Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 2

Verse 1

Son of man

"Son of man," used by our Lord of Himself seventy-nine times, is used by Jehovah ninety one times when addressing Ezekiel.

(1) In the case of our Lord the meaning is clear: it is His racial name as the representative Man in the sense of 1 Corinthians 15:45-47. The same thought, implying transcendence of mere Judaism, is involved in the phrase when applied to Ezekiel. Israel had forgotten her mission. (See Scofield "1 Corinthians 15:45-46.15.47- :") Ezekiel 5:5-8. Now, in her captivity, Jehovah will not forsake His people, but He will remind them that they are but a small part of the race for whom He also cares. Hence the emphasis upon the word "man." The Cherubim "had the likeness of a man" Ezekiel 1:5 and when the prophet beheld the throne of God, he saw "the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it" Ezekiel 1:26. See Scofield "Ezekiel 1:26- :" Revelation 1:12; Revelation 1:13.

(2) As used of Ezekiel, the expression indicates, not what the prophet is in himself, but what he is to God; a son of man

(a) chosen,

(b) endued with the Spirit, and

(c) sent of God.

All this is true also of Christ who was, furthermore, the representative man--the head of regenerate humanity.