EZEKIEL

(Heb. yehezgél, ‘God shall strengthen’), the third of the great prophets, a priest, and the son of Buzi. He was carried away when young (about 599 B.c.) into the Babylonian captivity. His prophetic career extended over a period of twenty-two years, from the fifth to the twenty seventh year of the captivity. The Book of Ezekiel contains predictions made before the fall of Jerusalem, 586 B.c. (chaps. i-xxiv); prophecies against some of the neighbouring tribes (chaps. xxv—xxxii); prophecies concerning the future of Israel (xxxiii —-xxxix); and a series of visions relating to the circumstances of the people after the restoration.