Diglossia, revelation, and Ezekiel's inaugural rite

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Jun 1998 by Fredericks, Daniel C

V. OTHER CREATIVE ELEMENTS IN EZEKIEL

It might be helpful for a moment to remember that Ezekiel is one of the most creative books in the HB. Songs, narratives, parables and riddles make their way into the prophecy in ways combined nowhere else. Dramatizations of Israel's circumstances even include simple or elaborate props. Dramatic scenes are depicted in Ezekiel to make God's points, from feigning anxiety while eating and drinking to moving small objects like children would move their toys. Carrying baggage as if going into exile, clapping hands and stamping feet, eating a scroll-all of this speaks to a creative telling of Israel's past, present and future in the most entertaining of ways. These modes of delivery of the divine message are numerous in Ezekiel. So to add the jarring poor grammar and confusing style of Ezekiel 1 to exemplify inadequate speech is not outside the realm of possibility in this unique book of prophecy.

Corrective measures to smooth the style and make gender-consistent grammar were certainly possible within the scribal transmissions in subsequent editions, especially in a text describing a vision of God himself The question remains whether the heavily corrupted text is perpetuated by scribes for an understood reason-that is, an intentionally dramatic and esthetic reason. It is suggested, then, that Ezekiel 1 is a rhetorical device that reinforces the supremacy of literary Hebrew as the medium for revelation.

VI. LINGUISTIC CONSCIOUSNESS

Admittedly this argument would be more convincing if the aberrations of Ezekiel 1 could be attributed confidently to a well-known dialectal source. Unfortunately, in spite of some evidence of diachronic and synchronic developments the literary language of the entire HB is so dominant that no regional or social linguistic grouping can make a solid name for itself. It is equally difficult to define exactly what is "deep-lipped" and "heavy-tongued" language. Only options can be suggested and left to those with continued interest in the subject. This is a necessary step since the pervasive presumption that "deep-lipped" and "heavy-tongued" can only mean a foreign language is not clearly the only or even most appropriate interpretation.19 As we noted before, Moses tries to excuse himself for "heavy-tonguedness" and could hardly be referring to a foreign language. Though the context of the only other use of either phrase might infer a foreign language, it does not demand that translation (Isa 33:19). Rather, foreign languages are one type of unintelligible language and do not exhaust the realm of denotation of what the Hebrew refers to by "deep-lipped" or "heavy-tongued" diction. Indeed, Biblical Hebrew has a term for a foreign language-simply "another tongue" (lasn 'aheret, Isa 28:11). "Stammering lips" (la`age sapa) are also mentioned in 28:11 (cf. also 33:19), but that term too is not clear in denoting specifically and only a foreign tongue as opposed to any generally unintelligible language regardless of ethnic attachment. One might argue that it would be senseless to tell Ezekiel that he was going to Israelites who could speak and understand Hebrew. But it would be helpful to remind him that he was being sent to people who were expecting a prophet to speak in the more elevated tongue, at least when prophesying on the part of God, and with greater oratorical skill than first demonstrated in Ezekiel's inaugural vision account: That kind of admonition would make sense. Since the population to which he spoke was to a significant degree the elite of Judah who were at least the first to be deported in the late seventh century, this social stratum would especially have expected elevated prophetic diction. To a large extent it was the agrarian people left behind who presumably would have been less offended by a nonliterary, nonconventional prophetic diction. 20