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.
Ver. 3. The word of the Lord came expressly.] Heb., By being hath been, or hath altogether been - Existendo extitit. Accurate factum est it really wrought upon me and made me a prophet.
Unto Ezekiel the priest.] Whom, therefore, some have called Urim and Thummim in Babylon.
The son of Buzi.] That this Buzi was Jeremiah, so called because despised for his plain dealing, as some Rabbis have affirmed, is as true as that Ezekiel himself was the same with Pythagoras the philosopher; which yet some ancients have fondly fancied.
In the land of the Chaldeans] Though a polluted land, Mic 2:10 and the dwelling place of wickedness, Zechariah 5:8 ; Zec 5:11 the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth. Rev 17:5
By the river Chebar.] The Rabbis a call it the Sabbath river; and, further, tell us that it runneth not, but resteth on the Sabbath day.
“ Credat Iudaeus Apella:
Non ego. ” - Hor.
And the hand of the Lord was there upon him.] Not only came God's Word expressly to him, but the power and Spirit of God came mightily upon him; so that he felt the intrinsic virtue of this hand, as one phraseth it, the Spirit of God in his own heart; it was a quick and lively word unto him, and to as many as believed.
a Sabbatian.