Beyond the River Chebar: Studies in Kingship and Eschatology in the Book of Ezekiel

by Daniel I. Block

Overview

To many readers the book of Ezekiel is a hopeless riddle. However, if we took the time to study it, we would discover that despite the strangeness of the man and his utterances this is the most clearly organized of the major prophetic books. If we persisted, we would also discover that, from a rhetorical perspective, this priestly prophet knew his audience; he recognized in Judah's rebellion against YHWH the underlying cause of the divine fury that resulted in the exile of his people and the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BCE. But he also recognized that YHWH's judgment could not be the last word. Because his covenant was eternal and irrevocable he looked forward to a day of spiritual renewal and national restoration. This is the second of two volumes of Block's essays on the book of Ezekiel. The essays in this volume explore the theme of Kingship in Ezekiel - both his assessment of Judah's historical kings and his hope for a restored Davidic King/Prince - and the mysterious visions concerning Gog's attack on restored Israel (Ezek 38-39) and the new temple (40-48). Block brings to bear decades of study of the book to open up fresh insights on the ancient text.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781725248533
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	09/09/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Daniel I. Block is the Gunther H. Knoedler Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24 (1997), The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-48 (1998), Judges and Ruth (1999), "How I Love Your Torah, O LORD!" (2011), The Gospel according to Moses (2012), and Deuteronomy (2012).
Daniel I. Block is the Gunther H. Knoedler Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 1-24 (1997), The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-48 (1998), Judges and Ruth (1999), "How I Love Your Torah, O LORD!" (2011), The Gospel according to Moses (2012), and Deuteronomy (2012).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
Credits
List of Abbreviations
1 Zion Theology in the Book of Ezekiel
2 Transformation of Royal Ideology in Ezekiel
3 The Tender Cedar Sprig: Ezekiel on Jehoiachin
4 Bringing Back David: Ezekiel’s Messianic Hope
5 Gog and Magog in Ezekiel’s Eschatological Vision
6 Gog in Prophetic Tradition: A New Look at Ezekiel 38:17
7 Gog and the Pouring Out of the Spirit: Reflections on Ezekiel 39:21-29
8 Envisioning the Good News: Ten Interpretive Keys to Ezekiel’s Final Vision
9 Guarding the Glory of YHWH: Ezekiel’s Geography of Sacred Space
Bibliography
Index of Modern Authors
Index of Selected Subjects
Index of Scripture References

Editorial Reviews

This collection of essays demonstrates clearly why Block is one of the leading Ezekiel scholars of recent years. He succeeds in letting the audience participate in his deep familiarity with this biblical book and in transporting the prophet's message into contemporary times. With this two volumes, Block has produced a splendid tool for the Ezekiel scholar that lays a formidable foundation for further discussion and these volumes should not be lacking from any private or university library.Anja Klein, in "The expository Times", vol. 126, issue 5, February 2015The two volumes provide a thorough grounding in Block's scholarship, offering a resource for preaching and teaching Bible for those who want to draw upon scholarship as fundamental to the task of interpretation.Mary E Mills, Theological Book Review, volume 26, no 1, 2014

From the Publisher