Chebar

Ezekiel’s first vision happened far from home. He was “among the captives by the river of Chebar”, in the land of the Chaldeans, when the word of the LORD came to him and the hand of the LORD was upon him. He later returns to the same river in memory, saying of the cherubims, “This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.” In chapter 3 he sits where the exiles sit, astonished. The place becomes a marker for meeting God in a foreign land. Begin with Ezekiel 1:1-3, then 3:15 for the quieter scene among the people.

7 verses

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 1:1

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

Ezekiel 1:3

The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.

Ezekiel 3:15

Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

Ezekiel 3:23

Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

Ezekiel 10:15

And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.

Ezekiel 10:22

And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.

Ezekiel 43:3

And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

Length, a river in the “land of the Chaldeans” (Ezek. 1:3), on the banks of which were located some of the Jews of the Captivity (Ezek. 1:1; 3:15, 23; 10:15, 20, 22). It has been supposed to be identical with the river Habor, the Chaboras, or modern Khabour, which falls into the Euphrates at Circesium. To the banks of this river some of the Israelites were removed by the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:6). An opinion that has much to support it is that the “Chebar” was the royal canal of Nebuchadnezzar, the Nahr Malcha, the greatest in Mesopotamia, which connected the Tigris with the Euphrates, in the excavation of which the Jewish captives were probably employed.

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From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

(length), a river in the "land of the Chaldeans." (Ezekiel 1:3; 3:15,23) etc. It is commonly regarded as identical with the Habor, (2 Kings 17:6) and perhaps the Royal Canal of Nebuchadnezzar, --the greatest of all the cuttings in Mesopotamia.