Ezekiel the Prophet | |
---|---|
Ezekiel, as depicted by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling
|
|
Prophet, Priest | |
Born | c. 622 BCE Jerusalem |
Died | c. 570 BCE Babylon |
Venerated in |
Judaism Christianity (Protestantism, Roman Catholic Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Eastern Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church) Islam Bahai Faith |
Major shrine | Ezekiel's Tomb, Al Kifl, Iraq |
Feast | August 28 – Armenian Apostolic Church July 23 – Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism July 21 – Lutheranism |
Ezekiel (/ɪˈziːki.əl/; Hebrew: יְחֶזְקֵאל, Y'ḥez'qel, Hebrew pronunciation: [jəħezˈqel]) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible.
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet. In Judaism and Christianity, he is also viewed as the 6th-century BCE author of the 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.
The author of the Book of Ezekiel presents himself as Ezekiel, the son of Buzzi, born into a priestly (Kohen) lineage. Apart from identifying himself, the author gives a date for the first divine encounter which he presents: "in the thirtieth year". 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. His "thirtieth year" is given as 5 years after the exile of Judah's king Jehoiachin by the Babylonians. Josephus claims that at the request of Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylonian armies exiled three thousand Jews from Judah, after deposing King Jehoiachin in 598 BCE.