Ezekiel

Ezekiel was carried away to Babylon between the first and final deportation of Judah (2 Kings 24:11-16). Like Daniel and the Apostle John, he prophesied out of the land, and his prophecy, like theirs, follows the method of symbol and vision. Unlike the pre-exilic prophets, whose ministry was primarily to either Judah or the ten-tribe kingdom, Ezekiel is the voice of Jehovah to "the whole house of Israel."

Speaking broadly, the purpose of his ministry is to keep before the generation born in exile the national sins which had brought Israel so low (e.g. Ezekiel 14:23); to sustain the faith of the exiles by predictions of national restoration, of the execution of justice upon their oppressors, and of national glory under the Davidic monarchy.

Ezekiel is in seven great prophetic strains indicated by the expression, "The hand of the Lord was upon me." (Ezekiel 1:3; 3:14,22; 8:1; 33:22; 37:1; Ezekiel 40:1).

The minor divisions are indicated in the text.

The events recorded in Ezekiel cover a period of 21 years (Ussher).