Ezekiel

One of the four major *prophets whose visions are contained in the Old Testament book bearing his name, Ezekiel lived during the sixth century B.C. with the exiled Hebrews in Babylon. His dramatic visions and prophecies provided material for interpretation and artistic depiction from the early Christian through late Gothic period. Scenes most frequently shown include his visions of *God enthroned in the midst of four winged beasts and *angels, among wheels and fire (often shown in art as a fiery wheeled chariot); his sensational vision of the resurrection of the dry bones of Israel in a valley (prefiguring the *Last Judgment); and his detailed description of the ideally reconstructed Temple including a closed door or gate, interpreted by Christian theologians as a symbol for the Virgin *Mary as intact door to *heaven . Additional scenes include Ezekiel receiving from God, and per God’s instruction, eating a scrolland, cutting his hair, shaving his beard, and weighing and dividing the hair, some to be burned, some to be cut, and some thrown to the wind (predictions of the destruction of Israel).