Skip to Content
intertextual.bible
Go to Related Reading
About this book

Ezekiel

About this book
Chapter 2

1 He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet and I will speak with you.”⁠ 2 As he spoke to me, a wind came into me and stood me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house of Israel, to rebellious nations who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted against me to this very day. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ 5 And as for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words. Even though briers and thorns surround you and you live among scorpions—do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, for they are a rebellious house! 7 You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. 8 As for you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you: Do not rebel like that rebellious house! Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”⁠ 9 Then I looked and realized a hand was stretched out to me, and in it was a written scroll.⁠ 10 He unrolled it before me, and it had writing on the front and back; written on it were laments, mourning, and woe.

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 2:9 and Revelation 10:2

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Share:

Summary

Revelation’s image of a scroll held out by a divine figure echoes when Ezekiel eats a scroll. In Ezekiel, the act shows his calling to speak a difficult message of judgment, language used in Revelation to connect to Israel's prophetic traditions.

Passages

Ezekiel 2:9

Hebrew Bible
7 You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. 8 As for you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you: Do not rebel like that rebellious house! Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” 9 Then I looked and realized a hand was stretched out to me, and in it was a written scroll. 10 He unrolled it before me, and it had writing on the front and back; written on it were laments, mourning, and woe.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Revelation 10:2

New Testament
1 Then I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire. 2 He held in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. 3 Then he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices. 4 When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but just then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.”
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

“... Ezekiel, in conversation with a heavenly voice identified with the Lord God (cf. Ezek 2:4), receives a κεφαλὶς βιβλίου which “a hand” (a circumlocution for the deity) spreads out before him. The prophet notices that the scroll is written on the front and the back (LXX γεγραμμένα ἦν τὰ ὄπισθεν καὶ τὰ ἔμπροσθεν), a description similar to that of the βιβλίον in Rev 5:1 (ἔσωθεν καὶ ὄπισθεν). In Rev 10:2, it is the ἄλλον ἄγγελον ἰσχυρόν who holds a βιβλαρίδιον that is already open, but other than the use of the diminutive and the fact that the scroll is open, we know nothing of the physical nature of the scroll at the beginning of Rev 10. Ezek 3:1–3a/Rev 10:8–10a concern the handing over of a scroll and the directive to eat it. In Rev 10:8, a “voice from heaven” (which had already addressed him in v. 4) orders the seer to approach the angel holding the scroll and request it from him, and that angel instructs John to eat it. In Ezek 2:8–3:3, the heavenly voice is the one who urges the prophet to consume the scroll, repeating the command to eat no less than four times in the Hebrew text. In both Revelation and Ezekiel, the visionary experiences the scroll as sweet in his mouth. In Ezek 3:3b, the prophet simply reports that the scroll is sweet; no one tells him in advance that this will be the case. In Rev 10:9, the angel informs the seer that the scroll will “embitter your stomach,” but will be sweet in his mouth. This embittering after-effect does not occur in Ezekiel 3. Although there is no overt connection between Ezekiel and Revelation having to do with the scroll making the stomach bitter, the visual nature of the chart illustrates a possible connection on this point. On each side of the chart there are slots without a “partner,” Ezek 2:10c and Rev 10:10a,c, and the content of these slots has to do with negative aspects of the scroll. Some scholars have posited that the “bitterness” of Rev 10:10a,c is John’s reworking of the “words of lamentation and mourning and woe” in Ezek 2:10c. ...”
Leslie A. Baynes, The Heavenly Book Motif in Judeo-Christian Apocalypses, 200 B.C.E.–200 C.E., Journal for the Study of Judaism 152 (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 160–161.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Ezekiel 2:9 and Revelation 10:2

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library