BSB

Ezekiel 48

Compare: BSB WEB KJV ASV

1“Now these are the names of the tribes: At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion bordering the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath and running on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus with Hamath to the north, and extending from the east side to the west side.

2Asher will have one portion bordering the territory of Dan from east to west.

3Naphtali will have one portion bordering the territory of Asher from east to west.

4Manasseh will have one portion bordering the territory of Naphtali from east to west.

5Ephraim will have one portion bordering the territory of Manasseh from east to west.

6Reuben will have one portion bordering the territory of Ephraim from east to west.

7Judah will have one portion bordering the territory of Reuben from east to west.

8Bordering the territory of Judah, from east to west, will be the portion you are to set apart. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and the length of a tribal portion from east to west. In the center will be the sanctuary.

9The special portion you set apart to the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide.

10This will be the holy portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side, and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center will be the sanctuary of the LORD.

11It will be for the consecrated priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.

12It will be a special portion for them set apart from the land, a most holy portion adjacent to the territory of the Levites.

13Bordering the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. The whole length will be 25,000 cubits, and the width 10,000 cubits.

14They must not sell or exchange any of it, and they must not transfer this best part of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.

15The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for common use by the city, for houses, and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it

16and will have these measurements: 4,500 cubits on the north side, 4,500 cubits on the south side, 4,500 cubits on the east side, and 4,500 cubits on the west side.

17The pastureland of the city will extend 250 cubits to the north, 250 cubits to the south, 250 cubits to the east, and 250 cubits to the west.

18The remainder of the length bordering the holy portion and running adjacent to it will be 10,000 cubits on the east side and 10,000 cubits on the west side. Its produce will supply food for the workers of the city.

19The workers of the city who cultivate it will come from all the tribes of Israel.

20The entire portion will be a square, 25,000 cubits by 25,000 cubits. You are to set apart the holy portion, along with the city property.

21The remaining area on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city will belong to the prince. He will own the land adjacent to the tribal portions, extending eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the holy district toward the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. And in the center of them will be the holy portion and the sanctuary of the temple.

22So the Levitical property and the city property will lie in the center of the area belonging to the prince—the area between the borders of Judah and Benjamin.

23As for the rest of the tribes: Benjamin will have one portion extending from the east side to the west side.

24Simeon will have one portion bordering the territory of Benjamin from east to west.

25Issachar will have one portion bordering the territory of Simeon from east to west.

26Zebulun will have one portion bordering the territory of Issachar from east to west.

27And Gad will have one portion bordering the territory of Zebulun from east to west.

28The southern border of Gad will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then along the Brook of Egypt and out to the Great Sea.

29This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,” declares the Lord GOD.

30“These will be the exits of the city: Beginning on the north side, which will be 4,500 cubits long,

31the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. On the north side there will be three gates: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi.

32On the east side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan.

33On the south side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.

34And on the west side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.

35The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”

Commentary Insights

Study and Reflection

Explore devotional and study commentary connected to this passage.

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary

Pastoral and devotional reflections focused on spiritual formation and application.

Ezekiel 48:1-999 Chapter 48

Here is a description of the several portions of the land belonging to each tribe. In gospel times, behold all things are become new. Much is wrapped up in emblems and numbers. This method God has used to state mysterious truths in his word, not to be more clearly revealed till the proper time and season. But into the church of Christ, both in its state of warfare and triumph, there is free access by faith, from every side. Christ has opened the kingdom of heaven for all believers. Whoever will, may come, and take of the water of life, of the tree of life, freely. The Lord is there, in his church, to be nigh unto them in all they call upon him for. This is true of every real Christian; whatever soul has in it a living principle of grace, it may truly be said, The Lord is there. May we be found citizens of this holy city, and act agreeably to that character; and have the benefit of the Lord's presence with us, in life, in death, and for evermore.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary

Historical, contextual, and verse-level study notes for deeper biblical exploration.

Ezekiel 48:1 Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

Dan--The lands are divided into portions of ideal exactness, running alongside of each other, the whole breadth from west to east, standing in a common relation to the temple in the center: seven tribes' portions on the north, five in the smaller division in the south. The portions of the city, the temple, the prince, and the priesthood, are in the middle, not within the boundaries of any tribe, all alike having a common interest in them. Judah has the place of honor next the center on the north, Benjamin the corresponding place of honor next the center on the south; because of the adherence of these two to the temple ordinances and to the house of David for so long, when the others deserted them. Dan, on the contrary, so long locally and morally semi-heathen (Jud 18:1-31), is to have the least honorable place, at the extreme north. For the same reason, St. John (Re 7:5-8) omits Dan altogether.

Ezekiel 48:3 Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

Asher--a tribe of which no one of note is mentioned in the Old Testament. In the New Testament one is singled out of it, the prophetess Anna.

Ezekiel 48:4 Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

Manasseh--The intercourse and unity between the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan, and the nine and a half west of it, had been much kept up by the splitting of Manasseh, causing the visits of kinsmen one to the other from both sides of the Jordan. There shall be no need for this in the new order of things.

Ezekiel 48:5 Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

Ephraim--This tribe, within its two dependent tribes, Manasseh and Benjamin, for upwards of four hundred years under the judges held the pre-eminence.

Ezekiel 48:6 Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

Reuben--doomed formerly for incest and instability "not to excel" (Ge 49:4). So no distinguished prophet, priest, or king had come from it. Of it were the notorious Dathan and Abiram, the mutineers. A pastoral and Bedouin character marked it and Gad (Jud 5:16). 15-17. The five thousand rods, apportioned to the city out of the twenty-five thousand square, are to be laid off in a square of four thousand five hundred, with the two hundred fifty all around for suburbs. profane--that is, not strictly sacred as the sacerdotal portions, but applied to secular uses.

Ezekiel 48:24 Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

Benjamin--Compare Jacob's prophecy (Ge 49:27; De 33:12). It alone with Judah had been throughout loyal to the house of David, so its prowess at the "night" of the national history was celebrated as well as in the "morning."

Ezekiel 48:25 Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

Simeon--omitted in the blessing of Moses in De 33:1-29, perhaps because of the Simeonite "prince," who at Baal-peor led the Israelites in their idolatrous whoredoms with Midian (Nu 25:14).

Ezekiel 48:26 Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

Issachar--Its ancient portion had been on the plain of Esdraelon. Compared (Ge 49:14) to "a strong ass crouching between two burdens," that is, tribute and tillage; never meddling with wars except in self-defense.

Ezekiel 48:31 Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

gates--(Re 21:12, &c.). The twelve gates bear the names of the twelve tribes to imply that all are regarded as having an interest in it.

Ezekiel 48:35 Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

Lord is there--Jehovah-Shammah. Not that the city will be called so in mere name, but that the reality will be best expressed by this descriptive title (Jer 3:17; 33:16; Zec 2:10; Re 21:3; 22:3).

Study This Passage

Key Words and Topics

These study connections are drawn from the internal BSB concordance and topical index imported into Daily Bread Intake.

Related Topics

Church: Sanctuary Ezekiel 48:8, 21

Bordering the territory of Judah, from east to west, will be the portion you are to set apart. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and the length of a tribal portion from east to west. In the center will be the sanctuary. / The remaining area on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city will belong to the prince. He will own the land adjacent to the tribal portions, extending eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the holy district toward the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. And in the center of them will be the holy portion and the sanctuary of the temple.

Ezekiel: Visions of of a Man with Measuring Line Ezekiel 48:1

“Now these are the names of the tribes: At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion bordering the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath and running on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus with Hamath to the north, and extending from the east side to the west side.

God: Grace of Ezekiel 48:35

The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”

Hazar-Enan: The Northeast Boundary Point of the Promised Land Ezekiel 48:1

“Now these are the names of the tribes: At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion bordering the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath and running on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus with Hamath to the north, and extending from the east side to the west side.

Hethlon: A Place on the Northern Frontier of Palestine Ezekiel 48:1

“Now these are the names of the tribes: At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion bordering the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath and running on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus with Hamath to the north, and extending from the east side to the west side.

Jerusalem: Names of the Gates of, in Ezekiel's Vision Ezekiel 48:31–34

the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. On the north side there will be three gates: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi. / On the east side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. / On the south side, which will be 4,500 cubits long, there will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.

Jerusalem: Prophecies of the Rebuilding of Ezekiel 48:15–22

The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for common use by the city, for houses, and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it / and will have these measurements: 4,500 cubits on the north side, 4,500 cubits on the south side, 4,500 cubits on the east side, and 4,500 cubits on the west side. / The pastureland of the city will extend 250 cubits to the north, 250 cubits to the south, 250 cubits to the east, and 250 cubits to the west.

Land: King's Part In Ezekiel 48:21

The remaining area on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city will belong to the prince. He will own the land adjacent to the tribal portions, extending eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the holy district toward the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. And in the center of them will be the holy portion and the sanctuary of the temple.

Land: Priests' Part In Ezekiel 48:10

This will be the holy portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side, and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center will be the sanctuary of the LORD.

Levites: Land Allotted To, by Ezekiel Ezekiel 48:13, 14

Bordering the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. The whole length will be 25,000 cubits, and the width 10,000 cubits. / They must not sell or exchange any of it, and they must not transfer this best part of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.

Names for God Ezekiel 48:35

The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”

Priest: Benefits of Portion of Land Allotted To, in Redistribution in Ezekiel's Vision Ezekiel 48:8–14

Bordering the territory of Judah, from east to west, will be the portion you are to set apart. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and the length of a tribal portion from east to west. In the center will be the sanctuary. / The special portion you set apart to the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. / This will be the holy portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side, and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center will be the sanctuary of the LORD.

Priest: Benefits of Provided with Cities and Suburbs Ezekiel 48:8–20

Bordering the territory of Judah, from east to west, will be the portion you are to set apart. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and the length of a tribal portion from east to west. In the center will be the sanctuary. / The special portion you set apart to the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. / This will be the holy portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side, and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center will be the sanctuary of the LORD.

Tamar: A City of Unknown Location Ezekiel 48:28

The southern border of Gad will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then along the Brook of Egypt and out to the Great Sea.

Select a topic to open the full topical search.

Bible Dictionary

Related Dictionary Terms

Explore people, places, themes, and biblical terms connected to this passage.