EXOD367 … the doctrine of the punishment of children for the sins of the fathers [this verse], a practice common in ancient societies on the assumption that punishment of a child strikes at the father, was upgraded by the prophet Ezekiel, who stated: "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son; the soul that sins, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). In the words of the Talmud: "Ezekiel came and annulled it" (the punishment of children; Makkot 24a). There was no compelling need or reason for this talmudic statement. Ezekiel's doctrine could have been reconciled with the Pentateuchal pronouncement relating to the punishment of children by attributing to the prophet the talmudic opinion that limits the transfer of parental guilt only to children who persist in the sin of their ancestor (Yoma 68a). Furthermore, it is widely assumed that the Pentateuchal transfer of guilt is exclusive to the sin of idolatry. By the time of Ezekiel (6th cent. BCE) idolatry was no longer a threat to monotheism (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 7:13). The prophet would therefore have been justified in reverting to the normal biblical standard of compassion and justice. The Talmud ignored these explanations and instead chose to established the principle of an evolutionary process of moral precepts which gave the prophet the right to "annul" a Pentateuchal perception.