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Book Review: Twice Used Songs: Performance Criticism of the Songs of Ancient Israel. By Terry Giles and William J. Doan. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. Pp. xviii + 179. Paper. $27.95

180 by producing a commentary on a book as “strange” as Ezekiel (as Tuell describes it) that combines a firm commitment to modern scholarship with a similar commitment to the life of the church. The commentary starts with a short introduction, which discusses among various things: authorship, historical setting and major theological themes of the book. At the outset the reader knows that Tuell follows the general trend in Ezekiel scholarship in terms of the structure of the book. He divides the book into two major sections: “Ezekiel’s message of judgment” (Ezekiel 1–33) and “Ezekiel’s message of hope and restoration” (Ezekiel 34–48). These two major sections are followed with narrower structural sub-sections, which are in turn divided into smaller textual units. Each interpretive unit is followed with an Additional Notes section, in which Tuell deals with textual issues, difficult passages and New Testament connections. In the introduction and throughout the commentary, Tuell argues that for Ezekiel Israel’s salvation does not depend on Israel’s righteousness and that hope for salvation depends solely on God’s own character and identity. In Tuell’s words, “Israel is saved entirely by God’s grace” (p. 6) and “God does not act to save because of the righteousness or repentance of those delivered” (p. 70). Furthermore, Tuell writes, “If God’s forgiveness depends upon our worthiness, we are doomed! Our hope can only be sure if it is grounded in God’s very honor and identity” (p. 6). By introducing the term “grace,” Tuell introduces language that is foreign to Ezekiel. It is true that God’s actions and decisions, according to Ezekiel, depend solely on God’s identity and character, as Tuell asserts; however, God’s identity and character acts are found in judgment as well as in salvation. Although Tuell is aware of this notion of divine honor, by introducing terms such as “grace” and “righteousness,” he creates a dichotomy that is not the first-rank concern for Ezekiel. In this author’s view, Ezekiel’s primary theological concern is not whether Israel is saved by God’s grace or by its own righteousness; rather, Ezekiel’s theological concern is divine honor and reputation, whether Israel is affected by divine punishment or divine salvation. For Ezekiel, both salvation and judgment are acts in and through which God saves God’s reputation and honor. In this sense, Ezekiel is not concerned with the means by which yhwh delivers the people, but the outcome of this saving— or judging— act, that is, saving God’s glory. Tuell is sensitive to contemporary readers’ historical, literary and theological questions (pp. 51, 69, 76, 113). Bringing a wealth of historical and contemporary knowledge, he tries to help the reader to cross the historical gap between our world and Ezekiel’s world. Tuell avoids flattening the differences. Rather, he guides the reader through a journey of appreciation of Ezekiel’s text. At certain points however, some of the implications need to be clarified. For example, when commenting on the stripping of Jerusalem as part of the divine punishment, Tuell writes: “indeed, as evidence of stripping, sexual abuse, and torture of prisoners of war by the U.S. military in our own recent conflicts continues to unfold, the ancient words of Ezekiel have become tragically applicable to our current political situation” (p. 92). It would be helpful had Tuell explained how these disparate situations might be related to each other. This book is highly recommended for students who are in their middle level of theological education, pastors, and laity who are interested in exploring the book of Ezekiel. The reader of Tuell’s commentary on Ezekiel will be offered a good grasp of the literary and the theological questions that surround the study of the book of Ezekiel. Safwat A. Marzouk Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton NJ 08542-0803