Ezekiel 1 Study Notes

1:1 The Targum, an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew OT, connects this date—in the thirtieth year—with Josiah’s reforms in 621 BC, but it is not easy to see any connection between the events in Josiah’s reign and the time of this prophecy (2Kg 22:8-13). A rabbinic tradition understands the number as a reference to the Year of Jubilee. The editorial explanation (Ezk 1:2-3) takes “the thirtieth year” as equivalent to the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s exile. Thirty was the age at which priests qualified for induction into their office (Nm 4:30). Just as Ezekiel was thirty and saw heaven open at the banks of a river, Jesus was thirty when he saw heaven open at his baptism in the Jordan River (Mt 3:16; Lk 3:21-23).

Ezekiel was among the ten thousand soldiers and nobility who had been sent into exile along with the king (2Kg 24:14-16) in 597 BC. The Chebar, a river in Babylonia where the Jewish exiles settled, was the site of Ezekiel’s visions (vv. 1,3; 3:15,23; 10:15,20,22; 43:3). The Hebrew nehar kevar corresponds to Akkadian nar kabari/u “the Kabaru Canal,” a body of water mentioned twice in Akkadian documents from the Babylonian city of Nippur in the fifth century BC. In the land of exile, God tore the heavens open and invited Ezekiel to see his glory, which was the grounding of both Israel’s judgment and hope. The only other reference in the OT to the opening of the heavens occurs in Gn 7:11, although Is 64:1 speaks of the Lord rending the heavens. In the NT, the heavens were opened at Christ’s baptism (Mt 3:16). Stephen saw the heavens open and was given supernatural perception of heavenly realities (Ac 7:56). Similar cases of the heavens opening are found in Rv 4:1; 19:11.

There are important similarities between the visions given to Isaiah and Ezekiel. Both prophets saw heavenly winged creatures serving God. Both underwent symbolic preparation for the prophetic ministry—Isaiah’s lips were cleansed by fire; Ezekiel ate the scroll. Both men were commissioned to go to a people who would not respond to the prophetic messages.

While Ezekiel was physically present with the exiles throughout his vision, he was so overwhelmed that he was oblivious to his surroundings. The initiative for Ezekiel’s vision and prophecies lay solely with God, as was so with all true prophets.

1:2 The date given in v. 1 is anchored in v. 2 by the time of King Jehoiachin’s exile. In fact, all the dates in Ezekiel are figured in relation to this. Jehoiachin reigned only three months and ten days (2Kg 24:8; 2Ch 36:9). His removal and deportation provided the reference point for Ezekiel’s prophecies. A king’s accession to the throne was the normal time-marker by which prophecies were dated (2Kg 25:27; Jr 52:31). According to the Babylonian Chronicle, the date of Jehoiachin’s captivity was April 22, 597 BC.

1:3 The name Ezekiel means “may God strengthen or toughen.” The other person in the OT known as Ezekiel was also a priest from the Levitical line (1Ch 24:16). Since foreign lands were considered unclean (Ezk 4:13; Am 7:17), it is not surprising that Israelite exiles would seek communion with God close to running water (Lv 14:5,50; 15:13; Nm 19:17; see Ac 16:13). In Ezekiel the name Chaldeans is interchanged with “Babylonians” (12:13; 23:15,23). God’s hand is a manifestation of his power (Ex 9:3; Dt 2:15; 1Sm 5:9; Is 41:20). The power of the Spirit of God on the prophets enabled them to communicate divine truth.

1:4 The approach of God is described as an atmospheric storm. Storms and clouds were often associated with appearances of God (Jb 38:1; Pss 18:7-15; 29:3-9; 104:3; Is 29:6). The phrase fire flashing back and forth occurs elsewhere only in Ex 9:24 in the account of the plague of hail. The pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud led the Hebrews in the wilderness (Ex 13:17-22). God’s appearance on Mount Sinai was characterized by lightning, smoke, and fire (Ex 19:16-18). God is characterized elsewhere as a consuming fire (Dt 4:24; Heb 12:28-29). The storm arrives from the north, the same direction from which the Babylonian army will come to invade and destroy Judah.

1:5 The prominence of the number four in Ezekiel’s vision (four living creatures) is related to the ancient custom of envisioning earth in four parts (cp. “four corners of the earth” in Is 11:12) or four directions (“north and south, east and west” in Gn 13:14). Ezekiel’s use of four symbolizes the divine capacity to control the entire world. From Ezk 10 we know that the four creatures were cherubim (10:5,20). Cherubim were embroidered on the curtain of the tabernacle (Ex 26:31). They were placed on top of the ark of the covenant in the most holy place, where the tablets of covenant were kept (Ex 25:18-22). They were enforcers of divine judgment. When Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden of Eden, cherubim were appointed to prohibit their entry back into the garden (Gn 3:24). Elsewhere God is said to be he who “is enthroned between the cherubim” (1Sm 4:4; 2Sm 6:2; Ps 99:1).

1:6 In the description of the living creatures, the gender of the creatures vacillates. Out of forty-five descriptions, only twelve take the grammatically proper feminine plural, while the others are all masculine plural. In many ways the vision defies the capacity of human speech to provide description. Words cannot do justice to the vision of God. While we can know true things about God, he is ultimately beyond our full comprehension.

1:7-8 The straight legs means they were unjointed.

1:9 The outspread wings of the cherub in the most holy place “touched” one another (1Kg 6:27); the verb used here occurs in Ex 26:3 and elsewhere for the interlinking of cloth strips that made up the curtains of the desert tabernacle. Whatever direction the four living creatures wished to take was straight ahead for one of the four. Thus, all directions were “straight ahead.”

1:10 The lion was considered the fiercest of beasts (Nm 23:24; 24:9; Jdg 14:18; 2Sm 1:23; 17:10), while the eagle was the most magnificent of birds (Dt 28:49; 2Sm 1:23; Jb 39:27; Jr 48:40; Lm 4:19). The ox was the most valued of domestic animals (Jb 21:10; Pr 14:4; cp. Ex 21:36). Humans were given dominion over all the creatures God made (Gn 1:28; Ps 8:6-7).

1:11 Each creature had one pair of wings raised upward, touching the wing tips of the adjacent creature. This feature is identical to the cherubim over the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. The cherub in the most holy place also functioned as a symbolic footstool for the invisible throne of God (Ex 25:18-22; 1Sm 4:4; 2Sm 6:2; 2Kg 19:15; Ps 80:1; 99:1).

1:12 The chariot was directed by the Spirit, “the vitalizing principle of life that comes from God himself” (Daniel Block).

1:13 The fiery character of the living creatures (blazing coals of fire) is reminiscent of the seraphim of Is 6 who were also fiery winged creatures. Fire will figure in the punishment of Jerusalem in Ezk 10:2 (Ps 50:3; 97:3).

1:14 In Nah 2:4, the chariots appear “like torches; they dart back and forth like lightning.” Matthew 24:27 depicts lightning going from one part of the world to the other.

1:15-17 The wheels were built so that the chariot could travel in any direction.

1:16 The Septuagint took beryl to refer to a bright yellow precious stone, probably topaz.

1:18 The rims were the circumferences of the wheels. The eyes in the rims symbolized divine omniscience and watchfulness (2Ch 16:9; Pr 15:3; Zch 3:9; 4:10; Rv 4:6).

1:19-21 Note the repetition in these verses indicating that the wheels appeared to the prophet to be alive.

1:22-25 The word for expanse is the same as in Gn 1:6 (raqiaÊ»). It may signify a kind of platform on which the throne rested. Below the expanse the sound of the creatures was like the roar of a huge torrent, and above the expanse came the voice of the Almighty himself.

1:26 The lapis lazuli was one of the most prized stones in the ancient world.

1:27 Fire is often associated with the appearance of God (Ex 3:2-15; 24:17; Rv 4:1-5). The vision of the throne is similar to what Moses and the seventy elders observed on Mount Sinai (Ex 24:9-11). Numerous features of Ezekiel’s vision are repeated in John’s portrayal of the heavenly throne (Rv 4:2-8).

1:28 The rainbow in Ezekiel’s vision recalls the ancient covenant God made with Noah and the human race (Gn 9). The glory of the Lord is a visible manifestation of God (Ex 16:7; 24:16-17; 40:34-35). The glory of the Lord also refers to the “pillar of fire” that accompanied the Israelites in their desert wanderings (Ex 13:21-22; Nm 14:14). Clouds, like fire, are frequently associated with the appearance of God (Ex 19:16; Jdg 5:4). Ezekiel declared that he fell facedown. This is the posture a person assumed before a king in ancient times. The Bible teaches that man cannot see God and live (Ex 33:18,20); thus, God must reveal himself in a way that dims his full glory. What Ezekiel saw was not God in his essence, but a representation; hence, words like likeness and appearance pervade descriptions of God throughout the chapter. God did not manifest his full glory, but revealed as much as could be beheld by a mortal man. Even this partial unveiling of God’s glory was enough to overwhelm Ezekiel. When God visibly manifests himself, reverence and worship must follow, as biblical testimony from Moses onward makes clear (Ex 3:6; cp. Mt 17:1-9). The sound of God’s voice was like the voice John heard in his vision (Rv 1:15).