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
,_Second_son_of_the_Third_Duke_of_Marlborough_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/440px-Joshua_Reynolds_-_Lord_Charles_Spencer_(1740-1820),_Second_son_of_the_Third_Duke_of_Marlborough_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
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
.jpg/500px-Meshed_ali_usnavy_(PD).jpg)
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.
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Ezekiel

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