Texts in Conversation

In Genesis, God tells Noah that the end of all living things has come, then after the flood promises never to destroy the earth that way again. In Ezekiel he declares that same end on the four corners of Israel, this time with no promise to follow.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE

Genesis 6:13

Hebrew Bible
12 God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful. 13 So God said to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy them and the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and out.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)

Ezekiel 7:2

Hebrew Bible
1 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “You, son of man—this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land! 3 The end is now upon you, and I will release my anger against you. I will judge you according to your behavior; I will hold you accountable for all your abominable practices. 4 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare you. For I will hold you responsible for your behavior, and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. Then you will know that I am the Lord!
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References

#6191
"... This severe announcement of the “end,” that “has come,” is not only striking within the Priestly Document, but it is also dictated by a particular inner-biblical theological discussion. The Priestly Document enters into conversation with the prophecy of judgment that predated it, in which the following was already asserted: Amos 8:2: He said, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A basket of summer fruit.’ Then Yhwh said to me, ‘The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by.’ Ezekiel 7:2–3: You, O mortal, thus says the Lord Yhwh to the land of Israel: ‘An end is coming! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. Now the end is coming upon you, I will let loose my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, I will punish you for all your abominations.’ The Priestly Document therefore recalls a prominent element of judgment prophecy, but collapses it into the Primeval History. While Amos 8 and Ezekiel 7 proclaim the “end,” the Priestly Document reports how this “end” was already determined. However, in the hoary Primeval period God himself modified it. The Priestly Document does not falsify the prophets with this modification, but it corrects them decisively. ..."
Schmid, Konrad Is There Theology in the Hebrew Bible? (p. 89) Eisenbrauns, 2014

* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.

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