Land for the landless: Assigning land to gerim in Ezekiel’s restoration program

This article investigates the socio-economic background from which Ezekiel’s expectation of assigning land to resident aliens emerged (Ezek 47,22-23). It claims that none of the Pentateuchal legal codes anticipates such assignment, thus making Ezekiel’s expectation unique and innovative. Following an evaluation of former studies of this issue, the article claims that the background of Ezekiel’s prediction of future land granting to aliens lies in a Neo-Babylonian economic institution: the land-for-service system. It surveys the similarities between this system and Ezekiel and concludes with considering the contribution of the findings to the study of the book of Ezekiel.