Ezekiel- A verse-by-verse personal critique.

Essay by Keir January 2006

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i.4: The absolutely bizarre description here has been suggested by some to be the perhaps the earliest account of a UFO sighting or, more probably, a description of a sun-dog (panhelion).

i.5-10: Ezekiel sees creatures that have human, eagle, ox, and lion heads, four wings and straight feet with the soles of calves. The faces described here correspond to signs of the Zodiac: Taurus, Leo, Aquarius, and Scorpio, the latter being presented as in ancient times as an eagle. They also represent the four elements, respectively earth, fire, water and air.

i.27: God graciously shows his loins to Ezekiel for the first time.

ii.9-iii.3: God orders Ezekiel to eat a book by telling him to fill thy bowels with it. He does, and surprisingly finds it to be as sweet as honey.

iii.20: No merciful and forgiving god is depicted here, for even a righteous man will have a stumblingblock put in front of him by Yahweh who will not remember the righteousness which he hath done.

iii.24-26: God makes Ezekiel tied up before making Ezekiel's tongue stick to the roof of his mouth. No reason.

iv.4-8: Ezekiel is now ordered by his god to lie on his right side for 390 days, and then on his left side for another 40 days. God makes it explicit that thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days.

iv.12: More appetising recipes from God's cookbook: thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man.

iv.15: Ezekiel is again told by the almighty to eat excrement, but this time God's merciful benevolence has seen fit to exchange cow's dung for man's dung which is more nutritious.

v.1-3: Poor Ezekiel is commanded by God to...