Ezekiel: An Introduction and Commentary

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary #22

by John Bernard Taylor

"For most Bible readers Ezekiel is almost a closed book," writes John Taylor. "Their knowledge of him extends little further than his mysterious vision of God's chariot-throne, with its wheels within wheels, and the vision of the valley of the dry bones." "Otherwise his book is as forbidding in its size as the prophet himself is in the complexity of his make-up," Taylor goes on. "In its structure, however, if not in its thought and language, the book of Ezekiel has a basic simplicity, and its orderly framework makes it easy to analyze." Taylor, in the introduction to this analysis of Ezekiel, sketches a portrait of the prophet and his times, carefully placing the book and its prophecies within their historical settings. He also provides an overview of the books themes and a clear outline of its contents. The original, unrevised text of this volume has been completely retypeset and printed in a larger, more attractive format with the new cover design for the series.

Genres: Reference, Christian, Old Testament, Biblical Studies, Theology

350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1969

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

*Graduate of Cambridge
*Former vice-principal of Oak Hill Theological College
*Archdeacon of West Ham
*Bishop of St. Albans
*Lord High Almoner

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a so-so commentary on Ezekiel. The author does a fairly good job of setting the prophet in his context and time. There is a pretty good balance of commentary, word analysis, and geography. The commentary seems to be a little too descriptive at times, as over against analysis. In other words, the commentator just reiterates the passage in his own words, rather than a real interpretation.

One of the huge mysteries of the Bible is Ezekiel 40-48. Why is it there? When will there be a new temple in Jerusalem and what is the purpose of sacrifices if Christ has already come? I've never read a satisfying explanation of these chapters and this commentary won't give you one either. It merely reiterates what Ezekiel 40-48 says, rather than trying to explain what it means. This was a little disappointing, but given the difficulties of interpretation, I couldn't do any better.

[jimsgravitas · Rating 1 out of 5]

This Tyndale commentary on Ezekiel is trash. From the millennial temple portion Ezekiel 40-49. It knocks the dispensationalist view and it says this about it: "it shows how completely this view misinterprets the significance of Christ's salvation and how it casts doubt on the consistency of God's dealings with mankind." Dispensationalism does neither of these things at all and the author would know this if he had bothered investigating.

Instead, the author claims this portion is not prophecy but apocalyptic literature which means it can mean whatever you want it to mean as long as it doesn't mean what is plainly written... The author then concludes with this statement: "But if the vision is interpreted on these lines, and not as prophecy in the conventional sense, readers will be spared the necessity of trying to look for some fulfillment of the words in past or future history."

How asinine. Read this at your own peril.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This commentary on the book of Ezekiel is both well written and easy to read. The author's scholarship is evident. My only negative comment is that he seems to expose himself as a premillennialist with his comments on Ezek. 34:23-24 (pp.222, 223), and Ezek. 36:24-30 near the bottom of page 232. If one remembers that a commentary is simply the author's opinions and conclusions based on his study and research, this commentary makes a good study resource for the great book of Ezekiel.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are several fascinating parts of Ezekiel such as his signs to the Babylonian captives and the famed Valley of Dry Bones. Like Jeremiah which essentially precedes it, there are vast portions involving the cursings of nations that make for difficult reading millennia on. Equally tough can be most of the last eight chapters with measurements and allocations of land.
It would take a great commentary to really bring this book to life and this workmanlike effort isn't that book. The intro is solid as with most volumes in the series. It covers briefly the book and historical thoughts, the prophet himself, a nice chronology, the setting and an overview of what we will see. Then there is the bulk of the volume which is solid but less than interesting commentary. Too often it just seems to repeat the text in a mildly different way.
This is a solid volume in the context of a complete commentary series. Given the age of the book and newer and better volumes that have come out in the intervening decades, it is hard to recommend as a stand-alone.

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful, without being intimidatingly exhaustive in its detail, nor simplistic in its delivery.

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good commentary and I'll use it for a resource, but it was pretty heavy reading.

[Mike Conroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brief commentary. I think it's good. I was consistently helped by consulting it as I preached through Ezekiel. I would definitely add it to your library of Ezekiel commentaries