by Stephen Rodgers
EZEKIEL IN 10 WORDS OR LESS
“Though Israel is in exile, the nation will be restored.”
TITLE
Like most (but not all…hi there Lamentations!) of the prophetic books, Ezekiel takes its name from the prophet who was responsible for the prophetic utterances contained within it. As a result, the TITLE and AUTHOR sections tend to get a bit muddled, but this would be a good time to mention that Ezekiel is mentioned only in the book that bears his name, although he does refer to some of his contemporary prophets either explicitly (Daniel) or implicitly (Jeremiah).
Per Constable:
The title of this book comes from its writer, Ezekiel, the son of Buzi (Eze. 1:3). “Ezekiel” means “God strengthens (or hardens)” or “God will strengthen (harden)” or “May God strengthen (harden).” The name “Hezekiah” is similar, meaning “May Yahweh strengthen.”
AUTHOR & AUDIENCE
For someone whose name appears only in two verses, there is surprisingly little dispute as to the identity and authorship of Ezekiel. Although no other Biblical writer refers to him, the book that bears his name is more autobiographical than the other major prophets such as Isaiah or Jeremiah. On top of that, Ezekiel wrote the vast majority of the book in chronological order, with great attention to the dates that corresponded to the events he wrote about.
Per the MSB:
Prophecies in chaps. 1–28 are in chronological order. In Eze. 29:1, the prophet regresses to a year earlier than in Eze. 26:1. But from Eze. 30:1 on (cf. Eze. 31:1; 32:1,17), he is close to being strictly chronological.
Per Constable:
Ezekiel was a Judean priest of Yahweh as well as His prophet, as were Jeremiah (Jer. 1:1), Zechariah (Zech. 1:1), and John the Baptist (Luke 1:5). Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Zechariah were the only writing prophets who were also priests, and they all ministered during or after the Babylonian exile. Like Jeremiah, there is no evidence that Ezekiel ever served as a priest in the Jerusalem temple. Ezekiel’s priestly background may account in part for the interest in priestly things that his book reflects: the actions of the priests in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem temple, the glory of the Lord, and the future temple yet to be built. It probably also explains Ezekiel’s familiarity with things connected with priestly ministry, such as cherubim. His wife died during the course of his ministry (Eze. 24:2, 15-18), but there is no mention in the book that they had children. There are no records of Ezekiel’s life outside this book, so we have no information about when, where, or how he died.
Essentially, Ezekiel is a man who’s life didn’t go according to his plan. He prepared to become a priest, only to see that become an impossibility with the Babylonian invasion and the destruction of the temple (not to mention the fact that he was carried off into exile as part of the initial invasion). At age 30 (the typical age for him to begin his priestly service), he instead received a vision from the LORD and became a prophet. So even though his life didn’t go according to his plan, one can clearly see the hand of God in his life.
DATE
It is helpful to remember at the outset that Numbers 4 records that the age of service for a priest of the LORD was from 30 to 50. This corresponds nearly perfectly to the period of Ezekiel’s life when he wrote the book that bears his name.
Per Constable:
The book records the date of the beginning of Ezekiel’s ministry as 593 B.C. (Eze. 1:2-3). The last dated prophecy came to the prophet in 571 B.C. (Eze. 29:17). He began ministering when he was 30 years old (Eze. 1:1), and he gave his last prophecy when he was about 52. Ezekiel’s whole ministry transpired during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (605-562 B.C.).
BACKGROUND & SETTING
Ezekiel is set against the backdrop of the Babylonian invasions…yes, plural. Remember that the initial fall of Jerusalem took place in 597 BC, and the Babylonians carried off most of the aristocracy and leadership into exile (including Ezekiel). However, the remaining leaders in Jerusalem committed a double-whammy of errors: they refused to turn from their idolatrous ways and heed the call of the LORD, and they refused to heed Jeremiah’s advice and rebelled against the Babylonians, prompting a second invasion that resulted in the destruction of both Jerusalem and the temple.
HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES
There are several themes that run through the book of Ezekiel:
- Judgment. The idea of the covenant lawsuit is in full effect in Ezekiel, and he prophesied that God would judge both His people (Eze. 1:1-24:27) and foreign nations (25:1-32:32) for their sinful behavior.
- God’s Sovereignty. I previously pointed out that Ezekiel’s life itself was an example of God’s sovereignty, but it’s also a major theme of the book. One valuable lesson that we learn from Ezekiel is that the judgment of God is often inseparable from the self-revelation of God (which actually is a recurring motif in Framean ethics, but that’s an article for another day).
- Future Hope. Ezekiel is quite clear that there is hope for God’s people after judgment (Eze. 33:1-39:29).
INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES
Because Ezekiel is rife with eschatological imagery, one’s understanding of the book will necessarily depend somewhat on one’s eschatalogical perspective. However, while some of the imagery seemingly defies description, the book as a unit is not difficult to apprehend.
LITERARY FEATURES
Per the ESVSB:
Several observations are in order. First, much of the book consists of visionary writing, which transports readers to a world of the imagination where the rules of reality are obviously suspended in favor of highly unusual visions. To understand and relish the book of Ezekiel, readers often need to abandon expectations of realism. Second, Ezekiel employs a technique known as symbolic reality, which occurs when a writer consistently transports the reader to a world of visionary experience where the most important ingredients are symbols—symbols like a vine, a boiling pot, or a valley full of dry bones. Third, prophecy is itself a genre, made up of oracles (pronouncements from God through the agency of a prophet) that fall into two main categories—oracles of judgment and oracles of blessing. Oracles of judgment are ordinarily examples of satire, and in the prophetic satire of Ezekiel there are three motifs: (1) description of evil, (2) denunciation of this evil, and (3) warnings and predictions that God will judge the evil. Prophecy often merges with apocalyptic writing about epic, end-time struggles. These sections often portray events at the end of history. Finally, readers should not overlook the obvious—the prophet Ezekiel expresses himself in the form of poetry.
OBJECTIONS
As previously mentioned, Ezekiel is both highly autobiographical and meticulously noted from a chronological perspective; as a result, there are no significant objections that I am aware of.
NOTABLE QUOTABLES
- Ezekiel 18:32
- Ezekiel 36:26
DID YOU KNOW?
- The inner courtyard of Ezekiel’s visionary temple was a perfect square: the shape of perfection or holiness (Eze. 40:47).
- Ezekiel contains 13 specific dates, more than any other OT book. 12 of the dates correspond to the dates that Ezekiel received his visions; the final date corresponds to the arrival of the messenger who reported the fall of Jerusalem.
Other Works Referenced
- Apologetics Study Bible, “Ezekiel”
- Archaeological Study Bible, “Introduction to Ezekiel”
- ESV Study Bible, “Introduction to Ezekiel” (PDF sample from their RESOURCES page)
- MacArthur Study Bible, “Ezekiel”
- NET Bible, Ezekiel
- NIV Study Bible, Ezekiel
- Reformation Study Bible, “Ezekiel”
- The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, “Ezekiel”
- Know Your Bible
- Dever, The Message of the Old Testament
- Driscoll, A Book You’ll Actually Read On the Old Testament
- Knight, The Layman’s Bible Handbook