Ben Masada
Well-Known Member
Noah, Daniel and Job - Ezekiel 14
That's about a Century after Israel had been sacrificed for the sins of Judah, when this had corrupted himself into the same idolatry, which had caused him to be doomed in the first place.
Then, Jerusalem was promised destruction for that break of faith. And even if these three men were in it, Noah, Daniel and Job, they could save only themselves by their virtue. And the Prophet repeats the same threat three times as famine, wild animals and the sword are promised to devastate Jerusalem.
Noah, Daniel and Job; only three just men, this time, would not be able to save Jerusalem but only themselves. Not even their own children, but only themselves.
The whole point here is to teach personal responsibility. No more, someone would die for another, as Israel had died for Judah. Everyone would be responsible for his or her own wrongdoings. Noah, Daniel and Job had been used as symbols of proverbially virtuous men to reflect a final decision of Divine proportions.
The text has nothing to do with the existence of Noah, Daniel and Job.They might even have existed or not. The use of their names by Ezekiel here is in terms of a proverb. Noah, as the symbol of what he might have been: The only just man in his generation. Daniel, the symbol of loyalty in spite of all odds. And Job, as the symbol of the long-suffering servant who would not change his mind, even before a change of fate.
Again, when Ezekiel mentions the names of these three men: Noah, Daniel and Job, he does not mean the men themselves but as a proverb to impersonate the symbols they stood for: Justice, loyalty and long-suffering.
Here are two more cases to illustrate the personification of a proverbial statement. We have one in the intercession of Abraham on behalf of Sodom. The city would be spared from destruction if there were at least ten just souls. (Gen. 18:32) We know there were thousands of innocent children. But the point was to establish the proverbial expression to describe the Jewish Minyan of ten Jewish males to qualify for most rituals.
The second illustration is found in Jesus' parable of the Richman and Lazarus. That's when he said that even if one were raised from the dead, the family of the Richman would not believe. Therefore, they had no other option but to listen to Moses. (Luke 16:29-31)
Conclusion: Neither the three just men of Ezekiel 14:14 would save Jerusalem, not the ten just souls found in Sodom would save the city, or just the one raised from the dead would help the Richman in Hell.The condition for the three cases was of a proverbial sine qua non.
Ben
That's about a Century after Israel had been sacrificed for the sins of Judah, when this had corrupted himself into the same idolatry, which had caused him to be doomed in the first place.
Then, Jerusalem was promised destruction for that break of faith. And even if these three men were in it, Noah, Daniel and Job, they could save only themselves by their virtue. And the Prophet repeats the same threat three times as famine, wild animals and the sword are promised to devastate Jerusalem.
Noah, Daniel and Job; only three just men, this time, would not be able to save Jerusalem but only themselves. Not even their own children, but only themselves.
The whole point here is to teach personal responsibility. No more, someone would die for another, as Israel had died for Judah. Everyone would be responsible for his or her own wrongdoings. Noah, Daniel and Job had been used as symbols of proverbially virtuous men to reflect a final decision of Divine proportions.
The text has nothing to do with the existence of Noah, Daniel and Job.They might even have existed or not. The use of their names by Ezekiel here is in terms of a proverb. Noah, as the symbol of what he might have been: The only just man in his generation. Daniel, the symbol of loyalty in spite of all odds. And Job, as the symbol of the long-suffering servant who would not change his mind, even before a change of fate.
Again, when Ezekiel mentions the names of these three men: Noah, Daniel and Job, he does not mean the men themselves but as a proverb to impersonate the symbols they stood for: Justice, loyalty and long-suffering.
Here are two more cases to illustrate the personification of a proverbial statement. We have one in the intercession of Abraham on behalf of Sodom. The city would be spared from destruction if there were at least ten just souls. (Gen. 18:32) We know there were thousands of innocent children. But the point was to establish the proverbial expression to describe the Jewish Minyan of ten Jewish males to qualify for most rituals.
The second illustration is found in Jesus' parable of the Richman and Lazarus. That's when he said that even if one were raised from the dead, the family of the Richman would not believe. Therefore, they had no other option but to listen to Moses. (Luke 16:29-31)
Conclusion: Neither the three just men of Ezekiel 14:14 would save Jerusalem, not the ten just souls found in Sodom would save the city, or just the one raised from the dead would help the Richman in Hell.The condition for the three cases was of a proverbial sine qua non.
Ben
