An Anthropological Analysis of Ezekiel 13:17–21
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Jeanine Mukaminega
Abstract
Ezekiel 13:17-21 is an oracle against “those who prophesy of their own will, hamitnab’wot.” The oracle is one of the several biblical negative voices towards women. This chapter examines the anthropological portrait of the oracle’s characters by scrutiny of its semantics. It aims for a theological renewal of biblical reading for the 21st century, with its multicultural communities and its intersectional individual identities. After an overview of the questions and results of previous studies relating to gender, phenomenology, and links with Ancient Near East documents, the chapter analyses three aspects of the passage that have been little or not at all addressed: the hypothesis of the influence of ancient Egyptian prophetic texts, the anthropology conveyed by the oracle’s semantics, and the blindness of traditional hermeneutics to prophetic oracles’ negative anthropological view. Instead of a hermeneutic that aligns itself with the worldview of the Bible’s scribe and that agrees with the semantic tools discrediting its opponents, the chapter argues for a new awareness of the voices silenced in Ezekiel, and for a reading that recognizes the cultural, anthropological, and theological diversity of the Bible.
Abstract
Ezekiel 13:17-21 is an oracle against “those who prophesy of their own will, hamitnab’wot.” The oracle is one of the several biblical negative voices towards women. This chapter examines the anthropological portrait of the oracle’s characters by scrutiny of its semantics. It aims for a theological renewal of biblical reading for the 21st century, with its multicultural communities and its intersectional individual identities. After an overview of the questions and results of previous studies relating to gender, phenomenology, and links with Ancient Near East documents, the chapter analyses three aspects of the passage that have been little or not at all addressed: the hypothesis of the influence of ancient Egyptian prophetic texts, the anthropology conveyed by the oracle’s semantics, and the blindness of traditional hermeneutics to prophetic oracles’ negative anthropological view. Instead of a hermeneutic that aligns itself with the worldview of the Bible’s scribe and that agrees with the semantic tools discrediting its opponents, the chapter argues for a new awareness of the voices silenced in Ezekiel, and for a reading that recognizes the cultural, anthropological, and theological diversity of the Bible.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Foreword VII
- Scripture and Theology in Context: An Introduction 1
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Part 1: Scripture and the Web of Meanings
- An Anthropological Analysis of Ezekiel 13:17–21 35
- Messiahs and Redeemer Figures in Postexilic Texts 57
- Early Divine Christology: Scripture, Narrativity and Confession in Luke-Acts 89
- Why is the New Testament Called “New Testament”? 119
- Disassembling Provenance: Origin Stories and Why They Matter for Scripture 149
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Part 2: The Bible at Work: Historical Case Studies
- Power Dynamics in the Preached Word: A Fourth Century Case Study 165
- Augustine without a Theodicy of a Condemning God 195
- Philosophy in Aquinas’ Exegetical Work and Its Meta-Theological Implications 235
- Hamann between Luther and Hume 261
- Let Everything that Hath Breath Praise the Lord 283
- The Divine Forwards: Karl Barth’s Early Exegesis of the Pauline Epistles 305
- Karl Rahner’s Use of the Bible 327
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Part 3: Informing Theological Discourse: Systematic Perspectives
- Canonical Theology, Social Location and the Search for Global Theological Method 345
- Quadriga without Platonism 375
- Reinventing the Quadriga 397
- The Theological Art of Scriptural Interpretation: Lessons from von Balthasar 415
- The Holy Scriptures as a Recognition- and Witnessing-Authority 433
- The Relationship of Scripture and Tradition in the Light of God’s Revelation 453
- Deriving Theology from Scripture 473
- List of Contributors 487
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Foreword VII
- Scripture and Theology in Context: An Introduction 1
-
Part 1: Scripture and the Web of Meanings
- An Anthropological Analysis of Ezekiel 13:17–21 35
- Messiahs and Redeemer Figures in Postexilic Texts 57
- Early Divine Christology: Scripture, Narrativity and Confession in Luke-Acts 89
- Why is the New Testament Called “New Testament”? 119
- Disassembling Provenance: Origin Stories and Why They Matter for Scripture 149
-
Part 2: The Bible at Work: Historical Case Studies
- Power Dynamics in the Preached Word: A Fourth Century Case Study 165
- Augustine without a Theodicy of a Condemning God 195
- Philosophy in Aquinas’ Exegetical Work and Its Meta-Theological Implications 235
- Hamann between Luther and Hume 261
- Let Everything that Hath Breath Praise the Lord 283
- The Divine Forwards: Karl Barth’s Early Exegesis of the Pauline Epistles 305
- Karl Rahner’s Use of the Bible 327
-
Part 3: Informing Theological Discourse: Systematic Perspectives
- Canonical Theology, Social Location and the Search for Global Theological Method 345
- Quadriga without Platonism 375
- Reinventing the Quadriga 397
- The Theological Art of Scriptural Interpretation: Lessons from von Balthasar 415
- The Holy Scriptures as a Recognition- and Witnessing-Authority 433
- The Relationship of Scripture and Tradition in the Light of God’s Revelation 453
- Deriving Theology from Scripture 473
- List of Contributors 487
