Chapter Thirty-Seven

The Reviving of Dry Bones and the Union of Ephraim with Judah

The first, under which is represented most directly the restoration of Israel (v. 11), is the development of the thoughts of Ezek 36:10 and ff. 37 and ff.; the second – of the thoughts of Ezek 36:24. Thus the prophet, having spoken of the restoration of the state (ch. XXXIV) and the land (XXXV–XXXVI), now speaks of the restoration of the people. But the people, exterminated in great numbers in the last wars and scattered everywhere, now find themselves in such a hopeless condition for restoration that this restoration can only equal their complete resurrection. This will happen to them (v. 1–14), whereupon the enmity of Ephraim with Judah—as ancient as the people itself (cf. Pokrovsky F. Y. Division of the Hebrew Kingdom into the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Kiev 1885)—will be destroyed, and they will be united under the rule of one king (v. 15–28). But although the first part of the chapter, constituting one of the most astounding visions in the Old Testament (see v. 1–10) and its explanation (v. 11–14), intends, as shown already by the entire course of thought in this part of the book and the prophet’s direct statement (in v. 11), the reviving of Israel as a people (national), not without foundation the most ancient interpreters (Justin Apol. II, 87; Irenaeus Adv. haer. V, 1; Cyprian Ad Quir. III, 49; Tertull. De ress. car. 30; Cyril of Jerusalem Catech. 18; Augustine De doctr. christ. III, 34) saw in the present chapter a prophetic vision of the resurrection of the dead contrary to the opposite assertion of almost all recent Western interpreters, who had gnostics as their predecessors in this regard (Tert. l. c). The faith in the resurrection of the dead was not only not foreign to the Old Testament, but found itself very clear expression in Job 19:25-26; Isa 26:19; Dan 12:2. This vision of Ezekiel surpasses in clarity of expression all these places. Of course, the prophet speaks here of the reviving of Israel (although nowhere does it appear that he expected this revival in the immediate future, e.g., at the liberation of the Jews from Babylonian captivity), but this revival he contemplates not merely under the guise of the resurrection of the dead, but together with this future astounding event (with which the future actual restoration of Israel, its salvation, may perhaps have some connection hidden from us), and the contemplation of the latter completely overshadows his immediate subject and he returns to it only in the explanation of the vision. Besides, as Tertullian says, “one does not take an image from a subject that does not exist at all” (De ress. car. VI, 30). The Church service therefore very aptly appointed the reading of this vision over the tomb of the Savior.

Ezekiel 37:1. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and the Lord brought me out by the Spirit and set me down in the midst of a valley, and it was full of bones. “Was.” Asyndeton (without conjunction), as in Ezek 40:1; cf. on the other hand Ezek 1:1. – “The hand of the Lord was upon me” see explanation of Ezek 1:3. – “Brought me out.” The indication seems to be of bodily displacement; cf. Ezek 3:10. – “By the Spirit” – in a vision, in ecstasy (Ezek 3:14). – “In the midst of a valley,” perhaps the same as in Ezek 3:23, but more likely another, because it was full of bones. It is meant a battlefield, which the prophet could have seen more than once. – “Bones” not buried, so that the prophet might see what would become of them.

Ezekiel 37:2. and he led me around about them; and behold, there were very many upon the surface of the valley; and behold, they were very dry. “And he led me around about them,” so I could see how many there were, what they were like, and how little hope there was according to human reasoning for their revivification. – “Very many upon the surface of the valley.” The valley was covered with them. – “Very dry” – from long lying in the air and consequently even less capable of revivification. When a body has only just been left by the soul, not yet decayed, it seems to man easier for the soul to return to it: 1 Sam 17:17 and ff. 2 Sam 2:18 and ff. Acts 20:9 and ff.; on the contrary John 11.

Ezekiel 37:3. And he said to me, “Son of man, will these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know. The question is posed to show the magnitude of the miracle. The prophet answers evasively, but in his answer shows an almost Christian faith in God’s almightiness. At the same time the answer shows that faith in the resurrection of the dead in the Old Testament was not universal and firm. A Christian would have answered: “yes.”

Ezekiel 37:4. And he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!’ “What the prophet receives is not only an answer, but a commission.” (Skinner after Bertholet). The reviving of the bones is produced not directly by the power of God, but through the prophet’s word, because this word itself is “a real agent, extending its action upon the external world; cf. e.g., Ezek 32:18 (Bertholet; see explanation there) and because the reviving of the bones is produced by the same Holy Spirit by which the prophet is animated. – “Dry” is an addition intended to recall the natural impossibility of the forthcoming command being fulfilled. – “Hear.” A beautiful prosopopoeia (Trochon.), most fitting in view of the fact that the bones represent the captives (Grotius).”

Ezekiel 37:5. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. “I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live.” “Breath” – soul, life-breath; wherefore the LXX “spirit of life” (not expressing “you will live”). This general expression is developed pictorially in the details of v. 6.

Ezekiel 37:6. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord. “Lay sinews.” Hebrew verb qaram (only v. 8 and cf. Sir. in Hebrew Ezek 43:20); perhaps an anatomical term. Sinews, flesh, skin – the natural order. Evidence of anatomical knowledge in antiquity: the role of nerves in the organism. “Breath” – the principal element, placed in v. 5 first, is here placed in its proper place: cf. v. 9. LXX “My spirit”: the Holy Spirit, the source of life; the apparent tautology with v. 5 is avoided. – “And you shall know that I am the Lord.” Nothing speaks so much of God’s almightiness as resurrection.

Ezekiel 37:7. So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. “As I prophesied,” about which v. 5 ff.; see explanation of v. 4. – “There was a noise,” at first probably so muffled and indefinite that the prophet could not determine where it came from; then this noise defined itself as “a shaking,” Hebrew raash, a word used to denote an earthquake in Ezek 3:12 (but in Ezek 12:18 “tremor”), wherefore the Slavonic “shaking”; it must be a shaking among the bones from the impact of them upon each other, the full horror of which is easy to imagine and which, if not by force, then by impression reminded one of an earthquake. Wherefore Clifoth’s supposition is unnecessary, that the noise was the sound of a trumpet or the voice of God by which bodies will rise, and the shaking was a quaking of the earth destined to open the graves at the resurrection. “Bone to his bone,” to which it should be connected, for which each bone needed to move a greater or lesser distance; hence the noise and shaking.

Ezekiel 37:8. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them above; but there was no breath in them. The prophet could trace the revivification of the dead only to the moment when one thing, the last and most important, was still lacking – life. Thus the transition from life to death, the most decisive transition, is isolated from the other processes of restoration of the dead and advanced as particularly important (Bertholet).

Ezekiel 37:9. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’ The action is described in all its separate moments, which strengthens the impression of the miracle. The prophet must prophesy once more that the breath may enter the bodies, although this was already done in v. 7, cf. v. 5 and 6. By this is well marked the entire abyss that lies between an animated creation and one without soul. If the breath according to v. 6 is given by God, and here enters the bodies of itself, there is no contradiction, since even here it is subject to God’s will. But nonetheless the Spirit here, compared with Gen 2:7, which is clearly meant here, appears as a more independent agent; it is represented as filling the whole world, constituting as it were its breath, which in man is only as it were individualized. This breath, of course, must have a relation to the Holy Spirit, namely be produced by it. Hence it is understood that it enters the body at the prophesying of the prophet, who speaks likewise by the Holy Spirit. Such is the power of God’s word even in the mouth of man; how much greater must it have been in the mouth of the Son, the Word of God! (Tr.). The breath comes “from the four winds,” i.e., from all ends of the earth, as was needed in view of the multitude of the slain. Here besides there is also a hint at the gathering of Israel, scattered to all “four winds” by Ezek 5:10. In Hebrew there is a double ruach (“winds” and “spirit”), which might be avoided, but such an expression must be intentional, since the breath of life in the sweep of wind finds concrete expression. – “Slain.” We first learn of the bones that they were from the slain, not simply the dead. But this was then self-evident: a field with such a multitude of bones on the earth’s surface could only be a battlefield.

Ezekiel 37:10. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet – an exceedingly great host. “A host,” since the bones were of troops that fell on the battlefield; see explanation of v. 9. But the LXX has “assembly.” In the Talmud (Sanhedr. XCII, 2) it is argued that this resurrection took place in actuality, that the revived returned to Canaan and had offspring; one of the authors of this opinion counts himself among the descendants of one of the revived.

Ezekiel 37:11. And he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off.’ The vision is explained. As often, the prophet directly from the mouth of the people takes a current phrase, in turn taken by them from sorrowful psalms and vividly expressing all the despondency of the Babylonian captives (as also the absence in the people’s faith of the idea of resurrection). – “Cut off” from the root of national existence, in which, according to ancient thinking, the existence of the individual was possible; LXX: “we were killed.”

Ezekiel 37:12. Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. “I will raise you from your graves” – from captivity, this national death of Israel. The prophet freely abandons the first image – unburied bones (speaking of graves). – “O my people” – a necessary and comforting appellation, opposed to the wrathful: “your people” (of the prophet) Ezek 13:17 and others, or even more wrathfully: “rebellious house” Ezek 2:5 and others.

Ezekiel 37:13. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. “And you shall know that I am the Lord.” Then God will reveal himself in truth in all his being, which is love.

Ezekiel 37:14. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, says the Lord. “Spirit” here is nearer in the sense as enlivening the body (v. 6, 9); but since this enlivening is produced by the same Holy Spirit by which the promised Ezek 36:21 moral regeneration of man is accomplished, here the latter is also meant.

Ezekiel 37:15. The word of the Lord came to me: First by means of a symbolic action is depicted, and then directly described, the future unification of the two Hebrew kingdoms under messianic rule of the Heir of David. Since Hosea (Hos 2:2), this feature – the unification of the 2 Kingdoms – is constantly repeated in messianic expectations (Amos 9:11 and ff. Isa 11:13; Mic 2:12). While Ephraim existed, this mighty kingdom was, properly speaking, Israel, alone bearing this name, while Judah beside it was an insignificant state, remaining such, in essence, even after the fall of Ephraim. If the glory of David’s time is to be restored, then it is unthinkable in later times without Ephraim, especially now that of Judah only a very small remnant has been preserved. Although the nearest reports of this have not been preserved, it may be considered certain that colonies of Ephraimite exiles existed then in Assyria. With eyes full of hope, Jeremiah looks upon them (Jer 3:18 and ff.; cf. Jer 31:15) and considers the simultaneous restoration of Ephraim and Judah self-evident (Jer 31:9). This hope was so important that it deserved detailed treatment here again. By this speech are thus exhausted the essential moments of the restoration of Israel, and the speech therefore, naturally, ends with the assurance that this salvation so arranged will be eternal and Jehovah will henceforth remain dwelling in his people, which prepares the way for chapters XXXVIII–XXXIX and XL–XLVIII (Smend).

Ezekiel 37:16. “And you, son of man, take one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ “Stick,” Hebrew etz, wood (Vulgate lignum), which could have only the form of a stick, so that two such pieces of wood could be held in one hand; moreover, it seems clear that Num 17:6 and ff. are meant; wherefore the LXX rightly: “stick.” “And the people of Israel associated with him,” i.e., Benjamin, Simeon, partly Levi, and perhaps also emigrants of various times to the southern kingdom. – “For Joseph.” He is named instead of Ephraim, to oppose him as a brother to Judah. Therefore immediately “Ephraim” is explained. – “And all the house of Israel,” which indeed in the vast majority was subject to Ephraim; the LXX again has “people” (in Hebrew similar in form to “house”).

Ezekiel 37:17. Join them to each other into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. Just as it is easy for the prophet to join two sticks in one hand, so it is easy for God to unite the two parts of Israel, which have been divided from the beginning of its political existence.

Ezekiel 37:18. And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ Cf. Ezek 24:19. Consequently, Ezekiel’s symbolic actions were performed in actuality; cf. chapter IV.

Ezekiel 37:19. Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (which is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with it; and I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them into one stick, that they may be one in my hand.’ “The stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim.” The tribe of Ephraim held the foremost, dominant position in the northern kingdom. From it was also Jeroboam. – “And I will join with it the stick of Judah.” The abnormal independent existence of the northern kingdom will have no place: it will submit, as is proper, to Judah, constituting with it one kingdom. – “And make them one in my hand.” LXX: “in the hand of Judah” (one Hebrew ms. “in his hand,” i.e., Judah’s), which is essentially the same, because God will rule through a descendant of Judah – the Messiah.

Ezekiel 37:20. When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, “When… are,” the Slavonic is more precise: “and they will be.” Throughout the following prediction the prophet must hold the two sticks joined together in his hand. “The dramatic impression from the symbol was undoubtedly” (Smend).

Ezekiel 37:21. then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from every side, and bring them to their own land.’ The explanation of the symbolic action is given in more detail and supplemented by other predictions.

Ezekiel 37:22. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no more two nations, and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. “King,” Hebrew melekh. Only here and in v. 24 is this word used by Ezekiel for the Messiah (in other cases always nasi, prince), because here the speech is about the unification of the 2 Kingdoms under his rule. The prediction refers most directly to post-captivity Israel; but it was imperfectly fulfilled in it (there were no kings of the house of David, if one does not count Zerubbabel as such), but more fully fulfilled in the spiritual kingdom of Christ; and fully – in the future Church, the kingdom of glory.

Ezekiel 37:23. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, and with all their transgressions; but I will save them from all the places where they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. All these promises Jehovah can fulfill because the people will no longer sin, and the former sins will be forgiven them. And first of all, the people will no longer fall into idolatry. – “And I will save them from all the places where they have sinned.” The LXX make the thought clearer and simpler, reading instead of “places” a similar form “transgressions,” “which they have committed.” – “And they shall be my people.” The ancient covenantal relations will be restored.

Ezekiel 37:24. My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and obey them. The connection between the two halves of the verse is either such that the eschatological king (Messiah) will be the God-appointed guardian of righteousness and law on earth (cf. Ezek 34:23; Isa 9:1; Jer 23:1), or such that the establishment of this righteousness on earth will make his kingship possible. – “My servant David” – see explanation of Ezek 34:23.

Ezekiel 37:25. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived; and they and their children and their children’s children shall live there forever; and David my servant shall be their prince forever. References to the patriarchs in Ezekiel are not frequent (cf. Ezek 33:24). The promise of eternity is repeated twice. As for the fulfillment of the prediction see the explanation of v. 22.

Ezekiel 37:26. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. A clear prediction of the New Covenant, Christianity. “Peace” – see explanation of Ezek 34:25. – “Bless” in the promised land; the Slavonic is more precise: “take root,” but the Greek τάξω – “establish.” – “Sanctuary” – the mysterious temple of chapters XL–XLVIII, the source of every blessing for the future Israel; the Slavonic says generally: “sanctification,” but the Greek τὰ ἅγια – temple.

Ezekiel 37:27. My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The new covenantal relations are placed in direct dependence on the presence among Israel (“among them” in Hebrew not transmitted by any translation, “above them” correspondingly Ezek 40:2) of the mysterious temple, now called here already “God’s dwelling place,” because God will dwell in it no less than in heaven.

Ezekiel 37:28. Then the nations will know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them forevermore. It is noteworthy that the image of a bright future for Israel concludes with a mention of the nations. “Sanctify Israel” – set him apart from all peoples and exalt him above them. And the relation of the nations to Israel will change essentially after the establishment of the mysterious temple of chapters XL–XLVIII. But until then there are still chapters XXXVIII and XXXIX.