Ezekiel 48:1-35

Ezekiel 48. The Tribal Allotments. The holy city, Jerusalem, with its environments is significantly regarded as the true centre, geographical no less than religious, of the country; but, as in point of fact it really lay in the southern half, the prophet, in his ideal allotment of the land, makes a concession to geographical fact by putting seven tribes to the north, arranged in parallel strips, viz. Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Judah (Ezekiel 48:1), and five to the south, Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulon, and Gad (Ezekiel 48:23).

Ezekiel 48:9. The Sacred Reservation. Between Judah and Benjamin lay the sacred reservation, a piece of land about eight miles square. The northern part roughly eight miles by three was reserved for the Levites; the middle part, of the same size, in the centre of which was the Temple, was reserved for the priests In the middle of the southern part roughly eight miles by two lay the city, about a mile and a halt square, with a strip of land (suburbs) round it, devoted to general city purposes: while east and west of the city up to the bounds of the sacred square reserve, were the communal lands devoted to agricultural purposes. The population of the city was to be made up out of all the tribes, and therefore symbolic of Israel's unity (Ezekiel 48:8). The territory between Judah and Benjamin east and west of the sacred reserve, i.e. as far as the Mediterranean on the one side, and the Jordan and the Dead Sea on the other, was to be reserved for the prince. This position would give him a certain association with the sacred reserve, and provide him with materials for the Temple offerings. (This paragraph amplifies Ezekiel 45:1.)

Ezekiel 48:30. The Gates of the City. On each of the four sides of the city, which was about six miles in circumference, were three gates, named after the twelve tribes of Israel.

Ezekiel 48:35. The Name of the City. The name of the city, Yahweh is there, finely suggests the great protecting Presence which inspires all her activity and worship, and brings the prophet's intricate description to a most stately and impressive close.