Ezekiel, the priest, one of the four greater prophets, the others are
Daniel, Isaiah and Jeremiah, was among the Jewish captives taken to Babylon
after the siege of Jerusalem in 598-597 B.C. His life and prophesies are
described in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel. On the fifth year
of the Babylonian exile he became a prophet. First, he saw a bright chariot
borne by fantastic creatures; God, sitting on the chariot, told Ezekiel
the "words of lamentation and mourning and woe" which he was to deliver
to the rebellious Israelites. He prophesied during the following 22 or
more years. In the beginning people did not trust him, but after his prediction
of the fall of Jerusalem (in 586 B.C.) and the destruction of the Temple
they began to take him seriously. He was one of the great prophets and
he presented his people with hope when he also predicted the return of
the exiled and the rebuilding of the Temple.
See: Duccio di Buoninsegna. Maestà:
The
Prophets Ezekiel.
Raphael Ezekiel's
Vision.
Mikhail Vrubel. The
Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel.