Ezekiel 20


Ezekiel 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet/priest Ezekiel, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. In chapters 20 to 24 there are "further predictions regarding the fall of Jerusalem". In this chapter, Ezekiel speaks on God's behalf to some of the elders of Israel.

Text

The original text of this chapter is written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 49 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets, Aleppo Codex, Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Marchalianus.

Verse 1

The opening of chapter 8 has similar wording. The recorded date of the occurrence in chapter 20 would fall in July–August 591 BC, calculated to be August 14, 591 BCE, based on an analysis by German theologian Bernhard Lang.

Verse 4

The text in the King James Version makes no reference to God's oath in this verse.

Verse 29

"Bamah" means "high place". Theologian Andrew B. Davidson suggests that Ezekiel uses "a punning and contemptuous derivation of the word", using what and go :
Whilst he disagrees with the interpretation, Davidson notes that "some have supposed that “go” has the sense of “go in” and that the allusion is to the immoralities practised on the high places".

Verse 35

The "wilderness of the peoples" is alternatively translated as "the wilderness of the nations", or "a desert surrounded by nations". Davidson suggests it refers to "the Syro-Babylonian wilderness, adjoining the peoples among whom they were dispersed", perhaps the modern-day Syrian Desert. Davidson suggests that Ezekiel may have followed Hosea's words here:

Verse 37

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