Tanak Foundations-Concepts in Ezekiel-Chapter 48

Ezek 48.1-35 gives us the portions of the land grant that were given to each of the twelve tribes, seven to the north of the Temple, and five to the south. After that, the holy city is described with its twelve gates, three on the north, east, south and west.

v 1…”Now these are the names of the tribes (as they followed in order of their portion): the northern end (along the northern boundary), beside the way of Hethlon (on the northwest) to Lebo-hamath (the northern most point), as far as Hazar-enan (on the northeast) at the border of Damascus, toward the north beside Hamath, running east to west, Dan (judge), one portion (what that tribe will inherit).

v 2…And beside the border of Dan (just south), from the east side to the west side, Asher (happy), one portion.

v 3…And beside the border of Asher, from the east side to the west side, Naphtali (my wrestling), one portion (just south of Asher).

v 4…And beside the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh (to forget), one portion.

v 5…And beside the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim (fruitful), one portion.

v 6…And beside the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, Reuben (see a son), one portion.

v 7…And beside the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah (praise), one portion.

v 8…And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the allotment (“terumah” or contribution, and the portion with the highest kedusha in the land) which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in width, and the length like one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary (Temple) shall be in the midst of it.

v 9…The allotment (terumah) that you shall set apart to the Lord (Yehovah) shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 10,000 in width (the priest’s portion).

v 10…And the holy (has a kedusha) allotment (terumah) shall be for these, namely for the priests (for their use), toward the west 10,000 (cubits) in width, toward the east 10,000 in width, and toward the south 25,000 in length; and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the midst.

11…It shall be for the priests who are sanctified (have a kedusha or set apart) of the sons of Zadok, who have kept my charge, who did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray, as the Levites (used to describe the priests, who descended from Levi) went astray.

v 12…And it shall be an allotment (terumah) to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy place (kodesh ha kodeshim), by the border of the Levites.

v 13…And alongside the border of the priests the Levites shall have 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the width 10,000.

v 14…Moreover, they shall not sell or exchange any of it, or alienate (transfer) the first fruits of the land (reserved for the priests); for it is holy (has a kedusha) to the Lord.

v 15…And the remainder, 5000 cubits in width and 25,000 in length, shall be common use (without a kedusha), for dwellings and for open spaces; and the city shall be in its midst.

v 16…And these shall be its measurements (of the city); the north side 4500 cubits, the south side 4500 cubits, the east side 4500 cubits, and the west side 4500 cubits (forming a perfect square).

v 17…And the city shall have open spaces (suburbs); on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250 cubits, on the east 250 cubits, and on the west 250 cubits.

v 18…And the remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment (terumah) shall be 10,000 cubits toward the east, and 10,000 toward the west; and it shall be alongside the holy allotment (terumah-as part of it). And its produce shall be food for the workers of the city (laborers employed in the Temple city will receive support from the land in the immediate vicinity).

v 19…And the workers of the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.

v 20…The whole allotment shall be 25,000 by 25,000 cubits; you shall set apart the holy allotment, a square, with the property of the city.

v 21…And the remainder shall be for the prince (on the east and the west), on the one side and on the other of the holy allotment and of the property of the city (to guard and preserve them), in front of the 25,000 cubits of the allotment toward the east border and westward in front of the 25,000 toward the west border, alongside the portions, it shall be for the prince (we do not believe the “prince” is the Messiah. He may be a biological descendant of David, fully human and has descendants as in Ezek 46.16, and his plot of land has a unique relationship with the Temple. He is given this land so he will not oppress the people by taking their land, as seen in Ezek 45.8 and 46.18. The Messiah would hardly need to have these admonitions). And the holy allotment and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the middle of it.

v 22…The exclusive of the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the middle of that which belongs to the prince, everything between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall be for the prince (excepting that which belonged to the priests, Levites, the sanctuary and the city belonged to the prince).

v 23…As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin (son of the right hand or the days), one portion.

v 24…And beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon (to hear), one portion.

v 25…And beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar (my hiring), one portion.

v 26…And beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulon (to dwell), one portion.

v 27…And beside the border of Zebulon, from the east side to the west side, Gad (troop, invader), one portion.

v 28…And beside the border of Gad, at the south side toward the south (the southern extreme), the border shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook (of Egypt), to the Great Sea (Mediterranean).

v 29…This is the land which you shall divide by lot (allotment) to the tribes of Israel for an inheritance, and these are their portions,” declares the Lord God (Adonai Yehovah).

v 30…”And these are the exits of the city: on the north side, 4500 cubits by measurement,

v 31…shall be the gates of the city, named for the tribes of Israel, three gates toward the north: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one (these tribes, and the rest of them, are not according to their placement around the Mishkan, or as Joshua placed them in Canaan. Levi has a gate even though he did not have a portion as the other tribes. These three are sons of Leah).

v 32…And on the east side, 4500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one (Joseph has a gate but does not have a portion, but his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh do, but do not have a gate. This made room for Levi to be added; these are Rachel’s sons and Dan was by her maid).

v 33…And on the south side, 4500 cubits by measurement, shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulon, one (three sons of Leah).

v 34…On the west side, 4500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one (three sons of the maids).

v 35…The city shall be 18,000 cubits roundabout; and the name of the city from that day shall be, “The Lord is there (Yehovah Shammah-from there he will rule and it is identified with all that has a kedusha. The Shekinah finally has rest and will be in the hearts, or desires, of those who dwell there. Jerusalem was never mentioned in Ezek 40-48 and many believe this is a new name for it. Some believe it is another city altogether).”

Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*