Ezekiel

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Ezekiel
Ezekiel (/ɪˈziːkiəl/) (Hebrew: יְחֶזְקֵאל‬ Y'ḥezqēl [jəħɛzˈqēl]) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel
Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet. In Judaism
Judaism and Christianity, he is also viewed as the 6th-century BCE author of the Book of Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel that reveals prophecies regarding the destruction of Jerusalem, the restoration to the land of Israel, and what some call the Millennial Temple visions, or the Third Temple.

Contents

1 Life 2 Living in Babylon

2.1 Prophetic career

3 World views

3.1 Jewish tradition 3.2 Christianity 3.3 Islamic
Islamic tradition

3.3.1 Bibliography

4 Tomb 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links

Life[edit] The author of the Book of Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel presents himself as Ezekiel, the son of Buzzi, born into a priestly (Kohen) lineage.[1] Apart from identifying himself, the author gives a date for the first divine encounter which he presents: "in the thirtieth year".[2] If this is a reference to Ezekiel's age at the time, he was born around 622 BCE, about the time of Josiah's reforms.[3] His "thirtieth year" is given as 5 years after the exile of Judah's king Jehoiachin
Jehoiachin by the Babylonians. Josephus
Josephus claims that at the request of Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylonian armies exiled three thousand Jews[4] from Judah, after deposing King Jehoiachin
Jehoiachin in 598 BCE. Living in Babylon[edit] According to the Bible, Ezekiel
Ezekiel and his wife lived on the bank of the Chebar River, in Tel Abib[5] in Babylonia
Babylonia with other exiles from Judah.[6] There is no mention of him having any offspring. Prophetic career[edit] Ezekiel
Ezekiel describes his calling to be a prophet by going into great detail about his encounter with God
God and four living creatures or Cherubim
Cherubim with four wheels that stayed beside the creatures.[7] For the next five years he incessantly prophesied and acted out the destruction of Jerusalem
Jerusalem and its temple, which was met with some opposition. However, Ezekiel
Ezekiel and his contemporaries like Jeremiah, another prophet who was living in Jerusalem
Jerusalem at that time, witnessed the fulfillment of their prophecies with the siege of Jerusalem
Jerusalem by the Babylonians. On the hypothesis that the "thirtieth year" of Ezekiel 1:1 refers to Ezekiel's age, Ezekiel
Ezekiel was fifty years old when he had his final vision.[3] On the basis of dates given in the Book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel's span of prophecies can be calculated to have occurred over the course of about 22 years.[8] The last dated words of Ezekiel
Ezekiel date to April 570 BCE.[9][10] World views[edit] Jewish tradition[edit]

Monument to Holocaust survivors
Holocaust survivors at Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. The quote is Ezekiel
Ezekiel 37:14.

Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, is said by Talmud[11] and Midrash[12] to have been a descendant of Joshua
Joshua by his marriage with the proselyte and former prostitute Rahab. Some statements found in rabbinic literature posit that Ezekiel
Ezekiel was the son of Jeremiah, who was (also) called "Buzi" because he was despised by the Jews.[13] Ezekiel
Ezekiel was said to be already active as a prophet while in the Land of Israel, and he retained this gift when he was exiled with Jehoiachin
Jehoiachin and the nobles of the country to Babylon.[14] Rava states in the Babylonian Talmud
Talmud that although Ezekiel
Ezekiel describes the appearance of the throne of God
God (Merkabah), this is not because he had seen more than the prophet Isaiah, but rather because the latter was more accustomed to such visions; for the relation of the two prophets is that of a courtier to a peasant, the latter of whom would always describe a royal court more floridly than the former, to whom such things would be familiar.[15] 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.[16] According to the midrash Canticles Rabbah, it was Ezekiel
Ezekiel whom the three pious men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (also called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Bible) asked for advice as to whether they should resist Nebuchadnezzar's command and choose death by fire rather than worship his idol. At first God
God revealed to the prophet that they could not hope for a miraculous rescue; whereupon the prophet was greatly grieved, since these three men constituted the "remnant of Judah". But after they had left the house of the prophet, fully determined to sacrifice their lives to God, Ezekiel
Ezekiel received this revelation: "Thou dost believe indeed that I will abandon them. That shall not happen; but do thou let them carry out their intention according to their pious dictates, and tell them nothing".[17] Christianity[edit]

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Russian icon
Russian icon of the Prophet
Prophet Ezekiel
Ezekiel holding a scroll with his prophecy and pointing to the "closed gate" (18th century, Iconostasis
Iconostasis of Kizhi monastery, Russia)

Ezekiel
Ezekiel is commemorated as a saint in the liturgical calendar of the Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church—and those Eastern Catholic Churches
Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite—on July 23 (for those churches which use the traditional Julian Calendar, July 23 falls on August 5 of the modern Gregorian Calendar).[18] Ezekiel
Ezekiel is commemorated on August 28 on the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and on April 10 in the Roman Martyrology. Certain Lutheran churches also celebrate his commemoration on July 20. Ezekiel's statement about the "closed gate" ( Ezekiel
Ezekiel 44:2–3) is understood[weasel words] as another prophecy of the Incarnation: the "gate" signifying the Virgin Mary
Virgin Mary and the "prince" referring to Jesus. This is one of the readings at Vespers
Vespers on Great Feasts
Great Feasts of the Theotokos
Theotokos in the Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches.[citation needed] This imagery is also found in the traditional Catholic Christmas hymn "Gaudete" and in a saying by Saint Bonaventure, quoted by Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori: "No one can enter Heaven unless by Mary, as though through a door."[19] The imagery provides the basis for the concept that God
God gave Mary to mankind as the "Gate of Heaven" (thence the dedication of churches and convents to the Porta Coeli), an idea also laid out in the Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) prayer. According to 17th-century commentator Matthew Henry
Matthew Henry Ezekiel
Ezekiel is also believed to have been known as Nazaratus Assyrius, a teacher to Pythagoras. However, James Ussher, in his writings of the Ussher chronology, republished as "The Annals of the World" claims that this is a mistake, basing his opinion on the writings of Clemens Alexandrinus. However, Sir William Smith, in his "Bible Dictionary," points out that John Selden, among others, consider it a possibility. In the book "Pythagoras: Greek philosopher" it states; "Nazaratus, the Assyrian, one of Pythagoras' masters, was supposed to be the prophet Ezekiel, and Thomas Stanley's Life of Pythagoras
Pythagoras says that Ezekiel
Ezekiel and Pythagoras
Pythagoras flourished together. Islamic
Islamic tradition[edit] Main article: Dhul-Kifl Ezekiel
Ezekiel is recognized as a prophet in Islamic
Islamic tradition. Although not mentioned in the Qur'an
Qur'an by the name, all Muslim
Muslim scholars, both classical[a] and modern[b] have included Ezekiel
Ezekiel in lists of the prophets of Islam. The Qur'an
Qur'an mentions a prophet called Zul-Kifl. This prophet is sometimes identified with Ezekiel
Ezekiel although Zul-Kifl's identity is disputed. Carsten Niebuhr, in his Reisebeschreibung nach Arabian,[20] says he visited Al Kifl
Al Kifl in Iraq, midway between Najaf
Najaf and Hilla
Hilla and said Kifl was the Arabic
Arabic form of Ezekiel. He further explained in his book that Ezekiel's Tomb
Ezekiel's Tomb was present in Al Kifl
Al Kifl and that the Jews came to it on pilgrimage. The name Zul-Kifl would mean "One of double", as Zul in Arabic
Arabic means "the one of" and "kifl" means "double or folded". Some Islamic
Islamic scholars have likened Ezekiel's mission to the description of Dhul-Kifl. When the exile, monarchy, and state were annihilated, a political and national life was no longer possible. In the absence of a worldly foundation it became necessary to build a spiritual one and Ezekiel
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, and the title Zul-Kifl means "the one of double" Aside from the possible identification of Zul-Kifl with Ezekiel, Muslims have viewed Ezekiel
Ezekiel as a prophet, regardless of his identification with Zul-Kifl. Ezekiel
Ezekiel appears in all Muslim
Muslim collections of Stories of the Prophets.[21] Muslim
Muslim exegesis further lists Ezekiel's father as Buzi (Budhi) and Ezekiel
Ezekiel is given the title ibn al-adjus, 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 of Hannah and Samuel
Samuel in the Hebrew Bible, states that Ezekiel's mother prayed to God in old age for the birth of an offspring and was given Ezekiel
Ezekiel as a gift from God.[22] Bibliography[edit]

Ibn Kutayba, K. al-Ma'arif ed. S. Ukasha, 51

One traditional depiction of the cherubim and chariot vision, based on the description by Ezekiel.

Tabari, History of the Prophets and Kings, 2, 53–54 Tabari, Tafsir, V, 266 (old ed. ii, 365) Masudi, Murudj, i, 103ff. K. al-Badwa l-tarikh, iii, 4/5 and 98/100, Ezechiel Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Holy Qur'an: Translation and Commentary, Note. 2473 (cf. index: Ezekiel) Emil Heller Henning III, "Ezekiel's Temple: A Scriptural Framework Illustrating the Covenant of Grace." 2012.

Tomb[edit] The tomb of Ezekiel
Ezekiel is a structure located in modern-day south Iraq near Kefil, believed to be the final resting place of Ezekiel.[23] It has been a place of pilgrimage to both Muslims and Jews alike. After the Jewish exodus from Iraq, Jewish activity in the tomb ceased, although a disused synagogue remains in place.[24] See also[edit]

Al Kifl Apocryphon of Ezekiel Babylonian captivity Dhul-Kifl List of names referring to El Taw The Spaceships of Ezekiel

Notes[edit]

^ Ibn Kutayba, Ukasha, Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ishaq, Masudi, Kisa'i, Balami, Thalabi and many more have all recognized Ezekiel
Ezekiel as a prophet ^ The largest depth to the figure is given by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, in his commentary; his commentary's note 2743: "If we accept "Dhul al Kifl" to be not an epithet, but an Arabicised form of "Ezekiel", it fits the context, Ezekiel
Ezekiel was a prophet in Israel who was carried away to Babylon
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)."

References[edit]

^ [ Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1:3] ^ [ Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1:1–2] ^ a b Terry J. Betts (2005). Ezekiel
Ezekiel the Priest: A Custodian of Tôrâ. Peter Lang. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-8204-7425-0. ^ Flavius /Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews Book X, 6.3.98 ^ Not to be confused with modern day Tel Aviv, located on the Mediterranean
Mediterranean coastline. However, this location's name was influenced by Ezekiel
Ezekiel 3:15 ^ Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1:1, 3:15. ^ [ Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1] ^ Ronald Ernest Clements (1 January 1996). Ezekiel. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-664-25272-4. ^ [ Ezekiel
Ezekiel 29:17] ^ Walther Eichrodt (20 June 2003). Ezekiel: A Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 407. ISBN 978-1-61164-596-5. ^ (Meg. 14b) ^ (Sifri, Num. 78) ^ Radak – R. David
David Kimkhi – in his commentary on Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1:3, based on Targum Yerushalmi ^ (Josephus, Ant. x. 6, § 3: "while he was still a boy"; comp. Rashi on Sanh. 92b, above) ^ (Ḥag. 13b) ^ Midrash
Midrash Lev. Rabbah i. 14, toward the end ^ ( Midrash
Midrash Canticles Rabbah vii. 8) ^ Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America – Online Chapel: 23 July ^ Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, The Glories of Mary, Liguori, Mo.: Liguori Publications, 2000, p. 623. ISBN 0-7648-0664-5. ^ Reisebeschreibung nach Arabian Copenhagen, 1778, ii. 264–266 ^ Stories of the Prophets, Ibn Kathir, Story of Ezekiel
Ezekiel (Hizqil) ^ Encyclopedia of Islam, G. Vajda, Hizkil ^ "Jewishencyclopedia.com". Jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2012-06-22. ^ " Iraq
Iraq Cleric Slams Plan to Turn Jewish Tomb into Mosque". Thejc.com. 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2012-06-22.

Further reading[edit]

Broome, Edwin C., Jr. (September 1946). "Ezekiel's Abnormal Personality". Journal of Biblical Literature. 65: 277–292. Eissfeldt, Otto (1965). The Old Testament: An Introduction. Peter Ackroyd, trans. Oxford: Blackwell. Gottwald, Norman K. (1985). The Hebrew Bible : a socio-literary introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. ISBN 0-8006-0853-4. Greenberg, Moshe (1983). Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1–20 : a new translation with introduction and commentary. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-00954-2. Greenberg, Moshe (1997). Ezekiel
Ezekiel 21–37 : a new translation with introduction and commentary. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-18200-7. Klein, Ralph W. (1988). Ezekiel : the prophet and his message. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-553-1.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ezekiel.

Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Ezechiel". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Prophet
Prophet Ezekiel
Ezekiel Orthodox icon and synaxarion

v t e

Prophets in the Hebrew Bible

Pre-Patriarchal

Abel Kenan Enoch Noah (in rabbinic literature)

Patriarchs / Matriarchs

Abraham Isaac Jacob Levi Joseph Sarah Rebecca Rachel Leah

Israelite prophets in the Torah

Moses (in rabbinic literature) Aaron Miriam Eldad and Medad Phinehas

Mentioned in the Former Prophets

Joshua Deborah Gideon Eli Elkanah Hannah Abigail Samuel Gad Nathan David Solomon Jeduthun Ahijah Shemaiah Elijah Elisha Iddo Hanani Jehu Micaiah Jahaziel Eliezer Zechariah ben Jehoiada Huldah

Major

Isaiah (in rabbinic literature) Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel (in rabbinic literature)

Minor

Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah (in rabbinic literature) Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

Noahide

Beor Balaam Job (in rabbinic literature)

Other

Amoz Beeri Baruch Agur Uriah Buzi Mordecai Esther (in rabbinic literature) Oded Azariah

Italics indicate persons whose status as prophets is not universally accepted.

v t e

Extra-Quranic Prophets of Islam

In Stories of the Prophets

Enoch Eber Khidr Joshua Samuel Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Ezra Daniel

In Islamic
Islamic tradition

Seth Shem Eli Ahijah Shemaiah Iddo Hanani Jehu Micaiah Eliezer Zechariah ben Jehoiada Urijah Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah Berechiah Samī Joel Amos Obadiah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Malachi Hanzalah Khaled bin Sinan

In Quranic exegesis

Abel Saduq, Masduq, and Shalum Hosea Zechariah, son of Berechiah

v t e

Saints of the Catholic Church

Virgin Mary

Mother of God
God (Theotokos) Immaculate Conception Perpetual virginity Assumption Marian apparition

Guadalupe Laus Miraculous Medal Lourdes Fatima

Titles of Mary

Apostles

Andrew Barnabas Bartholomew James of Alphaeus James the Greater John Jude Matthew Matthias Paul Peter Philip Simon Thomas

Archangels

Gabriel Michael Raphael

Confessors

Anatolius Chariton the Confessor Edward the Confessor Maximus the Confessor Michael of Synnada Paphnutius the Confessor Paul I of Constantinople Salonius Theophanes the Confessor

Disciples

Apollos Mary Magdalene Priscilla and Aquila Silvanus Stephen Timothy Titus Seventy disciples

Doctors

Gregory the Great Ambrose Augustine of Hippo Jerome John Chrysostom Basil of Caesarea Gregory of Nazianzus Athanasius of Alexandria Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Jerusalem John of Damascus Bede
Bede the Venerable Ephrem the Syrian Thomas Aquinas Bonaventure Anselm of Canterbury Isidore of Seville Peter Chrysologus Leo the Great Peter Damian Bernard of Clairvaux Hilary of Poitiers Alphonsus Liguori Francis de Sales Peter Canisius John of the Cross Robert Bellarmine Albertus Magnus Anthony of Padua Lawrence of Brindisi Teresa of Ávila Catherine of Siena Thérèse of Lisieux John of Ávila Hildegard of Bingen Gregory of Narek

Evangelists

Matthew Mark Luke John

Church Fathers

Alexander of Alexandria Alexander of Jerusalem Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan Anatolius Athanasius of Alexandria Augustine of Hippo Caesarius of Arles Caius Cappadocian Fathers Clement of Alexandria Clement of Rome Cyprian
Cyprian of Carthage Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Jerusalem Damasus I Desert Fathers Desert Mothers Dionysius of Alexandria Dionysius of Corinth Dionysius Ephrem the Syrian Epiphanius of Salamis Fulgentius of Ruspe Gregory the Great Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nyssa Hilary of Poitiers Hippolytus of Rome Ignatius of Antioch Irenaeus
Irenaeus of Lyons Isidore of Seville Jerome
Jerome of Stridonium John Chrysostom John of Damascus Maximus the Confessor Melito of Sardis Quadratus of Athens Papias of Hierapolis Peter Chrysologus Polycarp
Polycarp of Smyrna Theophilus of Antioch Victorinus of Pettau Vincent of Lérins Zephyrinus

Martyrs

Canadian Martyrs Carthusian Martyrs Forty Martyrs of England and Wales Four Crowned Martyrs Great Martyr The Holy Innocents Irish Martyrs Joan of Arc Lübeck martyrs Korean Martyrs Martyrology Martyrs of Albania Martyrs of China Martyrs of Japan Martyrs of Laos Martyrs of Natal Martyrs of Otranto Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War Maximilian Kolbe Perpetua and Felicity Saints of the Cristero War Stephen Three Martyrs of Chimbote Uganda Martyrs Vietnamese Martyrs

Patriarchs

Adam Abel Abraham Isaac Jacob Joseph Joseph (father of Jesus) David Noah Solomon Matriarchs

Popes

Adeodatus I Adeodatus II Adrian III Agapetus I Agatho Alexander I Anacletus Anastasius I Anicetus Anterus Benedict II Boniface I Boniface IV Caius Callixtus I Celestine I Celestine V Clement I Cornelius Damasus I Dionysius Eleuterus Eugene I Eusebius Eutychian Evaristus Fabian Felix I Felix III Felix IV Gelasius I Gregory I Gregory II Gregory III Gregory VII Hilarius Hormisdas Hyginus Innocent I John I John XXIII John Paul II Julius I Leo I Leo II Leo III Leo IV Leo IX Linus Lucius I Marcellinus Marcellus I Mark Martin I Miltiades Nicholas I Paschal I Paul I Peter Pius I Pius V Pius X Pontian Sergius I Silverius Simplicius Siricius Sixtus I Sixtus II Sixtus III Soter Stephen I Stephen IV Sylvester I Symmachus Telesphorus Urban I Victor I Vitalian Zachary Zephyrinus Zosimus

Prophets

Agabus Amos Anna Baruch ben Neriah David Dalua Elijah Ezekiel Habakkuk Haggai Hosea Isaiah Jeremiah Job Joel John the Baptist Jonah Judas Barsabbas Malachi Melchizedek Micah Moses Nahum Obadiah Samuel Seven Maccabees and their mother Simeon Zechariah (prophet) Zechariah (NT) Zephaniah

Virgins

Agatha of Sicily Agnes of Rome Bernadette Soubirous Brigid of Kildare Cecilia Clare of Assisi Eulalia of Mérida Euphemia Genevieve Kateri Tekakwitha Lucy of Syracuse Maria Goretti Mother Teresa Narcisa de Jesús Rose of Lima