EZEKIEL, XL. PRELIMINARY NOTE ON Chapter S 40-48. These closing Chapter s of Ezekiel form one continuous prophecy of a distinctly marked character. They present a vision of the Temple in minute detail, with careful measurements of its parts; various ordinances for the Temple, for the Levites, and th... [ Continue Reading ]
XLV. This and the first part of the following chapter form a remarkable portion of the book. They first describe the setting apart of a large part of the whole land for the sanctuary, the priests, the prince, and the city, in a way and in a geographical position entirely unknown either in the past o... [ Continue Reading ]
FIFTY CUBITS ROUND ABOUT. — In Ezekiel 42:16 the space of 500 reeds square is described, which was “for,” or belonged to, the sanctuary, to guard it from any profanation; but here we have, still farther, a narrow strip of 50 cubits wide (about 83 feet) of open space outside the wall to prevent the p... [ Continue Reading ]
OF THIS MEASURE. — If the Hebrew text of Ezekiel 45:1 be preserved unchanged, we must understand this to refer to the whole oblation of 25,000 reeds broad which was in the prophet’s mind, though he does not speak of it until afterwards; this verse will then be a repetition of the latter part of Ezek... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR A POSSESSION FOR TWENTY CHAMBERS. — Adjoining the priests’ portion of the oblation, another equal portion is assigned to the Levites. The last clause of the verse, as it stands, admits of no satisfactory explanation. The suggestion that it may refer to twenty out of the thirty chambers in the ou... [ Continue Reading ]
THE POSSESSION OF THE CITY. — This portion, more particularly described in Ezekiel 48:15, is there called “a profane place,” though still constituting a part of the oblation. It was the same length and half the width of either of the other portions, and was for the city, and for a common possession... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE PRINCE. — The portion here assigned to the prince included all the land between the northern and southern bounding lines of the “oblation” continued to the Jordan on the east, and the Mediterranean on the west, not already included within the “oblation” itself. Two pieces of land are thus gi... [ Continue Reading ]
MY PRINCES SHALL NO MORE OPPRESS. — The use of the plural does not imply that more than one prince should reign at a time, nor is it intended to include the family of the prince; but as everything in the future is described in terms of the past, so the royal authority is conceived of as vested in a... [ Continue Reading ]
TAKE AWAY YOUR EXACTIONS. — Ezekiel 45:9 are an exhortation to the princes to observe justice in all their dealings. (Comp. Jeremiah 22:3.) “Exaction” is, literally, as in the margin, _expulsion,_ or ejection, with allusion to such cases as 1 Kings 21:1. In the following verses the exhortation to ju... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL BE OF ONE MEASURE. — The Ephah is first mentioned in Exodus 16:36, and appears to be a word of Egyptian origin; it was used for dry measure. The Bath is not met with before 1 Kings 7:26, and was the largest of the liquid measures in use. The statement that these were of the same capacity, and... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SHEKEL. — The first part of this verse is merely a re-statement of the old law (Exodus 30:13; Leviticus 27:25; Numbers 3:47) that the shekel should be of the value of twenty gerahs, or of the estimated weight of 220 grains; but the latter part of the verse is extremely obscure. The _maneh_ is me... [ Continue Reading ]
THE OBLATION. — Ezekiel 45:13 provide for a regular tax to be paid to the prince, in order that he may be able to furnish the required offerings at the sanctuary. This, like the oblation of land (Ezekiel 45:1), is described as a “heave offering,” and was the sixtieth part of the grain, the hundredth... [ Continue Reading ]
THE COR. — This measure is first met with in 1 Kings 4:22; 1 Kings 5:11; 2 Chronicles 2:10; 2 Chronicles 27:5, and is here fixed as exactly equal to the “Homer.” In the English it is always translated elsewhere _measure. _... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PRINCE’S PART. — The prince, receiving these contributions from the people, was bound to provide the offerings on the various stated occasions of sacrifice. This is an entirely new feature, for the Mosaic law made no provision in regard to the source from which the festal sacrifices were to be o... [ Continue Reading ]
In the first month, in the first day of the month. — The rest of this and the first fifteen verses of the following chapter are occupied with the ritual of the sacrifices on certain special occasions. In each case the deviations from the Mosaic law are remarkable, as well as the omission of any ment... [ Continue Reading ]
so shall ye reconcile the house. — The object of “the sin offering” on the first day of the month is expressly said to be to “cleanse the sanctuary” (Ezekiel 45:18); but here the offering is for “every one that erreth, and for him that is simple,” _i.e.,_ for all who have sinned thoughtlessly rather... [ Continue Reading ]
A BULLOCK FOR A SIN OFFERING. — In Ezekiel 45:21 the Passover is appointed quite in accordance with the Mosaic institution, although there is a peculiarity in the language of the original which has led some writers to infer, unnecessarily, that the feast was to be kept for seven weeks. But the sacri... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE SEVENTH MONTH. — This corresponds to the Feast of Tabernacles, though the name is not mentioned, doubtless because the custom of living in booths is to be discontinued. The sacrifices at this feast are to be the same as at the Passover, and are to be repeated for each day of the feast. There... [ Continue Reading ]