Ezekiel – Introduction
History and Context of Ezekiel: Fortunately, we are about as well-informed about the history of the ancient Near East in Ezekiel’s time as of any period in the OT. Much of our knowledge comes from the Bible itself, especially 2 Kings 22-25 and 2 Chronicles 34-36, and much of the last half of the book of Jeremiah. In addition, we have fairly detailed records from Babylon, which was a world power for only a relatively short time, but that time coincided fairly closely with Ezekiel’s own lifetime. If the “thirtieth year” in Ezek 1:1 refers to Ezekiel’s age at the time of his call, that would place his birth at about 627 B.c. or shortly afterward. At the moment, Assyria still ruled in all its glory and ostensibly at the height of its power. Yet, by the time Ezekiel came of age, Assyria had disappeared as a nation. Externally, and ultimately fatally, the major challenge to Assyria came from a Chaldean (Aramean) people, the Babylonians, led by Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar’s father, and their allies from the northeast, the Medes. The ancient capital Asshur fell in 614, and Nineveh fell two years later. Assyria made its last stand at Haran, but this city too fell in 610, when Ezekiel was about seventeen. The Egyptians, under Pharaoh Neco, marched to Assyria’s aid. At the Megiddo pass in 609, the Judean king Josiah lost his life in a futile attempt to stop Neco’s march north. The Assyrians, with the help of their Egyptian allies, attempted to retake Haran in 609 and failed. The Assyrian defeat left Egypt and Babylon to contend for succession to Assyria’s world hegemony. That contest was decided at the battles of Carchemish and Hamath in 605, with Nebuchadnezzar himself leading the victorious Babylonlan amiy. The battle of Carchemish is mentioned by name in Jer 46:2. Shortly after Nebuchadnezzar’s great victories, his father died, and he had to return home to secure his throne before he could consolidate his power in the Levant. But in short order, the Babylonians returned, and Jehoiakim (Josiah’s son) became Nebuchadnezzar’s vassal. He remained a vassal for three years (probably from 604 to 602), but then rebelled, partly relying on Egypt’s hollow promises of aid. In December 598, Jehoiakim died (he was probably assassinated) before retribution for his rebellion arrived, and his son Jehoiachin succeeded him—and was left to pay the price for…