You are What You Eat: Ezekiel and the Scroll‪.‬

In his commentary on Ezekiel, Jean Calvin asserted that the opening chapters of Ezekiel were fundamental to understanding the rest of the book. What was important was not only the time at which Ezekiel received his call but also the manner in which "God stirred him up." (1) Contemporary readers would agree with Calvin that the opening chapters set the stage for what is to follow. In this essay, however, I will argue that the introduction to Ezekiel includes not only his initial vision and call (Ezek 1:1-3:15) but also the account of the symbolic acts (3:16-5:17). In developing this thesis, I will argue, first, that there is a literary warrant for reading these chapters as a coherent unit, and, second, that they should be interpreted as an account of a prolonged initiation in which Ezekiel relinquishes certain elements of his identity as a priest to take on the role of prophet.