Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 1:2

"In the fifth [day] of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin`s captivity," — Ezekiel 1:2 (ASV)

The Jewish date. This verse and Ezekiel 1:3, which seem rather to interrupt the course of the narrative, may have been added by the prophet when he revised and put together the whole book. The word “captivity” refers to the “transportation” of the king and others from their native to foreign soil.

This policy of settling a conquered people in lands distant from their home, begun by the Assyrians, was continued by the Persians and by Alexander the Great. The Jews were specially selected for such settlements, and this was no doubt a Providential preparation for the Gospel, the dispersed Jews carrying with them the knowledge of the true God and the sacred Scriptures, and thus paving the way for the messengers of the kingdom of Christ.