First-Month Rituals in Ezekiel’s Temple Vision: A Pentateuchal and Babylonian Comparison

This article examines a number of similarities and differences in the status and roles of functionaries in Ezekiel’s vision and the contemporaneous Babylonian celebration of the Akītu festival. Explicit references to the month of Nisan appear in the temple vision: in the date notice (40:1) and with...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ganzel, Ṭovah 1974- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Catholic Biblical Association of America 2021
In: The catholic biblical quarterly
Year: 2021, Volume: 83, Issue: 3, Pages: 390-406
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Ezekiel / Ezechiel, Prophet / Temple / Festivity / Calendar (motif) / Ritual
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
Further subjects:B Passover
B Akītu festival
B temple functionaries
B Temple Vision
B Ezekiel
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Summary:This article examines a number of similarities and differences in the status and roles of functionaries in Ezekiel’s vision and the contemporaneous Babylonian celebration of the Akītu festival. Explicit references to the month of Nisan appear in the temple vision: in the date notice (40:1) and with regarding to ritual cleansing of the temple (45:18-20), which parallels the time when the festivals for the Babylonian gods were held. Consideration of the Akītu festival exemplifies how Babylonian ritual practices left a strong impression on the Jewish exiles there and, even more so, on the exiles from priestly families. The affinity between the Jewish and Babylonian calendars seems not only to be grounded in administrative needs but also to be extended to the adoption of principles from Babylonian culture.
ISSN:2163-2529
Contains:Enthalten in: The catholic biblical quarterly
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1353/cbq.2021.0081