Ezekiel 1:3

1:3 the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel 1  the son of Buzi, 2  at the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. 3  The hand 4  of the Lord came on him there).

1 sn The prophet’s name, Ezekiel, means in Hebrew “May God strengthen.”

2 tn Or “to Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest.”

3 tn Heb “Chaldeans.” The name of the tribal group ruling Babylon, “Chaldeans” is used as metonymy for the whole empire of Babylon. The Babylonians worked with the Medes to destroy the Assyrian Empire near the end of the 7th century b.c. Then, over the next century, the Babylonians dominated the West Semitic states (such as Phoenicia, Aram, Moab, Edom, and Judah in the modern countries of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel) and made incursions into Egypt.

4 tn Or “power.”

sn Hand in the OT can refer metaphorically to power, authority, or influence. In Ezekiel God’s “hand” being on the prophet is regularly associated with communication or a vision from God (3:14, 22; 8:1; 37:1; 40:1).