The Tanakh Podcast

In today's chapter we show how the destruction of Egypt as foretold by Ezekiel will echo and reflect the Exodus story. Music. Evyatar Banai - "Karev Yom"

Chapter 29 predicts the demise of Egypt who is guilty of pride and betrayal of Israel. Music. The Bangles - "Walk like an Egyptian"

Our chapter is a diatribe against the king of Tyre and his arrogance, comporting himself as a god, imagining that he is in the garden of Eden. We discuss the sin of hubris, and the power of Channukah as a festival that champions the power of small things. Music. Zusha

In this lament-parable, Tyre is depicted as a sailing-ship made with the finest materials, piloted by the most professional sailors, and laden with the most expensive and sophisticated cargo. And yet, on her maiden voyage, the ship is sunk in a storm! What is the message?

Ezekiel predicts the fall of the city and kingdom of Tyre. Who is Tyre? What was their sin? Did the prophecy materialize?

In the first of the "Prophecies Against the Nations" Ezekiel addresses Amon, Moav, Edom and the Philistines and predicts their downfall. What do these prophecies add to the tapestry of messages that Ezekiel offers?

Chapter 24 takes place on the 10 of Tevet - the day that the Babylonians besiege Jerusalem. 1. Ezekiel prophesizes about the "pot and the meat" and warns the people that Jerusalem will not protect or defend them; instead they will be stewed inside the city as the siege begins to bite. 2. Yechezkel's own wife dies and the prophet is instructed to refrain from mourning rituals. This represents the fact that people will not have the luxury of mourning loved-ones once the Hurban arrives. There is no time to mourn in the panic and pandemonium of the national collapse.

Jerusalem and Samaria are depicted as two sisters - unfaithful to their husband and rampantly promiscuous. Their punishment is the consequence of their infidelity. This chapter is violent, shocking and brutal and hard to read. We discuss the history of the metaphor of Jerusalem as a woman, and we look at the use of the theme of promiscuity as reflecting the sin of idolatry

This chapter is a sordid inventory of Jerusalem's sins. Music: Hadag Nachash - "Ir Ha-Elohim - City of God"

Our chapter warns about the fierce destruction that will befall Jerusalem, like a wildfire, or like an unsheathed sword. In response to this prophecy, Ezekiel is instructed to moan or groan so it seems that his entire body is broken. What is the power of a groan?