Bible Strands
Ezekiel 1:3
the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The event occurs in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile. Yahweh speaks directly to Ezekiel, identified as a priest and the son of Buzi.
The words — The Hebrew הָיָה (ha.Yah) marks the arrival of דְבַר־יְהוָה (de.var-Yahweh), literally rendering "the word of Yahweh came." The phrasing emphasizes the direct transmission of divine communication to the prophet.
The thread — This arrival of the divine word parallels later prophetic encounters where "the hand of the LORD" empowers or constrains the messenger (Ezekiel 3:14; Ezekiel 3:22; 1 Kings 18:46). The sequence establishes a pattern of divine initiative preceding visionary revelation.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that prophetic authority originates from external divine commission rather than human initiative. It requires the reader to treat the subsequent vision as a transmitted message rather than a personal experience.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 3:14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
- Ezekiel 3:22 And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.”
- 1 Kings 18:46 And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
- 2 Kings 3:15 But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha
- Ezekiel 8:1 In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me; and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me.
- Ezekiel 33:22 Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.
- Ezekiel 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.
- Ezekiel 40:1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month—in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem had been struck down—on that very day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He took me there.
- Ezekiel 1:1 In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.
- Hosea 1:1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.