Ideology as a factor for the eschatological outlook hidden in a text: A study between Ezekiel 37 and 4Q386 fragment 1i

Abstract

The book Ezekiel continues to present various challenges to students studying the text as a result of redaction and revision that the book went through. One will find many different points of view when analysing the book as a whole. Ezekiel’s presence in exile supplies us with significant ideological information regarding the historical context of the author of the Masoretic text, whilst the Qumran community provides the same support for the authors of the Pseudo-Ezekiel manuscripts. The vision of the dry bones is portrayed in three different texts: the Masoretic text of Ezekiel 37:1–14, Pseudo-Ezekiel 4Q385 and Pseudo-Ezekiel 4Q386. When comparing the vision of the dry bones found in these separate texts, one must consider each author’s ideology in order to establish a better understanding of the eschatological message of each text. This study reveals the importance of an ideological analysis when interpreting an eschatological text.