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138 Bulletin for Biblical Research 2 human corpses to the elements, rather than burying them. 130 He surmises that Ezekiel might have visited or heard of funeral grounds such as these, and that the prophet's vision echoes the Zoroastrian belief that one day the bones will be reassembled and revived. There is no a priori reason why Ezekiel could not have incorpo- rated Iranian notions into his message for rhetorical effect, even as he makes use of Mesopotamian, Syrian and Phoenician ideas elsewhere. In fact the monotheism and ethical character of this religion render it much more compatible with Yahwism than the other pagan ideolo- gies. However, not only does Lang not answer the chronological 131 and conceptual 132 objections to the theory of Iranian influence that have been raised previously, 133 his suggestion that Ezekiel may have been familiar with, and may even have visited Zoroastrian funeral grounds is speculative wishful thinking. This would have required visionary translocation far to the northeast of the exilic community to the land of Persia, a land which no other Israelite had ever visited. Furthermore, the reference to hahărûgîm, "the slain," in 37:9 rules out Beatific Afterlife, 57-59. Cf. also G. Widengren. "Israelite-Jewish Religion," Religions of the Past (Historia Religionum 1; ed. C. J. Bleeker and G. Widengren; Leiden: Brill, 1969) 311-12; Birkeland, "Belief in the Resurrection," 60-78. Cf. also M. Nobile, who relates the motif of resurrection in Ezekiel 37 to the annual Iranian festival of Farvardigān ("Influssi Iranici nel Libro di Ezechiele?" Antonianum 63 [1988] 449-57). 130. Lang, "Street Theater," 310-12. Cf. Herodotus, Histories 1.140. For a descrip- tion of Zoroastrian funeral practices see Mary Boyce, A History of Zoroastrianism (Handbuch der Orientalistik 1/8/1; Leiden/Köln: Brill, 1975) 325-30. Cf. also J. R. Russel, "Burial iii. In Zoroastrianism," Encyclopaedia Iranica (ed. E. Yarshater; London/ New York: Routledge Kegan Paul, 1982) 4.561-63. 131. It is unclear when the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was developed in Persian religion. The earliest certain reference derives from the Greek Theopompus (born circa 380 B.c.). The citation by Aeneas of Gaza in Theophrastus 77 reads as follows: And yet even Plato brings back Armenius in bodily form from Hades to the land of the living. And Zoroaster prophesies that some day there will be a resurrection of all dead. Theopompus knows of this and is himself the source of in- formation concerning it for the other writers. No explicit contemporary Persian attestation is known. 132. Whereas the Old Testament concentrates on life before death, the Persian attention is focused on life after death. The Old Testament has no counterpart to the Persian view of the separation of body and soul. The Persian focus on judgment im- mediately after death contrasts with the Israelite, and specifically Ezekielian view of Sheol as a place of shadowy existence. When the doctrine of judgment emerges it is seen as an eschatological event. Perhaps the most important difference is the Israelite interest in reconciliation with God and the remission of sins, notions which have no parallel in Persian thought. 133. See the critique of F. Konig, Zarathustras Jenseitsvorstellungen und das Alte Testament (Wien: 1964), 271-85. Cf. also Spronk, Beatific Afterlife, 58.
BLOCK: Ezekiel's Vision of Death and Afterlife 139 the possibility of Ezekiel's valley of dry bones being a cemetery of any kind, Israelite, Babylonian, or Persian. What Ezekiel sees in the bones is a graphic portrayal of the effects of the covenant curse upon his people. If there is any connection with Persian notions at all, rather than adopting Zoroastrian ideas, in vv. 11-14 in particular, Ezekiel has presented a powerful polemic against them. 134 Native Israelite soil provides a more likely seedbed for Ezekiel's notions of resurrection. First, the doctrine of resurrection could have developed as a natural corollary to Israelite anthropological views. The Hebrews looked upon man as a unity, a nepeš hayyâ, constituted by the infusion of divine life breath into the physical form (Gen 2:7). 135 At death, which was viewed as the divine sentence for sin (Gen 2:17; 3:19), the physical matter and life-giving breath are divorced and the nepeš dissolves (Job 34:14-15; Ps 104:29; Qoh 3:18-21; 12:7). It follows then that any hope of victory over death and a beatific afterlife would require a reunion of the divorced compo- nents, which is exactly what happens in Ezekiel 37. 136 Second, the revivification of the dry bones is reminiscent of the life-giving power of his predecessors, Elijah and Elisha (1 Kgs 17:17- 24; 2 Kgs 4:18-37; and 13:20-21). To be sure, these cases could be in- terpreted simply as postmortem healings, inasmuch as the raised persons had recently died and their flesh was certainly still on the bones. But the fact is that as was the case with Elijah and Elisha, through the involvement of a prophet, the dead come to life. Third, the psalmists regarded having one's life threatened as being in the grip of Sheol, and to be delivered from this dangerous situation as being brought back to life (e.g., 16:11-12; 49:15-16). 137 Admittedly, the concern is for an early, if not immediate, rescue 134. This Zoroastrian connection is also rejected by A. A. di Lella, in L. F. Hart- man and A. A. di Lella, The Book of Daniel: A New Translation with Introduction and Com- mentary (AB 23; Garden City: Doubleday, 1978) 308. 135. Cf. nepeš mēt, Num 6:6; Lev 21:11. On the expression see A. Johnson, The Vi- tality of the Individual in the Thought of Ancient Israel (Cardiff: University of Wales, 1964) 19; H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974) 22; Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament, 2.134-42. 136. Cf. the discussion of L. J. Greenspoon, "The Origin of the Idea of Resurrec- tion," in Traditions in Transformation: Turning Points in Biblical Faith (F. M. Cross Fest- schrift, ed. B. Halpern and J. D. Levenson; Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1981) 249-53 (Greenspoon argues that the doctrine arises out of the image of Yahweh as a divine warrior); L. Rost, "Alttestamentliche Wurzeln der Ersten Auferstehung," In Memoriam Ernst Lohmeyer (ed. W. Schmauch; Stuttgart: Evangelisches Verlagswerk, 1951) 66-72. But this interpretation is rejected by di Lella, The Book of Daniel, 308. 137. Cf. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Hosea: A New Translation with Intro- duction and Notes (AB 24; Garden City: Doubleday, 1980) 421. For discussion of the rel- evant texts in the Psalms, as well as several from Proverbs see M. Dahood, Psalms III
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