An Uprooted, Withered Cedar: A New Reading of Ezekiel’s Depiction of Jehoiachin’s Exile

Abstract

This paper offers an analysis of Ezek. 17. It claims that the eagle did not pluck one of the cedar’s sprigs but rather completely uprooted it. Furthermore, it did not replant the cedar but rather set it in the city to wither, to punish it, not to benefit it. This understanding is consistent with the parable’s structure, interpretation, and Neo-Babylonian findings. It indicates that although Ezekiel anticipates Jehoiachin’s descendants will lead Israel in the future, the prophet’s approach toward Jehoiachin’s exile was negative, and this caused him to exclude Jehoiachin from Israel’s restoration.