English · KJV

Ezekiel 48

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

The Division of the Land: Northern Tribes 1–7

1
Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan. ​
2
And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
3
And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4
And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
5
And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6
And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
7
And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah. ​

The Sacred Central Offering (Oblation) 8–22

8
And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it. ​
9
The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
10
And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.
11
It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. ​
12
And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13
And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14
And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD. ​
15
And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof. ​
16
And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17
And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18
And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
19
And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
20
All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city. ​
21
And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof. ​
22
Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.

The Division of the Land: Southern Tribes 23–29

23
As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion. ​
24
And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25
And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
26
And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
27
And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28
And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea. ​
29
This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD. ​

The Gates and Name of the Holy City 30–35

30
And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures. ​
31
And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. ​
32
And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33
And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34
At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35
It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Ezekiel 48

Verse 1

a portion for Dan — The twelve tribes get strips running ‘from the east side unto the west side’, and the first lies on the northern line drawn in Ezek 47:15–17: Hethlon, Hamath, Hazarenan, ‘the border of Damascus’. Dan’s old coast ‘went out too little for them’, and they went up to take Leshem (Josh 19:47).

Verse 7

a portion for Judah — Judah’s strip is the last before the holy oblation (v.8); the prince’s land lies ‘between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin’ (v.22). The tribe of the sceptre (Gen 49:10) lies nearest the sanctuary on the north, as Benjamin does on the south (v.23).

Verse 8

the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it — ‘Offering’ is terumah, a heave offering, from the verb rum, to lift up: land raised from the common allotment for the LORD, 25,000 on each side (v.20). ‘Reeds’ is supplied by the KJV. The sanctuary in the midst keeps the promise of Ezek 37:26, ‘my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore’.

Verse 11

the sons of Zadok — Ezek 44:15 gives the ground: they ‘kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me’. The verb ta’ah, to wander, occurs three times in this one verse: Israel strayed, the Levites strayed, and Zadok’s sons did not. Their portion is the priests’ oblation of vv.9–10.

Verse 14

they shall not sell of it — Three verbs close every exit: makar, to sell; mur, to exchange; and abar, to pass over to another hand. It is ‘the firstfruits of the land’ (reshith), holy to the LORD, as Lev 25:23 had set the principle: ‘The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine.’

Verse 15

a profane place — Chol means common, not consecrated; it is the opposite of qodesh, holy. The 5,000 strip left beside the priests’ and Levites’ allotments is for the city, ‘for dwelling, and for suburbs’. Ezek 42:20 and 44:23 draw the same line between the holy and the profane.

Verse 20

foursquare — The holy oblation is 25,000 by 25,000: the priests’ 10,000 and the Levites’ 10,000 (vv.9–13) plus the city’s 5,000 (v.15) make the breadth equal the length. The city itself is square too (v.16), as the city in Rev 21:16 ‘lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth’.

Verse 21

for the prince — ‘The residue’ (v.21) on the east and west of the holy oblation and the city’s possession belongs to the prince, ‘between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin’ (v.22). Ezek 45:8 had given him his possession in Israel, so that ‘my princes shall no more oppress my people’.

Verse 23

Benjamin shall have a portion — ‘The rest of the tribes’ are Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun and Gad (vv.23–27), the first strip south of the oblation. In Joshua, Jerusalem is counted in Benjamin’s list (Josh 18:28), while the Jebusites of Jerusalem remained among Judah (Josh 15:63).

Verse 28

the waters of strife in Kadesh — The southern line of Gad repeats Ezek 47:19 almost word for word. Meribah (strife) recalls Num 20:13, ‘This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD’, named Meribah-Kadesh in Deut 32:51. Tamar and ‘the river’ complete the border to ‘the great sea’.

Verse 29

divide by lot — The verb is naphal, to fall, as in Ezek 47:14: ‘this land shall fall unto you for inheritance’. There the LORD says he ‘lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers’. The lot decides the places, but the gift rests on his oath. ‘Portions’ (machlaqah) are the divisions drawn.

Verse 30

the goings out of the city — Totsa’oth is plural, ‘outgoings’, meaning the exits by which the city is entered and left. Each of the four sides is ‘four thousand and five hundred’ (v.16), and each side carries three gates (vv.31–34). ‘Measures’ (middah) is tagged behind the KJV word here, as in vv.16 and 33.

Verse 31

one gate of Levi — There are three gates on each side, twelve in all, and each carries a tribe’s name (vv.31–34). Joseph has one gate for Ephraim and Manasseh, who hold strips (vv.4–5), so Levi, whose portion lies within the holy oblation (v.13), is counted. Rev 21:12–13 gives the same pattern: twelve gates, three on each side, with the names of the twelve tribes.

Verse 35

The LORD is there — This is one Hebrew compound: the divine name with shammah, ‘there’. It occurs nowhere else in the KJV. The glory had left the city (Ezek 11:23) and returned by the east gate (Ezek 43:2–5), to dwell ‘for ever’ (Ezek 43:7). The perimeter is four sides of 4,500 (v.16), ‘eighteen thousand’ in all.