{"id":75537,"date":"2020-06-03T14:12:12","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T11:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=75537"},"modified":"2020-06-03T14:12:12","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T11:12:12","slug":"like-mighty-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/like-mighty-waters\/","title":{"rendered":"Like Mighty Waters"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"75537","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"495","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Mythological echoes\u00a0\r\n\r\n","content":"

Ezekiel\u2019s description of the dimensions of the Temple and its grounds concluded in the previous chapter, so he now turned his attention to God\u2019s appearance upon those grounds, which he described as follows: \u201cAnd there, coming from the east with a roar like the roar of mighty waters, was the Presence of the God of Israel, and the earth was lit up by His Presence\u201d (43:2).<\/span><\/p>\n

The simile of \u201clike the roar of mighty waters\u201d (<\/span>kol mayim rabim<\/span><\/i>) was used by Ezekiel to describe the sound made by the flapping wings of the heavenly creatures he saw in his initial prophetic vision: \u201cI could hear the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the sound of Shaddai, a tumult like the din of an army\u201d (1:24). It is not unique to him, having been used as well by Isaiah (17:12-13) to describe the sound made by a multitude of nations. Closer to our verse, however, is Psalm 93:3-4 that also uses it to describe the oncoming presence of God as: \u201cThe ocean sounds its pounding above the thunder of the mighty waters.\u201d The combination of \u201cmighty waters,\u201d in and of itself, however, is most characteristic of Ezekiel. Of 15 appearances in Tanakh, 7 are in Ezekiel alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scholars have assigned this reference various mythological connotations, some of which resonate with biblical texts. For example, ancient Near Eastern mythology – with which Ezekiel, living in Babylon, may have had an acquaintance – spoke of a goddess of the sea named Tiamat who spawned various monsters who played a role in the creation epic. Her name and location sound suspiciously like the Hebrew word <\/span>tehom\/tehomot<\/span><\/em> (deep waters), and is eerily reminiscent of the second verse in the Torah that reports that even before God initiated creation – by saying \u201cLet there be light\u201d – there was \u201cdarkness upon the face of the depths\u201d (<\/span>vechoshekh al penei tehom<\/span><\/em>)<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, such allusions should be seen as cultural and literary rather than theological, much as we, in English, use such expressions as \u201can Achilles heel\u201d without subscribing to Greek mythology. Indeed, the Torah\u2019s principal purpose was to refute the suppositions on which ancient people had built their societies and legislated their laws, as was noted by Maimonides (Guide 3:29) and echoed by more modern and contemporary philosophers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Statue of Prince Gudea with a Vase of Flowing Water (detail), Neo-Sumerian period, about 2120 BC, digital image courtesy of the Getty\u2019s Open Content Program<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":75538,"id":75538,"title":"ez43-sumerian","filename":"ez43-sumerian.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/ez43-sumerian.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/like-mighty-waters\/ez43-sumerian\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ez43-sumerian","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":75537,"date":"2020-06-03 11:11:59","modified":"2020-06-03 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