no understanding of their rich religious heritage and no sensitivity or pity for their deported compatriots (Ezek 11:14–16). Ezekiel’s primary audience was the community of Jews in Babylon. Many questions concerning the exilic social scene remain, but certain pieces may be pieced together. First, although Jehoiachin lasted on the throne of David only three months, after the initial humiliation of deportation he seems to have fared relatively well in Babylon (2 Kgs 25:27–30; ANET, 308). Ezekiel consistently
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