Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 180:717 (Jan 2023)
Article: Periodical Reviews
Author: John A. Adair

BSac 180:717 (January-March 2023) p. 89

Periodical Reviews

By The Faculty And Staff Of Dallas Theological Seminary

John A. Adair

Editor

“ ‘Anger Exhausted’ for the Sake of YHWH’s Name in Ezekiel 20: Did YHWH Really Relent from Wrath Poured Out on Israel?,” Benjamin D. Giffone, Biblische Zeitschrift 66 (2022): 1–15.

Giffone is associate professor of biblical studies at LCC International University in Klaipėda, Lithuania. In this article, he argues against the common interpretation of several sections of Ezekiel 20: “It is typically argued that the three instances in which YHWH proposes or purposes to ‘pour out his wrath’ (and sometimes to ‘exhaust his anger’) on Israel, and then ‘acts on account of his name’—are examples of YHWH changing his mind and deciding not to pour out his wrath—in Egypt (20:8), in the wilderness (20:13), and again in the wilderness (20:21)” (1). He asserts that this “typical reading . . . is partly correct, but neglects an important dimension. YHWH’s mercy upon Israel is sometimes made manifest through judgment—not simply judgment upon Egypt, her gods, or Israel’s other enemies, but judgment on rebels within Israel itself. YHWH’s mercy and his wrath are both presented as consistent with “acting on account of his name” (2). His approach is quite modest: “My goal is to de-center the notion that YHWH only relents from or postpones wrath and anger in ‘acting on account of his name,’ and thus to create some room for the notion that ‘wrath poured out’ in purging rebels from Israel is in fact acting on account of his name” (3, emphasis original).

In these three instances, God threatens to “pour out my wrath” on his people (20:8, 13, 21). Giffone argues that the traditional view sees this as a threat to destroy the Israelites, but this is an error since “total destruction is never really on the table, and even YHWH’s merciful dealings with Israel involve wrath actually poured out on some Israelites” (14). He continues, “Pouring out wrath and anger, and relenting from wrath and anger, are both means by which the knowledge of YHWH’s name is spread, in Ezek 20, and in the Pentateuchal narratives. YHWH’s faithfulness to Israel as a collective, and the aspiration that Israel would consist only of faithful individuals, are the controlling principles. The ‘wrath that purges’ is in service to this aspiration” 14). Gif...