✦ The Hyperlinked Bible

2 Corinthians 6:16 to Ezekiel 37:27

NT Text: 2 Corinthians 6:16

OT Source(s):

  • Ezekiel 37:27 ("My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people")

Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Reference Type: Allusion

Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment + Longitudinal Theme

Significance: Paul's composite quotation in 2 Corinthians 6:16 — "I will dwell among them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people" — draws primarily from Ezekiel 37:27, which envisions the eschatological reunion of Israel and Judah under a Davidic shepherd with God's sanctuary (miqdash) permanently in their midst. This covenant formula ("I will be their God, they shall be my people") runs from Genesis 17:7-8 through Exodus 6:7, Leviticus 26:11-12, Jeremiah 31:33, and Ezekiel 37:27 to its consummation in Revelation 21:3. While the existing IP connects 2 Cor 6:16-18 to Leviticus 26:11-12 (the source for "walk among"), Ezekiel 37:27 specifically contributes the "dwelling place" (mishkan) language and its eschatological new-covenant context. Paul applies this to the church as God's temple (naos theou), where the prophesied permanent divine indwelling is realized through the Spirit. The text thus marks the inaugurated fulfillment of Ezekiel's vision of restored Israel.


Hermeneutical Notes

NT Use Pattern: Assimilated — Tributary element of the 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 catena — Ezekiel's new-covenant dwelling-place promise.

Anchor Text: Ezek 36-37 — A New Heart and Dry Bones