Ezekiel 1:3

3 the word of the Lord was made to Ezekiel, priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of Chaldees, beside the flood Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was made there on him. (the word of the Lord was made to Ezekiel, the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the Chebar River; and the Lord's hand was made upon him there.)

Ezekiel 1:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 1:3

The word of the Lord came expressly
Or, "in being was" {d}; which phrase denotes the reality, certainty, substantiality and evidence of the word of the Lord to him:

unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi;
which Buzi, some say, was Jeremiah. Kimchi observes, that, in the Jerusalem Targum, the Prophet Ezekiel is called the son of Jeremiah the prophet: and Jeremiah was called Buzi because they despised him; this is rejected by Abarbinel; nor is there any reason to believe it, any more than what Nazianzen ^F5 says, that Ezekiel was a servant of Jeremiah:

in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar;
(See Gill on Ezekiel 1:1). The Chaldee paraphrase makes the word of the Lord to come to him at two distinct times and places;

``the word of prophecy from before the Lord was with Ezekiel the son of Buzi the priest in the land of Israel: it returned a second time, and spoke with him in the province, the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar:''

and the hand of the Lord was there upon him;
by which is meant the gift and word of prophecy, which came with power and efficacy, clearness and evidence; so the Targum, and the

``spirit of prophecy from before the Lord there abode by him;''

by which he saw all later visions, and delivered out the following prophecies; see ( 2 Peter 1:21 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (hyh hyh) "essendo fuit", Pagninus, Montanus. Heb. ; "existendo exstitit", Polanus.
F5 Orat. 47. vol. 1. p. 724.

Ezekiel 1:3 In-Context

1 And it was done, in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, when I was in the midst of captives, beside the flood Chebar, heavens were opened, and I saw the revelations of God. (And it was done, in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was in the midst of the captives, or of the exiles, by the Chebar River, the heavens were opened, and I saw the revelations of God/and I saw a vision from God.)

2 In the fifth day of the month; that is the fifth year of [the] passing over of Jehoiachin, king of Judah; (On the fifth day of the month; that is the fifth year of the exile, or of the captivity, of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah;)

3 the word of the Lord was made to Ezekiel, priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of Chaldees, beside the flood Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was made there on him. (the word of the Lord was made to Ezekiel, the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the Chebar River; and the Lord's hand was made upon him there.)

4 And I saw, and lo! a whirlwind came from the north, and a great cloud, and fire wrapping in, and brightness in the compass thereof; and as the likeness of electrum from the midst thereof, that is, from the midst of the fire. (And I saw, and lo! a whirlwind came from the north, and a great cloud, and fire enwrapping itself, and brightness all around it; and with the likeness of electrum in its midst, that is, in the midst of the fire.)

5 And of the midst thereof was a likeness of four beasts. And this was the beholding of those, the likeness of a man in those. (And in its midst were the forms of four creatures. And this was their appearance, each one had the form of a man.)