Buzi is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Buzi was the father of the prophet Ezekiel. This is the single fact the King James Bible records about him. He is named only once in all of Scripture, in the opening verse of the book of Ezekiel: “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 1:3). Beyond this identification, Buzi neither speaks nor acts anywhere in the biblical text. He appears only as the father of the man God called to be a prophet.
The setting of this lone mention is significant. Ezekiel was among the Jewish exiles carried away to Babylon, and it was there, “in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar,” that the word of the LORD came to him. Buzi’s son is described as “Ezekiel the priest,” indicating that Ezekiel came from priestly lineage. Since priestly descent in Israel was traced through the father, Buzi’s place in the record is bound up with establishing his son’s standing as a priest. The text does not say whether Buzi himself served as a priest, only that his son Ezekiel bore that title.
Scripture says nothing more of Buzi—nothing of his life, his death, his faithfulness, or his circumstances in exile. He is remembered entirely through his son. Yet that single mention is not incidental: it anchors Ezekiel in a real family and a real lineage, testifying that the prophet was a man with a father, a heritage, and a place among the people of God.
The Name
The name Buzi is generally understood in Hebrew to be related to the root meaning “to despise” or “to hold in contempt,” and it is often connected to the name Buz, borne by a figure in Scripture (Genesis 22:21; 1 Chronicles 5:14). Some take Buzi to mean “my contempt” or “despised.” The meaning is not stated in the biblical text itself, and scholars differ on the precise nuance, so it should be treated as a likely rather than certain sense. What is clear is that the name belongs to a Semitic family of names built on this root, but Scripture attaches no interpretation to it.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be remembered by name in a sacred book, and neither, in any detailed way, was Buzi. He is a single line in a vast story—known only as someone’s father. Yet that is no small thing. God’s work in Ezekiel’s life began within a family and a lineage that Buzi helped to pass down. Faithfulness is often hidden, and its fruit appears in the next generation. If your part seems small and unseen, take heart: God weaves even the quietest lives into His purposes, and He does not forget.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 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.