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The Prophets · Old Testament

Ezekiel 15

Ezekiel 15: the vine tree that is good only for fuel

General context

The word of the Lord asks the prophet, "What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?" Two questions follow: is its wood taken for any work, and will men take a pin of it to hang a vessel on? Instead "it is cast into the fire for fuel"; the fire devours both ends and the middle is burned, and the Lord asks whether it is fit for any work. When it was whole it was fit for no work; how much less when the fire has devoured it. The Lord God then applies the image: "As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem." He will set his face against them; "they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them," and they will know that he is the Lord when he sets his face against them. He will make the land desolate "because they have committed a trespass."

Cited passages: Ezekiel 15:2, Ezekiel 15:3, Ezekiel 15:4, Ezekiel 15:5, Ezekiel 15:6, Ezekiel 15:7, Ezekiel 15:8

Ezekiel 15 (KJV)

1And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

2Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

3Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?

4Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work?

5Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?

6Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

7And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.

8And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.

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Historical context

This is the shortest chapter in the book so far, eight verses, and it contains one image and one application. The vine is compared with "the trees of the forest" only as wood; nothing is said about its fruit, and the text never mentions grapes. The people compared to the vine are "the inhabitants of Jerusalem," and the charge is given in one general word, "a trespass," without listing acts. The two fires of 15:7, "one fire" they go out from and "another fire" that devours, are not identified; the text does not say what either fire stands for. The chapter has no date, no audience and no narrated action by the prophet; it is entirely the Lord's speech to him. The phrase "I set my face against them" is the Lord's, echoing the prophet's earlier orders to set his face against the mountains and the city. The chapter does not say that Israel is elsewhere called a vine; the image is presented on its own terms here.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 15:1, Ezekiel 15:2, Ezekiel 15:6, Ezekiel 15:8, Ezekiel 15:7

Literary context

The oracle is a chain of rhetorical questions, five in four verses, each expecting the answer no: what is the vine more than other trees, is its wood useful, can it hold a pin, is burnt wood useful, and how much less when it is charred. The argument moves from lesser to greater, "when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less" now, and the application repeats that move with the two fires, one escaped and one that devours. The words "fire" and "fuel" carry the passage; "fire" appears in four of the eight verses. The turn from image to meaning is marked by "Therefore thus saith the Lord God" at 15:6 and by the word "so," and the chapter ends on the two formulas that recur through the book, "ye shall know that I am the Lord" and "saith the Lord God." The image takes away the vine's usual claim to value by looking only at its timber, so the comparison does not praise and then condemn; it denies that there was ever anything to praise.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 15:3, Ezekiel 15:5, Ezekiel 15:4, Ezekiel 15:6, Ezekiel 15:7, Ezekiel 15:8

Key moments

  1. What is the vine tree more (Ezekiel 15:2). The Lord asks what makes the vine better than other trees of the forest.
  2. No pin from its wood (Ezekiel 15:3). Its wood is fit for no work, not even a peg to hang a vessel on.
  3. Cast into the fire (Ezekiel 15:4). The vine is fuel, burned at both ends and in the middle.
  4. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 15:6). The Lord gives Jerusalem's inhabitants to the fire as he gave the vine.
  5. From one fire to another (Ezekiel 15:7). They will escape one fire only to be devoured by another.

For reflection

The vine is judged only as wood and found useless even before it is burned. What does it do to a comparison when the thing usually valued about it is left out?