona bridges two roles – priest and prophet –
at a momentous period, that of the Temple’s destruction and the exile. The vi-
sionarytempleisexceptionalinthepropheticliteraturebothinitssubjectmat-
ter and in its detailed and methodological descriptions. The vision represents
theonlyinstanceinthebiblicalsourcesinwhichaprophetlaysoutacompre-
hensivesystem ofrulesand regulationsthatareparallel to,yetdifferent from,
thosesetforthintheothertexts.
Thelastninechapters ofthebookofEzekielbegin bynotingthedate:“In
the twenty-fifth year of our exile, the fourteenth year after the city had fallen,
at the beginning of the year, the tenth day of the month” (40:1). Besides the
chronological date (the tenth of Nisan in the year 573 BCE),1 this introduction
also indicates the significant dates of that period, which serve as markers for
counting years: the exile of Jehoiachin and the destruction. In fact, this is the
onlyprophecyinEzekielwhichisdatedinrelationtothedestruction.Through-
outthebook,EzekielcountsyearsbasedontheexileofJehoiachin,whichmay
attesttoitssignificanceasaturningpoint:fourteenyearsafterthedestruction
of Jerusalem, its grave ramifications are seeping into the consciousness of the
exilesinBabylonia.ManywereexiledwithJehoiachinpriortothedestruction,
and therefore largely cut off from what was happening in the land of Israel.
PerhapswithnewexilesjoiningtheircommunitiesinBabylonia,thecommuni-
ty may have begun to internalize the significance of the Temple’s destruction
in Jerusalem. It may be no coincidence that Ezekiel’s prophecy of a visionary
temple comes once the nation has become accustomed to the reality of life in
exile. In their new reality, the exiles are left uncertain about their future and
theirstatus.
To our knowledge, this prophecy may have been a lone voice, making it a
prophecy of great significance. This is emphasized by the text itself: “On that
verydaythehandoftheLordcameuponme,andHebroughtmethere”(40:1).
The prophet’s vision is of his return to the land of Israel: “He brought me, in
visionsofGod,tothelandofIsrael,andHesetmeonanextremelyhighmoun-
Throughoutthevolume,werefertomonthsbytheirnumbers,unlesswearequotingfrom
the biblical verses or the Assyrian texts (in which case the quote will reflect what is in the
original).
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110740844-001
2 1 Ezekiel’sTempleVision:AnIntroduction
tain on which there was a structure like of a city to the south” (40:2). The de-
scription of the place where he is set down gives no indication as to whether
the prophecy is referring to somewhere within the boundaries of the city of
Jerusalemorelsewhere;thedescriptionsof“landofIsrael,”“anextremelyhigh
mountain,”“astructurelikeofacity,”and“tothesouth”arevague.Isthecity
Jerusalem? We are left with no answer. The question is even intensified in the
followingchapters,whichmakenoexplicitmentionofthecity’sname.Immedi-
atelyuponarrivalintheunnamedcity,theprophetseesamanwhosejobisto
measure, using a thread of flax and a measuring rod (40:3–4). God brings the
prophet to the place where the land surveyor awaits him and emphasizes the
importanceofconveyingtheupcomingvisiontoallofIsrael.2
From chapter 40, the units of this distinctive vision describe the temple
complex (40:1–43:12). These verses present a multitude of difficulties. At first
theprophetoutlinesthedimensionsofthewallsurroundingthetempleandof
the eastern gate (40:5–16). The prophet then describes the dimensions of the
outer courtyard and the gates (the northern gate, the southern gate, and the
innercourtgate;40:17–37).Theendofchapter40includesadescriptionofthe
burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering upon tables at the entry
to the northern gate, as well as the chambers of the priests who “keep the
charge of the temple” and “keep the charge of the altar” (40:38–46). These
priestsarehenceforthreferredtoas“thedescendantsofZadok,who,outofthe
descendants of Levi, may approach YHWH to serve Him” (40:46). In verse 48,
the prophet moves on to a description of the inner plan of the temple. He first
describestheporch(40:48–49),followedbytheholyofholies,theinnercham-
ber,andthedecorationsonthewalls(41:1–26).Inthemidstofthisdescription
the prophet notes the wooden altar and the table (41:22). In chapter 42, the
prophetisbroughttotheoutercourtyard,wherehedescribesthechambersin
between the outer courtyard and the inner one as well as the holy chambers
(42:1–14). The chambers are meant to be places where the priests can eat the
sacrificial meat and change their garments. Emphasized here is the distance
between the priests (and their garments) on one hand, and the people, on the
other. The people are not involved with the sacrifices in these verses, nor do
they even see the priests in the garments in which they minister. This section
ofthetempletourconcludeswithadescriptionoftheperimeteroftheTemple
Mountandthewallaroundthetemple(42:15–20).
Therootה"אר(tosee,look,show,appear)isrepeatedfivetimesoverthecourseofthese
twoverses,alongwithamentionofeyes.Thisemphasisisapparentlymeanttoconveythe
importanceofpassingonthevisionpreciselyastheprophethasseenit.
