‹ Chapter 0Ezekiel 1 of 48Chapter 2

Ezekiel 1:1

וַיְהִ֣י
hâyâh
and — to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)
בִּשְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים
shᵉlôwshîym
in/with/by — thirty; or (ordinal) thirtieth
שָׁנָ֗ה
shâneh
a year (as a revolution of time)
בָּֽרְבִיעִי֙
rᵉbîyʻîy
in/with/by — fourth; also (fractionally) a fourth
בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֣ה
châmêsh
in/with/by — five
לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ
chôdesh
to/for — the new moon; by implication, a month
וַאֲנִ֥י
ʼănîy
and — I
בְתֽוֹךְ
tâvek
in/with/by — a bisection, i.e. (by implication) the centre
הַגּוֹלָ֖ה
gôwlâh
the — exile; concretely and collectively exiles
עַל
ʻal
above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
נְהַר
nâhâr
a stream (including the sea; expectation the Nile, Euphrates, etc.); figuratively, prosperity
כְּבָ֑ר
Kᵉbâr
Kebar, a river of Mesopotamia
נִפְתְּחוּ֙
pâthach
to open wide (literally or figuratively); specifically, to loosen, begin, plough, carve
הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם
shâmayim
the — the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve)
וָאֶרְאֶ֖ה
râʼâh
and — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)
מַרְא֥וֹת
marʼâh
a vision; also (causatively) a mirror
אֱלֹהִֽים
ʼĕlôhîym
gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
Ezekiel 1:1 · Masoretic Text (WLC)
AMPLIFIED · 1 of 3
Now it came about [when I was] in my
Narrator's Aside
Ezekiel's 30th birthday, the exact year he would have been installed as a priest in Jerusalem - instead becoming a prophet among exiles besi…
thirtieth year
Narrator's Aside
Ezekiel's 30th birthday, the exact year he would have been installed as a priest in Jerusalem - instead becoming a prophet among exiles besi…
[of life],
Narrator's Aside
Ezekiel's 30th birthday, the exact year he would have been installed as a priest in Jerusalem - instead becoming a prophet among exiles besi…
on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles beside the River Chebar [in Babylonia], the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
Rabbi's unlock
Ezekiel 1:1New

This opening vision sets up the book's central question: what is God's glory doing in Babylon, when it belongs above the ark in Jerusalem's own temple?

that's everything Rabbi's current library has flagged for this passage — new sources are added every week
Today's memory verse · from this session
Now it came about [when I was] in my thirtieth year [of life], on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles beside the River Chebar [in Babylonia], the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
Ezekiel 1:1
Ask Rabbi about this chapter