Ezekiel 44:28-31

4. The provision for the Zadokite priests (44:28-31)

TRANSLATION

(28) And they shall have an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. (29) They shall eat the meal-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs. (30) And the first of all the first-fruits of every thing, and every oblation of every thing, of all your oblations, shall be for the priest: you shall also give unto the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house. (31) The priests shall not eat of any thing that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or beast.

COMMENTS

Whereas other tribes received their inheritance in land tracts, the priesthood itself was the inheritance of the Zadokites. Spiritual privilege is greater blessing than material possession. The priests received a portion of the meal-, sin-, and guilt-offerings for their daily maintenance. Every devoted thing (cherem) any property consecrated to God belonged to the priests (Ezekiel 44:29). The first fruits of the land a token portion of the crop belonged to them.[524] The heave-offering was the priest's portion of first-born clean animals which were killed and sacrificed to God. The first cakes baked with the grain from the threshingfloor were also to be given to the priests (cf. Numbers 15:20). Those who were faithful in presenting these offerings to the priests would receive a special blessing (Ezekiel 44:30; cf. Malachi 3:10). Appended to the list of that which priests could eat is a prohibition. No Israelite could eat any animal which died a natural death or which had been killed by wild beasts (cf. Exodus 22:30; Leviticus 7:24; Deuteronomy 14:21). It is not clear why the regulation is repeated here in connection with the priests (Ezekiel 44:31).

[524] Cf. Deuteronomy 8:8 and Numbers 18:13.