Jaazaniah (Son of Azzur)

Biblical Account

Jaazaniah the son of Azzur appears only once in the Bible, in Ezekiel 11:1. Ezekiel was a prophet among those carried into exile in Babylon. Ezekiel 8–11 records a vision he received "in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month" (Ezekiel 8:1). In this vision Ezekiel is carried by the Spirit to the Jerusalem temple, where he witnesses the idolatry practiced there and sees the glory of God depart from the temple.

In 11:1 Ezekiel sees twenty-five men at the east gate of the temple and records the names of two of them: Jaazaniah and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah. The text calls these two "princes of the people," that is, high officials who governed the people. God then declares that these are "the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city" (11:2). Their saying was, "this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh" (11:3). Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy judgment against them (11:4–12), and while he is prophesying, Pelatiah dies (11:13). Nothing is recorded of what became of Jaazaniah afterward.

Significance Within Scripture

Jaazaniah appears as a representative of the leadership that remained in Jerusalem on the eve of its destruction. These leaders believed themselves secure within the city. In the passage that follows (11:14–21), however, God instead promises restoration to those who had been carried into exile. It is here that the promise of Ezekiel 11:19–20 appears: "I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh." The New Testament does not mention this figure.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Other figures with the same name: Ezekiel 8:11 mentions "Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan," who holds a censer inside the temple, and Jeremiah 35:3 mentions "Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah," a Rechabite. Because their fathers' names differ, they are regarded as different people from the subject of this article.
• Identity of the twenty-five men: Ezekiel 8:16 also mentions twenty-five men at the door of the temple worshiping the sun toward the east. Commentators differ on whether these are the same group as the men in 11:1 or a different one.
• Meaning of "the caldron and the flesh": The saying is commonly read as an expression of the leaders' arrogant confidence that Jerusalem's walls would protect them. Others interpret it as an expression of superiority, in which those who remained regarded themselves as choice meat and the exiles as discarded scraps. The immediately preceding phrase, "It is not near; let us build houses," is also translated and interpreted in various ways.
• His father Azzur: The father of Hananiah the false prophet, mentioned in Jeremiah 28:1, is also named Azzur. Some have therefore conjectured that the two men were brothers, but the text provides no evidence to support this.