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Profile:
Name: Book of Ezekiel (Hebrew: laqzhy, "God strengthens")
Author: the Prophet Ezekiel
Dating: early 6th century BCE
Book of Ezekiel:
The book of Ezekiel recounts the story of Ezekiel (whose name means "God strengthens"
and who is counted among the three major prophets), a prophet who predicted the
downfall of Judah and was the first of the prophets to live outside of the Jewish
promised land, having been exiled to Babylon along with many others.
Writing in the early 6th century BCE, he was probably one of the Temple priests who, after his dire predictions went unheeded, tried to give comfort to the other Jews who lived with him in exile. Upon their return, he also worked to promote the kinds of laws and purity which, he hoped, would prevent similar disasters in the future.
One of the prophecies Ezekiel has become well known for is his description of God and Magog. According to Ezekiel, Gog was a nation to the north from which a prince, Magog, would arise and attack the Jews. He would be defeated and, as a result, the Jewish god would be acknowledged as the one, true god by all people. Christian writers later took this to be a reference to a coming apocalypse and the author of Revelation identified Magog as being part of a Satanic force.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
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