Chapter 1: The Vision of the Divine Chariot and the Glory of G d (Ma’aseh Merkavah)
- Setting of the Vision (1:1–3)
In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, Yechezkel, a priest, was among the exiles by the river Kevar in the land of the Kasdim (Chaldeans). The heavens opened, and he saw visions of G‑d. This occurred in the fifth year of King Yehoyachin’s exile. The word of G‑d came to Yechezkel, and the hand of G‑d was upon him.
- The Storm and Fiery Cloud (1:4)
Yechezkel saw a tempest coming from the north—a massive cloud with flashing fire and a brilliant radiance around it. From its midst appeared something like glowing chashmal (electrum), shining from within the fire.
- The Four Living Beings (1:5–14)
From the fiery cloud emerged four living beings (Chayot), each with the likeness of a man but possessing four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight, and their feet resembled a calf’s hoof, gleaming like burnished bronze. Human hands were beneath their wings on all sides. Their faces were:
- A man’s face in front
- A lion’s face on the right
- An ox’s face on the left
- An eagle’s face at the back
Their wings touched one another, and they moved straight forward without turning. Their appearance was like burning coals and torches, with fire moving among them and lightning flashing forth. They darted back and forth like sparks.
- The Wheels Beside the Beings (1:15–21)
Yechezkel saw wheels on the ground beside each being. The wheels appeared like gleaming crystal, structured as “a wheel within a wheel,” enabling movement in any direction without turning. Their rims were tall and full of eyes all around. When the beings moved, the wheels moved; when they rose, the wheels rose, for the spirit of the beings was in the wheels.
- The Expanse and the Throne (1:22–26)
Above the beings was an expanse, shining like ice, stretched over their heads. Beneath it, their wings were extended straight, two covering their bodies. Yechezkel heard the sound of their wings—like rushing waters, like the voice of Shaddai, like the noise of an army camp. Above the expanse was the likeness of a throne, appearing like sapphire, and upon it was a figure resembling a man.
- The Glory of G‑d (1:27–28)
The figure on the throne radiated like chashmal, with fire-like brilliance from His loins upward and downward, surrounded by a glowing radiance like a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of G‑d. When Yechezkel saw it, he fell on his face and heard a voice speaking.
