Abstract:
This research focuses on the perspective which is drawn up based on the tension of idolatry versus exclusive adoration of יהוה (Yhwh) in the light of the Ezekiel concepts of mobility, reputation and sovereignty of Yhwh; despising idols; breaking the principles of the alliance equaled to idolatry and cultic infidelity as a reason for the Exile. The cultic background of the Near East, the cultic normalization based on the exclusivity clause of the Alliance and the denouncements of the prophets of the 8th century furnish a broad contextual scenario in order to discuss the use that Ezekiel makes of the term גִּלּוּלִים (gillûlîm) to refer to the idols as a result of his perception of the nullity of the divinities which they represent and of the despise that the prophet nourishes against them in contrast to the high regard which, as a priest, he devotes to Yhwh. Even though he differs from the other biblical prophets, to the measure that those texts employ other terms to refer to the idols, it seems that Ezekiel inherited a significant load of aversion to the idolatry of his ancestors and contemporaries in the prophetic ministry, and transmitted this repugnance of the idols in his messages of warning and judgment, including the justification for the exile. Due to this inheritance and in spite of his priestly origins, he breaks with the romanticized view of Israelite history from the perspective of being the chosen and its supposed inviolability and develops a perspective as to the history and tradition of Israel which appears to be not only revisionist but also tendentious when accusing Israel of being cultically unfaithful since its origins. The use of the term gillûlîm, however, does not restrict itself to the block of denouncements of infidelity, historic review and announcement of judgment, but is continued with a smaller number of occurrences in the second part of the book, within the description of the restoration Project, as an indicative paradigm of the despise nourished toward the idols and the hope that the idolatry may be eradicated. The methodology of study adopts the synchronic perspective, taking the book of Ezekiel in its canonic context and in its final form. It is about bibliographic research based mainly on academic literature available on the book of Ezekiel and some non-exhaustive grammatical and etymological analysis in which the pericopes of Ez 8:1-18, Ez 14:1-11, Ez 16 and Ez 23 in parallel and Ez 20:1-44, are studied considering the use Ezekiel makes of the term gillûlîm, as well as the other passages in which the term appears based on Ez 6:4, these being grouped under a dialectic hypothesis.
