Ezekiel

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Ezekiel, whose name, Yehézq'el signifies "strong is God", or "whomGod makes strong" (Ezek. i, 3; iii, 8), was the son of Buzi, and was one of thepriests who, in the year 598 B.C., had been deported together with Joachim asprisoners fromJerusalem (2 Kings 24:12-16; cf.Ezekiel 33:21,40:1). With the other exiles he settled in Tell-Abib near the Chobar (Ezek. i,1; iii, 15) inBabylonia, and seems to have spent the rest of his life there.In the fifth year after the captivity of Joachim, and according to some, the thirtieth year of his life, Ezekiel received his call as aprophet (Ezek. i, 2, 4 etc) in the vision which he describes in the beginning of his prophecy (Ezek. i,4; iii, 15). From Ezek. xxix, 17 it appears that he prophesied during at least twenty-two years.

Ezekiel was called to foretellGod's faithfulness in the midst of trials, as well as in the fulfilment of His promises. During the first period of his career, he foretold the complete destruction of the kingdom of Juda, and the annihilation of the city and temple. After the fulfilment of these predictions, he was commanded to announce the future return from exile, the re-establishment of the people in their own country and, especially, the triumph of theKingdom of theMessiah, the secondDavid, so that the people would not abandon themselves to despair and perish as a nation, through contact with theGentiles, whose gods had apparently triumphed over theGod ofIsrael. This is the principal burden of Ezekiel's prophecy, which is divided into three parts. After the introduction, the vision of the calling of theprophet (Ezek. i-iii, 21), the first part contains the prophecies against Juda before the fall ofJerusalem (Ezek. iii, 22-xxiv). In this part theprophet declares the hope of saving the city, the kingdom, and the temple to be vain, and announces the approaching judgment ofGod upon Juda. This part may be subdivided into five groups of prophecies.

In the second part (xxv-xxxii), are gathered together the prophecies concerning theGentiles. He takes, first of all, the neighbouring peoples who had been exalted through the downfall of Juda, and who had humiliatedIsrael. The fate of four of these, theAmmonites, theMoabites, theEdomites, and thePhilistines, is condensed in chapter xxv. He treats more at length ofTyre and its king (xxxvi-xxviii,19), after which he casts a glance atSidon (xxviii, 20-26). Six prophecies againstEgypt follow, dating from different years (xxix-xxxii. The third part (xxxiii-xlviii), is occupied with the Divine utterances on the subject ofIsrael's restoration. As introduction, we have a dissertation from theprophet, in his capacity of authorized champion of the mercy andjustice ofGod, after which he addresses himself to those remaining in Juda, and to the perverse exiles (xxxiii). The manner in whichGod will restore His people is only indicated in a general way. The Lord will cause theevil shepherds to perish; He will gather in, guide, and feed the sheep by means of the secondDavid, theMessiah (xxxiv).

Though Mount Seir shall remain a waste,Israel shall return unto its own. ThereGod will purify His people, animate the nation with a new spirit, and re-establish it in its former splendour for the glory of His name (xxxv-xxxvii).Israel, though dead, shall rise again, and the dry bones shall be covered with flesh and endowed with life before the eyes of theprophet. Ephraim and Juda shall, under thesecond David, be united into one kingdom, and the Lord shall dwell in their midst (xxxvii). The invincibleness and indestructibility of the restored kingdom are then symbolically presented in thewar uponGog, his inglorious defeat, and the annihilation of his armies (xxxviii-xxxix). In the last prophetic vision,God shows the new temple (xl-xliii), the new worship (xliii-xlvi), the return to their own land, and the new division thereof among the twelve tribes (xlvii-xlviii), as a figure of His foundation of a kingdom where He shall dwell among His people, and where He shall be served in His tabernacle according to strict rules, bypriests of His choice, and by theprince of the house of David.

From this review of the contents of the prophecy, it is evident that the prophetic vision, the symbolic actions and examples, comprise a considerable portion of the book. The completeness of the description of the vision, action and similes, is one of the many causes of the obscurity of the book of Ezekiel. It is often difficult to distinguish between what is essential to the matter represented, and what serves merely to make the image more vivid. On this account it happens that, in the circumstantial descriptions, words are used, the meaning of which, inasmuch as they occur in Ezekiel only, is not determined. Because of this obscurity, a number of copyist mistakes have crept into the text, and that at an earlydate, since theSeptuagint has some of them in common with the earliest Hebrew text we have. The Greek version, however, includes several readings which help to fix the meaning. The genuineness of the book of Ezekiel is generally conceded. Some few consider chapters xl-xlviii to beapocryphal, because the plan there described in the building of the temple was not followed, but they overlook the fact that Ezekiel here gives a symbolic representation of the temple, that was to find spiritual realization inGod's new kingdom. The Divine character of the prophecies was recognized as early as the time of Jesus the son of Sirach (Eccles. xlix, 10, 11). In theNew Testament, there are no verbatim references, but allusions to the prophecy and figures taken from it are prominent. Compare St. John x etc. with Ezek. xxxiv, 11 etc.; St. Matthew xxii, 32, with Ezek. xvii, 23. In particular St. John, in the Apocalypse, has often followed Ezekiel. Compare Apoc. xviii-xxi with Ezek. xxvii, xxxviii etc., xlvii etc.

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