The Desecration of the Temple (Ch. 8). 

        The second group of prophecies begins with a long trance-vision (chs. 8-11). The presence of the elders (ver. 1) suggests that whatever the original opposition to Ezekiel as prophet, it had rapidly passed, at least among the leaders of the people. It is probably this respect, paid perhaps more to the priest than the prophet, that made it possible for Ezekiel’s pro­phecies to assume a much longer and more rounded form than did those of his predecessors.

        The significance of their presence is that they are able to vouch for the reality of Ezekiel’s trance. It may be that as the vision developed Ezekiel described aloud what he was seeing. In ver. 2 we should read with the LXX “a likeness as the appearance of a man.” Ezekiel’s symbolism comes out once more in ver. 3 by the mention of the form of a hand, for his transportation is by virtue of the spirit. There are certainly symbolic elements in what follows as well. Ezekiel sees four forms of idolatry which implicitly cover the whole people.

        (a) The image which made Jehovah jealous (ver. 3ff), placed at the north, or popular entrance to the inner court. This probably was an image of Jehovah Himself, and repre­sented that popular Canaanization of Jehovah-worship that was the curse of Israel from the time of the Judges ση (see p. 36ff). The making of such pictorial representations is one of the things that moved Jehovah to jealousy (Exod. 20:4f; Deut. 4:23f; 5:8f). The image is purely symbolic here.

        (b) A multitude of heathen idols, mostly foreign (vers. 6-12). This is probably entirely symbolic (see vers. 8, 12) and speaks of the aping of heathen religion, probably mainly Egyptian and Babylonian, by the leaders of the people, the elders (ver. 11, R.V.).

        (c) The Canaanite fertility cult (ver. 14f), which appealed particularly to the women (cf. Jer. 7:18; 44:15-19). Tam-muz (the Greek Adonis) was one of the most popular gods of this fertility cult, having different names and characteristics at different times and in different countries. Here he is the god of vegetation, killed off by the drought and heat of sum­mer. So Ezekiel sees him being mourned in August.

        (d) Sun worship (vers. 15-18) by the priests — because the worshippers stand between the temple and the altar (ver. 16). The offence is the worse because they stand with their backs to the sanctuary. They have added to all their social iniquity this blatant challenge to Jehovah (ver. 17), and even “thrust their branch into My face” (lit., nose) — the present Hebrew text “their nose” is according to valid rabbinic tradition a scribal alteration out of respect to God.