1. Introduction -- I. Goals of the study -- II. Defining the metaphor of the city as wife -- A. The metaphor of the city as wife: developing a working definition -- 1). Models of metaphors -- 2). Narrative metaphor in Ezekiel 16 and 23 -- B. Previous work on metaphor in Ezekiel -- III. Backgrounds: The metaphor of the city as wife in the ancient Near East. 2. The marriage metaphor in the OT exclusive of Ezekiel -- I. OT usage of the Near Eastern metaphor: some essential changes -- II. The marriage metaphor in extraprophetic texts -- III. The marriage metaphor in the prophets -- A. Distinctive characteristics of the marriage metaphor in the prophetic books -- B. Personification of foreign cities as women -- 1). Isaiah -- 2). Nahum -- 3). Deutero-Isaiah -- C. Personification of the capital city as Yahweh's wife in the prophets -- 1). The marriage metaphor in Hosea -- 2). The city as Yahweh's wife in Isaiah -- 3). The city as Yahweh's wife in Jeremiah -- 4). The city as Yahweh's wife in Lamentations and Deutero-Isaiah -- D. Conclusions. 3. Ezekiel's distinctive use of the marriage metaphor -- I. Ezekiel 16 and 23: Four metaphorical narratives -- A. Ezek. 16:1-43 -- B. Ezek. 16:44-58 -- C. Coda: Ezek. 16:59-63 -- D. Ezek. 23:1-35 -- E. Ezek. 23:36-45 -- F. Coda: Ezek. 23:46-49 -- II. Ezekiel 16 and 23: translation and notes -- A. Ezekiel 16 -- B. Ezekiel 23 -- III. The distinctiveness of Ezekiel's marriage metaphor relative to those of earlier prophetic books -- A. Differences in style -- B. Differences in content -- 1). Origins -- 2). Sins -- 3). Punishment -- 4). Restoration -- C. Differences in placement and function. 4. The city as Yahweh's wife in Ezekiel 16 and 23 -- I. Ezekiel 16 -- A. Jerusalem as unclean other: 16:1-43 -- B. Jerusalem shamed: 16:44-58 -- C. Coda: Covenant, cleansing, and shame: 16:59-63 -- II. Ezekiel 23 -- A. The two sisters: 23:1-35 -- B. The temple as brothel: 23:36-45 -- C. Coda: The call to arms: 23:46-49 -- III. Conclusions. 5. The woman Jerusalem: Her role in the book of Ezekiel -- I. Introduction -- II. Jerusalem in Ezekiel 1-24: The implied prostitute -- A. Ezek. 5:7-17 -- B. Ezek. 6:8-10 -- C. Ezek. 7:19-22 -- D. Ezek. 22:1-5 -- E. Ezek. 24:3-14 -- F. Ezek. 24:15-24 -- III. The real women in Ezekiel -- A. Ezek. 8:14-15 -- B. Ezek. 13:17-23 -- C. Ezek. 18:6, 11, 15; 22:10-11 -- D. Conclusions -- IV. After the fall: Ezekiel 25-39 -- V. The lady vanishes: the temple-city of Ezekiel 40-48 -- A. Purity without danger -- B. The return of the repressed: the feminine identity of the new city -- VI. Conclusions.