Chebar

About Chebar

The Chebar River, also known as the Kebar River, is mentioned several times in the Book of Ezekiel. It was a waterway located in Babylonia, near the city of Nippur, where the prophet Ezekiel and other Jewish exiles were settled during the Babylonian captivity.

Ezekiel received his prophetic call and many of his visions while residing by the Chebar River (Ezk.1.1, 3). It was there that he saw the vision of the four living creatures and the throne of God (Ezk.1.1-28). Later, Ezekiel was transported in visions to Jerusalem, where he witnessed the idolatry and abominations being committed in the temple (Ezk.8.1-18).

The Chebar River is also mentioned in connection with the elders of Judah who came to consult Ezekiel (Ezk.3.15) and the vision of the cherubim and the glory of God departing from the temple (Ezk.10.15-22).

The exact location of the Chebar River is uncertain, but it was likely a navigable canal or tributary of the Euphrates River. The settlement of Jewish exiles by the river suggests that it was an area suitable for agriculture and sustaining a population. The Chebar River serves as an important geographical marker in Ezekiel's prophecies and provides the setting for many of his visions and messages from God.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.