Ezekiel 47:1-12

III. THE FUTURE LAND 47:1-48:35

In his last vision Ezekiel observes the blessing which the people of God would enjoy in the new Temple age. In that blessed land the tribes of Israel would have eternal possession. Here he discusses (1) the transformation of the promised land (Ezekiel 47:1-12); (2) the boundaries of the promised land (Ezekiel 47:13-21); (3) the place of aliens in the land (Ezekiel 47:22-23); (4) the apportionment of the land among the tribes (Ezekiel 48:1-35).

The Transformation of the Promised Land

47:1-12

TRANSLATION

(1) And he brought me back unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; (for the forefront of the house was toward the east); and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar. (2) Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way without unto the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looks toward the east; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. (3) When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. (4) Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the loins. (5) Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. (6) And he said unto me, Son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river. (7) Now when I had returned, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. (8) Then he said unto me, These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and they shall go toward the sea; into the sea shall the waters go which were made to issue forth; and the waters shall be healed. (9) And it shall come to pass, that every living creature which swarms in every place where the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come thither, and the waters of the sea shall be healed, and every thing shall live wheresoever the river comes. (10) And it shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand by it: from En-gedi even unto Eneglaim shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. (11) But the miry places thereof, and the marshes thereof, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt. (12) And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall the fruit thereof fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for healing.

COMMENTS

The angelic guide brought Ezekiel back to the inner court and the door of the house. There he saw a stream issuing forth from under the threshold of the house. The waters were flowing in a south-easterly direction, past the altar, out into the outer court (Ezekiel 47:1). Ezekiel was led out the north gate of the inner court (the nearer east gate was closed; cf. Ezekiel 44:2; Ezekiel 46:1), around the outside wall of the Temple complex to the east gate of the outer court. There he saw the waters trickling[539] forth (Ezekiel 47:2).

[539] The Hebrew word is found only here and its exact meaning is doubtful.

A thousand cubits east of the eastern gate Ezekiel was directed to wade into the waters. They were ankle deep (Ezekiel 47:3). At two thousand cubits the waters were knee deep; at three thousand cubits, waist deep (Ezekiel 47:4); at four thousand cubits (about a mile and a third) the waters were so deep that the prophet could not get across them without swimming (Ezekiel 47:5). By means of a rhetorical question the angelic guide underscored the amazing increase in the depth of the water. No mention is made of any tributaries, yet the river increased in volume as it descended eastward through the mountains toward the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:6).

Apparently the banks of the river were bare when Ezekiel tested the depth of the water. Now he observed a thick growth of trees shooting up on both banks of the river (Ezekiel 47:7). These were no ordinary trees. They would bear a new crop every month. Furthermore, the leaves of these trees had curative powers (Ezekiel 47:12).

The prophet is informed that the river of life flowed far beyond the range of vision to the Arabah[540] and the Dead Sea. The lifeless waters of that body of water would be healed, i.e., purified by the fresh flowing water of life (Ezekiel 47:8). Where previously no aquatic creatures could exist, swarms of fish would be found (Ezekiel 47:9). Commercial fishermen would flock to the shore of the once dead sea, and they would find the catch as abundant as that to which they were accustomed on the Great (Mediterranean) Sea. Along the shoreline of the Dead Sea they would spread their nets from En-gedi (mid-point on the western shore of the Dead Sea) to En-eglaim (exact location unknown; Ezekiel 47:10), But even though the waters of the sea would be healed, the marshy areas about the sea would remain in their former state so as to provide the people with salt (Ezekiel 47:11).

[540] Arabah is the technical name for the deep depression through which the Jordan river flows and in which the Dead Sea is situated.

Those who try to interpret the vision of the life-giving stream physically have completely missed the point of the passage. This is a clear instance of symbolism. Fertility and water are virtually interchangeable (See Psalms 46:4; Psalms 65:9; Isaiah 33:20 f.). The sheer physical impossibility of a stream increasing in volume without aid of tributaries should be a clue to the symbolic import of the text. Furthermore, fruit trees which bear a new crop every month would be hard to interpret physically. The main point being made is that in the new age the Temple of God would be the source of life, healing and fruitfulness.