The author of theBook of Ezekiel presents himself as Ezekiel, the son ofBuzi, born into a priestly (kohen) lineage.[2] The author dates his first divine encounter to "the thirtieth year" according toEzekiel 1:1–2. Ezekiel describes his calling to be aprophet, detailing his encounter withGod and four "living creatures" with four wheels beside them.[3]
According to Ezekiel 1:1 and3:15, Ezekiel and his wife lived during theBabylonian captivity on the banks of the Kebar Canal inTel Abib nearNippur[a] with other exiles from theKingdom of Judah. There is no mention of him having children.
In the text, the "thirtieth year" is identified as the fifth year of the exile ofJeconiah,King of Judah, by theNeo-Babylonian Empire beginning in 597 BC (though the kingdom was allowed to continue underZedekiah);[4] this dates Ezekiel's vision to 593 BC. The last recorded prophecy of Ezekiel dates to April 571 BC, sixteen years after thedestruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC.[5][6] Thus, Ezekiel's prophecies occurred over about 22 years.[7]
The "thirtieth year" may refer to Ezekiel's age at the time of his first vision, making him fifty-two years old at his final vision.[6][8] However, theTargum Jonathan on Ezekiel 1:1 and the2nd-century rabbinic workSeder Olam Rabba (chapter 26) interpret it to mean "in the thirtieth year afterJosiah was presented with a Book of the Law discovered in the Temple" in 622 BC, the time ofJosiah's reforms andJeremiah's prophecies.[8][9] These two interpretations can be reconciled if Ezekiel was born around the same time as Josiah's reforms.
According toJewish tradition, Ezekiel did not write the biblical Book of Ezekiel, but rather his prophecies were collected by theGreat Assembly.[10]
Ezekiel, likeJeremiah, is said byTalmud[11] andMidrash[12] to have been a descendant ofJoshua by his marriage with theproselyte and former prostituteRahab. Some statements found in rabbinic literature posit that Ezekiel was the son of Jeremiah, who was (also) called "Buzi" because he was despised by the Jews.[13]
According toJosephus, Ezekiel was already active as a prophet while in the Land of Israel, and he retained this gift when he was exiled with King Jehoiachin and the nobles of the country to Babylon.[14]Josephus relates thatNebuchadnezzar's Babylonian armies exiled three thousand people from Judah,[15] after deposing Jehoiachin in 598 BC.
One traditional depiction of thecherubim andchariot vision, based on the description by Ezekiel
Rava states in the Babylonian Talmud that although Ezekiel describes the appearance of the throne of God (merkabah), this is not because he had seen more than the prophetIsaiah: on the contrary, Isaiah described the divine glory as a courtier would describe the royal court where he served; whereas Ezekiel wrote as a peasant floridly embellishing a distant majesty.[16] Ezekiel, like all the other prophets, has beheld only a blurred reflection of God, as if seen in a poor mirror.[17]
According to the midrashShir HaShirim Rabbah, it was Ezekiel whom the three pious men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (also calledShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) asked for advice as to whether they should resist Nebuchadnezzar's command and choose death by fire rather than worship hisidol. At first God revealed to the prophet that they could not hope for a miraculous rescue, and the prophet grieved for these men who were the "remnant of Judah". But when they left fully determined to sacrifice their lives to God, Ezekiel received this revelation:
When they went out from before Ezekiel, the Holy One blessed be He revealed Himself and said: 'Ezekiel, what do you think, that I will not stand by them? I will certainly stand by them.' That is what is written: "So said the Lord God: Concerning this too, I will acquiesce to the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 36:37). 'But leave them and do not say anything to them. I will leave them to proceed unsuspecting.'[18]
Saint Bonaventure interpreted Ezekiel's statement about the "closed gate" as a prophecy of the Incarnation: the "gate" signifying theVirgin Mary and the "prince" referring to Jesus. This is one of thereadings atVespers onGreat Feasts of theTheotokos in theEastern Orthodox andByzantine Catholic Churches.[citation needed] This imagery is also found in the traditional Catholic Christmas hymn "Gaudete" and in a saying by Bonaventure, quoted byAlphonsus Maria de' Liguori: "No one can enter Heaven unless by Mary, as though through a door."[21] The imagery provides the basis for the concept that God gave Mary to humanity as the "Gate of Heaven" (thence the dedication of churches and convents to the Porta Coeli), an idea also laid out in theSalve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) prayer.
John B. Taylor credits the subject with imparting the Biblical understanding of the nature of God.[22]
Allah raised the dead at the request of the Prophet Ezekiel. He is standing in a desert with skulls and bones scattered. The prophet is depicted with a halo in the form of flames, typical in Islamic arts.Iraqi Jews at the tomb of Ezekiel inAl-Kifl in the 1930s
The Quran mentions a prophet calledDhū al-Kifl[e] (ذو الكفل). Although Dhu al-Kifl's identity is disputed, he is often identified with Ezekiel.Carsten Niebuhr, in hisReisebeschreibung nach Arabian,[23] says he visitedAl Kifl inIraq, midway betweenNajaf andHilla and saidKifl was theArabic form ofEzekiel. He further explained in his book thatEzekiel's Tomb was present inAl Kifl and that the Jews came to it on pilgrimage. The name "Dhu al-Kifl" means "Possessor of the Double" or "Possesor of the Fold" (ذوdhū "possessor of, owner of" andالكفلal-kifl "double, folded"). Some Islamic scholars have likened Ezekiel's mission to the description of Dhu al-Kifl. During the exile, the monarchy and state were annihilated, and political and national life were no longer possible. In the absence of a worldly foundation, it became necessary to build a spiritual one and Ezekiel performed this mission by observing the signs of the time and deducing his doctrines from them. In conformity with the two parts of his book, his personality and his preaching are alike twofold.
Regardless of the identification of Dhu al-Kifl with Ezekiel,Muslims have viewed Ezekiel as a prophet. Ezekiel appears in all collections ofStories of the Prophets.[24] Muslimexegesis further lists Ezekiel's father asBuzi (Budhi) and Ezekiel is given the titleibn al-‘ajūz, denoting "son of the old (man)", as his parents are supposed to have been very old when he was born. A tradition, which resembles that ofHannah andSamuel in theHebrew Bible, states that Ezekiel's mother prayed to God in old age for the birth of an offspring and was given Ezekiel as a gift fromGod.[25]
A tomb in theErgani District ofDiyarbakır Province inTurkey is also believed to be the resting place of Ezekiel. It is located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city centre on a hill, where it is revered and visited by localMuslims, calledMakam Dağı.[30][31]
^Not to be confused with modern dayTel Aviv, located on theMediterranean coastline. However, this location's name was influenced by Ezekiel 3:15.
^"Ḥazqiyāl" is alsoromanised as "Ḥizqiyāl", "Ḥizqīl", and "Ḥizkīl"
^Ibn Kutayba, Ukasha, Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ishaq, Masudi, Kisa'i, Balami, Thalabi and many more have all recognized Ezekiel as a prophet
^The greatest depth to the figure is given byAbdullah Yusuf Ali, in his commentary; his commentary's note2743: "If we accept "Dhul al Kifl" to be not an epithet, but an Arabicised form of "Ezekiel", it fits the context, Ezekiel was a prophet in Israel who was carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar after his second attack on Jerusalem (about BCE 599). His Book is included in the English Bible (Old Testament). He was chained and bound, and put into prison, and for a time he was dumb. He bore all with patience and constancy, and continued to reprove boldly the evils in Israel. In a burning passage he denounces false leaders in words which are eternally true: "Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken ...... etc. (Ezekiel, 34:2–4)."
^"Dhū al-Kifl" is also romanised as "Dhul-Kifl", "Zu al-Kifl", and "Zul-Kifl"
^Taylor, John B. (1976).Ezekiel. Downer's Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press. Series: The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. pp. 39-41.ISBN0-87784-884-X.
^Niebuhr, Carsten (1778).Reisebeschreibung nach Arabian. Vol. 2. Copenhagen: Nicolaus Möller. pp. 264–266.
^Stories of the Prophets, Ibn Kathir,Story of Ezekiel (Hizqil)
Broome, Edwin C. Jr. (September 1946). "Ezekiel's Abnormal Personality".Journal of Biblical Literature.65 (3):277–292.doi:10.2307/3262666.JSTOR3262666.
Eissfeldt, Otto (1965).The Old Testament: An Introduction. Peter Ackroyd, trans. Oxford: Blackwell.
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