Book of Ezekiel 30:13–18 in an English manuscript from the early 13th century, MS. Bodl. Or. 62, fol. 59a. A Latin translation appears in the margins with further interlineations above the Hebrew.
and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh eastward:
and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men;
among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur,
and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.[12]
In his vision, Ezekiel moves from the northern gateway of the temple's inner court (Ezekiel 8:3, 14) to the east gate. The 25 men who are assembled there are "evidently a separate group" from the group of "about twenty-five men" who assembled at the inner court's northern entrance (Ezekiel 8:16),[13] as this group are condemned for their wicked counsel whereas the earlier group are condemned for their sun-worship.
"Jaazaniah, the son of Azur" is not to be confused with "Jaazaniah, the son of Saphan", mentioned in Ezekiel 8:11. A seal dated to 7th century BC with the name "Jaazaniah" has been found, although the exact identification to which Jaazaniah is difficult.[14]
"Pelatiah" (Hebrew: פלטיהו pə-laṭ-yā-hū; Greek: Φαλτιας, Φαλεττι(α); Pelatyahu or Pelatyah[15]): means "whom Jehovah delivered".[16] His death, which occurred on hearing Ezekiel's prophecy, is noted in Ezekiel 11:13.[17]
A promise of restoration (11:13–21)
Verse 13
Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?”[18]
"While I was prophesying" is interpreted as "as soon as I had finished" in the Easy-to-Read Version.[19]
"Pelatiah the son of Benaiah": Mentioned in Ezekiel 11:1 as a 'principal man among the twenty-five princes, who made all the mischief in Jerusalem' (cf. Ezekiel 11:2). Although it seems to be a vision at the time (as the slaying of the ancient men in Ezekiel 9:6), but it was a prophecy that would be done in fact, so the prophet thought this as a part of the common destruction on all the inhabitants of the Jerusalem, and he 'earnestly deprecated' that severe judgment (cf. Ezekiel 9:8).[20]
God’s glory leaves Jerusalem (11:22–24)
Verse 22
Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.[21]
"Cherub" (Hebrew: כרובkə-rūḇ; plural: Cherubim) is defined in Brown-Driver-Briggs as "the living chariot of the theophanic God".[22] Lutheran theologian Wilhelm Gesenius describes it as "a being of a sublime and celestial nature".[23]
Verse 23
And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city,
and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.[24]
The "mountain which is on the east side of the city": is interpreted by New Oxford Annotated Bible as "the Mount of Olives".[27]
Verse 24
Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me.[28]
Some versions refer to Babylonia rather than Chaldea.[29] The International Standard Version explains that at this point, "the vision that I had been observing ended",[30] concluding an account which commenced in chapter 8.[13]
^The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Editors. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2007. pp. 1193-1194 Hebrew Bible. ISBN978-0195288810
Brown, Francis; Briggs, Charles A.; Driver, S. R. (1994). The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (reprint ed.). Hendrickson Publishers. ISBN978-1565632066.
Gesenius, H. W. F. (1979). Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures: Numerically Coded to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, with an English Index. Translated by Tregelles, Samuel Prideaux (7th ed.). Baker Book House.
