The Chebar River was a waterway in Babylonia near which the prophet Ezekiel received visions from God during the Babylonian exile.
Also known as Kebar
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.
Approximate location: 33.159, 44.063 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
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.
(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.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
8 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H3529
In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.
the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORDʼs hand was upon him.
I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed.
So I got up and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD was present there, like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar, and I fell facedown.
Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the River Kebar.
These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Kebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.
Their faces looked like the faces I had seen by the River Kebar. Each creature went straight ahead.
The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when He came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the River Kebar. I fell facedown,
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.