MUTES IN THE BIBLE

Although the New Testament records the fact that Jesus healed mutes along with those who were blind, as far as I know there are only two in the Bible actually mentioned by name: Ezekiel (3:22-27; 24:25-27; 33:21-22) and Zechariah (Luke 1:5-23). And both of these were only struck mute for a limited period of time.

Ezekiel

S.L. Cook summarizes the situation for this prophet as follows: “Ezekiel's speechless state has been a scholarly conundrum [Zimmerli similarly states that this paragraph is “one of the most difficult passages in the whole book.”]...He must fall speechless, and let the scroll that he has swallowed (2:8b-33) have its fulfillment...The judgments of the swallowed scroll play themselves out in the first half of Ezekiel, after which he regains his speech (24:25-27; 33:21-22).”

Greenberg explains the reason God would not allow Ezekiel to warn the people when he states that “here reproof is checked by a moral motive: the people do not deserve it, for they are a rebellious house.”

But Bullock asks about the most puzzling aspect of this event: “So in what sense was Ezekiel dumb? Five lines of argument have been followed to solve the problem.” These are summarized below:

    1. There was total prophetic inactivity from 592-586, when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians.

    2. This passage was misplaced from either Ezekiel 24 or 33. That would considerably shorten Ezekiel's period of speechlessness.

    3. Ezekiel was only intermittently dumb during the seven years.

    4. “His dumbness consisted in the inhibition against public reproof of Israel that summoned her to repentance. In a sense, it was cancellation of his public role as watchman (3:17-21) until he was reinstated to that office just prior to his release from silence.”

Bullock, quoted above, opts for this last explanation while a number of other influential scholars such as F.F. Bruce, Chisholm, and Greenberg prefer option #3. And whichever the case may be, Block clarifies the situation by saying, “There is no association with dumbness. His speech is limited not physically or psychologically, but only by God's giving or withholding authorization.” By the way, Block's comment brings up yet a fifth way to explain Ezekiel's experience that has been proposed over the years:

    5. Ezekiel's mute state was due to a psychological condition.

Block states, “For a century psychoanalysts have had a field day with Ezekiel...Although the psychoanalytical approach has lost most of its support in recent years, the conviction that Ezekiel was a sick man persists.” Tiemeyer summarizes the various schools of opinion regarding Ezekiel's condition as due to post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the forced exile or from sexual abuse as a child. Others diagnose him as a psychotic who suffered from paranoia.

Zechariah

This New Testament example of muteness appears on the surface to be quite different. The priest Zechariah is serving in the temple when an angel appears to him and tells him that his wife will have a child who will be the forerunner of the Messiah. His response bears a strong echo to that of Moses when he was confronted by God in the burning bush incident: “How will I know that this is so?” Since God had honored similar requests for a sign from various OT personages, we should not, therefore, regard Zechariah's request simply as a sign of lack of faith, or his dumbness simply as a punishment for unbelief. These elements are certainly present (see 1:20), but in fact a sign is given which also serves the additional purpose of concealing the wonder of what was to happen until the appropriate time.

Geldenhuys says, “Because Zachariah...did not believe, a sign will indeed be given him, but at the same time the sign will serve as chastisement for his unbelief...This chastisement, however, serves to cleanse him from his unbelief.” And Fitzmyer adds: “The further implication in the action is that God himself closes the lips of Zechariah to conceal from human beings what he is about – for a time at least.”

Similarities

By considering the two stories together, one can now see that there is at least one strong bond between them. In both cases, God gives an important message to his designated representatives (a prophet and a priest) but then purposely prohibits them from sharing it with others until a certain key event has taken place. At that point, their temporary muteness is removed as a confirming sign to the people that it was God's doing.

The only major difference between the two situations is that while God also uses the muteness to punish Zechariah for his unbelief, we see no such implication in the story of Ezekiel. Or do we? At this point I am highly indebted to Block for his additional insight into Ezekiel's case. Block points out that Ezekiel had initially been given his commission to speak prophetically in Ezek. 3:15. But instead, the prophet refused to do so until seven days had transpired. Therefore the reluctant prophet is condemned to undergo seven years of silence except when God called for it. “In the sign-act Ezekiel will symbolically carry the iniquity of his people one day for every year of rebellion.” Thus, both personages had to suffer for their own faults while they were, at the same time, serving as a sign for the people of Israel as a whole, a sign of judgment in the first case and one of hope in the second.