Sefer Yechezkel - Perek 16 - part 2 Based on Dr. Tova Ganzel's book Ezekiel: From Destruction to Restoration June 7, 2024

We now turn to HaShem's response to Jerusalem's unfaithfulness. We will see that the punishments are measure for measure with the acts of the Jews.

Concerning these forms of death as punishment, Y. Rosen-Zvi writes (Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Full Professor, teaches rabbinic literature in the department of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud at Tel-Aviv University.):
“This ‘hyper-punishment’ makes sense in light of Yechezkel’s tendency in these chapters to present the Destruction as a total annihilation, a punishment unprecedented in its severity. He presents the imminent Destruction as the ‘punishment to end all punishments’, and therefore constructs a punishment that has no precedent; nothing like it exists in reality. At the same time, he also describes the sin in exceedingly severe terms, which provides justification for such a terrible punishment. To this end, these chapters bring together adultery, bloodshed and idolatry – the three most grave sins. Yechezkel creates his own original punishment, which is prescribed neither for adulteresses nor for killers; he calls it “judgments of women who break wedlock and shed blood” (v. 38) jointly, just as he binds together the sin of the adulteress and that of the harlot. A sin that has no parallel justifies a punishment without precedent.”

Yechezkel now goes on to compare the deeds of the city of Jerusalem to those of her “elder sister,” Shomron (which had a greater number of inhabitants and was exiled earlier than Jerusalem) and her “younger sister,” Sdom. The comparisons emphasize that Jerusalem’s deeds have been worse than those of her sisters. Since they were destroyed, the fate of Jerusalem can be deduced by simple logic.

The sin of Sedom, as depicted here, is that despite the economic stability and strength of its inhabitants, they did not support the poor and needy. In other words: socio-economic sins. This description is rather surprising, in light of the fact that in Sefer Bereishit, Sedom is destroyed “because the cry of Sedom and Amora is great, and because their sin is very grievous” (Bereishit 18:20), and the story there seems to suggest that their sins included rape or homosexuality (ibid. 19:1-9). Sefer Yechezkel attributes “social welfare” sins to Sedom, in contrast to the actions described in Sefer Bereishit. This fits the prophet’s message about the severity of Jerusalem’s sins in Chapter 16. The surprising disparity between the deeds of Sedom in Sefer Bereishit and the deeds attributed to it in Sefer Yechezkel makes more sense in the context of the prophetic message arising from the comparison between Sedom and Jerusalem: the comparison emphasizes that Jerusalem’s sins – sins of a religious and adulterous nature – are even worse than those of Sedom.

Thus, Yechezkel attributes only social sins to Sedom in order to emphasize the more grievous sins of Jerusalem, which are described as unfaithfulness. The end of this prophetic unit emphasizes that Jerusalem will be disgraced through God’s rehabilitation of its sisters, Sedom and Shomron. Jerusalem itself will be rebuilt only after these cities have been restored to their former state:

Renewal of the covenant
The prophecy in Chapter 16 ends with the promise that God will not break His covenant with the Jerusalem/Israel of earlier times, and that He will make an everlasting covenant with them. This renewal of the covenant will cause Jerusalem to feel shame at her deeds (v. 63). These verses conclude what is one of the harshest prophecies – if not the harshest - in Sefer Yechezkel. It is fitting that this concluding prophecy of redemption differs from the other prophecies. First, it lacks elements that are found in all the other prophecies of redemption in this Sefer. Second, it includes elements that are common among the other prophets but unusual for Yechezkel, including the establishment of an “everlasting covenant” and Divine forgiveness for the people’s actions. These verses – their prophetic message, their location at the conclusion of the prophecy, the language and in its context – all emphasize to the people that the cataclysm and the repair are bound up with each other. Even the sins that the people have committed – including violation of the covenant with God – will not lead to a breaking of the bond between God and His people. Despite the people’s actions in the present, the covenant that God remembers and maintains even in the future is a covenant of youth, and at the time of their sin, this historical covenant will stand. This is also why the nation is rebuked just as it is being forgiven.

Appendix: the woman – Jerusalem
Throughout the first part of the Sefer, Yechezkel addresses Jerusalem by comparing the city to a woman. Along with an understanding of the verses in their context, an examination of the images interwoven throughout these prophecies as a whole points to a trend that becomes entirely clear in Chapters 16 and 23, and concludes with the description of the prophet’s own wife in Chapter 24.
For example, vv. 8-17 of Chapter 5 deal with the punishment of the city; in v. 14 we read: “And I will make you a desolation and a reproach… in the sight of all who pass by.” The language with which the prophet describes the scorn of the nations suits the description of the deeds of Jerusalem in Chapter 16. Sometimes the deeds of the people are described using vocabulary that corresponds even more explicitly to Chapters 16 and 23. For example, “… their wanton heart… and their eyes which go astray” (6:9); “their gold shall be like an unclean thing… therefore I have made it an unclean thing for them” (7:19-20). Likewise the use of the word “damim” (blood), connotes menstrual women: “the bloody city… A city that sheds blood in the midst of it… You have become guilty in your blood that you have shed…” (22:2-4); “Woe to the bloody city, to the pot in which there is filth… For her blood is in the midst of her.” We propose[11] that this accumulation of examples shows that the comparison of Jerusalem with a harlot is actually maintained, on some level, throughout the chapters of the Sefer that contain prophecies of destruction.[12]
In light of the above it unsurprising that no use is made of the image of a woman in the vision of the future, This image symbolizes the uncleanness of the city that has led to the destruction of the Temple. And perhaps the death of the prophet’s wife symbolizes metaphorically that the city will not be made unclean again. If this is correct, then Yechezkel differs in this respect from the other prophets, since they also use images of women in a positive sense, while for Yechezkel, this metaphor is purely negative.