Book of Ezekiel

The Book of Ezekiel stands as the third of the Latter Prophets within the Tanakh and is counted among the major prophetic books of the Christian Bible, placed after Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the text itself, it contains six visions received by the prophet Ezekiel while he was exiled in Babylon, spanning twenty-two years from 593 to 571 BCE. Scholars recognize that the book emerged from a lengthy and intricate compositional process, meaning it may not directly preserve the prophet’s exact spoken words.

The visions and the book are arranged around three central themes: judgment directed at Israel (chapters 1–24), judgment against foreign nations (chapters 25–32), and future blessings for Israel (chapters 33–48). Key themes include the presence of God, purity, the idea of Israel as a divine community, and individual accountability before God. The book’s later impact shaped mystical and apocalyptic traditions in Second Temple Judaism, Rabbinic Judaism, and Christianity.

**Structure**

The book follows a broad three-part organization: - Prophecies against Judah and Jerusalem (chapters 1–24) - Prophecies against foreign nations (chapters 25–32) - Prophecies of hope and salvation (chapters 33–48)

**Summary**

The book begins with a vision of YHWH. It then anticipates the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, explaining this as divine punishment, and concludes with the promise of a new beginning and a new Temple.

- **Inaugural vision (Ezekiel 1:1–3:27):** God approaches Ezekiel as a divine warrior riding in a chariot-throne. The chariot is pulled by four living creatures, each with four faces (a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle) and four wings. Beside each creature is a “wheel within a wheel,” with rims described as “tall and awesome” and covered with eyes. God commissions Ezekiel as a prophet and “watchman” for Israel, saying, “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites” (2:3). - **Judgment on Israel, Judah, and the nations:** God warns of Jerusalem’s certain destruction and the devastation of nations that troubled his people—the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Philistines, the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon, and Egypt. - **Building a new city:** The Jewish exile will end. A new city and new Temple will be built, and the Israelites will be gathered and blessed as never before.

Highlights include: - The “throne vision,” where Ezekiel sees God enthroned in the Temple among the Heavenly Host. - The first “temple vision,” where Ezekiel sees God leave the Temple because of the abominations practiced there (worship of idols rather than YHWH, Judah’s official God). - Images of Israel, portrayed as a harlot bride, among other depictions. - The “valley of dry bones,” where the prophet sees the dead of the house of Israel rise again. - The destruction of Gog and Magog, where Ezekiel sees Israel’s enemies destroyed and a new age of peace established. - The final temple vision, where Ezekiel sees the third temple commonwealth centered on a new temple in Jerusalem, to which God’s Shekinah (Divine Presence) has returned.

**Composition**

**Life and times of Ezekiel:** The Book of Ezekiel is described as the words of Ezekiel ben-Buzi, a priest living in exile in Babylon between 593 and 571 BCE. Most scholars today accept the basic authenticity of the book but see significant additions by a later school of followers. Jewish tradition holds that the Men of the Great Assembly wrote the book based on the prophet’s words. While the book shows considerable unity and likely reflects much of the historic Ezekiel, it is the product of a long and complex history and does not necessarily preserve the prophet’s exact words.

According to the book, Ezekiel ben-Buzi was born into a priestly family in Jerusalem around 623 BCE, during the reign of the reforming king Josiah. Before this, Judah was a vassal of the Assyrian empire, but Assyria’s rapid decline after about 630 BCE allowed Josiah to assert independence and institute a religious reform emphasizing loyalty to Yahweh, Israel’s God. Josiah was killed in 609 BCE, and Judah became a vassal of the Neo-Babylonian empire. In 597 BCE, after a rebellion against Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar II, Ezekiel was among the large group of Judeans taken into captivity. He appears to have spent the rest of his life in Mesopotamia. A further deportation from Jerusalem to Babylon occurred in 586 BCE, when a second unsuccessful rebellion led to the city’s destruction, the Temple’s ruin, and the exile of the remaining royal court, including the last scribes and priests. The dates in the book suggest Ezekiel was 25 when exiled, 30 when he received his prophetic call, and 52 at the time of his last vision around 571 BCE.

**Textual history:** Unlike earlier prophetic works, the Book of Ezekiel is a written prophecy—largely self-authored, with a short interpolation by the Zadokites at the very end of the scroll. According to an ancient tradition, later confirmed by source criticism, there were two versions or parts of the book (or two copies with differences), both written by Ezekiel at the time of his death. Earlier prophets’ prophecies are transcripts of oral messages later recorded by scribes; in contrast, scholars agree that Ezekiel wrote this prophecy himself. This does not necessarily mean Ezekiel never delivered oral teachings or prophecies in the Tel Abib community where he was deported with other Judean elites. According to Ezekiel’s own account, he had a mission to the community and spoke to the people, though whether he did so in quite that manner remains uncertain.