Ezekiel was a priest-prophet taken into Babylonian exile in the sixth century BC, who received divine visions by the river Chebar and was commissioned to speak God's words of judgment and restoration to the exiled community of Israel.
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Ezekiel, whose name means "God strengthens" (יְחֶזְקֵאל), came from a priestly family and was among the Judean elite deported to Babylon alongside King Jehoiachin. Around the fifth year of the exile, while living among the captives by the river Chebar, he experienced the opening of heaven and beheld visions of God—an event that marked his prophetic commissioning. In these visions he saw the living creatures and wheels that signified the majesty and mobility of God's presence, and he heard the Lord address him as "Son of Man"—a title that underscored both his human frailty and his role as the divine spokesman. God appointed him as a watchman for the house of Israel, charging him to speak the Lord's word regardless of whether the people would listen. Throughout the years of exile, Ezekiel fulfilled this demanding calling with remarkable faithfulness. Through visions of Jerusalem's defiled temple and impending destruction, he proclaimed God's judgment; yet he also declared messages of hope to the discouraged exiles. Through him the Lord communicated truths concerning individual responsibility, moral renewal, and the certainty of future restoration, enabling the captive community to remain steadfast in faith while living in a foreign land. In a later vision, Ezekiel was carried by the Spirit of the Lord into a valley filled with bones, where he witnessed the awesome scene of dry bones being brought back to life. This vision became a powerful symbol of Israel's restoration from exile and prefigures the eschatological resurrection of God's people. God pledged to place His Spirit within them so that they would live and settle once more on their own land. Ezekiel's prophecies echo the messianic suffering portrayed in Isaiah 53:5 and the restoration promised in Jeremiah 29:11, joining with the other prophets in testifying that the Lord, even in judgment, remains faithful to His covenant and is preparing ultimate redemption.