Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Ezekiel.
Jump to: Background; ** Maps; ** Key Words; ** Encyclopedias; ** Commentaries; ** Articles; ** GotQuestions ** Next **
Basics
- Ezekiel was the son of a priest who lived as an exile in Babylon.
- Ezekiel was 25 years old at the time of the exile (assuming the thirty years of Ezek 1:1 refers to his age).
- He was 30 years old when he begin his prophetic ministry in the 5th year of Jehoiachin’s exile (592 BC).
- His ministry dates from 592-570 BC, during the first phase of the Babylonian captivity.
- He lived in his own house in exile, at Tel Abib on the Great Canal (Ezek 3:15). If the river Kebar can be identified with Babylonian naru kabari, his house was located between Babylon and Nippur, in one of the Jewish colonies that the Babylonians had transplanted from Judah.
- Ezekiel means “God strengthens” or the “strength of God.”
Structure
- 1:1-3:27 Ezekiel sees the glory and receives the call
- 4:1-24:27 – Judgments against Judah; Fate of Judah Before the siege (593 BC – 588 BC)
- 25:1-32:32 – Judgments against Nations; Foes of Judah during the siege (587-586 BC)
- 33:1-39:29 – Restoration of Israel; Future of Judah after the siege (586-571 BC)
- 40:1-48:35 – Visions of the Temple
Timeline of the Exile
- 722 BC – Northern kingdom taken into captivity in Assyria
- 612 BC – Babylonians and Medes conquer Assyria
- 605 BC – Babylonians battle Egyptians at Carchemish; Nebuchadnezzar becomes king of Babylon; The Babylonians invade Judah; First wave of deportation of Jews to Babylon; Daniel is taken captive and begins to prophesy
- 601 BC – Babylonians battle Egypt, both sides suffer losses; Judah decides to realign itself with Egypt
- 597 BC -Jehoachin becomes king of Judah; Babylonians capture Jerusalem; Second wave of deportation to Babylon from Judah; Ezekiel is taken captive to Babylon; Zedekiah becomes king of Judah
- 593 BC -Ezekiel begins to prophesy
- 586 BC -The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the Temple; Jerusalem’s walls and gates are burned with fire; Third wave of Jews deported to Babylon and the Babylonian Exile begins
Genre: Understanding Prophecy
Background
- Introduction to the Prophets
- Introduction to the Exile and Return
- Chart: Bible History at a glance
- Chart: Kings of Israel & Judah
- Hebrew Calendar
- Blue Letter Bible: Old Testament Timeline
- Biblehub: Ezekiel Chronology
- Biblehub: The Divided Kingdom
- Bible Atlas: Assyria
- Bible Atlas: Babylon
- Bible Atlas: Jerusalem
- Biblehub: Timeline of Ezekiel
- Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament
- Timeline of the Babylonian Captivity
- Ray Stedman: Overview: Ezekiel: Wheels, Bones, and Restoration
- John MacArthur: Ezekiel Introduction
- NIV: Introduction to Ezekiel
- ESV: Introduction to Ezekiel
- ESV: The Global Message of Ezekiel
- James van Dine: Analysis of Ezekiel
- David Malick: An Introduction to the Book of Ezekiel
- JVernon McGee: Ezekiel – Notes and Outlines
- William Orr: Key to Ezekiel
- Charles Swindoll: Book of Ezekiel Overview
Maps from Studylight.org
Maps from Holman Bible Atlas
The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
- The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (1)
- The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (2)
- The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (3)
- The Campaign of Shishak
- Conflicts between Israel and Aram-Damascus
- The Omride Dynasty
- The Golden Ages of the 9th & 8th centuries BCE
- Phoenician Trade and Civilization
- Trade Routes throughout the Middle East
- Elijah and Elisha
- The Revolt of Jehu
- The Rise of Assyria
- Israel & Judah in the days of Jeroboam II and Uzziah
- The Assyrian Empire under Tiglath-Pileser III
- Fall of Samaria and Deportation of Israelites
- The Fall of the Kingdom of Israel
- Assyrian Districts after the Fall of Samaria
- Prophets of the 8th Century BCE
Judah Alone amid International Powers
- Hezekiah’s Preparation for Revolt
- Judah under King Hezekiah
- Hezekiah’s Jerusalem
- Sennacherib’s Campaign against Judah
- Assyria in the 7th century BCE
- The Rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
- The Reign of Josiah
- The Districts of Judah under King Josiah
- The Golden Age of King Josiah
- Nebuchadnezzar’s Campaigns against Judah
The Persian Period
Maps from BibleHistory.com
Indubilia.org
- Kingdoms of Israel
- Deportations and Returns under Assyria and Babylon
- Assyrian and Babylonian and Greek Empires
- Palestine Between Old and New Testaments
- Old Testament Jerusalem
Key Words
- Son of man, covenant, vision (s), glory, Spirit (spirit), know that I am the Lord, iniquity, rebelled (rebellious), wrath, heart, harlot (harlotries, adultery, adulteries, adulteress).
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
- Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary: Ezekiel, Theology of
- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Ezekiel
- 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica: Ezekiel
- Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature: Ezekiel
- The Jewish Encyclopedia: Ezekiel
- McClintock and Strong: Ezekiel ; Ezekiel, Book Of
- Fausset Bible Dictionary: Ezekiel
- Holman Bible Dictionary: Ezekiel
- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary: Ezekiel
- Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Ezekiel
- Hitchcock’s Bible names: Ezekiel means strength of God
Commentaries & Study Bibles
- Ezekiel – The Top Five Commentaries – Ligonier – Keith Mathison
- Best Commentaries on Ezekiel – Tim Challies
- Commentary Reviews: Ezekiel
- Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible: Ezekiel
- Matthew Henry: Ezekiel
- Albert Barnes Notes: Ezekiel
- Reformation Study Bible Notes: Ezekiel
- Geneva Study Bible: Ezekiel
- Precept Austin Commentaries & Sermons: Ezekiel
Try to find the works of Dr. Erika Moore on Ezekiel. She is working on an Ezekiel commentary (not yet published as I post this). If you have a chance to hear her speak in person, take it — especially if she is speaking on Ezekiel.
- Erika Moore Chapel Sermon on Ezekiel 33
- What Exactly did Ezekiel See? – Video lecture
Articles
- Isaiah 23, Ezekiel 26 Proclaiming the Future: History and Theology in Prophecies Against Tyre – Thomas Renz.
- Rethinking Ezekiel’s Invasion By Gog — J. Paul Tanner
- Beyond The Grave: Ezekiel’s Vision Of Death And Afterlife – Daniel I. Block
- Rosh- An Ancient Land Known to Ezekiel- James Price
- Diglossia, Revelation and Ezekiel’s Inaugural Rite (Ezekiel 1-3) – Daniel Fredericks.
- A Vision of God in Ezekiel 1:1-20 – Mark Dever
- Commentary on the Vision of Ezekiel, Introductory to His Prophecy – Professor Havernick (Nov, 1848)
- The Glory Of YHWH In The Old Testament With Special Attention To The Book Of Ezekiel — Pieter de Vries.
- Beyond The Grave: Ezekiel’s Vision Of Death And Afterlife — Daniel I. Block
- The Prophet Of The Spirit: The Use Of Rwh (Ruwach)̣ In The Book Of Ezekiel — Daniel I. Block
- Ezekiel’s Vision of Israel’s Restoration—Part 1 (Ezekiel 37) — Merrill F. Unger
- Ezekiel’s Vision of Israel’s Restoration—Part 2 (Ezekiel 37) — Merrill F. Unger.
- Ezekiel’s Vision of Israel’s Restoration—Part 3 — Merrill F. Unger
- Ezekiel’s Prophecy of the Temple – Randall Price
- Ezekiel 26:1-14- A Proof Text For Inerrancy or Fallibility of The Old Testament? – Paul Ferguson
GotQuestions.org
- Book of Ezekiel – Bible Survey
- What are the Major Prophets and Minor Prophets?
- What should we learn from the life of Ezekiel?
- What were the wheels in Ezekiel 1?
- What does the Bible mean when it says that we will receive a new heart?
- Is the king of Tyre prophecy in Ezekiel 28 referring to Satan?
- What are Gog and Magog?
- What is the meaning of the Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37?
- What does the Bible mean when it refers to the four winds?
- Will there be animal sacrifices during the millennial kingdom?
- How, why, and when did Satan fall from heaven?
Next: Daniel
Previous: Lamentations
Series: Resources by Book
Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash
(This article has been read 296 times plus 8 today.)
