After Ezekiel: Essays on the Reception of a Difficult Prophet

Description

Ezekiel has long been considered the most difficult of all the prophetic books to understand. The prophet's bizarre visions, extraordinary behaviour, and extravagant imagery have perplexed and fascinated readers for more than 2,500 years. The prophet has had an impact not only on theology and the life of Church and Synagogue, but also on culture, art and architecture. The volume brings together 15 new essays on Ezekiel's impact by leading scholars, and they focus on a range of different parts of the book and periods of reception. Historically they cover the reception of Ezekiel from the New Testament to the present day, and include both Jewish and Christian readings of the book. Methodologically, they offer a wide sample of the different approaches to reception/history of interpretation current in contemporary biblical studies.

Paul M. Joyce is University Lecturer in Theology in the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Peter's College, Oxford.He is author of Divine Initiative and Human Response in Ezekiel (Sheffield, 1989) and numerous articles on Ezekiel, and currently chairs the Society of Biblical Literature's 'Theological Perspectives on the Book of Ezekiel' Section. Andrew Mein is Tutor in Old Testament, Westcott House, Cambridge.

Overall, this is a very interesting and stimulating book. The essays have unearthed a wealth of insights that can be of help to us when we approach the difficult book of Ezekiel and seek to come to terms wit its theology and its worldview. -- Review of Biblical Literature It makes use not only of religious texts, but also of artistic representations. It therefore offers a kaleidoscopic montage of themes and images from Ezekiel as they make an impact in a wide variety of contexts...Each of these pieces is a detailed scholarly analysis of its particular topic. The collection as a whole conveys a sense of Ezekiel not as a dry text whose 'problems' need to be solved, but as a living book, in continuous conversation with its interpreters. -- Ann Conway-Jones * Reviews in Religion & Theology *