Ezekiel

Etymology

From 'chazaq' (to strengthen) and 'El' (God). A name that declares God's strengthening power — fitting for a prophet who received his calling in exile, when everything was lost.

Who they were

Ezekiel was a priest deported to Babylon in the first exile of 597 BC. Five years later, by the River Kebar, he received one of the most extraordinary visions in all of scripture — a storm from the north, four living creatures with four faces each, wheels within wheels covered with eyes, and above them the likeness of the glory of the Lord. He fell on his face. God called him to prophesy to a rebellious people, warning him they would not listen. Ezekiel's prophecies were conveyed through dramatic symbolic actions: he lay on his side for 390 days, ate food cooked over dung, shaved his head and divided the hair into thirds. He was instructed not to mourn when his wife died, as a sign that Jerusalem's destruction would be so devastating that normal grief would be impossible. His most famous vision is the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37): a field of scattered skeletons, and God asking, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' Ezekiel answered, 'Sovereign Lord, you alone know.' God commanded him to prophesy to the bones, and they came together, received sinew and flesh, and breathed. It is the Bible's supreme image of resurrection and national restoration. His final chapters envision a restored temple with a river flowing from it that heals everything it touches — an image that Revelation picks up in its final chapter.

Family

Father

Buzi (a priest)

Spouse

Mentioned — she died suddenly as a sign to the people

Character qualities

• Obedience to bizarre divine commands
• Visionary imagination
• Endurance of personal loss as prophetic sign
• Hope from impossible situations

Key verse

Ezekiel 37:3

Where they appear

Themes

Variants & related forms

Zeke · Ezequiel

Related names