Ezekiel 47

— from En-gedi] See the note on 1 Sam. xxiii. 29.

— unto En-eglaim;] This city is placed by some at the north of the Dead sea, where the Jordan runs into it. Eglaim is mentioned, Isa. xv. 8, as a place on the borders of Meah, which country ran on the east of the Dead sea. Abp. Newcome.

— as the fish of the great sea.] Of the great Mediterranean sea; see Josh. xxiii. 4, and chap. xlviii. 28. The fish on the coasts of Judea and Phenicia are very abundant. Harmer.

— Joseph shall have two portions.] See Gen. xlviii. 5; 1 Chron. v. 1.

Chap. XLVIII. ver. 1. — From the north end &c.] Having given a general description of the boundaries of the Holy Land, the Prophet now proceeds to state the limits of each tribe, beginning as before from the north. Calmet.

— for these are his sides. These are his limits from the east point near mount Libanus and Gilead, to the west point, which is bounded by the Mediterranean sea; see chap. xlvii. 15. W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:8

8. — the waters shall be healed.] This finely repre-

9. And by the border of Judah, &c.] Between the portions of Judah and Benjamin, and immediately south of that of Judah, shall be the offering set apart for the service of God, chap. xlv. 1. W. Lowth.

— five and twenty thousand reeds] The word “reeds” is not in the original either here or in chap. xlv. 1; and many prefer to understand the measure in both places of cubits; see note there. W. Lowth.

— as one of the other parts.] As one of the portions given to the adjoining tribes. Abp. Newcome, Calmet.

Ezekiel 47:9

9. The oblation that ye shall offer unto the Lord] For his sanctuary and priests; see chap. xlv. 1. 3, 4. Abp. Newcome.

Before CHRIST 574. The portions of the sanctuary, of the city and suburbs. Before CHRIST 574. [ Or, The sanctified portion shall be for the priests. [ Or, ward, or ordinance. twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.

Ezekiel 47:10

10. — toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, &c.] See the plan, chap. xlv.

11. — the sons of Zadok. See chap. xlv. 10—15. — as the Levites went astray. Or, as the other Levites went astray: many of these had defiled themselves with idolatry, for which crime they were to be degraded; see chap. xlv. 10, 11, and note. W. Lowth.

12. — by the border of the Levites. It shall be next to the portion of the Levites, which lay southward between the priests and the cities’ portion; see the plan. W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:11

11. — the miry places] The Dead sea shall preserve its salt and bitter qualities on its shores and in its marshes, where the waters become stagnant. Calmet. The allegorical sense is, that some shall reject the Gospel, and some receive it without obeying it. Abp. Newcome. Saltness is equivalent to barrenness in the Hebrew language; see Ps. cvii. 34; Deut. xxix. 23; Judges ix. 45. W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:12

12. — for meat.] For food.

— whose leaf shall not fade.] They shall be like the trees of paradise, never barren or withering; a proper emblem of the flourishing state of the righteous still bringing forth fruit unto holiness, and whose end is everlasting life, Ps. i. 3; Jer. xvii. 8. W. Lowth.

— new fruit according to his months, &c.] It shall be constantly fruitful; see Rev. xxii. 1, 2. From ver. 1 to ver. 12, we have one of the most striking allegories in the Hebrew Scriptures. Abp. Newcome.

Ezekiel 47:13

13. — This shall be the border.] This allotment, and

fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof || for b medicine.

13. — over against the border] Or, just by the border of the priests: the words import that the border of the Levites ran parallel to that of the priests. W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:14

14. — one as well as another;] Under Joshua the lots were proportioned to the numbers in each tribe. This mysterious equality shews, perhaps, that in the Church of Christ there should be no distinction betwixt the Jew and the Gentile. Calmet.

15. — the firstfruits] It is styled an oblation, ver. 8 and 12; see note on chap. xlv. 1. W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:15

15. — Hethlon.] Mentioned again chap. xlviii. 1. De L’Isle writes it Hethalon, and places it between Tyre and Damascus. Abp. Newcome, W. Lowth. Zedad is written Sedada in De L’Isle, and placed east of Hethlon, nearly in the same latitude. “The northern border of the land was to begin from the west point, on which side lay the Mediterranean sea, and so on northward towards Hethlon, and so on forward to Zedad;” mentioned Numb. xxxiv. 8. W. Lowth.

16. And the five thousand, that are left] See chap. xlv. 6, and the plan.

— and the city shall be in the midst thereof.] A square of four thousand five hundred cubits shall be taken for the city, in the centre of the square of five thousand cubits to the south of the Levites’ portion. W. Lowth. According to Josephus, Jerusalem was about seven miles in circuit, which the square here described does not greatly exceed. Abp. Newcome.

Ezekiel 47:16

16. Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim.] Concerning Hamath, see the note on Isa. x. 9. The other two towns were situate between Hamath and Damascus. W. Lowth.

— Hauran.] The city Aurana, and the district Auranitis, are in the north-east border of the Holy Land. Reland, Abp. Newcome.

Ezekiel 47:17

17. And the border from the sea shall be] The north border eastward is ascertained, ver. 15, 16. Here it is shewn how far it extends itself northward. Abp. Newcome.

— Hazar-enan.] The village of Enam; see Numb.

The division of the land by lot. CHAP. XLVII, XLVIII. The portions of the twelve tribes.

Before CHRIST 574. + Heb. from between.

measure + from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.

17. And the suburbs of the city] These dimensions of the suburbs, added to those of the city, make up the whole square of five thousand cubits; two hundred and

fifty cubits on each of the four sides make five hundred cubits in breadth, and five hundred in length. W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:18

18. — from the land of Israel by Jordan.] From the northern limits of the land of Israel, ver. 17, near Cesa-rea or Dan, where the Jordan takes its rise, unto the Dead sea, or the lake of Sodom; see ver. 8. W. Lowth.

19. And the residue in length—shall be ten thousand &c.] These two dimensions of ten thousand in length, both eastward and westward, remain on each side of the area set apart for the site of the city. W. Lowth.

— over against] Beside, or parallel to; see the plan. W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:19

19. And the south side southward, from Tamar] The southern frontier shall be from “En-gedi,” called “Hazazon-tamar,” 2 Chron. xx. 2, to the waters of Meribah, or strife, in Kadesh, Deut. xxxii. 51; and from thence to the river of Egypt. Dr. Lightfoot, W. Lowth.

20. — serve the city] Perform burdensome offices of publick utility, whether of a higher or a lower kind. Abp. Newcome, W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:20

20. — from the border.] The south border mentioned in the foregoing verse. W. Lowth.

— till a man come over against Hamath.] Or rather, till a man come to Hamath, the northern point towards the west frontier. W. Lowth.

20. — five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand.] This square is composed of five right-angled parallelograms or rectangles; namely, that for the priests, ver. 9, twenty-five thousand by ten thousand; that for the Levites, ver. 13, twenty-five thousand by ten thousand; that for the city and suburbs, five thousand by five thousand, ver. 16, 17; and two of ten thousand by five thousand, one on each side of the square, ver. 18: see the plan, chap. xlv. Abp. Newcome.

— with the possession of the city.] That parcel of the ground for the city being taken into the measure. Bp. Hall.

Ezekiel 47:21

21. And the residue shall be—toward the east border, &c.] The portion of the prince ran eastward to the Jordan or the Dead sea, and westward to the Great sea; retaining its breadth of twenty-five thousand

Before CHRIST 574. The portions of the prince. CHAP. XLVIII. The dimensions and gates of the city. Before CHRIST 574.

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.

Ezekiel 47:22

22. — and to the strangers &c.] Foreigners before never had the privilege of purchasing or possessing any inheritance among the Jews; so this mystically imports the incorporating of the Gentiles into the same Church with the Jews, making them “fellow-heirs, and of the same body” with them “by the Gospel,” Ephes. iii. 6. W. Lowth. There is no reason to believe that this privilege was ever granted under Zerubbabel. Calmet. From ver. 15 to the end of the chapter is prefigured

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, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.

22. — the Levites.] Including the priests; see chap. xlv. 15. The sense of the verse is, that the possession belonging to the priests and Levites, (see ver. 11,) and the city, were bounded on the east and west by the prince’s portion; that the former lay in the middle, the latter beyond them. W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:25

25. — Issachar.] These appointments are not laid out with any regard to the division of the land made in Joshua’s time; for here a platform of a new church and state is set forth. W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:28

28. — from Tamar.] See note on chap. xlvii. 19.

Ezekiel 47:29

29. — for inheritance.] Since there is no doubt but that other things which are said in these chapters relating to the temple, and the land of Israel, are of a prophetic nature, it seems safer to determine that the abovementioned measures were observed both in building the temple and in assigning the lots to the tribes; though we know not how these things were done, because there is a great chasm in the sacred history, from the time of Ezra to that of the Maccabees. Howbignt.

It is the opinion of some learned men, that so parti-

cular a description of the several portions allotted to each tribe, relates to the Jewish settlement in their own country after their conversion; several passages in the Prophets looking that way. But without laying too great a stress upon that opinion, we may fairly suppose some mystical sense contained under this description; the twelve tribes denote the true Christian Church in the New Testament; see Luke xxii. 30. So this division of the land among the twelve tribes may imply, that all true Christians shall be equally sharers in the privileges of the Gospel. W. Lowth.

Ezekiel 47:30

30. — on the north side.] See ver. 16, where the same measures are set forth. There were three gates in the face of each wall, and the whole circuit of the city was eighteen thousand cubits. Calmet.

Ezekiel 47:32

32. — one gate of Joseph.] There being a gate named after Levi, the gate of Joseph includes Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph. Abp. Newcome.

Ezekiel 47:35

35. — The Lord is there.] It is frequently said in the sacred writings, that a person or a thing shall be called by a certain name, where it is predicted that the person or thing shall be endowed with those qualities which the name imports. When Isaiah predicts the coming of the Messiah, he says, that “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace;” because He was to possess the qualities which would serve as a foundation to these titles. In this sense Jerusalem is called in the Psalms, the “city of God, the city of the Great

King;” and in Isaiah, “The city of Righteousness, the faithful city;” and in this passage, “The Lord is there.” Calmet.

In this new Jerusalem, the Church of Christ, God shall dwell in a more glorious manner, and make it the place of his perpetual residence; so that every part of that city shall be honoured with evident tokens of the Divine presence; and every member of it being dedi-

cated to God’s service, and becoming an habitation of God through his Spirit, shall have some degree of the holiness of the temple where God had placed his name, 1 Kings viii. 29, compared with Rev. xxi. 22. This is in a lower degree fulfilled in all good Christians, who are called, the “temple of the living God,” 2 Cor. vi. 16; 1 Pet. ii. 5; and “an habitation of God through the Spirit,” Eph. ii. 22. W. Lowth.

The following are the Chapters from Ezekiel appointed for Proper Lessons on Sundays and Holidays:

CHAP. II. …16th Sunday after Trinity, Morning. CHAP. XVIII…17th Sunday after Trinity, Evening.

— XIII…ditto …Evening. — XX. …18th Sunday after Trinity, Morning.

— XIV. …17th Sunday after Trinity, Morning. — XXIV. …ditto …Evening.