The boundaries and principles of allotment of the land 47:13-48:35

 

"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."⁵⁷⁴

47:13-14 The Lord instructed the future Israelites (cf. v. 21) to divide the Promised Land for their inheritance. He first described the boundary around the entire land. The tribes of Joseph, namely, Ephraim and Manasseh, were to have two portions (cf. Gen. 48:5-6, 22). This was important to clarify at the outset because the tribe of Levi would receive another portion of the land (45:1-8; 48:8-14). Thus the number of tribal allotments would be 12 plus the Levitical portions. Each tribe was to have as much land as all the others; the portions were to be equal in size. This was not the case when Joshua divided the land among the tribes; some tribes received more land than others. Thus the Lord would fulfill His promise to give the Israelites the land as an inheritance. The boundaries described here are almost identical to the ones in Numbers 34:3-12 (cf. 1 Kings 8:65).

47:15-17 The Lord specified the boundaries by listing place names that the Israelites of Ezekiel's day would have known. Not all of them are identifiable today. The northern boundary would run from the Great (Mediterranean) Sea east, following the road to Hethlon, to the entrance of the town of Zedad, and through the region of Hamath (cf. 1 Kings 8:65) near Berothah to Sibraim. It then ran through Hazar-hatticon (lit. the middle Hazar) on the border of the territory of Hauran. Hazar-enan (perhaps the same as Hazar-hatticon) seems to have been the easternmost town in this string. It apparently stood between the borders of the territories controlled by Damascus and Hamath. Some of these sites apparently stood within or adjacent to the region described, not just along its border.

47:18 The eastern border would run between the territories of Hauran and Damascus and then along the Jordan River between the land of Israel on the west and Gilead to the east. This boundary would continue south through the eastern (Dead) sea to the town of Tamar.

47:19 The south border would run west from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh (Kadesh-barnea), to the Brook of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish), and along this stream to the Mediterranean Sea.

47:20 The west border would be the Mediterranean Sea from the south border, the Brook of Egypt, to a point west of Lebo-hamath in the north.

 Tribal allotments in the north 48:1-7

The tribe of Dan was to receive the northernmost section of the Promised Land. The order of tribes from north to south, north of the sacred district, was Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Judah--seven tribal allotments of equal size (47:14). Since they will be of equal size, and since the east-west width of the Promised Land would vary depending on the latitude of each allotment, the north-south distance would also vary somewhat.

The order of these tribes does not conform to any other in Scripture. These tribal allotments are not like those that Joshua assigned nor are they as large (cf. Josh. 14-22). There is a general progression from the most unfaithful tribe, Dan, to the most faithful, Judah. Judah, from which Messiah came, received the blessing of being adjacent to the holy allotment. The tribes that descended from Jacob's concubines (Dan, Asher, Naphtali, and Gad) received land to the far north and far south. Those that descended from Jacob's wives received land toward the center of the land (cf. Gen. 35:23-26).

 The holy allotment 48:8-22

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 center. This portion would be 25,000 cubits long, from east to west, and 10,000 cubits wide, from north to south. It would be for the descendants of the Zadokite priests who remained faithful to the Lord. This would be a most holy place next to the territory for the other Levitical priests.⁵⁷⁵

48:13-14 The other Levitical priests would have an allotment the same size next to the allotment of the Zadokite priests. They were not to sell or exchange any of this land for other land because it was holy to the Lord.

48:15-19 The remaining portion of this allotment, a section 25,000 cubits wide by 5,000 cubits north to south, would be for the holy city and the open spaces beside it. The city itself would occupy the central portion of this section. It would be for the common use of the Israelites, as would be its open spaces and home sites. The city itself would be 4,500 cubits square with a 250 cubit open space border on each of its four sides, another green belt like the one around the temple complex (cf. 45:2). The 10,000 cubit-wide areas on the east and west sides of the city would also be for the production of food for those who lived in the city. Those who lived in the city, from all the tribes of Israel, would cultivate those fields.

"Whereas cities have always been known as places of moral corruption and rebellion, this city will be a place of eternal rest, refuge, and personal fellowship with others and God (48:8-20, 30-35)."⁵⁷⁶

48:20 The total holy allotment would be 25,000 cubits square including the city and its adjacent lands as well as the territories for the Levites and Zadokites. This is an area of almost 70 square miles.

48:21-22 The prince would receive the rest of this allotment, on the east and west sides of this square and between the boundaries of the tribes of Judah on the north and Benjamin on the south.

 Tribal allotments in the south 48:23-29

The tribal allotments south of this special territory would fall to Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad. This was the total land to be divided by lot and the tribes' individual portions.

The tribe of Benjamin received land next to the holy allotment possibly because Benjamin was one of Rachel's sons or because the Benjamites supported David (cf. 2 Sam. 19:16-17) and allied with Judah to form the Southern Kingdom.

 The city, its gates, and its name 48:30-35

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 north would be named in honor of the tribes of Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Judah (the kingly tribe), and Levi (the priestly tribe). All three of these patriarchs were Leah's sons. The gates on the east would bear the names of Joseph and Benjamin (Rachel's sons), and Dan (a son of Bilhah). The south gates would honor Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun (Leah's other three sons). The west gates would bear the names of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali (all sons of the two handmaids, Zilpah and Bilhah). The many gates illustrate the accessibility of the city.

The New Jerusalem in the eternal state will also have three gates on each of its four sides each named for one of the 12 sons of Jacob (Rev. 21:12-13). That city will also be square, but it will be a cube or pyramid (Rev. 21:16). Also it will be very much larger (Rev. 21:16-17). Thus it seems that the eternal city will be similar to but not identical with the millennial city.

48:35 The circumference of the city proper would be 18,000 cubits, less than six miles. And its name from the day of its establishment would be "The LORD is there"(Heb. Yahweh shammah). The new name would indicate a new character, as always in Scripture, namely, that the Lord would forever reside among His people (cf. Isa. 7:14). He would never again depart from them or send them out of His land. He would forever dwell among them, and they would forever enjoy the unbroken fellowship with God that He intended since the creation of the world. The Book of Ezekiel ends with a description of a New Jerusalem like the Book of Revelation, though the New Jerusalem of Ezekiel is millennial and the New Jerusalem at the end of Revelation is eternal.

Twenty-two years and 48 chapters earlier Ezekiel began his book with a vision of a storm picturing the destruction of Old Jerusalem and, later (chs. 10-11), God's departure from it. He ended it with another vision of the establishment of New Jerusalem and God's permanent residence in it. The glory of the Lord is the unifying feature that ties the book together and runs through it from beginning to end.