Ezekiel יְחֶזְקֵאל | |
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![]() Depiction by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling | |
Prophet and Priest | |
Born | Possibly c. 623 BCE Jerusalem, Kingdom of Judah |
Died | After c. 571 BCE Babylon, Neo-Babylonian Empire |
Venerated in | |
Major shrine | Ezekiel's Tomb, Iraq |
Feast |
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Controversy | Babylonian captivity |
Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (/ɪˈziːkiəl/; Hebrew: יְחֶזְקֵאל Yəḥezqēʾl [jə.ħɛzˈqeːl]; Greek: Ἰεζεκιήλ Iezekiḗl [i.ɛ.zɛ.kiˈel]), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him.
The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied the destruction of Judah's capital city Jerusalem. Then in 587 BCE, the Babylonian empire conquered Jerusalem, destroyed Solomon's Temple, and sent the Jewish upper classes into the Babylonian captivity.
However, Ezekiel also prophesied the eventual restoration of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. It is believed he died around 570 BCE; Ezekiel's Tomb is the most important Jewish religious site in Mesopotamia. Three decades later in 539 BCE, the Persian empire conquered Babylon and the Edict of Cyrus repatriated the Jews in the return to Zion.
The name "Ezekiel" means "God is strong" or "God strengthens" in Hebrew.[1]
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