Ezekiel Chapter 1 verse 1 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 1. - Now; literally, and. The use of the conjunction indicates here, as in Jonah 1:1, that the narrative that follows links itself on to something that has gone before. In Exodus 1:1 and 1 Samuel 1:1 it may point to a connection with the book that precedes it. Here the sequence is subjective. We may think of Ezekiel as retracing the years of his life till he comes to the thirtieth. Then, as it were, he pulls himself up. That must be the starting point of what he has to say. Our English use of "now" is nearly equivalent to this. In the thirtieth year. I incline, following Origen, Hengstenberg, Smend, and others, to refer the date to the prophet's own life. That year in Jewish reckoning was the age of full maturity. At that age the earlier Levites (Numbers 4:23, 20, 39, 43, 47) had entered on their duties. It is probable, though no written rule is found, that it was the normal age for the functions of the priesthood. In the case of our Lord (Luke 3:23) and of the Baptist it appears to have been recognized as the starting point of a prophet's work. Jeremiah's call as a "child" (Jeremiah 1:6; the word may, however, include adult manhood, as in 1 Samuel 30:17; 1 Kings 3:7) was obviously exceptional. Other theories are: (1) That the years are reckoned from the era of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar ( B.C. 625), dating from his throwing off the sovereignty of Assyria, and giving here the date B.C. 595 (Michaelis, Rosenmuller, Ewald, and others); but against this it may be urged (a) that there is no evidence that that era was in use in Ezekiel's time, and (b) that he nowhere else uses a double historical chronology. . . .

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(1) The thirtieth year.--On this date see Introduction, ? 4. It may be added here that the concurrence of the "fifth day of the month" in connection with this epoch, and with that of Jehoiachin's captivity in Ezekiel 1:2, shows that the years of the two epochs began at the same time.Among the captives.--i.e., in the midst of the region where they were settled. The vision which follows was seen by Ezekiel only, and was probably vouchsafed to him in solitudes" The captives," or rather, the captivity, as it is in the original, is the same word as is used of Jehoiachin in the next verse, and yet must be somewhat differently understood in the two cases. Jehoiachin was actually in prison for many years; his people, within certain limits, were free. They were more than exiles, but less than prisoners. (On "the heavens were opened," comp. Matthew 3:16; Acts 7:56.)Visions of God.--Not merely great visions, as the Divine name is often added in Scripture to express greatness or intensity (see Genesis 10:9; Psalm 36:6, marg., Psalm 80:10, marg.; Jonah 3:3, marg.; Acts 7:20, marg.), but Divine visions, visions sent from God, as in Ezekiel 8:3; Ezekiel 40:2. . . .