The Prophetic Book of Ezekiel
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
consists of forty-eight chapters and is highly varied in content. It contains visions (chs. 1, 8, 11), symbolic actions (chs. 4, 8), similitudes (chs. 12, 15), parables (ch. 17), proverbs (12:22; 18:1 and following), allegories, and prophecies (chs. 6-7, 19-20, 23-24, and elsewhere). Especially remarkable is Ezekiel's vision of the reviving and resurrection of human bones as an image of the restoration and renewal of the kingdom of Israel and of the spiritual regeneration and renewal of the whole human race in Christ (ch. 37).
Among his prophecies, particularly noteworthy is the prophecy of the one Shepherd of the one numerous flock (34:23-24, 30-31). The language of Ezekiel's prophetic book draws much from the Pentateuch and Jeremiah's writings, yet it also has many distinctive features. Grotius compares Ezekiel with Homer because of his knowledge of architecture, from which the prophet frequently draws his explanations. Because of its difficulty and mysterious character, the Jews numbered Ezekiel among the genazim, that is, hidden books, and did not permit it to be read before the age of thirty.
The book may generally be divided into two parts: chapters 1-24 contain prophecies uttered before Jerusalem's destruction, and chapters 25-48 those uttered after that event.