Tag: social injustice

Posted in Exposition

When God Seems Far Away: Understanding Psalm 10

Posted on by writtenexposition

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 10

Psalm 10 is a biblical lament which wrestles with the problem of injustice. The psalmist describes the arrogance and violence of the wicked while asking why God appears distant. He eventually concludes that God does see the suffering of the oppressed and the wrongdoing of the oppressor and will ultimately bring justice. Thus the psalm moves from complaint to confidence.

THE STRUCTURE OF PSALM 10

Psalm 10 has no superscription.

In our introduction to Psalm 9 we noticed that, taken together, Psalms 9 and 10 are thought to be an incomplete acrostic on the Hebrew alphabet. That blog post included a quotation from an article by O. Palmer Robertson (2015, p.233) that explained this for Psalm 9. The following is Robertson’s explanation relating to Psalm 10 from that same article (2015, p.234):

‘Psalm 10 completes the acrostic that was begun in Psalm 9. Ten of the first eleven letters of the Hebrew alphabet are represented in Psalm 9 (with the omission of one letter), leaving eleven letters for Psalm 10 to complete the acrostic. The first verse of Psalm 10 picks up where Psalm 9 left off, with its first word beginning with the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (lamed). But then search will be made in vain for the next six letters of the alphabet. All the missing letters (mem, nun, samek, ayin, pe, tsade) appear in random places and more than once in the next ten verses (vv. 2-11). But no detectable pattern emerges. Then at the end of Psalm 10, the last four letters of the Hebrew alphabet appear in proper sequential order as the initial letter in the first word of a subsequent (though not consecutive) verse (qoph, v. 12; resh, v. 14; shin, v. 15; tav, v. 17).’

DIVISION OF PSALM 10

  • Verse 1 – Questions about God’s absence
  • Verses 2–11 – Description of the wicked person
  • Verses 12–15 – A plea for God to act
  • Verses 16–18 – Confidence in God’s justice

Key Themes in Psalm 10

  • The apparent silence of God – the psalm opens with questions about divine absence.
  • The arrogance of the wicked – the oppressor believes he will never be judged.
  • God’s concern for the oppressed – the psalm affirms that God sees suffering.
  • Confidence in divine justice – the psalm concludes by affirming God’s rule.

EXPLANATION

VERSE 1– QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD’S ABSENCE

(1) Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

Psalm 10 opens with two rhetorical ‘Why?’ questions typical of lament. These reflect a feeling of abandonment, confusion, frustration and despair on the part of the psalmist at God’s perceived absence and indifference during periods of distress. The questions relate to Space and Time. Not only does God stand ‘afar of’ but he does so in ‘times of trouble’ when he is most needed.

Verse 1 is a cry to the Lord to do something about the psalmist’s personal circumstances in which he is suffering injustice and evil seems to prevail. Scroggie (1948, p.84) comments: ‘Here might appears to triumph over right. The psalmist remonstrates with Jehovah for His apparent indifference (1). The Lord is distant and hidden and the sufferer wants to know “why?”

VERSES 2–11 – DESCRIPTION OF THE WICKED PERSON

The psalmist proceeds with an extended complaint in which he describes the character and deeds of the wicked.

(2) THE WICKED PERSON’S BEHAVIOUR – The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

Thinking that he can do so with impunity, the wicked arrogantly hounds the afflicted. The psalmist cries out for God to act and administer talionic justice (i.e. the punishment directly corresponds to the crime, e.g. ‘an eye for an eye’).

Six Hebrew words are used for the vulnerable in this psalm:

v.2, v.9, v.9 poor – ‘āniy;

v.8 innocent – nāqiyv;

v.8, v.10, v.14 poor – ḥēleḵāh;

v.12, v.17 humble – ‘ānāw;

v.14, v.18 fatherless – yāṯôm

v.18 oppressed – dak

(3) THE WICKED PERSON’S BOASTINGS – For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.

The word ‘For’ introduces the reason for the psalmist’s complaint. The wicked is characterised by grasping- he flaunts (praises) his heart’s desires and congratulates the greedy – whom the Lord detests.

(4) THE WICKED PERSON’S BIAS – The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

The wicked ‘has his nose in the air’ Lit. ‘the height of his nostril’ i.e. is disdainful of God. When devising his schemes he does not take God into his reckoning.

(5) THE WICKED PERSON’S BLINDNESS – His ways are always grievous; thy judgements are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.

His course of life (the paths he treads) is strong (no wavering) and as far as he is concerned God, if there is one, is way above out of his sight; therefore any decisions God makes will not affect him – i.e. God is irrelevant. Not having God to worry about he can therefore snort in contempt (or, with hostility) at everyone who goes up against him.

(6) He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

In his heart (see also v.11) he believes that he will always succeed and will never have to face misfortune.

(7) THE WICKED PERSON’S BLASPHEMIES – His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.

How he speaks reveals the kind of person he is; morally corrupt. He will swear falsely and be deceitful and violently oppressive. His speech can only bring trouble and injustice. The words here translated deceit and fraud occur together again in Psa 55:11. The apostle Paul alludes to this verse in Rom 3:14, quoting it as part of his evidence that ‘there is none righteous, no, not one’ (Rom 3:10).

(8-10) THE WICKED PERSON’S BRUTALITIES – He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.

He lurks in the courtyards of the villages and spies out victims. He murders the innocent and perpetrates violence against the unfortunate. A village is a group of houses not surrounded by a wall (Lev 25:31).

Like a lion in its den he hides ready to launch secret and sudden attacks upon the poor. The metaphor becomes mixed here and changes from that of a wild animal to a hunter. He catches the afflicted by drawing him in his net.

Then the metaphor changes back to that of a wild beast. He crouches down to conceal himself better before pouncing on the poor with ‘his strong ones.’ What are his strong ones – we are not told – perhaps his young, or his claws, or his teeth?

(11) He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

The psalmist once again (see v.6) articulates the thoughts of the wicked. The wicked man views God as powerless. He reckons that either God does not see his evil activities or that he does see them but does not bother to intervene. The basis of the wicked man’s behaviour is his rejection of God (see v.13).

VERSES 12–15 – A PLEA FOR GOD TO ACT

(12-13) Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

At this stage there is an abrupt shift in tone as the psalmist implores the Lord to rise up and act with hostility against the wicked. The psalmist wants immediate intervention so he appeals to God’s honour which has been insulted by the wicked. Should the wicked not be held to account for what he says in his heart? God ought to rescue his own reputation.

(14-15) Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.

Still thinking of the wicked man’s words in v.11 that God does not see what is going on the psalmist expresses a strong declaration of faith: ‘but you do see!’ He affirms that God does take note of the trouble and vexation of the vulnerable and takes it in hand. He intervenes when sought by the afflicted. He is especially the ‘helper’ of the most vulnerable (such as orphans).

The psalmist continues his plea for action and asks God to ‘break the arm of the wicked’ – that is: put an end to his power and destroy his ability to prey on the vulnerable. He asks the Lord to seek out or avenge wickedness so that no more can be found, i.e. so that wickedness will be wiped out.

VERSES 16–18 – CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S JUSTICE

The psalm now moves from petition and ends with praise. He declares God’s universal kingship which is eternal in contrast to the temporal (and temporary) domination enjoyed by the wicked. Earthly (‘land’) powers will rise and fall but God’s sovereignty is unshakeable. The wicked may seem to be in control at present but God will triumph over evil.

The psalm concludes with a message of further assurance and hope for the believer that God, who according to v.14 is the helper of the oppressed, will give strength to their trembling heart. He will hear their prayers and will use his divine authority to act on behalf of (judge or defend) ‘the fatherless and oppressed.’ The wicked who are mere mortals (‘man of the earth’) will no longer oppress the needy.

SUMMATION

Psalm 10 addresses the struggles faced by believers in a world where evil often seems to triumph over good. The psalmist honestly expresses his feelings of despair and frustration but after complaining about the wicked and calling upon God to act he expresses his confidence in God’s commitment to justice. The psalmist understands that God will act decisively against those who oppress others. God does see the injustices of the world and will intervene to rectify them because he is sovereign. Since his rule is everlasting no injustice will go unnoticed or unaddressed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Clarke, A.G. (1949). Analytical Studies in the Psalms. John Ritchie Ltd., Kilmarnock

Scroggie, W.G. (1948). The Psalms , Volume 1, Psalms I-L, Introduction and Notes by W. Graham Scroggie. Pickering & Inglis Ltd., London

‌JOURNAL ARTICLES

Benun, R. (2009) “Evil and the Disruption of Order: A Structural Analysis of the Acrostics in the First Book of Psalms”, The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, No.6.

Berlin, M. (1901). Psalms IX and X. The Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol. 13, No.4, pp.669–682.

Robertson, O. P. (2015). The Alphabetic Acrostic in Book I of the Psalms: An Overlooked Element of Psalter Structure. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Vol. 40, No. 2. pp. 225-238

Slabbert, M.J. (2015). Coping in a Harsh Reality: The Concept of the ‘Enemy’ in the Composition of Psalms 9 and 10. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, Vol. 71, No. 3.

Sumpter, P. (2019). The Canonical Shape of Psalms 1-14. Old Testament Essays, Vol. 32, No. 2 pp. 514-543.

Posted in Exposition

Psalm 9: A Song of Thanks and a Plea for Justice

Posted on by writtenexposition

INTRODUCTION


Due to ancient textual traditions Psalms 9 and 10 are often treated as one psalm. Although two individual psalms in the Hebrew Bible they appear as a single acrostic poem in the LXX (Septuagint Greek translation) and the Latin Vulgate. Taken together they constitute an almost complete irregular acrostic on the Hebrew alphabet. The two psalms share similar themes and also have word similarities (e.g. the phrase in times of trouble, 9:9; 10:1). Psalm 9 closes with Selah (which is unusual) and Psalm 10 has no superscription.

Most English translations, however, including the KJV, follow the Hebrew Bible and view them as two individual psalms. Psalm 9 is essentially a psalm of thanksgiving whereas Psalm 10 is a lament. Psalm 9 treats the subject of the wicked outside Israel and Psalm 10 of the wicked inside Israel.

STRUCTURE

When taken together Psalms 9 and 10 constitute the first of eight acrostic psalms (9/10; 25; 34; 37; 111; 112; 119; 145). For technical treatments of acrostics see Berlin (1901), Benun (2009) and Robertson (2015) – details in Bibliography.

Benun (2009, section 2.1) writes: ‘Of the twenty two letters in the alphabet only fifteen are present in the acrostic of Pss 9 and 10, while seven . . . are missing.’ He goes on to make this interesting observation:

‘This first acrostic in Psalms is unique in that it spans two psalms. Ps 9 goes from א to כ (11 letters) and Ps 10 continues from ל to ת (11 letters) so that the alphabet is split evenly between the two, even though some of the letters are missing. Furthermore, there are 164 words in Ps 9 and 162 words in Ps 10 so that the total acrostic of 326 words is split almost exactly evenly between the two psalms. The last word of Ps 9, סלה, is not an integral part of the psalm but rather a marker indicating a pause or an interruption. If we leave out this סלה from the word count as well as the סלה in 9:17, then Ps 9 also has 162 words. The acrostic is split exactly in the middle both in its division of letters of the alphabet and in terms of word counts. It is statistically significant that the word count for Ps 9, which contains ten of the first eleven letters of the alphabet, should be exactly equal to the word count of Ps 10, which includes only five of the last eleven letters of the alphabet. This is a first indication that no words have been deleted in MT, and that the aberrations in the acrostic structure may be intentional.’

Writing on Psalm 9, Robertson (2015, pp.232-233) explains:

‘. . . from the opening verses of this psalm, it becomes obvious that the psalm does not intend to be ‘regular’ in the normal sense of the word. In vv. 1 and 2, the letter aleph occurs four times as the beginning letter of the first word of each half-verse (Heb. vv. 2, 3). Then the letter beth encompasses two verses (Heb. vv. 4, 5). Next the letter gimel occurs twice in two consecutive words (Heb. v. 6). The letter daleth is omitted (although it concludes the final word of v. 6). The letter he begins the next verse (Heb. v. 7). Then the letter waw opens the next verse as a prefix to Yahweh, and then introduces the following three verses, so that four waws introduce four consecutive verses (Heb. vv. 8, 9, 10, 11). Then the letter zayin begins the next verse and concludes the following half-verse (Heb. vv. 12, 13a). A single heth and teth each introduce two verses (Heb. vv. 14, 15 and 16, 17). Yodh introduces one verse (Heb. v. 18). Then one verse beginning with kaph introduces the final three verses of Psalm 9 (Heb. vv. 19, 20, 21). Ten of the first eleven letters of the Hebrew alphabet in what may be regarded as standard alphabetic order have been introduced in the 21 verses (in the Hebrew text) of Psalm 9.

SUPERSCRIPTION

TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN UPON MUTH-LABBEN, A PSALM OF DAVID.

Muth – death. Labben – son. Occurring only in the title of Psalm 9 Muth-labben means ‘death to/of the son’ or ‘to die for the son.’ It is probably a musical direction to the temple precentor, to use a tune called Muth -Labben. If David was the author of Psalm 9 then both psalm and tune may have been composed in response to the death of Absalom (2 Sam 18), which David considered unjust.

1-12 PRAISE FOR PAST DELIVERANCE

1-2 A declaration of praise

3-6 YHWH’s past judgement on the wicked

7-10 YHWH’s justice for the oppressed

11-12 A call to praise the Lord for what he has done

13-20 PLEA FOR PRESENT DELIVERANCE

13-14 A plea for deliverance

15-18 The fate of the wicked and of the needy

19-20 A final call for YHWH to intervene

EXPLANATION

1-2 A declaration of praise

Psalm 9 begins by stating the purpose of the psalm: to express the psalmist’s gratitude and commitment to praise the Lord. He states ‘I will’ 4 times.

  • REVERE – I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart – to praise is to confess, thank or acknowledge all that is right about the Lord. This will be with all his heart, signifying that his gratitude is not superficial but total and unreserved. The reference is to private praise.
  • RECOUNT – I will show forth all thy marvellous works – to show forth is to number, recount, relate. The Lord’s ‘marvellous works’ are God’s acts in creation, redemption and personal deliverance which motivate the psalmist to progress from private praise to public testimony.
  • REJOICE – I will be glad and rejoice in thee – He will be glad and jubilant – This overwhelming emotional response is rooted ‘in thee’ – The Lord himself is the source of his joy.
  • RESONATE – I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High – The verb ‘to sing praise’ means to play an instrument or to sing with musical accompaniment. Now the psalmist’s praise is musical and communal. It will be sung in the temple accompanied by stringed instruments. He addresses the Lord as ‘elyôn – thou most High. God’s supreme power and authority render him worthy of praise.

3-6 YHWH’s past judgement upon the wicked

Verses 3-6 refer to the psalmist’s past experiences of God’s help and summarise the Lord’s acts of judgement upon the Gentiles (heathen). The psalmist attributes the defeat of the ‘enemy’ to YHWH, whom he portrays as the sovereign judge. The Gentiles (variously described as ‘ thou enemy,’ ‘ the heathen,’ ‘the wicked’ and ‘the nations’) are mentioned in vv. 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, 19, and 20. When the Lord acts against them they ‘stumble’ and ‘perish.’

Notice that whereas ‘I will‘ appears 4 times in vv.1-2 now the words ‘thou hast’ appear 5 times in vv. 4-6.

  1. thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right – someone had broken a covenant with the psalmist but the Lord had sat as the supreme, righteous judge and had upheld the psalmist’s righteous cause (right and cause are synonyms). The Lord has vindicated the psalmist and punished the offenders.
  2. thou hast rebuked the heathen – rebuked – includes the result of God’s rebuke – he has stopped them in their tracks.
  3. thou hast destroyed the wicked – destroyed – he has caused them to perish.
  4. thou hast put out their name forever and ever – blotted out – he has removed them from the scene once and for all.
  5. thou hast destroyed cities – the imagery portraying God’s judgement as decisive and final is reinforced in v.6 – O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them – lit. ‘as to the enemy, finished are his ruins forever, thou hast destroyed their cities, perished their memory /they’ i.e. God deals severely with the wicked.

7-10 YHWH’s justice for the oppressed

But the LORD shall endure forever: he hath prepared his throne for judgement.
And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgement to the people in uprightness.
The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

‘But.’ – Although cities and their inhabitants may fall YHWH sits as a judge enthroned forever. His oversight of the world is constant and stable and he will govern the world (peoples) and minister justice. The concept of ‘judging in righteousness’ signifies that his decisions will be upright, fair and impartial, vindicating the righteous and punishing the wicked.

Verses 9-10 spell out the implications of the Lord as judge. He will be the ultimate defender and protector of the vulnerable, this is expressed with a metaphor – refuge (fortress, high tower). In times of trouble – according to Scroggie (1948, p.80): ‘This word “trouble,” occurring again only in X.1, means the extremity of trouble in which all hope of deliverance is cut off.’ The vulnerable are described in Psalm 9 as the oppressed (v.9), those who know the Lord’s name (v.10), the humble (v.12), and the needy (v.18). All the oppressed, marginalised and persecuted who discern the Lord’s name (his character, reputation) and seek him will be delivered. There is a marked contrast between the name of the Lord who abides forever (v.7) and the name of the wicked which will be blotted out (v.5).

11-12 A call to praise the Lord for what he has done

Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.

Having earlier declared his intention to praise YHWH (vv.1-2) the psalmist now calls upon others to participate as well and spread far and wide the word of YHWH’s actions on behalf of the oppressed. YHWH, who in vv.7-8 is enthroned ready to judge internationally is now viewed as dwelling locally in Zion. It is from there, dispensing ultimate justice in his role as ‘the avenger of blood,’ that he pays attention to the cry of the afflicted.

13-14 A plea for deliverance

Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.

The psalmist moves quickly from praise for what YHWH has done in the past and his support of the afflicted to present a plea for present and personal deliverance from distress. He asks YHWH to be gracious to him and ‘see’ (KJV consider) his suffering at the hands of those who hate him i.e. not just literally ‘see’ his trouble but also bring him out of it. Using a play on words he asks God to ‘lift him from the gates of death‘ (a potentially near death situation) so that he can praise him publicly ‘in the gates of the daughter of Zion‘ and rejoice in salvation. Daughter of Zion is a personification of the city of Jerusalem and a metaphor for Israel’s relationship with YHWH.

15-18 The fate of the wicked and of the needy

The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
The LORD is known by the judgement which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.

Verses 15-18 contrast the fate of the heathen and the wicked with that of the needy and the poor. Verses 15-16 use hunting imagery reminiscent of Psalm 7:15-16. The Lord causes the wicked to be caught in their own devices. Higgaion and Selah are possibly musical notations. Higgaion occurs three times in The Book of Psalms – 9:16; 19:14 (transl. meditation); 92:3 (transl. solemn sound).

The wicked will return to Sheol – the grave (cf. Gen 3:19) – the ground or earth that they came from. Many commentators interpret this verse as referring to eternal punishment in hell. Verses 17-18 form a chiasm based on the word ‘forget.’ The nations that forget God will perish but the needy will not be forever forgotten. The Lord sends the wicked to the grave because he remembers the hope of the oppressed and afflicted. The words not always could imply that the poor and needy are currently forgotten by God but the last phrase of v.18 clarifies that God never forgets them

19-20 A final call for YHWH to intervene

Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

Each of the final two verses begins with an imperative. The psalmist wants God to intervene immediately among the nations to prevail over human pride and restore a right perspective on the human condition. God is immortal and omnipotent, man is mortal and finite.

Psalm 9 ends with Selah. This is unusual – only 3, 9, 24 and 46 end with Selah. There is a suggestion that those psalms ending with Selah appear to form pairs with the psalm that follows. Some therefore use this to bolster the theory that Psalm 9 and Psalm 10 were originally one psalm.

SUMMATION

Psalm 9 is an expression of praise and trust in the Lord in spite of adversity and injustice. The psalmist celebrates God’s sovereignty over all circumstances and proceeds to reflect on God’s judgement of the wicked and defence of the oppressed. Based on God’s actions in the past he expresses confidence that God will protect him in the future. He then contrasts the fate of the wicked with the hope of the oppressed. Suffering and overwhelming circumstances ought not lead to despair for the afflicted will not be forgotten. God, who is sovereign and faithful, will eventually rise and judge the nations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Clarke, A.G. (1949). Analytical Studies in the Psalms. John Ritchie Ltd., Kilmarnock

Scroggie, W.G. (1948). The Psalms , Volume 1, Psalms I-L, Introduction and Notes by W. Graham Scroggie. Pickering & Inglis Ltd., London

‌

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Benun, R. (2009) “Evil and the Disruption of Order: A Structural Analysis of the Acrostics in the First Book of Psalms”, The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, No.6.

Berlin, M. (1901). Psalms IX and X. The Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol. 13, No.4, pp.669–682.

Robertson, O. P. (2015). The Alphabetic Acrostic in Book I of the Psalms: An Overlooked Element of Psalter Structure. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Vol. 40, No. 2. pp.225-238

Posted in Exposition

Ezekiel 16:44-52: The Allegory of Jerusalem and Her Sinful Sisters

Posted on by writtenexposition

INTRODUCTION

In 16:1-43 Ezekiel has YHWH speak a lengthy allegory in which Jerusalem is personified as a woman. YHWH describes how he found her as an abandoned infant. He rescued her and, once she reached ‘the age for love,’ he married her. Abusing the gifts that he had given her, Jerusalem subsequently turned to idolatry and immorality; for which YHWH sentences her to harsh punishment. At this point one would expect a conclusion to the allegory but that does not come until v.60.

The History of a Harlot: Jerusalem’s Early Years – Ezekiel 16:1-14
The History of a Harlot: Jerusalem’s Prostitution – Ezekiel 16:15-34
The History of a Harlot: Jerusalem’s Judgement – Ezekiel 16:35-43

Commentators disagree as to whether the section (16:44-59) is an extension of the allegory of 16:1-43 or a further allegory which, although closely linked with the preceding one, is not a continuation of it. I would contend that it is indeed a new allegory but one which shares the ending with the previous one.

The allegory in vv.1-43, while addressed to Jerusalem, clearly covers the history of Israel as a whole, not just Judah. In this new allegory, however, Judah and Israel are distinct. Jerusalem stands for the southern kingdom of Judah and Samaria represents the northern kingdom of Israel. In this second allegory YHWH compares Jerusalem with her ‘sisters’ Samaria and Sodom and concludes that Jerusalem has turned out much worse than either of them.

THE ALLEGORY OF THE SINFUL SISTERS

(44) Verse 44 begins with the word ‘behold’ which directs the reader’s attention to the new allegory and to the comparison of Jerusalem with Sodom and Samaria (the theme of Samaria and Jerusalem as sisters is developed more fully in chapter 23). YHWH says that everyone who quotes a proverb (cf. Num 21:27) will say of Jerusalem: ‘like mother, like daughter.’ With this short (two words in Hebrew) saying YHWH refers back to v.3 and sarcastically reminds Jerusalem that she has foreign ancestry.

(45-46) In v.3 the Amorite father is mentioned first but here the order is inverted. The Hittite mother is placed first now because this allegory focuses on female family members. Ezekiel is again referring to the Canaanite origins of the city of Jerusalem (Jebusites, Josh 15:63; Judge 1:21). This is by no means a compliment since Hittites and Amorites were two of the seven nations which the Israelites were commanded to drive out of the Promised Land ( Deut 7:1-2; Josh 3:10; 24:11) and with whom they were forbidden to intermarry (Deut 7:3).

Ezekiel paints a picture of a truly dysfunctional family. Jerusalem resembles her Hittite mother because just as her mother had shown contempt for her Amorite husband and their children (3 daughters) so Jerusalem had shown contempt for her husband and children (16:20-21, 31, 32). Her sisters, Samaria and Sodom, had likewise shown contempt for their husbands and daughters.

The husbands are not mentioned again, they don’t really feature in this allegory nor does the mother appear again after v.45. In this section Ezekiel concentrates on two important relationships; sister and daughter.

Daughter – vv. 44, 45, 46(x2), 48 (x2), 49, 53(x2), 55(x3), 57(x2), 61.
Sister – vv. 45(x2), 46(x2), 48, 49, 51, 52(x2), 55, 56, 61.

(46) YHWH begins a quite convoluted negative comparison between Jerusalem and her two sisters in which Samaria is described as the ‘elder’ sister and Sodom as the ‘younger.’ In fact, Jerusalem and Sodom had long histories whereas Samaria was much younger than either of them, having only been established (1 Kgs 16:23-24) by King Omri of Israel (884-873 BCE) almost 300 years before Ezekiel’s time. ‘Elder’ and ‘younger’ only make sense if interpreted in terms of greatness of geographical/territorial size, military power or historical importance. ‘Daughters’ probably refers to dependent satellite towns and villages, or perhaps to the inhabitants of the three cities.

Geographically Jerusalem is situated between the sites of the two cities. As one faces East the city of Samaria is to the left (North) and Sodom to the right (South). Samaria was the former capital of the northern kingdom of Israel and in patriarchal times Sodom had been the most important city of the Jordan valley (Gen 18-19).

(47) Jerusalem was not content with equalling the ways and abominations of Samaria and Sodom but became much more corrupt than they. As if despising their sinful deeds as small scale (‘a very little thing’ or ‘a thing of disgust’) Jerusalem outdid them by sinning on a much grander scale. Ezekiel’s hearers would have been greatly shocked to hear YHWH linking Jerusalem with Sodom and Samaria; cities that were notorious for sin and idolatry.

THE INIQUITY OF SODOM

(48-50) In v.48 YHWH stresses that Judah’s sins outstripped those of Sodom. In the next two verses he elaborates on the greatness of Judah’s guilt compared to that of Sodom. In v.49 YHWH specifies the ‘iniquity’ (guilt from conscious wrongdoing) of Sodom. The sins of Sodom and her daughters (the towns Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim – Gen 10:19) are enumerated as follows:

Pride – an example of success inflating the ego.

Satiety – because of an over-abundance of food – they were gluttonous.

‘Abundance of idleness’ KJV. – This means careless rest or security. The people of Sodom were so prosperous that they became complacent.

They were indifferent to the poor and needy.

They were ‘haughty’ (arrogant).

They committed abomination (cf. Lev 18:22) in the presence of YHWH (Gen 18:21).

YHWH says that when he saw the iniquity of Sodom and her daughters he removed them. The word ‘good’ is in italics, it is not in the original and has been supplied by translators. Without the word ‘good’ the phrase means ‘when I saw it’.

Ancient writers viewed Sodom as notorious for sexual sin, social injustice, arrogance and hostility towards strangers, for example: Isa 1:9-17; Jeremiah 23:14; 2 Pet 2:6-10; Jude 7; 2 Esdras 2:8-9; 3 Maccabees 2:5; Sirach 16:8; Wisdom of Solomon 19:13-17.

(51-52) YHWH states that Samaria did not sin half as much as Jerusalem. He does not spell out Samaria’s iniquity but Ezekiel’s audience are well aware that it was idolatry. Jerusalem has multiplied the sins of Sodom and Samaria to such an extent that she has ‘justified’ those cities. In other words, Jerusalem’s sins are so evil that she makes Sodom and Samaria look righteous. These two sinful cities had so angered YHWH that he had punished them severely.

Jerusalem, having privileges like the the Law, the Temple and YHWH’s presence, had behaved worse than Sodom and Samaria. She (v.52 ‘thou also’), who had ‘given judgement’ on her sisters (i.e. agreed that their punishment was well-deserved) but had behaved more abominably than they, could therefore expect to suffer a similar fate. It is appropriate that Jerusalem be punished because her sins make the other sisters look righteous.

Many centuries later a similar thought was expressed by Jesus Christ: But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. Luke 10:10-12

The next section of Ezekiel chapter 16 will deal with the sisters’ future.