Abstract
ABSTRACT While the oracles against Tyre are often understood in terms of Tyre's political and economic relationship with Judah and advocate a sovereign God who oversaw the destiny of foreign powers, this article explores the oracles against Tyre, particularly Ezek 28:1-19, from the perspective of honour and shame in an ancient Mediterranean context. It finds that the rhetoric of the contrasting notion of honour and shame plays an important role in understanding the rise and fall of the king of Tyre in Ezek 28:1-19. The fluctuation of honour and shame with regards to the Adamic identity of the king of Tyre in the passage serves to enhance in a forceful and sarcastic way the reality of the king's mortal human fate. I propose that the purpose of this oracle, in light of the honour/shame rhetoric, is to address the suffering Israelites in exile with comfort and assurance in that crucial moment of history. Keywords: Honour, Shame, Rhetoric, (king Of) Tyre; Oracle; Ezekiel; Exile; Comfort
Highlights
While the oracles against Tyre are often understood in terms of Tyre’s political and economic relationship with Judah and advocate a sovereign God who oversaw the destiny of foreign powers, this article explores the oracles against Tyre, Ezek 28:1–19, from the perspective of honour and shame in an ancient Mediterranean context
It finds that the rhetoric of the contrasting notion of honour and shame plays an important role in understanding the rise and fall of the king of Tyre in Ezek 28:1–19
I propose that the purpose of this oracle, in light of the honour/shame rhetoric, is to address the suffering Israelites in exile with comfort and assurance in that crucial moment of history
Summary
In comparison with what other prophets have briefly said about Tyre (Amos 1:9– 10; Isa 23:1–18; Joel 3:4–8; Zech 9:2–4), Ezekiel surprisingly and patiently spends almost three chapters (Ezek 26–28) in focusing on this city-state. Crouch points out that the oracle used cosmological mythological motifs to affirm the power of Yahweh as divine king and creator rather than that of Marduk.[5] it may have driven exiled Israel to bow humbly before God and worship him for his supreme control over the destiny of all nations, Judah. The contributions of their studies do deepen our comprehension of the quest for Ezekiel’s motivation for his condemnation of Tyre. Honourable position it was once entitled to, was bound to perish in shame as it inflicted ridicule on God’s people
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