Original Research
The gēr [immigrant] in postexilic prophetic eschatology: The perspectives of Ezekiel 47:22–23 and Malachi 3:5
In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi | Vol 54, No 1 | a2617 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v54i1.2617
| © 2020 Bob Wielenga
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 11 March 2020 | Published: 25 August 2020
Submitted: 11 March 2020 | Published: 25 August 2020
About the author(s)
Bob Wielenga, Unit of Reformational Theology, Faculty of Theology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South AfricaAbstract
In this article the relationship between Ezekiel 47:22–23 and Malachi 3:5, on the topic of the status of the immigrant in postexilic Judaism, is examined. The research has two focal points: the prophetic eschatological context of both prophetic pronouncements and the normative impact of the Law of Moses on both, although the first is guided by the ‘Holiness Code’ and the last by the ‘Deuteronomic Code’. This requires a discussion of the relationship between both ‘codes’ and an evaluation of their teaching on the status of the immigrant. This is followed by an examination of the literary and theological context in which the immigrant appears in both the texts examined. This article contends that Malachi 3:5, denoting the present time in prophetic eschatology, should be read against the background of Ezekiel 47:22–23, denoting the future time in prophetic eschatology. Compliance with the Law of Moses is in both cases a covenantal obligation anchored in the redemptive past.
Keywords
Immigrant (gēr); Holiness Code; Deuteronomic Code; Theological reading of Ezekiel 47:22–23 and Malachi 3:5; Prophetic eschatology.
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Crossref Citations
1. The God who hates: The significance of Esau/Edom in the postexilic prophetic eschatology according to Malachi 1:2–5 with a systematic theological postscript
Bob Wielenga
In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi vol: 56 issue: 1 year: 2022
doi: 10.4102/ids.v56i1.2822