
48 chapters
Ezekiel, perhaps Scripture's most unusual prophetic book, records the ministry of a priest-turned-prophet who delivered powerfully symbolic messages to fellow exiles in Babylon while Jerusalem still stood and after its destruction. Through dramatic visions, elaborate symbolic actions, and extended metaphors, Ezekiel communicates divine messages regarding judgment, personal responsibility, and ultimate restoration that simultaneously interpreted the exiles' contemporary crisis and projected future divine intervention that would transform Israel's spiritual condition. The book's distinctive features—including divine glory visions, bizarre prophetic sign-acts, extended allegories, and apocalyptic elements—reflect both the extraordinary spiritual realities Ezekiel encountered and the challenge of maintaining covenant identity in a foreign cultural context.
Author
Ezekiel
Date Written
593-571 BC
Audience
Jewish exiles in Babylon