What Laws Were "Not Good"? A Canonical Approach to the Theological Problem of Ezekiel 20:25-26

Abstract

20:25-26 is one of most infamous interpretive cruxes of book of Ezekiel. As Hartmut Gese put it, Die Auslegung von Ez 20,25f.,... ist schon seit den Anfangen alttestamentlicher Wissenschaft als besonders schwieriges Problem empfunden worden.1 In these two verses, writer of book, whom we will call Ezekiel without prejudice toward debates about authorship, makes shocking claim that LORD Israel that were good, which only failed to give people life but actually defiled them: 25 Moreover, them laws that were and rules by which they could live: 26 When they set aside every first issue of womb, defiled them by their very gifts-that might render them desolate, that they might know that am Lord. [NJPS]2 What were these not good laws to which refers? There has been no lack of proposals, as Daniel I. Block has shown in his recent commentary, where over a half-dozen interpretive options are ably summarized.3 On one hand, some interpreters opt to emend text, like Johann Lust, who would delete most of v. 26 as a later (erroneous) interpolation. Similarly, julius A. Bewer reverses w. 25-26 and v. 27, so that Ezekiel's shocking claim merely echoes Israel's blasphemous misconstrual of LORD'S demands.4 On other hand, most scholars accept text in its present form and explain it in terms of Ezekiel's ongoing prophetic revision of older Exodus traditions,5 regarding either Israel's moral condition6 or its deity.7 In this article we wish to suggest a new solution, which identifies Ezekiel's not good laws with Deuteronomic law code. Our approach is primarily synchronie, based on a literary reading of in its final form and canonical setting; but we will also draw on recent historical-critical and literary-critical scholarship on Ezekiel's use of Priestly and Deuteronomic traditions in ch. 20. In following, we will first establish correspondence of laws with Deuteronomic code through an analysis of literary structure and narrative sequence of ch. 20. second, we will attempt to explain why Ezekiel, who thinks and writes from a Priestly perspective, would consider at least certain laws of Deuteronomic code to be not good.8 Third, we will propose an explanation for bizarre statements of v. 26-which describe LORD defiling Israel through offering of their firstborn-in terms of conflict between Priestly and Deuteronomic laws concerning sacrifice of firstlings. I. Narrative Flow and Literary Structure In order to see how these correspondences can be made, let us start with second panel (w. 10-17) and see how events mentioned by in ch. 20 follow sequence known from pentateuchal narrative. Verses 10-12 state that LORD brought them out of Egypt, led them into and then gave them My laws. This would describe exodus event (Exod 12-18) and giving of law at Sinai (Exod 19-31). Next v. 13 insists, the House of Israel rebelled against Me in probably an allusion to incident of golden calf (Exod 32). The LORD'S wish to destroy Israel in desert, but decision to refrain for sake of his name (w. 13b-14), is recorded in Exod 32:7-14, where Moses intercedes with God on behalf of people. When in following verse describes LORD saying I swore to them in wilderness that would bring them into land, this would refer to Israel's rebellion after twelve spies scouted land (Num 13-14), when LORD did indeed swear concerning first wilderness generation that none of men . . . shall see land promised on oath to their fathers (Num 14:20-23, cf. Deut 2:14). 20:18-26 now explicitly speaks of second generation in wilderness, corresponding to pentateuchal narrative from Num 25 through end of Deuteronomy. …