Hebrew word · H3168

יְחֶזְקֵאל

yechezkel

Ezekiel

A sentence name: 'God (El) strengthens' or 'May God strengthen', from the root ḥ-z-q, 'to be strong, firm, hard'.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A prophet living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezk.1.3;

son of: Buzi (H0941)

§ Ezekiel or Jehezekel = "God strengthens"

1) son of Buzi and a priest and prophet; author of the book by his name; taken captive with Jehoiachin and exiled in Babylon where he prophesied for the next 22 years

2) a priest in charge of the 20th course in the time of David

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ezekiel 1:3

Range of meaning

A sentence name: 'God (El) strengthens' or 'May God strengthen', from the root ḥ-z-q, 'to be strong, firm, hard'.

Against the English

'Ezekiel' comes via the Greek Iezekiēl and Latin Ezechiel; the meaning is invisible in English.

Used elsewhere in the period

The root ḥ-z-q is prominent in Ezekiel's commission: Israel is 'hard of forehead (ḥizqe-metsaḥ)', and God makes Ezekiel's forehead 'hard (ḥazaq)' against them (3:7–9).

From the study of Ezekiel 24:24

Range of meaning

A personal name made of a verb, ḥazaq ('be strong, make strong, harden'), plus el ('God'). It means 'God strengthens' or 'May God make strong.'

Against the English

English versions simply give 'Ezekiel,' which is correct. What English cannot show is how rare the name is in the book.

Used elsewhere in the period

The name is found only at Ezek 1:3 and 24:24 in the Hebrew Bible (it also appears in Sirach 49:8). God otherwise addresses the prophet as ben adam, 'son of man,' more than ninety times. The verb ḥazaq appears in his commission: the people are 'hard of face' (2:4; 3:7), and God makes the prophet's face and forehead 'hard' against them (3:8–9).

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 24:16 לִֽיחֶזְקֵ֖אל to Jehezkel

    the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 1:3 יְחֶזְקֵ֨אל Ezekiel

    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.

    Here: The name means 'God strengthens' or 'May God strengthen'. The book later plays on the same root when God makes Ezekiel's forehead 'hard' against a 'hard' people (3:7–9).

  2. Ezekiel 24:24 יְחֶזְקֵ֤אל Ezekiel

    ‘Thus Ezekiel will be a sign for you; you will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’

    Here: The prophet's personal name. It appears only twice in the whole book, here and in 1:3. Everywhere else God calls him 'son of man' (that is, 'human one'). Using his name here puts weight on the man himself, with his own bereavement, as the sign.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.