Ezekiel

Ezekiel, whose name, Yehezq'el signifies "strong is God", or "whom
God makes strong" (Ezek. i, 3; iii, 8), was the son of Buzi, and
was one of the priests who, in the year 598 B.C., had been
deported together with Joachim as prisoners from Jerusalem (IV
Kings, xxiv, 12-16; cf. Ezek. xxxiii, 21, xl, 1). With the other
exiles he settled in Tell-Abib near the Chobar (Ezek. i,1; iii,
15) in Babylonia, and seems to have spent the rest of his life
there.In the fifth year after the captivity of Joachim, and
according to some, the thirtieth year of his life, Ezekiel
received his call as a prophet (Ezek. i, 2, 4 etc) in the vision
which he describes in the beginning of his prophecy (Ezek. i,4;
iii, 15). From Ezek. xxix, 17 it appears that he prophesied during
at least twenty-two years.

Ezekiel was called to foretell God's faithfulness in the midst of
trials, as well as in the fulfilment of His promises. During the
first period of his career, he foretold the complete destruction
of the kingdom of Juda, and the annihilation of the city and
temple. After the fulfilment of these predictions, he was
commanded to announce the future return from exile, the re-
establishment of the people in their own country and, especially,
the triumph of the Kingdom of the Messiah, the second David, so
that the people would not abandon themselves to despair and perish
as a nation, through contact with the Gentiles, whose gods had
apparently triumphed over the God of Israel. This is the principal
burden of Ezekiel's prophecy, which is divided into three parts.
After the introduction, the vision of the calling of the prophet
(Ezek. i-iii,21), the first part contains the prophecies against
Juda before the fall of Jerusalem (Ezek. iii, 22-xxiv). In this
part the prophet declares the hope of saving the city, the
kingdom, and the temple to be vain, and announces the approaching
judgment of God upon Juda. This part may be subdivided into five
groups of prophecies.

�  After a second revelation, in which God discloses to the
prophet His course of action (iii,22-27), the prophet foretells by
symbolic acts (iv,v) and in words ( vi-vii ), the siege and
capture of Jerusalem, and the banishment of Juda.

�  In a prophetic vision, in the presence of the elders of Israel,
God reveals to him the cause of these punishments. In spirit he
witnesses the idolatry practiced in and near the temple (viii);
God commands that the guilty be punished and the faithful be
spared (ix); God's majesty departs from the temple (x), and also,
after the announcement of guilt and punishment, from the city.
With this the judgment which the prophet communicates to the
exiles ends (xi).

�  In the third group (xii-xix) many different prophecies are
brought together, whose sole connection is the relation they bear
to the guilt and punishment of Jerusalem and Juda. Ezekiel
prophesies by symbolic actions the exile of the people, the flight
of Sedecias, and the devastation of the land (xii, 1-20). Then
follow Divine revelations regarding belief in false prophecies,
and disbelief in the very presence of true prophecy. This was one
of the causes of the horrors (xiii, 21-xiv, 11), to be visited
upon the remnant of the inhabitants of Jerusalem (xiv, 12-23). The
prophet likens Jerusalem to the dead wood of the vine, which is
destined for the fire (xv); in an elaborate denunciation he
represents Juda as a shameless harlot, who surpasses Samaria and
Sodom in malice (xvi), and in a new simile, he condemns King
Sedecias (xvii). After a discourse on the justice of God (xviii),
there follows a further lamentation over the princes and the
people of Juda (xix).

�  In the presence of the elders the prophet denounces the whole
people of Israel for the abominations they practiced in Egypt, in
the Wilderness, and in Canaan (xx). For these Juda shall be
consumed by fire, and Jerusalem shall be exterminated by the sword
(xxi). Abominable is the immorality of Jerusalem (xxii), but Juda
is more guilty than Israel has ever been (xxiii).

�  On the day on which the siege of Jerusalem began, the prophet
represents, under the figure of the rusty pot, what was to befall
the inhabitants of the city. On the occasion of the death of his
wife, God forbids him to mourn openly, in order to teach the
exiles that they should be willing to lose that which is dearest
to them without grieving over it (xxiv).

In the second part (xxv-xxxii), are gathered together the
prophecies concerning the Gentiles. He takes, first of all, the
neighbouring peoples who had been exalted through the downfall of
Juda, and who had humiliated Israel. The fate of four of these,
the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Edomites, and the Philistines, is
condensed in chapter xxv. He treats more at length of Tyre and its
king (xxxvi-xxviii,19), after which he casts a glance at Sidon
(xxviii,20-26). Six prophecies against Egypt follow, dating from
different years (xxix-xxxii. The third part (xxxiii-xlviii), is
occupied with the Divine utterances on the subject of Israel's
restoration. As introduction, we have a dissertation from the
prophet, in his capacity of authorized champion of the mercy and
justice of God, after which he addresses himself to those
remaining in Juda, and to the perverse exiles (xxxiii). The manner
in which God will restore His people is only indicated in a
general way. The Lord will cause the evil shepherds to perish; He
will gather in, guide, and feed the sheep by means of the second
David, the Messiah (xxxiv).

Though Mount Seir shall remain a waste, Israel shall return unto
its own. There God will purify His people, animate the nation with
a new spirit, and re-establish it in its former splendour for the
glory of His name (xxxv-xxxvii). Israel, though dead, shall rise
again, and the dry bones shall be covered with flesh and endowed
with life before the eyes of the prophet. Ephraim and Juda shall,
under the second David, be united into one kingdom, and the Lord
shall dwell in their midst (xxxvii). The invincibleness and
indestructibility of the restored kingdom are then symbolically
presented in the war upon Gog, his inglorious defeat, and the
annihilation of his armies (xxxviii-xxxix). In the last prophetic
vision, God shows the new temple (xl-xliii), the new worship
(xliii-xlvi), the return to their own land, and the new division
thereof among the twelve tribes (xlvii-xlviii), as a figure of His
foundation of a kingdom where He shall dwell among His people, and
where He shall be served in His tabernacle according to strict
rules, by priests of His choice, and by the prince of the house of
David.

From this review of the contents of the prophecy, it is evident
that the prophetic vision, the symbolic actions and examples,
comprise a considerable portion of the book. The completeness of
the description of the vision, action and similes, is one of the
many causes of the obscurity of the book of Ezekiel. It is often
difficult to distinguish between what is essential to the matter
represented, and what serves merely to make the image more vivid.
On this account it happens that, in the circumstantial
descriptions, words are used, the meaning of which, inasmuch as
they occur in Ezekiel only, is not determined. Because of this
obscurity, a number of copyist mistakes have crept into the text,
and that at an early date, since the Septuagint has some of them
in common with the earliest Hebrew text we have. The Greek
version, however, includes several readings which help to fix the
meaning. The genuineness of the book of Ezekiel is generally
conceded. Some few consider chapters xl-xlviii to be apocryphal,
because the plan there described in the building of the temple was
not followed, but they overlook the fact that Ezekiel here gives a
symbolic representation of the temple, that was to find spiritual
realization in God's new kingdom. The Divine character of the
prophecies was recognizes as early as the time of Jesus the son of
Sirach (Eccles. xlix, 10, 11). In the New Testament, there are no
verbatim references, but allusions to the prophecy and figures
taken from it are prominent. Compare St. John x etc. with Ezek.
xxxiv, 11 etc.; St. Matthew xxii, 32, with Ezek. xvii, 23. In
particular St. John, in the Apocalypse, has often followed
Ezekiel. Compare Apoc. xviii-xxi with Ezek. xxvii, xxxviii etc.,
xlvii etc.

JOS. SCHETS
Transcribed by Sean Hyland

From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright � 1996 by
New Advent, Inc.

Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).

This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an
effort aimed at placing the  entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913
edition on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is Kevin Knight,
editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
contribute to this  worthwhile project, you can contact him by e-
mail at (knight.org/advent). For  more information please download
the file cathen.txt/.zip.

-------------------------------------------------------

  Provided courtesy of:

       Eternal Word Television Network
       PO Box 3610
       Manassas, VA 22110
       Voice: 703-791-2576
       Fax: 703-791-4250
       Data: 703-791-4336
       Web: http://www.ewtn.com
       FTP: ewtn.com
       Telnet: ewtn.com
       Email address: sysop@ ewtn.com

  EWTN provides a Catholic online
  information and service system.

-------------------------------------------------------

You are viewing proxied material from gopher.ratthing.com. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.