Text: Ezekiel 16:53
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 29:23
Subject: restoration of Sodom
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Contrast
Significance: Ezekiel 16:53 shockingly promises the restoration of Sodom's fortunes alongside those of Samaria and Jerusalem, alluding to Deuteronomy 29:23 where the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah serves as the paradigmatic warning of covenant curse. Deuteronomy uses Sodom as the ultimate example of land destruction—"sulfur, salt, burning waste"—to threaten what will happen if Israel forsakes the covenant. Ezekiel inverts this by declaring that Jerusalem has been more abominable than Sodom (16:48), and that even Sodom's שְׁבוּת (shevut, "captivity/fortunes") will be restored. This reversal humiliates Jerusalem by placing her below even the archetype of divine destruction.