The Literary Expansion of Ezekiel's “Two Sticks” Sign Act (Ezekiel 37:15–28)
Abstract
In Ezek 37:15–28 the prophet Ezekiel is instructed to inscribe two “sticks” (Hebrew), one for Judah and one for Joseph, and to unite them in a visual display meant to signify God's intention to reunite the former kingdoms of Judah and Israel. This intended meaning is made clear in the accompanying oracle (vv. 21–28), which explicitly proclaims this interpretation of the act. This form of prophetic announcement, in which a conspicuous action is followed by an oracle that is, in part or in whole, an interpretation of it, is often referred to as a symbolic action, or “sign act.” Whereas other sign acts in the Hebrew Bible strive for a simple and clear relationship between the act and the prophecy that they introduce, this one is more complex, both in its form and in the hermeneutical relationship between the act and its interpretation.
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"Restoration Under the Davidic Shepherd-King": An Exposition of Ezekiel 37:15–28
(2025) · Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal · doi:10.70623/uorb5927
- Authors
- Whitley, J. B.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Whitley, John B.
- Venue
- Harvard Theological Review
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2015-04
- Volume
- 108
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 307-324
- ISSN
- 0017-8160 (ISSN-L)
- 1475-4517
- OpenAlex
- W2321547571
- Cited by
- 1
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Harvard Theological Review (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Biblical Studies and Interpretation
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Religion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis
- Keywords
- symbolic behavior, prophetic oracles, literary interpretation
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