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Texts -- Ezekiel 48:1-33 (NET)

Context
The Tribal Portions
48:1 “These are the names of the tribes : From the northern end beside the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath , as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the border of Damascus , toward the north beside Hamath ), extending from the east side to the west , Dan will have one portion. 48:2 Next to the border of Dan , from the east side to the west , Asher will have one portion. 48:3 Next to the border of Asher from the east side to the west , Naphtali will have one portion. 48:4 Next to the border of Naphtali from the east side to the west , Manasseh will have one portion. 48:5 Next to the border of Manasseh from the east side to the west , Ephraim will have one portion. 48:6 Next to the border of Ephraim from the east side to the west , Reuben will have one portion. 48:7 Next to the border of Reuben from the east side to the west , Judah will have one portion. 48:8 “Next to the border of Judah from the east side to the west will be the allotment you must set apart . It is to be eight and a quarter miles wide , and the same length as one of the tribal portions , from the east side to the west ; the sanctuary will be in the middle of it. 48:9 The allotment you set apart to the Lord will be eight and a quarter miles in length and three and one-third miles in width . 48:10 These will be the allotments for the holy portion: for the priests , toward the north eight and a quarter miles in length, toward the west three and one-third miles in width , toward the east three and one-third miles in width , and toward the south eight and a quarter miles in length ; the sanctuary of the Lord will be in the middle . 48:11 This will be for the priests who are set apart from the descendants of Zadok who kept my charge and did not go astray when the people of Israel strayed off , like the Levites did. 48:12 It will be their portion from the allotment of the land , a most holy place, next to the border of the Levites . 48:13 “Alongside the border of the priests , the Levites will have an allotment eight and a quarter miles in length and three and one-third miles in width . The whole length will be eight and a quarter miles and the width three and one-third miles . 48:14 They must not sell or exchange any of it; they must not transfer this choice portion of land , for it is set apart to the Lord . 48:15 “The remainder , one and two-thirds miles miles in width and eight and a quarter miles miles in length , will be for common use by the city , for houses and for open space . The city will be in the middle of it; 48:16 these will be its measurements : The north side will be one and one-half miles , miles , the south side one and one-half miles , miles , the east side one and one-half miles , and the west side one and one-half miles . miles . 48:17 The city will have open spaces : On the north there will be 437½ feet , on the south 437½ feet , on the east 437½ feet , and on the west 437½ feet . 48:18 The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment will be three and one-third miles to the east and three and one-third miles toward the west , and it will be beside the holy allotment . Its produce will be for food for the workers of the city . 48:19 The workers of the city from all the tribes of Israel will cultivate it. 48:20 The whole allotment will be eight and a quarter miles square , you must set apart the holy allotment with the possession of the city . 48:21 “The rest , on both sides of the holy allotment and the property of the city , will belong to the prince . Extending from the eight and a quarter miles of the holy allotment to the east border , and westward from the eight and a quarter miles to the west border , alongside the portions , it will belong to the prince . The holy allotment and the sanctuary of the temple will be in the middle of it. 48:22 The property of the Levites and of the city will be in the middle of that which belongs to the prince . The portion between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin will be for the prince . 48:23 “As for the rest of the tribes : From the east side to the west side, Benjamin will have one portion. 48:24 Next to the border of Benjamin , from the east side to the west side, Simeon will have one portion. 48:25 Next to the border of Simeon , from the east side to the west side , Issachar will have one portion. 48:26 Next to the border of Issachar , from the east side to the west side, Zebulun will have one portion. 48:27 Next to the border of Zebulun , from the east side to the west side, Gad will have one portion. 48:28 Next to the border of Gad , at the south side , the border will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh , to the Stream of Egypt and on to the Great Sea . 48:29 This is the land which you will allot to the tribes of Israel , and these are their portions , declares the sovereign Lord . 48:30 “These are the exits of the city : On the north side , one and one-half miles by measure , 48:31 the gates of the city will be named for the tribes of Israel ; there will be three gates to the north : one gate for Reuben , one gate for Judah , and one gate for Levi . 48:32 On the east side , one and one-half miles miles in length, there will be three gates : one gate for Joseph , one gate for Benjamin , and one gate for Dan . 48:33 On the south side , one and one-half miles miles by measure , there will be three gates : one gate for Simeon , one gate for Issachar , and one gate for Zebulun .

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • LEVITICAL CITIES

    [isbe] LEVITICAL CITIES - le-vit'-i-kal I. LEGAL PROVISIONS 1. Numbers 2. Deuteronomy II. WELLHAUSEN'S VIEW III. ALTERNATIVE VIEW AND EVIDENCE 1. Traces of the Cities 2. Wellhausen's Arguments Answered 3. Van Hoonacker's Reply 4. E...

  • Ezekiel

    [nave] EZEKIEL, a priest. Time of his prophecy, Ezek. 1:1-3. Persecution of, Ezek. 3:25. Visions of: of God's glory, Ezek. 1; 8; 10; 11:22; of Jews' abominations, Ezek. 8:5, 6; of their punishment, Ezek. 9:10; of the valley of dry...

  • SHAALBIM

    [isbe] SHAALBIM - sha-al'-bim (sha`albim; Codex Vaticanus Bethalamei; Codex Alexandrinus Salabeim, in Joshua, Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus Thalabeim): When the Amorites had forced the children of Dan into the mountain the...

  • Temple

    [nave] TEMPLE. Solomon's Called also Temple of the Lord, 2 Kin. 11:10; Holy Temple, Psa. 79:1; Holy House, 1 Chr. 29:3; House of God, 1 Chr. 29:2; 2 Chr. 23:9; House of the Lord, 2 Chr. 23:5, 12; Jer. 28:5; Father's House, John 2...

  • Vision

    [nave] VISION, a mode of revelation, Num. 12:6; 1 Sam. 3:1; 2 Chr. 26:5; Psa. 89:19; Prov. 29:18; Jer. 14:14; 23:16; Dan. 1:17; Hos. 12:10; Joel 2:28; Obad. 1; Hab. 2:2; Acts 2:17. Of Abraham, concerning his descendants, Gen. 15:1-...

  • ZILPAH

    [isbe] ZILPAH - zil'-pa (zilpah, meaning uncertain; Zelpha): The ancestress of Gad and Asher (Gen 30:10,12; 35:26; 46:18), a slave girl of Leah's, given her by Laban (Gen 29:24; 30:9). In Ezek 48 the Zilpah tribes have the 5th divi...

  • TEMPLE, A2

    [isbe] TEMPLE, A2 - II. EZEKIEL'S PROPHETIC SKETCH I. Introductory. 1. Relation to History of Temple: Wellhausen has said that Ezekiel 40 through 48 "are the most important in his book, and have been, not incorrectly, called the ke...

  • Priest

    [nave] PRIEST. Before Moses Melchizedek, Gen. 14:18; Heb. 5:6, 10, 11; 6:20; 7:1-21. Jethro, Ex. 2:16. Priests in Israel before the giving of the law, Ex. 19:22, 24. Called angel, Eccl. 5:6. Mosaic Ex. 28:1-4; 29:9, 44; Num....

  • Jerusalem

    [nave] JERUSALEM Called Jebus, Josh. 18:28; Judg. 19:10; Zion, 1 Kin. 8:1; Zech. 9:13; City of David, 2 Sam. 5:7; Isa. 22:9; Salem, Gen. 14:18; Psa. 76:2; Ariel, Isa. 29:1; City of God, Psa. 46:4; City of the Great King, Psa. 48:2;...

  • EZEKIEL, 1

    [isbe] EZEKIEL, 1 - e-ze'-ki-el: I. THE PROPHET AND HIS BOOK 1. The Person of Ezekiel Name, Captivity and Trials 2. The Book (1) Its Genuineness (2) Its Structure (3) Relation to Jeremiah (4) Fate of the Book and Its Place in the C...

  • SIMEON (1)

    [isbe] SIMEON (1) - sim'-e-on (shim`on; Sumeon; the Hebrew root is from shama`, "to hear" (Gen 29:33); some modern scholars (Hitzig, W. R. Smith, Stade, etc.) derive it from Arabic sima`, "the offspring of the hyena and female wolf...

  • Hethlon

    [ebd] wrapped up, a place on the north border of Palestine. The "way of Hethlon" (Ezek. 47:15; 48:1) is probably the pass at the end of Lebanon from the Mediterranean to the great plain of Hamath (q.v.), or the "entrance of Hamath...
    [smith] (hiding-place), the name of a place on the northern border of Palestine. (Ezekiel 47:15; 48:1) In all probability the "way of Hethlon" is the pass at the northern end of Lebanon, and is thus identical with "the entrance of Ha...
    [nave] HETHLON, a place on the northern frontier of Palestine, Ezek. 47:15; 48:1.

  • Tamar

    [smith] (palm tree). The wife successively of the two sons of Judah, Er and Onan. (Genesis 38:8-30) (B.C. about 1718.) Her importance in the sacred narrative depends on the great anxiety to keep up the lineage of Judah. It seemed as...
    [nave] TAMAR 1. Wife of the sons of Judah, Gen. 38:6-24; Ruth 4:12; 1 Chr. 2:4. Called Thamar, Matt. 1:3. 2. Daughter of David, 2 Sam. 13:1-32; 1 Chr. 3:9. 3. Daughter of Absalom, 2 Sam. 14:27. 4. A city of unknown location, Ez...

  • Gad

    [nave] GAD 1. Jacob's seventh son, Gen. 30:11; 35:26; Ex. 1:4. Children of, Gen. 46:16; Num. 26:15-18; 1 Chr. 5:11. Prophecy concerning, Gen. 49:19. 2. A tribe of Israel. Blessed by Moses, Deut. 33:20. Enumeration of, at Sinai,...

  • Mediterranean Sea

    [isbe] MEDITERRANEAN SEA - med-i-te-ra'-ne-an (he thalassa): To the Hebrews the Mediterranean was the sea, as was natural from their situation. Hence, they speak of it simply as "the sea" (ha-yam), e.g. Gen 49:13; Nu 13:29; 34:5; J...
    [nave] MEDITERRANEAN SEA Mentioned in scripture as the great sea, Num. 34:6, 7; Josh. 1:4; 9:1; 15:12, 47; 23:4; Ezek. 47:10, 15, 20; 48:28; Sea of the Philistines, Ex. 23:31; Sea of Joppa, Ezra 3:7; the hinder sea, Zech. 14:8; the...

  • ANSWERABLE

    [isbe] ANSWERABLE - an'-ser-a-bl: This word is found in the Old Testament only. Moses and Ezekiel alone use it (Ex 38:18; Ezek 40:18; 45:7; 48:13,18). It is used in the Old English sense of "corresponding to," "in harmony with." Bu...

  • Hazar-enan

    [ebd] village of fountains, a place on the north-east frontier of Palestine (Num. 34:9, 10). Some have identified it with Ayan ed-Dara in the heart of the central chain of Anti-Libanus. More probably, however, it has been identifi...
    [nave] HAZAR-ENAN, the N.E. boundary point of the promised land, Num. 34:9, 10; Ezek. 47:17; 48:1.

  • Church

    [nave] CHURCH, place of worship. Called Courts, Psa. 65:4; 84:2, 10; 92:13; 96:8; 100:4; 116:19; Isa. 1:12; 62:9; Zech. 3:7; House of God, Gen. 28:17, 22; Josh. 9:23; Judg. 18:31; 20:18, 26; 21:2; 1 Chr. 9:11; 24:5; 2 Chr. 5:14; 22:...

  • TADMOR

    [ebd] palm, a city built by Solomon "in the wilderness" (2 Chr. 8:4). In 1 Kings 9:18, where the word occurs in the Authorized Version, the Hebrew text and the Revised Version read "Tamar," which is properly a city on the southern...
    [isbe] TADMOR - tad'-mor, tad'-mor (tadhmor): A city built by Solomon in the wilderness (2 Ch 8:4), the Roman Palmyra. Tadmor is the native name and is found on inscriptions. It occurs also in the Kere of 1 Ki 9:18, where the Kethi...

  • Levites

    [nave] LEVITES The descendants of Levi. Set apart as ministers of religion, Num. 1:47-54; 3:6-16; 16:9; 26:57-62; Deut. 10:8; 1 Chr. 15:2. Substituted in the place of the firstborn, Num. 3:12, 41-45; 8:14, 16-18; 18:6. Religious ...
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Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Jacob blessed all 12 of his sons and foretold what would become of each of them and their descendants. He disqualified Reuben, Simeon, and Levi from leadership and gave that blessing to Judah. He granted the double portion to...
  • The rest of the chapter explains why God would put Eli's sons to death (v. 25). The specific criticism that the man of God (a prophet, cf. 9:9-10) directed against Eli and his sons was two-fold. They had not appreciated God's...
  • 31:38-39 In the future, Jerusalem would undergo rebuilding for the Lord. It would be built larger than it had been before its destruction by the Babylonians. The tower of Hananel was at the northeast corner of the city (Neh. ...
  • Ezekiel ministered to the Jews in exile. He probably wrote this book for the benefit of the exiles and the other Jewish communities of his day and beyond his day. In some of his visions (e.g. chs. 8 and 11) the Lord carried t...
  • There are two major structural peculiarities that set Ezekiel off as distinctive.First, the book is a collection of prophecies arranged in almost consistent chronological order. No other prophetical book is as consistently ch...
  • Ezekiel contains a combination of several types of literature. These include proverbs, visions, parables, symbolic acts, allegories, rhetorical questions, dreams, drama, funeral dirges, history, and apocalyptic revelations."T...
  • Ezekiel began prophesying when he was 30 years old, and he had gone into captivity five years before that. Thus Ezekiel was familiar with Jeremiah's preaching and ministry. Ezekiel shows quite a bit of similarity to Jeremiah ...
  • I. Ezekiel's calling and commission chs. 1-3A. The vision of God's glory ch. 11. The setting of the vision 1:1-32. The vision proper 1:4-28B. The Lord's charge to Ezekiel chs. 2-31. The recipients of Ezekiel's ministry 2:1-52...
  • 16:60-61 Yet the Lord promised to remember and stand by His promises in the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3). He would establish a new, everlasting covenant with His people in the future (cf. 11:18-20; 36: 26-28; 37:26-28; Is...
  • 20:39 For now the Israelites to whom Ezekiel spoke could continue to practice idolatry, not with the Lord's blessing of course, but in the future they would listen to and obey the Lord. Then they would make His name common no...
  • 24:25-26 Evidently Ezekiel was not to deliver any more prophetic messages to his fellow exiles after he made the explanation in verses 20-24 until he received word of the destruction of the temple and the capture of the remai...
  • It is appropriate that this section appears at this point in Ezekiel, between the messages announcing judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for sin (chs. 4-24) and the messages announcing future blessings for Israel (chs. 33-48). I...
  • "This last major division of the book focuses on the restoration of Israel's blessing. Israel would be judged for her sin (chaps. 1-24) as would the surrounding nations (chaps. 25-32). But Israel will not remain under judgmen...
  • Since this message is undated, it may have come to Ezekiel about the same time as the previous two in chapter 32, namely, in the last month of 585 B.C. If so, Ezekiel received it about two months after God gave him the six me...
  • "The themes of regathering as sheep and of covenant merge in Ezekiel 34:25-31. The Lord promises to make a covenant of peace with His regathered sheep."44434:25 The Lord also promised to make a covenant of peace (i.e., result...
  • This well-known apocalyptic vision of the valley of dry bones pictures the manner in which Yahweh would restore His people.473This may be the best known section of the Book of Ezekiel."Few other passages have suffered more fr...
  • This is the sixth and last message that Ezekiel received from the Lord the night before the refugees reached the exiles with the message that Jerusalem had fallen (cf. 33:21-22). It too deals with God's plans for Israel in th...
  • The Book of Ezekiel begins with a vision of God's glory (ch. 1), records the departure of God's glory (chs. 8-11), and ends with another vision of God's glory (chs. 40-48). This is the longest vision outside the Book of Revel...
  • Some scholars view this section as the central one in chapters 40-48.536The altar was at the very center of the whole temple complex, and it was the centerpiece of the system of worship represented in the new temple complex.4...
  • 44:1-2 Ezekiel's guide next took him back to the east outer gate (cf. 40:6-16). The gate itself, on the east side of the gate complex, was shut and was to remain shut. The Lord told the prophet that this gate was shut because...
  • 44:15-16 The Levites from Zadok's branch of the priestly family, however, would have special privileges since Zadok and his sons had served the Lord faithfully in the past (cf. 40:46; 1 Sam. 2:35; 2 Sam. 8:17; 15:24-29; 1 Kin...
  • The Lord next gave Ezekiel directions for the division of some of the Promised Land in the future. Revelation about apportioning the rest of the land follows later (47:13-48:35). These descriptions do not coincide with any di...
  • God promised Abraham that He would give a particular piece of real estate to his descendants (Gen. 12:7). Later He reiterated this promise and became more specific about its boundaries (Gen. 15:7, 18-21; 17:8; Num. 34:1-12). ...
  • 47:1 Ezekiel's guide, who appears to have been his original guide in this vision (v. 3), brought him back to the main entrance to the temple proper. Ezekiel saw water flowing to the east from under the temple threshold.565It ...
  • "There are two special areas of attention in this passage: (1) the concern that God's people occupy their full boundaries, and (2) the concern that Gentiles will have an inheritance."57447:13-14 The Lord instructed the future...
  • 48:8a South of Judah's portion would be a special territory, which would be the same size as the other tribal allotments.48:8b-12 It would include a section 25,000 cubits wide, and the temple sanctuary would stand in its cent...
  • 48:30-34 The Lord next specified the gates of the holy city. Though Ezekiel did not name the city, Zechariah did. It is Jerusalem (Zech. 14:8). On each of its 4,500 cubit-long sides there would be three gates. The ones facing...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1968.Alexander, Ralph H. Ezekiel. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976._____. "Ezekiel."In Isaiah-Ezekiel. Vol. 6 of The Expo...
  • Daniel is a book of prophecy."Among the great prophetic books of Scripture, none provides a more comprehensive and chronological prophetic view of the broad movement of history than the book of Daniel. Of the three prophetic ...
  • 1:1 Yahweh sent a message to Zerubbabel and Joshua through the prophet Haggai, though it went to all the Israelites too (vv. 2, 4). Zerubbabel was the political governor (overseer) of the Persian province of Judah who had led...
  • 14:16 The remaining former enemies of Israel who would not die would bow to the sovereignty of Yahweh (cf. 8:20-23; Isa. 2:2-4; 45:21-24; 60:4-14; Ezek. 40-48; Phil. 2:10). They would be expected to make annual pilgrimages to...
  • There was an even more serious dimension to this problem. The Corinthians were sinning against the Lord as well as one another.11:23 What Paul taught here came ultimately from the Lord Jesus Himself. This reminder stresses th...
  • Adams, Jay. Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1980.Andrews, J. N. "May Women Speak in Meeting?"Review and Herald. January 2, 1879. Reprinted in Advent...
  • The scene continues to be on earth.7:1 The phrase "after this"(Gr. meta touto) indicates that what follows is a new vision (cf. 4:1). The general chronological progression of the visions suggests that the events John saw now ...
  • The next scenes in John's visions proved to be of conditions that will exist after the Millennium. He recorded this insight to reveal the final home of believers. There are many allusions to Isaiah 60 and 65 and Ezekiel 40-48...
  • John now saw a new scene that elaborated on the passing away of the present earth and heaven to which he had just referred briefly (20:11). The new earth and heaven will come into existence after the Millennium and the great ...
  • 21:11 This city obviously appeared extremely impressive to John. The first and most important characteristic that John noted was its radiant glow. It shone with the splendor of God Himself because He was in it (cf. Exod. 40:3...
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