NT Text: 2 Corinthians 3:3
OT Source(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment + Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Paul alludes to Ezekiel 11:19 (and its parallel in 36:26) in 2 Corinthians 3:3, contrasting the old covenant written on "tablets of stone" (plaxin lithinais) with the new covenant written "on tablets of human hearts" (en plaxin kardiais sarkinais). Ezekiel's prophecy promised that God would replace Israel's "heart of stone" (leb ha'eben) with a "heart of flesh" (leb basar), enabling obedience through the Spirit. Paul's language precisely inverts the stone/flesh contrast: where Ezekiel spoke of removing stone hearts and giving flesh hearts, Paul speaks of moving from stone tablets to fleshly-heart tablets. This allusion, combined with the parallel reference to Exodus 31:18 (tablets of stone inscribed by God's finger) and Jeremiah 31:33 (law written on hearts), creates a three-text interpretive blend that defines the new covenant as the Spirit's internalization of God's will. The Corinthian believers themselves are living evidence that Ezekiel's prophecy has been fulfilled.