Bible Study Ezekiel 37
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Ezekiel 37 · WEB

The Valley of Dry Bones and the Two Sticks

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Yahweh's hand was on me, and he brought me out in Yahweh's Spirit, and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.
2He caused me to pass by them all around; and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and behold, they were very dry.
3He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I answered, "Lord Yahweh, you know."
4Again he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, 'You dry bones, hear Yahweh's word.
5The Lord Yahweh says to these bones: "Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you will live.
6I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am Yahweh."'"
7So I prophesied as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, an earthquake. The bones came together, bone to its bone.
8I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them.
9Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and tell the wind, 'The Lord Yahweh says: "Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."'"
10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost. We are completely cut off.'
12Therefore prophesy, and tell them, 'The Lord Yahweh says: "Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people. I will bring you into the land of Israel.
13You will know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, my people.
14I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken it and performed it," says Yahweh.'"
15Yahweh's word came again to me, saying,
16"You, son of man, take one stick and write on it, 'For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions.'
17Then join them for yourself to one another into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.
18"When the children of your people speak to you, saying, 'Won't you show us what you mean by these?'
19tell them, 'The Lord Yahweh says: "Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in my hand."'
20The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.
21"Say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says: "Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.
22I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won't be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.
23They won't defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. So they will be my people, and I will be their God.
24"'"My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances and observe my statutes and do them.
25They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived. They will dwell in it, they, their children, and their children's children, forever. David my servant will be their prince forever.
26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will place them, multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forever more.
27My tent also will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
28The nations will know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forever more."'"
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Summary

Ezekiel 37 contains two of the most famous visions in the Bible. First, the valley of dry bones: Ezekiel is set in a valley filled with very dry bones — a nation beyond dead, beyond hope. God asks, "Can these bones live?" Ezekiel wisely defers: "Lord Yahweh, you know." He prophesies and the bones reassemble — sinews, flesh, skin — but no breath. Then he prophesies to the wind (Spirit/breath), and breath enters them: they stand up as a vast army. God interprets: the bones are Israel, who say "our hope is lost." But God will open their graves and bring them home. Second, the two sticks: Ezekiel joins a stick labeled "Judah" to a stick labeled "Joseph/Ephraim," and they become one. God will reunify the divided kingdoms under one Davidic king, cleanse them, and establish an everlasting covenant of peace with his sanctuary among them forever.

Themes

  • Resurrection from national death — God's power to restore what is utterly lost
  • The Spirit as life-giver — breath/wind/Spirit bringing dead bones to life
  • Reunification — the divided kingdoms made one under one shepherd
  • The everlasting covenant — God's permanent dwelling among his people

Key verses

  • Ezek 37:10 — “The breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”
  • Ezek 37:11 — “These bones are the whole house of Israel... 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost.'”
  • Ezek 37:26-27 — “I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant... I will set my sanctuary among them forever more.”
  • Ezek 37:3 — “Son of man, can these bones live?" I answered, "Lord Yahweh, you know.”

Context & background

The Hebrew word *ruach* (used ten times in vv. 1-14) means simultaneously "breath," "wind," and "spirit" — the triple meaning is essential. Ezekiel prophesies to the bones (word), then to the *ruach* (breath/spirit/wind), echoing Genesis 2:7 where God breathed (*naphach*) life into Adam. The valley of dry bones is a reversal of creation: from dust to life. The bones being "very dry" (v. 2) indicates they have been dead a long time — hope is not recently lost but long gone. The exiles' lament "our hope is lost" (v. 11) reflects genuine despair in Babylon (modern central Iraq) after Jerusalem's fall. The two sticks (vv. 15-28) address the division of the kingdom after Solomon's death in 930 BC. The northern kingdom (Israel/Ephraim) fell to Assyria in 722 BC; the southern kingdom (Judah) fell to Babylon in 586 BC. God promises both will be reunited — something never accomplished politically but fulfilled spiritually in the New Testament church where the division no longer exists. "My servant David" (v. 24) is the messianic king. The "everlasting covenant of peace" (v. 26) and the sanctuary "among them forever" (v. 27) anticipate the temple vision of chapters 40-48 and ultimately Revelation 21:3: "The tabernacle of God is with men." The mountains of Israel (modern Israel, West Bank, Palestinian territories) are the promised homeland.

Cross-references

  • Genesis 2:7 — God breathing life into Adam, the original creation act echoed in the dry bones vision
  • Hosea 1:11 — "The children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and will appoint themselves one head" — the same reunification hope
  • John 11:25 — "I am the resurrection and the life" — Jesus embodying what Ezekiel 37 promised
  • Revelation 21:3 — "The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them" — the ultimate fulfillment of verse 27
  • Romans 8:11 — "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies"

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    In the valley of dry bones vision, what is missing after the bones reassemble with sinews, flesh, and skin (Ezek 37:8)?

  2. Observe

    What does each of the two sticks in the second vision represent, and what does God do with them (Ezek 37:16-17)?

  3. Interpret

    When God asks "Can these bones live?" Ezekiel answers "Lord Yahweh, you know" rather than yes or no. What makes this the theologically wisest possible response?

  4. Interpret

    The dry bones receive complete physical structure — sinews, flesh, skin — but remain dead until breath/Spirit enters (vv. 8-10). What does this two-stage process reveal about the limits of structure and form without the Spirit?

  5. Apply

    The two sticks represent a division that had lasted for centuries and ended in both kingdoms' destruction. Yet God promises to join them into one forever under one Davidic king. What does this promise of reunification say about divisions that seem permanently fixed?

  6. Apply

    The everlasting covenant includes God's sanctuary "among them forever more" (v. 27). How does the permanence of this covenant challenge the way we experience God's presence day to day?

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