Verses 1-2
The Lord directed Ezekiel to present a riddle (Heb. hidah, allegory, enigmatic saying) and a parable (Heb. mashal, proverb, comparison) to his audience of Jewish exiles. This is the longest mashal in the Old Testament and quite a detailed one.
"It is a riddle in that its meaning needs to be explained; there is a deeper meaning which underlies the figurative form, for something in its presentation is obscure. It is a parable in that it is an allegory." [Note: Feinberg, p. 94.]
"Riddles excite the curiosity and leave the baffled listeners keen for an answer. What follows is not a true riddle but a fable or theological cartoon that is equally intended to whet the hearers’ appetites for the plain oracle that follows." [Note: Allen, p. 256.]
"A ’riddle’ . . . was commonly used in international politics between kings . . . If one failed to answer the riddle of the other, he might be called on to submit to him as a vassal. In some cases he might even be put to death." [Note: Alexander, "Ezekiel," p. 820. See Harry Torczyner, "The Riddle in the Bible," Hebrew Union College Annual 1 (1924):125-49.]
The purpose for using riddles was apparently to test the intelligence or cleverness of the hearer (cf. Judges 14:12-19; 1 Kings 10:1; 2 Chronicles 9:1; Matthew 13). [Note: See C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books, p. 22; and T. Polk, "Paradigms, Parables, and Meshalim: On Reading the Mashal in Scripture," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 45 (1983):578.]
"This allegory differs from others Ezekiel was commanded to tell his audience because of its opaqueness, so he was to tell it as a riddle (Ezekiel 17:2)." [Note: Stuart, p. 148.]
Be the first to react on this!
