‘These three men’: in Job and Ezekiel

by Damien F. Mackey How fascinating! Bernard is perfectly correct here. The exact same Hebrew phrase (שְׁלֹשֶׁת הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה), “these three men”, is found in both Ezekiel 14:14 and Job 32:1 Ezekiel’s Merkabah vision The Book of Ezekiel (1:1) opens “in the 30th year” (בִּשְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה). But, of whom, or what? Some translations give: “In my thirtieth year …”, which the Hebrew would not appear to justify. Verse 2, connecting to that 30th year, is far more precise: “On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin …”. This, being 32 years before the correspondence of the 37th year of Jehoiachin with the 1st year of Evil-Merodach, son of King Nebuchednezzar (cf. Jeremiah 52:31), must have occurred in about the 12th/13th year of Nebuchednezzar. Verse 3 then provides us with some useful pieces of genealogical and geographical information: “[In that year] the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was on him”. We learn that Ezekiel was a priest, a son of Buzi, or the Buzite, and that he was in Babylonia when there occurred an astounding vision. It is one of the most famous images in the Old Testament, playing a huge part in Jewish mysticism. We read of this at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Merkava-Jewish-mysticism Merkava, (Hebrew: “Chariot”) also spelled Merkabah, the throne, or “chariot,” of God as described by the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1); it became an object of visionary contemplation for early Jewish mystics. Merkava mysticism began to flourish in Palestine during the 1st century AD, but from the 7th to the 11th century its centre was in Babylonia. Merkava mystics probably experienced ecstatic visions of the celestial hierarchies and the throne of God. In Merkava mystical literature the ascent of the visionary’s soul is described as a perilous journey through seven spheres, or “heavenly dwellings,” manned by hostile angels. The visionary’s goal was to behold the divine throne situated on its chariot. Merkava mysticism was strongly influenced by Gnostic beliefs. Merkava initiates (tzenuʿim), limited to a select few with specific moral qualities, were required to prepare themselves by fasting. A successful visionary journey depended, in part, on the use of certain magical formulas (called seals) that were used to placate the angelic gatekeeper of each heavenly dwelling. The use of an incorrect seal could result in severe injury or a fiery death. The Talmud warns that among four men who engaged in Merkava, one died, one went mad, one apostatized, and only Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph had a true visionary experience. Those who practiced Merkava were sometimes called Explorers of the Supernatural World (Yorde Merkava); Gershom Gerhard Scholem, a modern Jewish scholar of mysticism, suggests that the words may have implied a descent into the depths of self. The oldest literary sources of the movement are two hekhalot texts: the “Lesser” attributed to Rabbi Akiba, the “Greater” to Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha. The Book of Enoch and the Shiʿur qoma (“Divine Dimensions”) belong to this same tradition. The latter contains highly exaggerated anthropomorphic descriptions of God. …. [End of quote] As in the Book of Job, God was speaking to the prophet Ezekiel through a “whirlwind” (Ezekiel 1:4-9; cf. Job 38:1): I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. Christian spirituality takes up the notion of the “four living creatures” (vv. 10-14): Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body. Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning [,] teaching (as best as I can recall it) that we need to be as “a human being” towards our neighbour; as “a lion” towards the enemies of God; as “an ox”, dull and insensitive, towards ourselves; and as “an eagle” in our spiritual flight upwards. Ezekiel’s “figure like that of a man” (vv. 25-28): Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him [,] reminds me immediately of Daniel’s “man” (Daniel 10:5-6): I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. Ezekiel’s Commission The Lord chose the prophet Ezekiel for a seemingly thankless task, commanding him - as he had done with Jeremiah - not to be afraid of the people (Ezekiel 2:1-9; cf. Jeremiah 1:8): He said to me, ‘Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you’. As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says’. And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you”. Then there occurs another likeness with the Book of Job (apart from the Lord speaking out of the whirlwind). Ezekiel will, like Job’s friends, sit in distress “for seven days” (Ezekiel 3:15; cf. Job 2:13). Thus we read of Ezekiel’s transportation in spirit to the land of exile; just as Habakkuk (= Job) will be miraculously carried off by his hair to Babylon (Ezekiel 3:10-15; cf. Daniel 14:33-36): And he said to me, ‘Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.” Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the LORD rose from the place where it was standing. It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound. The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD on me. I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days—deeply distressed. Here, the prophet is assigned his awesome role as a Watchman for the people of Israel (Ezekiel 3:16-19): At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself”. Ezekiel in the Book of Job? The prophet Job, as Tobias son of Tobit, would live to hear word of the Fall of Nineveh (Tobit 14:15). Hence, his main trial in the land of Uz (= Hauran) (Job 2:4-7), after leaving a doomed Nineveh upon the death of his parents, Tobit and Anna (Tobit 14:12), must have occurred at the approximate time of Ezekiel’s ministry, during the reign of King Nebuchednezzar the Chaldean. Could Ezekiel, then, be the young Elihu of the Book of Job? Some commentators have discerned striking likenesses between Ezekiel and Elihu, who would not conventionally be considered to have been contemporaries. “Just as the speech of Elihu was terminated by a whirlwind, the first vision that Ezekiel sees begins with a whirlwind”. Nigel Bernard I have long known, thanks to some worthwhile comparisons made by other writers, that Ezekiel has likenesses as well to young Elihu of the Book of Job. Ezekiel’s contemporary Elihu, who must have been - according to my reconstructions of the life of the righteous Job - a contemporary of the prophet Ezekiel, is found to have “similarities” with that prophet. According to my reconstructions of the life and times of Job (as Tobias, son of Tobit) such as: Job’s Life and Times https://www.academia.edu/3787850/Jobs_Life_and_Times Job’s long life during the neo-Assyrian era took him at least as far as the destruction of Nineveh (c. 612 BC, conventional dating). This would mean that Elihu, a young man when Job was already old, had lived during the Chaldean era. And the Chaldean era was, of course, the very era during which the prophet Ezekiel had lived and prophesied. Did not Ezekiel twice refer to Job (cf. Ezekiel 14:14, 20)? Nigel Bernard has provided some intriguing comparisons between Elihu and Ezekiel: http://www.testimony-magazine.org/back/apr2010/bernard.pdf There are several similarities between Elihu and Ezekiel. Comparisons include whirlwinds; sitting for seven days; not speaking; and rebuking elders even though they themselves were much younger. IN LAST MONTH’S article we considered Elihu and Elijah. In this second article we consider Elihu and Ezekiel. As in the previous study, a whirlwind plays an important role. Whirlwind In the opening chapter of Ezekiel we read of a whirlwind: "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire" (v. 4). Just as the speech of Elihu was terminated by a whirlwind, the first vision that Ezekiel sees begins with a whirlwind. In Job the whirlwind provided a demonstration of power out of which God spoke. The whirlwind in Ezekiel is spoken of in more detail, and from it emerge the cherubim. Sat seven days When Job’s friends came to him (and we know that Elihu was also there) we read, "So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great. After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day" (2:13; 3:1). Likewise, Ezekiel spent a period of seven days simply sitting with a group of people, apparently saying nothing—at least, not words from God: "Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD [Yahweh] came unto me, saying . . ." (Ezek. 3:15,16). In Job 21:5 Job says, "Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth". Ezekiel later follows in the spirit of Job’s request, being "astonished", and effectively having his hand upon his mouth. Yet, in the case of Job, all the time Elihu was indeed laying his hand upon his mouth, no doubt humble enough to be astonished too. Dumb As we read the speeches of Job and his three friends, the presence of Elihu can be felt. We know that he is there listening, but he restrains himself from speaking: "And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion" (32:6). He was voluntarily dumb, a dumbness out of respect and fear for his elders, on the basis that "Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom" (v. 7). Ezekiel was also to be silent, speaking only when God caused him to speak. But his silence, unlike Elihu’s, was miraculously enforced, for he was made dumb: "and I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD [Yahweh]; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house" (Ezek. 3:26,27). Ezekiel was made dumb because the house of Israel were rebellious. In contrast, after Elihu and God had spoken, Job showed humility towards God and repented "in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6). Elders As we have seen, Elihu says to Job’s friends, "I am young, and ye are very old". This theme of a younger person rebuking elders is also echoed in Ezekiel. Assuming that it is his age which is being spoken of, Ezekiel tells us that it was in his "thirtieth year" that he saw "visions of God" (1:1). At his comparatively young age he had to deal on more than one occasion with the elders of Israel, as the following verses show: "And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD [Yahweh] fell there upon me" (8:1); "Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me" (14:1); "And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD [Yahweh], and sat before me" (20:1); "Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD [Yahweh]; Are ye come to enquire of Me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD [Yahweh], I will not be enquired of by you" (v. 3). In the case of both the friends of Job and the elders of Judah, old age proved to be no guarantee of wisdom or obedience. Their rebuke by younger men only served to heighten their folly. Priest and ancestry [Mackey’s comment: In the following section, Bernard, whilst continuing to find similarities between Elihu and Ezekiel, will distinguish between “Ezekiel … the priest” and “Elihu … not a priest”. Whether or not Elihu was a priest has yet, I think, to be determined]. Ezekiel is described as "the priest, the son of Buzi". That he was both a priest and the son of Buzi provides a link with Elihu. Malachi wrote that "the priest’s lips should keep knowledge" (2:7). Although not a priest, Elihu sought to live the spirit of these words, for he said, "my lips shall utter knowledge clearly" (Job 33:3). Elihu is said to be "the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram" (32:2). That Elihu was a Buzite could mean that he was a descendant of Buz, the son of Nahor (see Gen. 22:20,21), and/or he lived in a territory called Buz. According to Strong, "Buzi" in Ezekiel 1:3 is the same word as "Buzite" in Job 32:2. This is a rare name in Scripture. That both Elihu and Ezekiel have this name mentioned in their ancestry alerts us to look for other similarities between these two men. Other links There are other significant connections between the book of Job and Ezekiel, which, although not relating directly to Elihu, form an important background to the links we have seen. For example, some aspects of the cherubim reflect the words used by God of creation in His speech to Job. God asks Job, "Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?" (Job 38:35). In Ezekiel it is said of the cherubim, "and out of the fire went forth lightning" (1:13). God also asks Job, "Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?" (Job 39:26). The Hebrew word for "hawk" is related to the word translated "sparkled" in Ezekiel 1:7, where it is stated that the feet of the cherubim "sparkled like the colour of burnished brass". As the hawk flew swiftly south, it did so with a flashing brilliance, sparkling against the sun. As such, as the cherubim came sparkling from the north, it was like the hawk flying toward the south. The Hebrew word Shaddai occurs forty-eight times in the Bible and is always translated ‘Almighty’. It is a key word in Job, occurring thirty-one times. It is used only four times in all of the prophets: once in Isaiah, once in Joel, and twice in Ezekiel. It is significant that a key word in Job, so rare in the prophets, should occur twice in Ezekiel. Of course, Job is actually mentioned in Ezekiel: "though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD [Yahweh]" (14:14). Furthermore, the phrase "these three men" is itself taken, ironically, from the book of Job, ironic because here it refers to the three friends of Job, who were delivered as a consequence of the prayer of Job: "So these three men ceased to answer Job . . ." (32:1). [Mackey’s comment: How fascinating! Bernard is perfectly correct here. The exact same Hebrew phrase (שְׁלֹשֶׁת הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה), “these three men”, is found in both Ezekiel 14:14 and Job 32:1]. Conclusion As we have seen … there are several connections between Elihu and … Ezekiel. As well as helping us to understand the work of … Ezekiel, these comparisons also help us to see Elihu in a new light, supporting the view, in my opinion, that Elihu’s speech was vital for preparing the mind of Job for when God would speak to him. [End of quotes] Elihu and Ezekiel were contemporaries, both of whom referred to Job (Elihu addressed Job), Buzites, they experienced similar awesome theophanies, and were filled with God’s spirit. Continuing firstly with the view that Elihu, far from being a pompous young upstart, was an inspired messenger of God, let us consider what Mark Block wrote about him (4th February, 2013 – full reference no longer available), in his section, “Reasons to Accept Elihu’s Speech”: Many Bible interpreters disavow what Elihu has to say in the Book of Job. Below I will give a few reasons why I believe his speech to Job is true and is good theology. 1) God never rebukes Elihu. After God has finished speaking, He states that His wrath is upon the three other friends that gave counsel to Job. God does not include Elihu into the group of people who have not spoken rightly. (Job 42:7) 2) There is a break in the text to introduce him. The words of Elihu in Job 32:1-3 are not continuing what the other three friends have said, but stating something new. There is a break in the text that introduces something new. Elihu should not get lumped into the group of the other three friends with bad theology. 3) Six chapters are given to Elihu in the Book of Job. The writer of this Book devotes six chapters to Elihu. With much space given to Elihu, surely there is some importance to it. 4) Elihu shows how Job’s other friends are wrong. God also rebuked Job’s other three friends. 5) Elihu claims to be full of the Holy Spirit. In chapter 32 Elihu uses similar language to what Jeremiah used. He reminds me of Jeremiah saying, that the word of the Lord it is like a fire shut up in his bones. Elihu says, “For I am full of words; the spirit within me compels me. Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent; it is ready to burst like new wine skins. I will speak, that I may find relief…” 6) Elihu signals Gods coming to speak. In 37:11-12 Elihu is describing a whirlwind and attributes the whirlwind to God. We see just a few verses later that God is answering Job out of the whirlwind. Verse one in chapter 38 states, “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind.” Notice the writer of this book did not say “A” whirlwind. But he says, “THE” That means that there must have been a whirlwind that was taking place, that had already been mentioned previously in the Book of Job. All throughout Elihu’s speech we see him referring to nature. I believe that Elihu is referring to what was actually taking place in front of Job and his three friends. He is describing what was going on while also signaling that God is coming to speak. What do you think? .... [End of quote] Well, to answer Mark Block here, I, for my part, “think” that Elihu was definitely an Ezekiel type, a prophetic messenger sent by God, wholly aflame with the spirit of God, full of eloquence yet humble and modest. It is pleasant to notice Elihu’s modesty and tact in entering the discussion with his elders. It says that his “wrath was kindled” against Job and the three friends. This is explained later when he talks about the constraining of the Spirit within him, so that he was “ready to burst. …. Jeremiah spoke of God’s word being “in his heart like a burning fire” and being “weary of holding it in. Indeed (he) could not” (Jeremiah 20:9). “Ezekiel [too] refers to this “heat of the Spirit” when the Lord had moved him to speak”. “Elihu [was the] son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram” (Job 32:2). “Ezekiel [was] the priest, the son of Buzi …” (Ezekiel 1:3). We know that Elihu and Ezekiel were contemporaries. They also have in common the rare name, Buzi: “According to Strong, "Buzi" in Ezekiel 1:3 is the same word as "Buzite" in Job 32:2. This is a rare name in Scripture. That both Elihu and Ezekiel have this name mentioned in their ancestry alerts us to look for other similarities between these two men”. Ezekiel 1:3: (בּוּזִי) Job 32:2: (הַבּוּזִי). They both refer to Job: Elihu says (Job 33:1): ‘But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say’. Ezekiel twice has God proclaim (Ezekiel 14:14, 20): ‘… even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness …’. And perhaps most strikingly in relation to this situation we learned that: “The exact same Hebrew phrase (שְׁלֹשֶׁת הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה), “these three men”, is found in both Ezekiel 14:14 and Job 32:1. Then we further learned of a whole variety of parallels and links between Elihu and Ezekiel, for example: “Comparisons include whirlwinds; sitting for seven days; not speaking; and rebuking elders even though they themselves were much younger”. Nigel Bernard, who had provided us with some of the best of these likenesses, did, however, distinguish “Ezekiel … "the priest, the son of Buzi". That he was both a priest and the son of Buzi provides a link with Elihu. Malachi wrote that "the priest’s lips should keep knowledge" (2:7)” from Elihu: “Although not a priest, Elihu sought to live the spirit of these words, for he said, "my lips shall utter knowledge clearly" (Job 33:3)”. To which I had attached this comment: “Whether or not Elihu was a priest has yet, I think, to be determined”. The prophet Ezekiel was most definitely a priest, as is clear from 1:3: “Ezekiel the priest …”.