These four chapters contain the second of the three great visions of the Lord’s Glory that punctuate Ezekiel’s prophecy. As with the first (chs. 1–3), Ezekiel dates this second vision to the precise day (8:1), refers to the hand of the Lord (8:1), and titles it “visions of God” (8:3). Further, he makes explicit reference to the earlier vision (8:4; 10:15, 20, 22), including summary descriptions of some portions (e.g., compare 8:2 with 1:26–27) and virtually repeating others (e.g., compare 10:9–12 with 1:15–18).

This second vision answers a question that was implicit in the first. Recall that, according to the priestly idea of divine presence, God manifests God’s Glory in sacred space: specifically, above the ark in the most holy place of Jerusalem’s temple. Ezekiel’s encounter with the Glor…