Editing Ezekiel (section)

=== Jewish tradition ===
[[File:Yad Vashem Memorial to survivors by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Monument to [[Holocaust survivors]] at [[Yad Vashem]] in [[Jerusalem]]; the quote is Ezekiel 37:14.]]
According to [[Jewish tradition]], Ezekiel did not write the biblical Book of Ezekiel, but rather his prophecies were collected by the [[Great Assembly]].<ref>[[Babylonian Talmud]], ''[[Baba Bathra]]'' [http://www.come-and-hear.com/bababathra/bababathra_15.html 15a]</ref>

Ezekiel, like [[Jeremiah]], is said by [[Talmud]]<ref>(Meg. 14b)</ref> and [[Midrash]]<ref>([[Sifri]], Num. 78)</ref> to have been a descendant of [[Joshua]] by his marriage with the [[proselyte]] and former prostitute [[Rahab]]. Some statements found in rabbinic literature posit that Ezekiel was the son of Jeremiah, who was (also) called "Buzi" because he was despised by the Jews.<ref>Radak – R. David Kimkhi – in his commentary on Ezekiel 1:3, based on Targum Yerushalmi</ref>

According to [[Josephus]], Ezekiel was already active as a prophet while in the Land of Israel, and he retained this gift when he was exiled with King Jehoiachin and the nobles of the country to Babylon.<ref>[[Josephus]], ''Ant.'' x. 6, § 3: "while he was still a boy"; comp. Rashi on Sanh. 92b</ref> [[Josephus]] relates that [[Nebuchadnezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]]'s Babylonian armies exiled three thousand people from Judah,<ref>Flavius Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' Book X, 6.3.98</ref> after deposing Jehoiachin in 598 BCE.

[[File:Ezekiel's vision.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|One traditional depiction of the [[cherubim]] and [[Merkabah mysticism|chariot vision]], based on the description by Ezekiel]]
[[Rava (amora)|Rava]] states in the Babylonian Talmud that although Ezekiel describes the appearance of the throne of God ([[Merkabah mysticism|merkabah]]), this is not because he had seen more than the prophet [[Isaiah]]: on the contrary, Isaiah described the divine glory as a courtier would describe the royal court where he served; whereas Ezekiel wrote as a peasant floridly embellishing a distant majesty.<ref>(Ḥag. 13b)</ref> Ezekiel, like all the other prophets, has beheld only a blurred reflection of God, as if seen in a poor mirror.<ref>Midrash Lev. Rabbah i. 14, toward the end</ref>

According to the midrash ''[[Shir HaShirim Rabbah]]'', it was Ezekiel whom the three pious men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (also called [[Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego]]) asked for advice as to whether they should resist Nebuchadnezzar's command and choose death by fire rather than worship his [[idolatry|idol]]. At first God revealed to the prophet that they could not hope for a miraculous rescue, and the prophet grieved for these men who were the "remnant of Judah". But when they left fully determined to sacrifice their lives to God, Ezekiel received this revelation:{{quote|When they went out from before Ezekiel, the Holy One blessed be He revealed Himself and said: 'Ezekiel, what do you think, that I will not stand by them? I will certainly stand by them.' That is what is written: "So said the Lord God: Concerning this too, I will acquiesce to the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 36:37). 'But leave them and do not say anything to them. I will leave them to proceed unsuspecting.'<ref>{{cite journal |title=Shir HaShirim Rabbah 7:8:1 |website=www.sefaria.org |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Shir_HaShirim_Rabbah.7.8.1?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en}}</ref>}}