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Ezekiel

About this book
Chapter 8

1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting in front of me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord seized me. 2 As I watched, I noticed a form that appeared to be a man. From his waist downward was something like fire, and from his waist upward something like a brightness, like an amber glow. 3 He stretched out the form of a hand and grabbed me by a lock of hair on my head. Then a wind lifted me up between the earth and sky and brought me to Jerusalem by divine visions, to the door of the inner gate that faces north where the statue that provokes to jealousy was located. 4 Then I perceived that the glory of the God of Israel was there, as in the vision I had seen earlier in the valley. 5 He said to me, “Son of man, look up toward the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.⁠ 6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the people of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!” 7 He brought me to the entrance of the court, and as I watched, I noticed a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and discovered a doorway. 9 He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations they are practicing here.” 10 So I went in and looked. I noticed every figure of creeping thing and beast—detestable images—and every idol of the house of Israel, engraved on the wall all around. 11 Seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel (with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them) were standing in front of them, each with a censer in his hand, and fragrant vapors from a cloud of incense were swirling upward.⁠ 12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’” 13 He said to me, “You will see them practicing even greater abominations!” 14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed women sitting there weeping for Tammuz.⁠ 15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!” 16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about 25 men with their backs to the Lord’s temple,⁠ facing east—they were worshiping the sun toward the east!⁠ 17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose!⁠ 18 Therefore I will act with fury! My eye will not pity them nor will I spare them. When they have shouted in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 4:19 and Ezekiel 8:16

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Deuteronomy warns Israel not to worship the sun, moon, and stars, because those divine beings are given to the other nations. Ezekiel says the people failed to follow this, describing people outside the Jerusalem temple turning east to worship the sun.

Passages

Deuteronomy 4:19

Hebrew Bible
17 any kind of land animal, any bird that flies in the sky, 18 anything that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the deep waters under the earth. 19 When you look up to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—the whole heavenly host—you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, for the Lord your God has assigned them to all the people of the world. 20 You, however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace, to be his special people as you are today. 21 But the Lord became angry with me because of you and vowed that I would never cross the Jordan nor enter the good land that he is about to give you.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Ezekiel 8:16

Hebrew Bible
14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed women sitting there weeping for Tammuz. 15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!” 16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about 25 men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, facing east—they were worshiping the sun toward the east! 17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! 18 Therefore I will act with fury! My eye will not pity them nor will I spare them. When they have shouted in my ears, I will not listen to them.”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

References

"... The specific activities of astral worship are here described. Practitioners “burn incense,” to the gods of the starry sky. Furthermore, if “to other gods,” is to be read in hendiadys with “to the whole Host of Heaven,” practitioners also “pour out libations,” to them. These activities are, of course, common cultic fare in the ancient Near East. The cultus takes place on the roofs of homes presumably because the astral deities are fully visible from there. These two specific acts of worship are also associated with the Queen of Heaven (Jeremiah 7:18, 44:18) though, interestingly, her worship is never specifically located on rooftops. In any case, this rooftop locus implies that, in some instances at least, the Hosts of Heaven were not depicted in the form of cult images but were, rather, worshiped in their natural state - that is, as actual stars and planets. From exile, Ezekiel (8:16) also describes a group of Judahites facing east while worshiping the sun in what seems to be its natural state rather than by means of an image even within the Temple of Yahweh itself. As previously mentioned, the Deuteronomist considered the worship of the celestial luminaries to be forbidden (Deuteronomy 4:19) and even punishable by death by stoning (Deuteronomy 17:2–5) ..."
Jeffrey L. Cooley, Poetic Astronomy in the Ancient Near East: The Reflexes of Celestial Science in Ancient Mesopotamian, Ugaritic, and Israelite Narrative, HACL 5 (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013), 249.

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Deuteronomy 4:19 and Ezekiel 8:16

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