17 God Identifies Ringleaders

These were the same twenty-five men who were bowing defiantly toward the sun and against God inside between the porch and the altar. Now he sees that they have moved outside the eastern gate facing the sun as it rose at dawn. Here the Lord showed him two men who he identified by name. They were influential men of the city of Jerusalem as Ezekiel cites them by name and called them the princes of the people. They were Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah. The city gate was the traditional location where the elders of the city sat to discuss legal matters and to administer justice. It was a standard Mid Eastern place for the leaders of a city or religious group to meet and conduct court so to speak (Genesis 23:10, 18; Deuteronomy 21:19; Joshua 20:4; Ruth 4:1-2, 9, 11; Job 29:7, 14-17). These influential men most likely belonged to the Israeli nobility.