Biblical prophet. A priest of Jerusalem, he was taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC. He is the author of a book of Old Testament prophecies which looked forward to a new Jerusalem after the destruction of the old.
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Hebrew Bible or Old Testament for details see Biblical canon |
| Jewish, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox Torah/Pentateuch Joshua (Jesus Nave) Judges Ruth 1-2 Samuel 1-2 Kings 1-2 Chronicles Ezra (1 Esdras) Nehemiah (2 Esdras) Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon (Song of Songs) Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Minor prophets |
| Roman Catholic and Orthodox include but Jews and Protestants exclude: Tobit Judith 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Wisdom (of Solomon) Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus) (Wisdom of Sirach) Baruch, includes Letter of Jeremiah (Additions to Jeremiah) Additions to Daniel Additions to Esther |
| Orthodox (Synod of Jerusalem) include: 1 Esdras (see Esdras for other names) 3 Maccabees 4 Maccabees (in appendix but not canonical) Prayer of Manasseh Psalm 151 |
| Russian and Ethiopian Orthodox includes: 2 Esdras (see Esdras for other names) |
| Ethiopian Orthodox Bible includes: Jubilees Enoch 1-3 Meqabyan |
| Syriac Peshitta Bible includes: Psalm 152-155 2 Baruch |
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Torah | Nevi'im | Ketuvim Books of Nevi'im |
| Earlier Prophets |
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| Joshua |
| Judges |
| Samuel |
| Kings |
| Latter Prophets |
| Isaiah |
| Jeremiah |
| Ezekiel |
| Twelve minor prophets Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi |
The Book of Ezekiel is a book of the Jewish Hebrew Bible as well as the Christian Old Testament, attributed to the prophet Ezekiel (Hebrew: יְחֶזְקֵאל, Standard Yəḥezqel Tiberian Yəḥezqêl ; Until the twentieth century, most Ezekiel scholars were primarily interested in discussing whether the Book of Ezekiel should be included in the Biblical canon.
In 1924, Gustav Hoelscher questioned the authorship of Ezekiel, challenging the conventional wisdom that the book was written by one person and expresses one train of thought and style, and arguing instead that 1,103 of the verses in Ezekiel were added at a later date. Zimmerli, who has a rather large following, proposes that Ezekiel's original message was influenced by a later school that added a deeper understanding to the prophecies. Greenberg, still tend to see the majority of the work of the book done by Ezekiel himself.
Unsourced thoughts about Authorship
Ezekiel's writing is made up of three distinct levels: an oracle, a continuation and a closing oracle. The first two layers are related in their writing style and are both attributed to Ezekiel himself.
The book does show many examples of editing done over a period of time by both Ezekiel and others.
The book of Ezekiel is a record of the prophesying of Ezekiel who delivered these oracles and prophecies orally at first. Most people accept that Ezekiel did play a part in the written record of these visions, possibly with the help of scribes or followers. The book, which is split into three sections based on the time they were written, was mostly written by Ezekiel himself. Ezekiel's writing is one of the most sophisticated of all of the Old Testament Prophets.
Biography of Ezekiel
According to the Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel gives little detail about Ezekiel's life. Ezekiel is a priest, the son of Buzi (my contempt), and his name means "God will strengthen".
According to other Jewish literature
Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, is said to have been a descendant of Joshua by his marriage with the proselyte Rahab (Talmud Meg. Some scholars claim that he (Ezekiel) was Jeremiah or the son of Jeremiah, who was (also) called "Buzi" because he was despised by the Jews. In the event Jeremiah and Ezekiel were indeed the same person, Hilkiah the priest was his father. Ezekiel, like all the other prophets, has beheld only a blurred reflection of the divine majesty, just as a poor mirror reflects objects only imperfectly (Midrash Lev.
According to midrash Canticles Rabbah, it was Ezekiel whom the three pious men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, (Shadrach, Miesheck, and Obednigo in Christian Bibles) asked for advice as to whether they should resist Nebuchadnezzar's command and choose death by fire rather than worship his idol. But after they had left the house of the prophet, fully determined to sacrifice their lives to God, Ezekiel received this revelation: "Thou dost believe indeed that I will abandon them.
Ezekiel's greatest miracle consisted in his resuscitation of the dead, which is recounted in chapter 37 of the Book of Ezekiel. There are still others who maintain that after Nebuchadnezzar had carried the beautiful youths of Judah to Babylon, he had them executed and their bodies mutilated, because their beauty had entranced the Babylonian women, and that it was these youths whom Ezekiel called back to life.
According to Islam
Some Muslims believe that Ezekiel may be Dhul-Kifl, a figure who is mentioned in the following Qur'anic verse:
"And (remember) Ismail (Ishmael) and Idris (Enoch) and Dhul-Kifl, all were from among those who observe patience."
Historical Background
The Book of Ezekiel was written for the Israelites living in exile in Babylon. Unlike their ancestors, who were enslaved and socially marginalized while in exile in Egypt, the Jews of Ezekiel's time were able to become part of the society they found themselves in.
Judgment on Israel - Ezekiel makes a series of denunciations against his fellow Judeans ( 3:22-24), warning them of the certain destruction of Jerusalem, in opposition to the words of the false prophets (4:1-3).Connections with other books in the Bible
It is generally agreed that the closing visions of the Book of Ezekiel are referred to in the book of Revelation. 12:22.)
It is also generally agreed that the Book of Ezekiel refers to the Pentateuch (e.g., Ezek.
According to traditionalists, Ezekiel 14:4 refers to the Daniel described in the Biblical Book of Daniel, fourteen years after Daniel's deportation from Jerusalem, and Ezekiel 28:3 mentions this Daniel again as being 'pre-eminent in wisdom'. In support of this interpretation, traditionalists note that the name Daniel appears in the Book of Ezekiel immediately after the names of Noah and Job, two other major Biblical characters.
Some non-traditionalist commentators disagree, noting that a "Daniel" also appears in ancient Ugaritic texts, that Daniel isn't specifically described as a contemporary (indeed, the phrase "Noah, Daniel and Job" implies otherwise), and that the Book of Daniel is widely regarded by modern scholars as having been written centuries later.
Important Dates
The Book of Ezekiel can be dated based on the links it records between the rule of King Jehoiachin (King of Jerusalem) and the other events that the book describes.
Dates of Book of Ezekiel| Event | Verse Reference | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Chariot Vision | 1:1-3 | June 593 B.C. |
| Call to be a Watchman | 3:16 | June 593 |
| Temple Vision | 8:1 | August/September 592 |
| Discourse with Elders | 20:1 | August 591 |
| Second Siege of Jerusalem | 24:1 | January 588 |
| Judgment on Tyre | 26:1 | March/April 587/586 |
| Judgment on Egypt | 29:1 | January 587 |
| Judgment on Egypt | 29:17 | April 571 |
| Judgment on Egypt | 30:20 | April 587 |
| Judgment on Egypt | 31:1 | June 587 |
| Lament over Pharaoh | 32:1 | March 585 |
| Lament over Egypt | 32:17 | April 586 |
| Fall of Jerusalem | 33:21 | December/January 586/85 |
| New Temple Vision | 40:1 | April 573 |
On the fifth day of the fourth month in the fifth year of his exile (Tammuz, 592 BCE), he said he beheld on the banks of the Chebar the glory of God, who consecrated him as a prophet. If the enigmatical date, "the thirtieth year" (1:1), be understood to apply to the age of the prophet, Ezekiel was born exactly at the time of the reform in the ritual introduced by Josiah.
He had a house in the place of his exile, Tel-Aviv, where he lost his wife, in the ninth year of his exile, by some sudden and unforeseen stroke (Ezek. According to tradition, he would also have been contemporary with Daniel (however, Daniel is regarded by some as being written much later, with Ezekiel's references to "Daniel" being seen as references to an ancient Ugaritic hero of that name, not a contemporary).
After being led away by the Babylonians somewhere between 597 and 596, Ezekiel, along with the other Israelites, was resettled in Babylon. Ezekiel himself lived in his own home in exile at Tel-abib near Chebar canal, which was near Nippur in Babylonia.
Commentary on the Book of Ezekiel
Astrology and cosmological symbolism in Ezekiel
Cosmologist Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet notes that the vision of Ezekiel makes reference to the fixed cross of the Zodiac:
'And I looked and beholf a whirlwind came out of the north. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went with them for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.' - Ezekiel Chap: 1; 4-20Ezekiel as a person with Epilepsy
Some scholars have suggested that the person described by the Book of Ezekiel may have suffered from epilepsy. Specifically, it is claimed that Ezekiel may have suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy, which has several characteristic symptoms that are apparent from his writing.
Unsourced commentary apparently written by Wikipedians
Herein lies the individualistic tendency which distinguishes Ezekiel from his predecessors.
Law and worship--these are the two focal points of Ezekiel's hope for the future. This mission Ezekiel performed by observing the signs of the time and by deducing his doctrines from them.
Although God has permitted His city and Temple to be destroyed, and His people to be led into exile, Ezekiel holds that God is not betraying His people. Ezekiel feels that there is no reason to despair, for God does not desire the death of the sinner, but his reformation.
The book explains that once Israel recognizes the sovereignty of the Lord and acts accordingly, God will restore the people, in order that they may fulfill their eternal mission and that He may truly dwell in the midst of them.
Ezekiel also exhibits one of the most down to earth and bawdy attitudes of all the biblical authors, comparing the idolatry of Israel to the behaviour of a prostitute in a notorious passage (chapter 23). Ezekiel describes the prostitute's lovers as having genitals which resemble those of donkeys and whose ejaculate was like the issue of horses.
Yet another feature of Ezekiel's personality is the pathological.
Ezekiel is a prophet who was instructed to act his prophesies.
The book seems to be written in two different time periods during Ezekiel's 25 years of prophecy.
Ezekiel points to a day when Judah and Israel would once more be restored to their land. Borrowing heavily from earlier prophets and books, Ezekiel sought to comfort the people by teaching them about the never-ending quality of their covenant with YHVH. Ezekiel used his own life and his relationship with God as an example.
Ezekiel did much of his prophecizing through his actions. 4:1-3), Lies on left side for 390 days and right side for 40 ( Ezekiel 4:4-8 ), Shaves his head with a sword, weighs and divides the hair, burning a portion of it, smiting a second portion with a sword and scattering the third portion to the winds ( Ezek.
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