Ezekiel 16 and the Song of Moses: A Prophetic Transformation?

Scholars have long recognized that in Ezekiel 16 the prophet draws on the harlotry metaphor of his prophetic predecessors to indict Jerusalem for its idolatry and foreign relations. ¹ Moshe Greenberg, for example, described Ezekiel's expansion of this common motif when he noted, "By extending the metaphor in time, Ezekiel provides the adulterous wife of Hosea and Jeremiah with a biography." ² However, commentators have thus far failed to notice that the building blocks of the oracle are found in the Song of Moses (Deut 32:1-43). ³ In this essay I will argue that Ezekiel's depiction of Israel in ch. 16 (chiefly section A, vv. 1-43) ⁴ represents a prophetic transformation of the rise and decline of Israel depicted in the Song, whereby he adopts the structure and themes of Deuteronomy 32 and infuses them with the prophetic motif of harlotry. ⁵

I begin the investigation by outlining the thematic, lexical, and structural links between the two passages and then more explicitly discuss criteria for establishing literary dependence. In the subsequent sections I address the following questions: Could Ezekiel have known and used the Song? Is it likely that he would have known and used the Song? Did he in fact use the Song elsewhere in his prophetic book? And is it likely that he would have used the Song in the way proposed in this essay? Finally, I mention numerous ways in which Ezekiel uniquely builds on and transforms his underlying text and then conclude by addressing the rhetorical import of Ezekiel's use of the Song.

I. Plot Structure and Thematic Links

Ezekiel 16 and Deuteronomy 32 display remarkable similarities of plot and themes, the full extent of which has not been fully noted. The two texts exhibit virtually identical plot structures, both depicting the rise and decline of YHWH's people. In both, (a) YHWH discovers destitute Israel in a barren location; (b) he delivers her and renders lavish care upon her so that (c) she prospers; (d) Israel in her prosperity forsakes YHWH; (e) she pursues other gods and (f) forgets her origins, thereby (g) provoking YHWH to anger; (h) Israel is punished for her sins; and finally, (i) Israel is restored. Several verbal parallels, synonyms, and rare motifs found in the two passages at the same point in the plot make it unlikely that these similarities are coincidental. The two texts also share similar formal features. Though Ezekiel 16 may be properly considered a rîb ("dispute") ⁶ and Deuteronomy 32 a šîr ("song, hymn"), ⁷ the latter nevertheless contains strong rîb elements, including an indictment (vv. 15-18) and sentence (vv. 19-29). ⁸

Before considering the links in detail, a few comments are necessary by way of preface. First, the texts exhibit some fundamental differences in imagery, and Ezekiel's oracle is fuller and more detailed at certain points. Most of these differences are due to the liberty with which the prophet expands and transforms the Song. The particulars of Ezekiel's transformation will be taken up later, but in what follows I will focus on the thematic links and parallel plot structures, while recognizing, for example, that the harlot imagery is lacking in Deuteronomy 32. Second, criteria for establishing literary dependence and its direction will be discussed below in section II. It is to be noted in advance only that the case for literary dependence across entire pericopes involves a cumulative argument. The persuasiveness of individual parallels would vary on a scale of possibility to probability when considered separately. When taken together, however, and in the close proximity of two well-defined passages, numerous distinctive parallels in combination can make a compelling case for literary dependence.

A. YHWH's Discovery of Israel (Deut 32:10 // Ezek 16:6)

The accounts of Israel's history with her God begin with YHWH finding destitute Israel in a barren location. In Ezekiel 16 the prophet depicts Jerusalem's origins with the image of an infant cast aside by her parents and later rescued from dire...