On Prophecy and the Prophets (12:21-13:23). 

        Though a large part of his predecessors’ prophecies had gone into fulfilment, enough still remained unfulfilled to create the same attitude in men’s hearts that we find in II Pet. 3:4. To them Ezekiel has to make clear that the storm will break in their day (12:21-28) and that it will sweep away the false prophets (12:24).

        Ezekiel then turns on the false prophets. He condemns them first (13:1-9) for following “their own spirit, and things which they have not seen” (ver. 3, mg.). Then (13:10-16) he charges them with whitewashing, i.e. giving their approbation to the jerry-built walls of man’s making (see mg. ver. 10). Finally, he condemns the prophetesses (13:17-23). It is im­possible now to know with certainty what the rigmaroles of these women meant. This in turn makes our rendering of the Hebrew uncertain. This passage is important as showing the danger of arguing from silence. If we did not have it, we might assume that the prophetess, whether good or bad, was a rare phenomenon in Israel.