Abstract
ABSTRACT Ezekiel's underworld is characterised by hierarchy and gradation. Insofar as that is also true of sacred spaces in the Bible, Ezekiel's underworld can also be imagined, heuristically, as a kind of unholy temple. Each of the three primary descriptions of holy space in the Hebrew Bible (the Priestly tabernacle, Solomon's temple, and Ezekiel's temple) has three primary graded spaces (inner sanctum, outer sanctum, and court). Ezekiel's underworld has three primary graded spaces: Sheol, the Pit, and the extremities of the Pit. In each case, the farther one moves in from the entrance, the more unholy the space. Like the tabernacle and temples, Ezekiel's underworld also has further gradations within the primary space, and these finer gradations of unholiness are marked by factors such as the length of the passage dedicated to a nation and the presence of associates in the nation's sphere of influence. Keywords: Ezekiel, Underworld, Temple and Tabernacle, Priestly literature, Mesopotamian literature, Gradations of holiness
Highlights
Ezekiel’s underworld is characterised by hierarchy and gradation
Insofar as that is true of sacred spaces in the Bible, Ezekiel’s underworld can be imagined, heuristically, as a kind of unholy temple
Like the tabernacle and temples, Ezekiel’s underworld has further gradations within the primary space, and these finer gradations of unholiness are marked by factors such as the length of the passage dedicated to a nation and the presence of associates in the nation’s sphere of influence
Summary
Hierarchical structures and gradations of holiness have long been recognised as fundamental to the book of Ezekiel.[1] In the case of Ezekiel’s temple, Stephen Cook and Corrine Patton traced six or seven graded areas in the complex.[2]. Ezekiel’s underworld has finer gradations within the primary space, so that the nations in the underworld, in effect, are ranked. These gradations require some literary sensitivity to identify—they depend on factors such as the nation’s power, the length of the passage dedicated to it, and the presence or absence of associates in the nation’s sphere of influence. 492 Wells & Hays, “Degradation,” OTE 33/3 (2020): 490-514 the whole of the underworld Pit is “unholy,” there are gradations within it, just as the whole temple is holy and there are gradations within it
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