Jerome, on Ezek 1:3

“The word of the Lord came to Ezechiel the priest the son of Bud in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chobar: and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.”

“(Verse 3) The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar. And to Daniel and Ezekiel, who were in Babylon by the rivers, the mysteries of things to come are revealed upon the waters, indeed in the purest waters, so that the power of baptism may be shown. Otherwise, even the apostle Paul, when he was baptized by Ananias in the Lord, having his eyes covered with scales, was freed from blindness (Acts 9). And in Genesis, the first creatures that lived came forth from the waters. It should also be understood that in the thirtieth year of his age the Lord came to baptism: in the fourth month, which is called January among us, and is at the beginning of the year, except for the month of Nisan, the month of the new moon, in which the Passover is celebrated. Among Oriental peoples, after the gathering of crops and the pressing of grapes, when tithes were brought to the temple, October was the first month, and January the fourth. But he adds the fifth day of the month, to signify baptism, in which the heavens were opened to Christ, and the day of Epiphany is venerable until now, not as some suppose, the birthday in the flesh, for he was hidden at that time and did not appear. This is suitable for this time, when it was said: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). Furthermore, Buzi is translated into our language, despised and rejected: Ezekiel, strengthened by God. What is thus joined to the Lord, that we may say the Creator of the world, who is the Father of the Savior, is despised and rejected by all heretics, who do not accept the old Testament. It is not surprising that the Lord is the strength of God, since He is the power and wisdom of God Himself. And the hand of the Lord came upon him there. LXX: And the hand of the Lord came upon me. In order to see the visions of God and understand them, we need the hand and strength of God upon us (1 Corinthians 1). With that hand and arm, the people of Israel were led out of Egypt; even the Magi understood a part of that power, saying: This is the finger of God (Exodus 8). And the Savior in the Gospel said: But if I cast out demons by the finger of God (Matthew 12:28). For it is written in another Gospel: If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God (Luke 11:20).”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.