Ezekiel 48 commentary

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.

CHAPTER 48

Eze 48:1-35. Allotment of the Land to the Several Tribes.

1. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

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

6. 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.

24. 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."

25. 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).

26. 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.

31. 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.

35. 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 (Jr 3:17; 33:16; Zec 2:10; Re 21:3; 22:3).

Now these are the names of the tribes - See the division mentioned Num 34:7-12, which casts much light upon this.

The oblation - This was a portion of land twenty-five thousand cubits in length, by ten thousand broad; in the center of which was the temple, which must be destined for the use of the priests, the Levites, and the prince.

And the five thousand that are left - The territory of the Levites was twenty-five thousand square cubits, Eze 48:20, But their city was only four thousand five hundred square cubits, see Eze 48:13 and Eze 48:16; there remained, therefore, ten thousand cubits square to be divided, of which five thousand cubits in breadth, by twenty-five thousand in length, on the east and west sides, were reserved for a sort of second city; or for suburbs where laymen might dwell who were employed by those priests and Levites who lodged in the temple and in the city, Eze 48:18. And another space of one thousand cubits in breadth, by twenty-five thousand in length, which extended only from north to south, was for fields and gardens appointed for the support of those lay servants. On which we may remark, there was no cultivated land between the portion of the Levites and that of the prince, but only on the east and west sides. See Eze 45:6, and the map FF.

And the residue - for the prince - His portion was alongside that of the Levites, from west to east; these were on each side twenty-five thousand cubits in length, from the east to the west. by twelve thousand five hundred cubits in breadth from north to south. The space both above and below was equal, between the tribe of Judah and that of Benjamin to north and south; and the portion of the Levites, which had Judah and Benjamin to the north and south, and the portion of the prince to the east and to the west. See the map.

From Tamar - in Kadesh - The former was on the south of the Dead Sea; and the latter, or Kadesh-Barnea, was still farther south, and at the extremity of the portion of Gad, which was the most southern tribe, as Dan was the most northern.

These are the goings out - Each of the four sides of the city was four thousand five hundred cubits long. There were three gates on each side, as mentioned below; and the whole circumference of the city was eighteen thousand cubits. See the map, plan B. dddd.

The rector of New Haven College, in New England, supposes the preceding representations to refer to the happy state of the Church in what is called the Millennium. Leaving this period out of the question, the following observations are worthy of notice: - "The Jews, for whom this vision was intended, would conceive their country to be divided to the twelve tribes, in lots of a regular and mathematical form; and not confused or intermixed, as in Joshua's time. Their city laid out larger than before; and exactly foursquare, with regular suburbs; the temple and appendages much more commodious for their sacrifices, and the habitations of the priests and Levites regularly formed round about the temple. So that this whole plan of the division of the country, laying out of the city, temple, and all the appendages, appears to be perfectly regular and uniform, as if it were drawn all at one time, and by one hand, who had power to effect it; and therefore conveyed to the Jews the most complete idea they were capable of conceiving of the most perfect church, commonwealth, city, temple, and conveniences, for Divine worship.

I. The Holy Land, as described chap. 47 and 48, according to the original grant, being about two hundred and fifty miles long, north and south, and about one hundred and fifty miles wide, is divided, by parallel lines east and west, to the twelve tribes, each of them having a portion twenty miles wide. Only between Judah and Benjamin there is a holy portion near ten miles wide; in the middle of which is the holy oblation, twenty-five thousand cubits; that is, about ten miles square for the priests, Levites, city, and temple, Eze 45:1; Eze 48:8; the two ends are for the prince, Eze 45:7, etc.

II. The holy oblation, lying in the middle of the holy portion, is twenty-five thousand cubits square, which is near ten miles; of which ten thousand cubits, or four miles, are taken off from the north side for a habitation for the priests, and as much for the Levites on the south side, Eze 45:4, Eze 45:5, and Eze 48:20; and five thousand cubits in the middle for the city portion, Eze 45:6; in the middle of which is the city, four thousand five hundred cubits square, which is nearly two miles, Eze 48:15, Eze 48:16. Round about this is left two hundred and fifty cubits, near thirty rods, for suburbs, Eze 48:17. The remaining ten thousand cubits on the east side, and the ten thousand cubits on the west side, are for the profit of those who serve the city, out of all the tribes, Eze 48:18, Eze 48:19. The sanctuary is in the midst of the city, Eze 48:8.

III. The sanctuary or temple, and its appendages, were entirely surrounded with a wall six cubits high and six cubits thick, Eze 40:5; and five hundred cubits long on each side, Eze 42:15, etc., and Eze 45:2. In the middle square stands the temple, which was surrounded by a wall one hundred cubits long on each side, Eze 41:13, and six cubits thick, Eze 41:5. The side-chambers on the outside four cubits, Eze 41:5. The Holy of Holies, at the west end, was twenty cubits square on the inside, Eze 41:4. The holy place or outer court at the east end, was forty cubits, Eze 41:12. The length of the porch on the north side was twenty cubits; the breadth was eleven cubits, Eze 40:49; and the width of the separate place on the south side twenty cubits. On each side of the temple, towards the four gates in the outer wall, stood two courts, eight in the whole, each one hundred cubits square, Eze 40:19, Eze 40:23, Eze 40:27. In each of these were thirty-six little chambers or buildings, about six cubits square, viz., six at the entrance of the gate, Eze 40:7, Eze 40:17, Eze 40:20, etc., and thirty on the pavement, Eze 40:17, etc., which were for lodgings for the priests, for hanging up their garments, and their part of the sacrifices, Eze 42:13."

Calmet has constructed a map to show the position of the tribes, and the quantum of space each was to possess. As this will give a better view of the subject than any written description can, I have inserted one constructed for this work, which, consulting the places said to be connected with the possessions of the different tribes, shows that the tribes did not all possess the same quantum of space, five of the southern tribes possessing only one half as much as those of the north.

The name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there - It would have been better to have retained the original words: - יהוה שמה

Yehovah Shammah.

This is an allusion to the shechinah, or symbol of the Divine Presence, which was in the first, but most certainly was not in the second temple; but Ezekiel tells us that the Divine Presence should be in the city of which he speaks; and should be there so fully and so powerfully, that it should give name to the city itself; and that the very name, Jehovah shammah, should remind all men of the supereminently glorious Being who had condescended to make this city his habitation.

Two points must be considered here: -

1. That the prophet intended that, when they should be restored, they should build the temple, and divide the land as he here directs, if the thing could be found to be practicable.

2. That he had another temple, another holy city, another Promised Land, in view. The land of Immanuel, the city of the New Jerusalem; and his temple, the Christian Church, which is the house of the living God, 1Tim 3:15, in which the presence of Christ shall ever be found; and all its inhabitants, all that believe on his name, shall be temples of the Holy Ghost. Nor can there be any reasonable doubt that the prophet here, by the Spirit of God, not only points out the return of the Israelites from the Babylonish captivity, and what was to befall them previously to the advent of Jesus Christ; but also the glorious spread of the Gospel in the earth, and the final conversion of the tribes of Israel by the preaching of that Gospel.

In conclusion, I think it necessary to state, that there are but few of the prophets of the Old Testament who have left a more valuable treasure to the Church of God than Ezekiel. It is true, he is in several places obscure; but there is a great proportion of the work that is in the highest degree edifying; and several portions that for the depth of the salvation predicted, and the accuracy and minuteness of the description, have nothing equal to them in the Old Testament Scriptures. On such portions, I have felt it my duty to be very particular, that I might be able to point out spiritual beauties and excellencies in this book which are beyond all praise; while I passed slightly over prophecies and symbols which I did not fully understand; but have left to time, by the fulfillment of the events, to prove to successive generations with what heavenly wisdom this much neglected prophet has spoken. And I take this opportunity to recommend this book to the serious perusal of every pious man; and while he wonders at the extent of the wisdom by which Ezekiel has fathomed the depth of so many Divine mysteries, let him give God the glory for this additional testimony to the unsearchable riches of Christ, and that plenary salvation which he has purchased for, and freely offers to, the vilest of the vile, and to the whole of the descendants of Adam.

Masoretic Notes

Number of verses, 1, 273.

Middle verse, Eze 26:1.

Masoretic sections, 29.

A profane place - A common, not consecrated place.

The measures thereof - The extent and proportions of the city, a square of four thousand five hundred shall be taken out of the middle of the twenty five thousand or the ground - plat of the city. So it shall be an equilateral square, every side exactly the same, north, south, east, and west, four thousand five hundred apiece, by which measures the whole content is visible eighteen thousand cubits not reeds.

For food - For the maintenance of the city - officers.

The possession - The land assigned for the city.

To the river - The river of Egypt.

Eighteen thousand cubits - About five miles in compass. From that day - From the day of the Lord's restoring this people, and rebuilding their city, and their thankful, holy, and pure worshipping of God there, from that day it shall be said of Jerusalem. The Lord is there - The Lord who as his name alone is Jehovah, so is the only true God, faithful to his promise, rich in mercy, glorious in majesty, righteous in his judgments, wise and holy in his government, whose presence makes us happy, whose withdrawing from us leaves us to misery. This God will by his favour and presence, bring the confluence of all good to persons, families, and cities; this God will be there to dwell, govern, defend, prosper, and crown. Such is to be the case of earthly Jerusalem, such shall be for ever the case of the heavenly Jerusalem. Such is the case of every true believer, who may, wherever he is, in his way of duty, still write Jehovah - Shammah, My God is here. And 'tis best to be where he is 'till he bring us within the gates of the glorious city, where inconceivable light and love from the immediate presence of God, give every one an eternal demonstration that God is here: to him be glory for ever.

1 NOW these are the names of the tribes. From the North end to the coast of the way of Hethlon , as one goeth to Hamath , Hazar-Enan , the border of Damascus Northward, to the coast of Hamath , for these are his sides East and West, a portion for Dan .

Which follow in their Order.

As the Measurer began to bound the land first on the North-side, so he will first place the Tribe, to whom the most Northern Lot fell, or rather was assign'd by a Divine direction.

Along through the coast, that leads from the West or great Sea to Hethlon.

See chap. 47.15. let. m.

A Frontier City of that name; See chap. 47.16. let. o. antiently the Royal City of Toi, who congratulated David in his victory over Hadadezer King of Syria Zobah, 2 Sam. 8.9, 10.

Vid. chap. 47.17. let. y. for I meet with no more concerning it.

And so on by the Border of Damascus, which lay farther Eastward, then Enan, as Geographers describe it.

This is Syria, and perhaps might have been best so translated, along bordering on this coast the rest of the Northern boundary did run.

The Land, or Dan mentioned immediately after.

That is from the East point, where Mount Libanus joineth to Gilead, to the West Point, which is supposed in the Midland-Sea, near the Hot Baths or Sidon; See chap. 47.20.

The Tribe of Dan, and the strangers, that sojourn with him.

Marginal references: Heb. one portion.

2 And by the border of Dan, from the East side unto the West side a portion for Asher.

That is all along on the Southside of Dan, from East to West in length shall the share of the Tribe of A[illegible: 1 letter]her lie.

3 And by the border of Asher, from the East side even unto the West side , a portion for Naphtali.

To the Northwest point where the dividing line ends being drawn from the North-East point to the North-west in the Midland-Sea.

7 And by the border of Reuben, from the East side unto the West side, a portion for Judah.

Hitherto you have seven of the twelve Tribes placed in the Northern part of Canaan, and reckoned as they lay in order, where nothing occurs new from the 2d. ver. to the 8th.

8 And by the border of Judah, from the East-side to the West side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the East side to the West side : and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it .

The Holy portion of which, chap. 45.1. set out for Priests, Levites, and City, chap. 45.4, 5.

Reeds is here supplyed by the Translators, but I rather think Cubits, for the greatness of the Portion measur'd by reeds will eat out the Tribes, or leave very little for them, as appears thus. The whole length from North to South was about 160 miles, the breadth some 60. Now 25000 reeds is at the least 77 miles, at one thousand paces to a mile. These 77 taken out of 160, there will remain but 83 for the 12 Tribes, which will afford not quite seven miles in breadth for each Tribe, when as 77 miles are allotted to the Priests, Levites, and City, so that there will remain but 83 miles for the 12 Tribes, that is to each one almost 7 miles. Now this to me would seem very much disproportion'd; but 25000 cubits reckoned doth give the holy portion and City 12 miles and half square as broad as long, and gives near as much in breadth to each Tribe, and five times almost as much in length to each Tribe, which appears thus, 12 times 12 makes 144, and 12 quarters makes 3 wholes 5 give then each Tribe 12 and a quarter, you divide 147 by 12 and a quarter: now to this add the Princes, the holy portion, and the City land, which is twelve miles and a half, and you have 159 miles, and three quarters, which is the length of the whole land; thus the breadth of each portion for each Tribe, but the length of each exceeded the Prince by▪ 12, and a half, and the Holy portion, as much as 60 exceeds 12 and a half.

That is Twenty five thousand in length, which amounts to twelve miles and one half. Now the residue of the land from the Sea Eastward abutting on the whole breadth of the Holy portion by equal proportion will be twenty three and one quarter, and as much from the other side measuring from the Eastern bounds of the Holy portion to the utmost bounds Eastward of the land, which is 60 miles from its utmost western bounds, as appears thus; take an oblong square, whose breadth is 12 and a half, its length 60, suppose in the very middle 12 and a half square taken up, there will remain at each end the half of 47 and three quarters, which is 23 and three quarters, according to this we conceive the prince hath assign'd him as much as two Tribes very near, and almost four times as much as the Holy Oblation; so that there is good reason for that chap. 45.9. against oppression, and the command he be content.

The whole content of Suburbs, courts, and house.

Of the land laid out for the Holy portion, for God, and his Priests.

9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length and of ten thousand in breadth.

This Verse the same with the 3d. ver. of chap. 45. which see.

10 And for them, even for the Priests , shall be this holy oblation, toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the West ten thousand in breadth , and toward the East ten thousand in breadth , and toward the South five and twenty thousand in length, and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.

Who are more particularly described, ver. 11. which see.

The North side in length from North-east to North-west.

From South-west to North-west-point between which points lay the West side.

Between North-east, and South-east points, which made the East border.

From South-east point by line drawn to South-west, the same measure with the North.

11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified, of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.

See this verse explained chap. 44.15, 16.

Marginal references: chap. 44.15.; Or, the sancti [illegible: 1 letter] portion [illegible: 1 span] be for the [illegible: 1 word].; Or, Ward, or [illegible: 1 letter]inance.

12 And this oblation of the land that is offered , shall be unto them a thing most holy, by the border of the Levites.

Which is as 'twere the Primitiae of the land, 'twas order'd to be first set out for God.

Set apart and dedicated to God.

In the account both of the Priests, and the whole people it shall be most Holy, on no occasion to be Servant unto any common uses.

It shall lie next to the Levites these lay Southward between the Priests, and the Cities Portion.

13 And over against the border of the Priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length and ten thousand in breadth, all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.

The Levites portion ran parallel with the Priests, whose Northern limits were next to the Southern limits of the Levites.

Vid. this verse explain'd chap. 44.5. tot.

14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the first fruits of the land: for it is holy to the LORD.

It is most holy, and therefore no price should be offered for it, nor any price set upon it, nor may they pass away any on pretence of getting greater, and more particularly serviceable to them, and their imployment, and so for conveniencies part with Gods inheritance, this is forbidden, this is Holy, as the first fruits were under the Law, Lev. 25.23, 24. 1 King. 21.4.

15 And the five thousand that are le[illegible: 1 letter]t in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand , shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling , and for suburbs ; and the city shall be in the midst thereof .

Or running along by the side.

Assign'd to the Levites.

A common, not consecrated place, in which the City should be built, a place for all Services, as men shall need, now as that is counted holy, which is set apart onely for the service of God, so that common or profane, that is for common uses.

Houses within the Walls.

Streets, and Dwellings, or Gardens without the Wall.

Ierusalem.

Of this common place, which is call'd here profane; so that ten thousand are left at each end.

16 And these shall be the measures thereof p; the North-side four thousand and five hundred, and the South side four thousand and five hundred, and on the East side four thousand and five hundred, and the West side four thousand and five hundred.

The ex[illegible: 1 letter]ent, and proportions of the ground for the City, a square of 4500 shall be taken out of the middle of the 25000 for the Area or ground-plat of the City. So it shall be an equilateral square every side exactly the same North, South, East and West, 4500 a piece, by which measures the whole content is visible 18000 Cubits, not Reeds.

17 And the suburbs of the city shall be towards the North two hundred and fifty, and toward the South two hundred and fifty, and toward the East two hundred and fifty; and toward the West two hundred and fifty.

Here are the dimensions of the Suburbs, which added [illegible: 1 word] those of the City thus, 250 added to the 4500 on the North side and 250 added to the 4500 on the South side makes 5000; so on the East add 250 to 4500, and then add 250 to the 4500 on the West it makes up a square equilateral 5000 in each side.

18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand East-ward, and ten thousand Westward; and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.

Which remains on each side of the 5000 cubit square Area.

Will be 10000 on the East, and 10000 on the West.

[illegible: 1 letter]y parallel, and even with the South side of the Levites Portion both on East and Weast.

Product, the Revenues of this land.

The Maintenance, both Salary, and allowances of Bread and Wine.

For the City officers, so that they may live by the City, whose life is spent for the City, that the Labourer may, as he is worthy of it, receive his wages.

19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel .

Either this service is a burthen, if so, 'tis fit all should bear their part in it, or 'tis a Priviledge, and advantage, and then 'tis as fit the advantage should be equally given to all the Tribes; all Tribes shall be capable of the Advantage, and liable to the Burthen.

20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand, by five and twenty thousand : ye shall offer the holy oblation four square, with the possession of the city.

Having particularly measur'd out 10000 for the Priests and 10000 for the Levites, and 5000 for the City broad-ways, these make in all 25000. And the length of each the same 25000 here is evident 25000 by 25000, that a perfect equilateral square whose sides are 25000 each side.

The land assigned for the City, being added to that of the Priests and Levites, makes their 'twice ten thousand to amount to twenty five thousand broad.

21 And the residue shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city over against the five and twenty thousand , of the oblation toward the East border , and Westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the West border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof .

Of the land, which is a great portion, for 'tis the remainder of 12 and a half taken out of 60; so that the remainder will be 47 and 1 half.

Suppose it be the East side, there will be 23 and 3 quarters.

On the West just as much, 23 and 3 quarters.

The residue of that, which is on each side, East and West of the 5000 square area.

Which amounts out of the Priests, Levites and City Portion.

Of the land of Canaan, all from the East side of the 25000 to the utmost bounds Eastward, shall be the Prince his portion, and so likewise on the West side Westward to the great Sea.

These 25000 on both sides lay over against, or run parallel with the breadth of the Princes portion, but the length of the Prince his portion on each side did exceed the length of the holy portion, and the City land as 23 and 3 quarters exceed 12 and a half.

The Holy mount.

Of the Temple of God.

Of the land assign'd to the Priests, which lay as described, bounded and guarded with the Prince his portion at East and West Ends.

22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the princes, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince :

That we may clearly understand this we must remember, that the portion of Iudah was laid from West to East next to the Holy portion, and the portion of Benjamin is in ver. 23. laid likewise from West to East next to the possession of the City. So that on each side the extent of Iudah and Benjamin run out to 23 miles and 3 quarters further then the holy portion, and possession of the City did and all the land contain'd between the borders of Iudah and Benjamin were the Prince his Right, both the 12 mile, and half broad, 23 and 3 quarters long on the West, and the same proportion on the East; and this is the sum of the 22 verse.

23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the East side unto the West side, Benjamin shall have a portion.

We left with the Prophet the last assign'd portion to Iudah in the 7th. ver. on the Northside of the Holy portions, now the first on the South side of the possession of the City is Be[illegible: 1 letter]jamin, whose portion, as all the rest, runs in length from East to West and its breadth from North to South.

Marginal references: Heb. one portion.

27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the East side unto the West side, Gad a portion .

Thus all the Tribe have their Inheritances assign'd them, but their lot is not here as in Io[illegible: 1 letter]hua'[illegible: 1 letter] division; It was a New Church and State, that was here intended and accordingly many changes made in it▪ which differenced it from the old, which changes no doubt are instructive, but the particular instructions fall not within the design of a Paraphrase or Comment, that is to make the letter of the Text plain to ordinary capacities.

28 And by the border of Gad, at the South side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar , unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.

The South border of Gad.

Of the whole land Southward.

See chap. 4[illegible: 1 letter].1[illegible: 1 letter]. l[illegible: 1 letter]t. f. g. h. i.

[illegible: 1 word], say some, but if Si[illegible: 1 letter]or be [illegible: 1 word], as [illegible: 1 word] makes it, it cannot be the boundary, 'tis indeed a River, that ariseth, as some place it, out of the North part of the M[illegible: 1 letter]unt[illegible: 1 letter]ins of Para[illegible: 1 letter], and running a course West from its rise, passeth between G[illegible: 1 letter]r[illegible: 1 letter]r and R[illegible: 1 letter]ino c[illegible: 1 letter]r[illegible: 1 letter]va, and after some 23 or 30 miles travel falls into the great Sea, better known in Scripture by the Name of the River of Egypt. But possibly, the true Rise may be from mount Carmel and Gozen whence it may be some forty miles English to the great Sea.

Marginal references: Heb. Meribah-Kadesh.

29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.

Whose South bounds are here repeated, the North bounds, ver. 1.

Not casting lots, but assigning the shares.

Above described are the particular shares of each tribe.

30 ¶ And these are the goings out of the city on the North side, four thousand and five hundred measures .

Now the Prophet hath a general Topography of the City, which lay four square. The first side mention'd, is the North, for there he began to describe the land▪ or because 'twas nearest the Temple. 'Twas as ver. 1[illegible: 1 letter]. which see. 45[illegible: 2 letters] Cubits, i. e. about a mile, and one third of a mile.

31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates Northward, one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one Gate of Levi .

So then at equal distance from the Corners, and from each other 'tis probable these Gates were buil[illegible: 1 letter].

Marginal references: Rev. [illegible: 2 letters] &c.

35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures , and the name of the city from that day shall be The LORD is there.

Measuring all four squares.

Or Cubits at which proportion'd measures 'twas about five miles in compass if the measures were reeds it would be 30 miles and 325 yards in compass of the Walls which cannot be conceived credible▪ whereas the other is the proportion the City might have been built to, if the sins of the Iewes had not prevented.

By which called, known, and which shall be the honour of it, and its glory.

From the day of the Lords restoring this people, and rebuilding their City, and re-establishing his worship, and their thankful, holy, and pure worshipping of God there, from the day, that such unmatched mercy produceth a suitable return unto God, from that day it shall be said of Ierusalem.

The Lord, who as his name alone is Iehovah, so is the onely true God, faithful to Promise, rich in Mercy, glorious in Ma[illegible: 1 letter]esty, righteous in his judgments, wise and holy in his Government whose Presence makes us happy, whose withdrawing from us leaves us to misery. This God will, by his Favour, and Presence, repel Enemies, and protect his people bring with him the Con[illegible: 1 letter]luence of all Good to Persons Family and Cities; This God will be there to dwell, govern, defend, prosper, and crown. The people is blessed that is in such case, for their God is the Lord, Ps. 144.15. Such was the case of Typical, Earthly Ierusalem, tho' not long such is, and shall be for ever the case of the Heavenly Ierusalem, the City of God, the true Church and Temple of God. Such the case of every true sincere believer, who may, where ever he is, in his way of Duty, still write Jehovah Sharumah, My God is here, and 'tis best to be where he is, till he bring me within the Gates of the glorious City, where inconcei[illegible: 1 letter] able light and love from the immediate presence of God give every one an Eternal Demonstration that [non-Latin text not transcribed]; to him be glory for ever.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 paragraph]

Eze 48:1-29

The division of the land, like the definition of the boundaries (Eze 47:15), commences in the north, and enumerates the tribes in the order in which they were to receive their inheritances from north to south: first, seven tribes from the northern boundary to the centre of the land (Eze 48:1-7), where the heave for the sanctuary, with the land of the priests and Levites and the city domain, together with the prince’s land on the two sides, was to be set apart (Eze 48:8-22; and secondly, the other five tribes from this to the southern boundary (Eze 48:23-29). Compare the map on Plate IV.

Eze 48:1. And these are the names of the tribes: from the north end by the side of the way to Chetlon toward Hamath (and) Hazar-Enon the boundary of Damascus - toward the north by the side of Hamath there shall east side, west side belong to him: Dan one (tribe-lot). Eze 48:2. And on the boundary of Dan from the east side to the west side: Asher one. Eze 48:3. And on the boundary of Asher from the east side to the west side: Naphtali one. Eze 48:4. And on the boundary of Naphtali from the east side to the west side: Manasseh one. Eze 48:5. And on the boundary of Manasseh from the east side to the west side: Ephraim one. Eze 48:6. And on the boundary of Ephraim from the east side to the west side: Reuben one. Eze 48:7. And on the boundary of Reuben from the east side to the west side: Judah one. Eze 48:8. And on the boundary of Judah from the east side to the west side shall be the heave, which ye shall lift (heave) off, five and twenty thousand (rods) in breadth, and the length like every tribe portion from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it. Eze 48:9. The heave which ye shall lift (heave) for Jehovah shall be five and twenty thousand in length and ten thousand in breadth. Eze 48:10. And to these shall the holy heave belong, to the priests, toward the north, five and twenty thousand; toward the west, breadth ten thousand; toward the east, breadth ten thousand; and toward the south, length five and twenty thousand; and the sanctuary of Jehovah shall be in the middle of it. Eze 48:11. To the priests, whoever is sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept my charge, who have not strayed with the straying of the sons of Israel, as the Levites have strayed, Eze 48:12. To them shall a portion lifted off belong from the heave of the land; a most holy beside the territory of the Levites. Eze 48:13. And the Levites (shall receive) parallel with the territory of the priests five and twenty thousand in length, and in breadth ten thousand; the whole length five and twenty thousand, and (the whole) breadth ten thousand. Eze 48:14. And they shall not sell or exchange any of it, nor shall the first-fruit of the land pass to others; for it is holy to Jehovah. Eze 48:15. And the five thousand which remain in the breadth along the five and twenty thousand are common land for the city for dwellings and for open space; and the city shall be in the centre of it. Eze 48:16. And these are its measures: the north side four thousand five hundred, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred. Eze 48:17. And the open space of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, toward the south two hundred and fifty, toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty. Eze 48:18. And the remainder in length parallel with the holy heave, ten thousand toward the east and ten thousand toward the west, this shall be beside the holy heave, and its produce shall serve the workmen of the city for food. Eze 48:19. And as for the workmen of the city, they shall cultivate it from all the tribes. Eze 48:20. The whole of the heave is five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand; a fourth of the holy heave shall ye take for the possession of the city. Eze 48:21. And the remainder shall belong to the prince on this side and on that side of the holy heave and of the city possession; along the five and twenty thousand of the heave to the eastern boundary, and toward the west along the five and twenty thousand to the western boundary parallel with the tribe portions, it shall belong to the prince; and the holy heave and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst. Eze 48:22. Thus from the possession of the Levites (as) from the possession of the city shall that which lies in the midst of what belongs to the prince between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin belong to the prince. Eze 48:23. And the rest of the tribes are from the east side to the west side: Benjamin one. Eze 48:24. And on the boundary of Benjamin from the east side to the west side: Simeon one. Eze 48:25. And on the boundary of Simeon from the east side to the west side: Issachar one. Eze 48:26. And on the boundary of Issachar from the east side to the west side: Zebulon one. Eze 48:27. And on the boundary of Zebulon from the east side to the west side: Gad one. Eze 48:28. And on the boundary of Gad on the south side toward the south, the boundary shall be from Tamar to the water of strife from Kadesh along the brook to the great sea. Eze 48:29. This is the land which ye shall divide by lot for inheritance to the tribes of Israel; these are their portions, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah.

The new division of the land differs from the former one effected in the time of Joshua, in the first place, in the fact that all the tribe-portions were to extend uniformly across the entire breadth of the land from the eastern boundary to the Mediterranean Sea on the west, so that they were to form parallel tracts of country; whereas in the distribution made in the time of Joshua, several of the tribe-territories covered only half the breadth of the land. For example, Dan received his inheritance on the west of Benjamin; and the territories of half Manasseh and Asher ran up from the northern boundary of Ephraim to the northern boundary of Canaan; while Issachar, Naphtali, and Zebulon received their portions on the east of these; and lastly, Simeon received his possession within the boundaries of the tribe of Judah. And secondly, it also differs from the former, in the fact that not only are all the twelve tribes located in Canaan proper, between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea; whereas previously two tribes and a half had received from Moses, at their own request, the conquered land of Bashan and Gilead on the eastern side of the Jordan, so that the land of Canaan could be divided among the remaining nine tribes and a half. But besides this, the central tract of land, about the fifth part of the whole, was separated for the holy heave, the city domain, and the prince’s land, so that only the northern and southern portions, about four-fifths of the whole, remained for distribution among the twelve tribes, seven tribes receiving their hereditary portions to the north of the heave and five to the south, because the heave was so selected that the city with its territory lay near the ancient Jerusalem. - In Eze 48:1-7 the seven tribes which were to dwell on the north of the heave are enumerated. The principal points of the northern boundary, viz., the way to Chetlon and Hazar-Enon, the boundary of Damascus, are repeated in Eze 48:1 from Eze 47:15, Eze 47:17, as the starting and terminal points of the northern boundary running from west to east. The words אל־יד חמת fix the northern boundary more precisely in relation to the adjoining territory; and in 'והיוּ  the enumeration of the tribe-lots begins with that of the tribe of Dan, which was to receive its territory against the northern boundary. לו refers to the name דּן which follows, and which Ezekiel already had in his mind. פּאת קדים היּם is constructed asyndetôs; and פּאת is to be repeated in thought before היּם: the east side (and) the west (side) are to belong to it, i.e., the tract of land toward its west and its east side. The words which follow, דּן אחד, are attached in an anacoluthistic manner: “Dan (is to receive) one portion,” for “one shall belong to Dan.” To אחד we are to supply in thought the substantive חבל, tribe-lot, according to Eze 47:13. “The assumption that one tribe was to receive as much as another (vid., Eze 47:14), leads to the conclusion that each tribe-lot was to be taken as a monas” (Kliefoth). In this way the names in Eze 48:2-7, with the constantly repeated אחד, must also be taken. The same form of description is repeated in Eze 48:23-28 in the case of the five tribes placed to the south of the heave. - In the order of the several tribe-territories it is impossible to discover any universal principle of arrangement. All that is clear is, that in the case of Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, and Ephraim, regard is had to the former position of these tribe-territories as far as the altered circumstances allowed. In the time of the Judges a portion of the Danites had migrated to the north, conquered the city of Laish, and given it the name of Dan, so that from that time forward Dan is generally named as the northern boundary of the land (e.g., as early as 2Sa 3:10, and in other passages). Accordingly Dan receives the tract of land along the northern boundary. Asher and Naphtali, which formerly occupied the most northerly portions of the land, follow next. Then comes Manasseh, as half Manasseh had formerly dwelt on the east of Naphtali; and Ephraim joins Manasseh, as it formerly joined the western half of Manasseh. The reason for placing Reuben between Ephraim and Judah appears to be, that Reuben was the first-born of Jacob’s sons. The position of the termuah between Judah and Benjamin is probably connected with the circumstance that Jerusalem formerly stood on the boundary of these two tribes, and so also in the future was to skirt Benjamin with its territory. The other tribes had then to be located on the south of Benjamin; Simeon, whose territory formerly lay to the south; Issachar and Zebulon, for which no room was left in the north; and Gad, which had to be brought over from Gilead to Canaan.

In Eze 48:8-22, the terumah, which has already been described in Eze 45:1-7 for a different purpose, is more precisely defined: first of all, in Eze 48:8, according to its whole extent - viz. twenty-five thousand rods in breadth (from north to south), and the length the same as any one (= every one) of the tribe-lots, i.e., reaching from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea (cf. Eze 45:7). In the centre of this separated territory the sanctuary (the temple) was to stand. בּתוכו, the suffix of which refers ad sensum to חלק instead of תּרוּמה, has not the indefinite meaning “therein,” but signifies “in the centre;” for the priests’ portion, in the middle of which the temple was to stand, occupied the central position between the portion of the Levites and the city possession, as is evident from Eze 48:22. The circumstance that here, as in Eze 45:1., in the division of the terumah, the priests’ portion is mentioned first, then the portion of the Levites, and after this the city possession, proves nothing so far as the local order in which these three portions followed one another is concerned; but the enumeration is regulated by their spiritual significance, so that first of all the most holy land for the temple and priests is defined, then the holy portion of the Levites, and lastly, the common land for the city. The command, that the sanctuary is to occupy the centre of the whole terumah, leads to a more minute description in the first place (Eze 48:9-12) of the priests’ portion, in which the sanctuary was situated, than of the heave to be lifted off for Jehovah. In Eze 48:10, לאלּה, which stands at the head, is explained by לכּהנים which follows. The extent of this holy terumah on all four sides is then given; and lastly, the command is repeated, that the sanctuary of Jehovah is to be in the centre of it. In Eze 48:11, המקדּשׁ is rendered in the plural by the lxx, Chald. and Syr., and is taken in a distributive sense by Kimchi and others: to the priests whoever is sanctified of the sons of Zadok. This is required by the position of the participle between לכּהנים and מבּני צדוק (compare 2Ch 26:18, and for the singular of the participle after a previous plural, Psa 8:9). The other rendering, “for the priests is it sanctified, those of the sons of Zadok,” is at variance not only with the position of the words, but also with the fact, namely, that the assignment to the priests of a heave set apart for Jehovah is never designated as קדּשׁ, and from the nature of the case could not be so designated. The apodosis to Eze 48:11 follows in Eze 48:12, where לכּהנים is resumed in להם. תּרוּמיּה is an adjective formation derived from תּרוּמה, with the signification of an abstract: that which is lifted (the lifting) from the heave, as it were “a terumah in the second potency” (for these formations, see Ewald, §§164 and 165). This terumiyah is called most holy, in contrast with the Levites’ portion of the terumah, which was קדשׁ (Eze 48:14). The priests’ portion is to be beside the territory of the Levites, whether on the southern or northern side cannot be gathered from these words any more than from the definition in Eze 48:13 : “and the Levites beside (parallel with) the territory of the priests.” Both statements simply affirm that the portions of the priests and Levites were to lie side by side, and not to be separated by the town possession. - Eze 48:13 and Eze 48:14 treat of the Levites’ portion: Eze 48:13, of its situation and extent; Eze 48:14, of its law of tenure. The seemingly tautological repetition of the measurement of the length and breadth, as “all the length and the breadth,” is occasioned by the fact “that Ezekiel intends to express himself more briefly here, and not, as in Eze 48:10, to take all the four points of the compass singly; in 'all the length' he embraces the two long sides of the oblong, and in '(all) the breadth' the two broad sides, and affirms that 'all the length,' i.e., of both the north and south sides, is to be twenty-five thousand rods, and 'all the breadth,' i.e., of both the east and west sides, is to be ten thousand rods” (Kliefoth). Hitzig has missed the sense, and therefore proposes to alter the text. With regard to the possession of the Levites, the instructions given in Lev 25:34 for the field of the Levites’ cities - namely, that none of it was to be sold - are extended to the whole of the territory of the Levites: no part of it is to be alienated by sale or barter. And the character of the possession is assigned as the reason: the first-fruit of the land, i.e., the land lifted off (separated) as first-fruit, is not to pass into the possession of others, because as such it is holy to the Lord. The Chetib ya`abowr יעבור is the correct reading: to pass over, sc. to others, to non-Levites.

Eze 48:15-18 treat of the city possession. As the terumah was twenty-five thousand rods in breadth (Eze 48:8), after measuring off ten thousand rods in breadth for the priests and ten thousand rods in breadth for the Levites from the entire breadth, there still remain five thousand rods על, in front of, i.e., along, the long side, which was twenty-five thousand rods. This remnant was to be חל, i.e., common (not holy) land for the city (Jerusalem). למושׁב, for dwelling-places, i.e., for building dwelling-houses upon; and למגרשׁ, for open space, the precinct around the city. The city was to stand in the centre of this oblong. Eze 48:16 gives the size of the city: on each of the four sides, four thousand five hundred rods (the חמשׁ, designated by the Masoretes as כתיב ולא קרי, has crept into the text through a copyist’s error); and Eze 48:17, the extent of the open space surrounding it: on each side two hundred and fifty rods. This gives for the city, together with the open space, a square of five thousand rods on every side; so that the city with its precinct filled the entire breadth of the space left for it, and there only remained on the east and west an open space of ten thousand rods in length and five thousand rods in breadth along the holy terumah. This is noticed in Eze 48:18; its produce was to serve for bread, i.e., for maintenance, for the labourers of the city (the masculine suffix in תּבוּאתה refers grammatically to הנּותר). By עבדי העיר Hitzig would understand the inhabitants of the city, because one cultivates a piece of land even by dwelling on it. But this use of עבד cannot be established. Nor are עבדי העיר the workmen employed in building the city, as Gesenius, Hävernick, and others suppose; for the city was not perpetually being built, so that there should be any necessity for setting apart a particular piece of land for the builders; but they are the working men of the city, the labouring class living in the city. They are not to be without possession in the future Jerusalem, but are to receive a possession in land for their maintenance. We are told in Eze 48:19 who these workmen are. Here העבד is used collectively: as for the labouring class of the city, people out of all the tribes of Israel shall work upon the land belonging to the city. The suffix in יעבדוּהוּ points back to הנּותר. The transitive explanation, to employ a person in work, has nothing in the language to confirm it. The fact itself is in harmony with the statement in Eze 45:6, that the city was to belong to all Israel. Lastly, in Eze 48:20 the dimensions of the whole terumah, and the relation of the city possession to the holy terumah, are given. כּל־התּרוּמה is the whole heave, so far as it has hitherto been described, embracing the property of the priests, of the Levites, and of the city. In this extent it is twenty-five thousand rods long and the same broad. If, however, we add the property of the prince, which is not treated of till Eze 48:21-23, it is considerably longer, and reaches, as has been stated in Eze 48:8, to the boundaries of the land both on the east and west, the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, as the several tribe-territories do. But if we omit the prince’s land, the space set apart fro the city possession occupied the fourth part of the holy terumah, i.e., of the portion of the priests and Levites. This is the meaning of the second half of Eze 48:20, which literally reads thus: “to a fourth shall ye lift off the holy terumah for the city possession.” This is not to be understood as meaning that a fourth was to be taken from the holy terumah for the city possession; for that would yield an incorrect proportion, as the twenty thousand rods in breadth would be reduced to fifteen thousand rods by the subtraction of the fourth part, which would be opposed to Eze 48:9 and Eze 48:15. The meaning is rather the following: from the whole terumah the fourth part of the area of the holy terumah is to be taken off for the city possession, i.e., five thousand rods for twenty thousand. According to Eze 48:15, this was the size of the domain set apart for the city.

In Eze 48:21-23 the situation and extent of the prince’s possession are described. For Eze 48:21, vid., Eze 45:7. הנּותר, the rest of the terumah, as it has been defined in Eze 48:8, reaching in length from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. As the holy terumah and the city possession were only twenty-five thousand rods in length, and did not reach to the Jordan on the east, or to the sea on the west, there still remained an area on either side whose length or extent toward the east and west is not given in rods, but may be calculated from the proportion which the intervening terumah bore to the length of the land (from east to west). אל־פּני and על־פּני, in front of, or along, the front of the twenty-five thousand rods, refer to the eastern and western boundaries of the terumah, which was twenty-five thousand rods in length. In Eze 48:21 the statement is repeated, that the holy terumah and the sanctuary were to lie in the centre of it, i.e., between the portions of land appointed for the prince on either side; and lastly, in Eze 48:22 it is still further stated, with regard to the prince’s land on both sides of the terumah, that it was to lie between the adjoining tribe-territories of Judah (to the north) and Benjamin (to the south), so that it was to be bounded by these two. But this is expressed in a heavy and therefore obscure manner. The words בּתוך אשׁר לנשׂיא יהיה, “in the centre of that which belongs to the prince,” belong to העיר... וּמאחזּת, and form together with the latter the subject, which is written absolutely; so that מן is not used in a partitive, but in a local sense (from), and the whole is to be rendered thus: And as for that which lies on the side of the possession of the Levites, and of the possession of the city in the centre of what belongs to the prince, (that which lies) between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin shall belong to the prince. Hitzig’s explanation - what remains between Judah and Benjamin, from the city territory to the priests’ domain, both inclusive, shall belong to the prince - is arbitrary, and perverts the sense. The periphrastic designation of the terumah bounded off between the prince’s land by the two portions named together without a copula, viz., “possession of the Levites and possession of the city,” is worthy of notice. This periphrasis of the whole by two portions, shows that the portions named formed the boundaries of the whole, that the third portion, which is not mentioned, was enclosed within the two, so that the priests’ portion with the sanctuary lay between them. - In Eze 48:23-27 the rest of the tribes located to the south of the terumah are mentioned in order; and in Eze 48:28 and Eze 48:29 the account of the division of the land is brought to a close with a repetition of the statement as to the southern boundary (cf. Eze 47:19), and a comprehensive concluding formula.

If now we attempt, in order to form a clear idea of the relation in which this prophetic division of the land stands to the actual size of Canaan according to the boundaries described in Eze 47:15., to determine the length and breadth of the terumah given here by their geographical dimensions, twenty-five thousand rods, according to the metrological calculations of Boeckh and Bertheau, would be 10·70 geographical miles, or, according to the estimate of the Hebrew cubit by Thenius, only 9·75 geographical miles.According to Boeckh, one sacred cubit was equal to 234-1/3 Paris lines = 528.62 millimètres; according to Thenius = 214-1/2 P. l. = 481.62 millim. Now as one geographical mile, the 5400th part of the circumference of the globe, which is 40,000,000 metres, is equivalent to 7407.398 metres = 22, 803.290 old Paris feet, the geographical mile according to Boeckh is 14, 012-1/10 cubits = 2335-1/2 rods (sacred measure); according to Thenius, 15, 380-1/6 cubits = 2563-1/3 roads (s. m.), from which the numbers given in the text may easily be calculated.

The extent of Canaan from Beersheba, or Kadesh, up to a line running across from Râs esh-Shukah to the spring El Lebweh, is 3 1/3 degrees, i.e., fifty geographical miles, ten of which are occupied by the terumah, and forty remain for the twelve tribe-territories, so that each tribe-lot would be 3 1/3 geographical miles in breadth. If, now, we reckon three geographical miles as the breadth of each of the five tribe-lots to the south of the terumah, and as the land becomes broader toward the south a breadth of 3-4/7 geographical miles for the seven tribe-lots to the north, the terumah set apart in the centre of the land would extend from the site of Jerusalem to Dothan or Jenin. If, however, we take into consideration the breadth of the land from east to west in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, or where the Jordan enters the Dead Sea, Canaan is eleven geographical miles in breadth, whereas at Jenin it is hardly ten geographical miles broad. If, therefore, the length of the terumah (from east to west) was fully ten geographical miles, there would only remain a piece of land of half a mile in breadth on the east and west at the southern boundary, and nothing at all at the northern, for prince’s land. We have therefore given to the terumah upon the map (Plate IV) the length and breadth of eight geographical miles, which leaves a tract of two miles on the average for the prince’s land, so that it would occupy a fifth of the area of the holy terumah, whereas the city possession covered a fourth. No doubt the breadth of the terumah from south to north is also diminished thereby, so that it cannot have reached quite down to Jerusalem or quite up to Jenin. - If, now, we consider that the distances of places, and therefore also the measurements of a land in length and breadth, are greater in reality than those given upon the map, on account partly of the mountains and valleys and partly of the windings of the roads, and, still further, that our calculations of the Hebrew cubit are not quite certain, and that even the smaller estimates of Thenius are possibly still too high, the measurements of the terumah given by Ezekiel correspond as exactly to the actual size of the land of Canaan as could be expected with a knowledge of its extent obtained not by trigonometrical measurement, but from a simple calculation of the length of the roads. - But this furnishes a confirmation by no means slight of our assumption, that the lengths and breadths indicated here are measured by rods and not by cubits. Reckoned by cubits, the terumah would be only a mile and a half or a mile and two-thirds in length and breadth, and the city possession would be only a third of a mile broad; whereas the prince’s land would be more than six times as large as the whole of the terumah, - i.e., of the territory of the Levites, the priests, and the city, - thirteen times as large as the priests’ land, and from thirty to thirty-two times as large as the city possession = proportions the improbability of which is at once apparent.

Eze 48:30-35

Size, Gates, and Name of the City

To complete the whole picture of the future land of Israel, what has been stated in Eze 48:15 and Eze 48:16 concerning the size of the holy city is still further expanded here. - Eze 48:30. And these are the outgoings of the city from the north side, four thousand and five hundred (rods) measurement. Eze 48:31. And the gates of the city according to the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates toward the north; the gate of Reuben one, the gate of Judah one, the gate of Levi one. Eze 48:32. And on the east side four thousand five hundred (rods): and three gates; namely, the gate of Joseph one, the gate of Benjamin one, the gate of Dan one. Eze 48:33. And to the south side, four thousand five hundred measurement: and three gates; the gate of Simeon one, the gate of Issachar one, the gate of Zebulon one. Eze 48:34. To the west side, four thousand five hundred - their gates three; the gate of Gad one, the gate of Asher one, the gate of Naphtali one. Eze 48:35. Round about, eighteen thousand (rods); and the name of the city: from henceforth Jehovah there. - The situation of the city of God within the terumah and its external dimensions have already been generally indicated in Eze 48:15, Eze 48:16. Here the measurement of the several sides is specified with a notice of their gates, and this is preceded by the heading, “the outlets of the city.” תּוצאת, the outgoings (not extensions, for the word never has this meaning) as the furthest extremities in which a city or a tract of land terminates; not outlets or gates, which are expressly distinguished from them, but outgoing sides; hence the definition of the extent or length of the several sides is appended immediately afterwards. The enumeration commences, as above in the case of the land, with the north side. Each side has three gates, so that the whole city has twelve, which bear the names of the twelve tribes, like the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem in Rev 21:12, because it will be the city of the true people of God. Levi is included here, and consequently Ephraim and Manasseh are united in the one tribe of Joseph. The three sons of Leah commence the series with the northern gates. They also stand first in the blessing of Moses in Deu 33:6-8 : the first-born in age, the first-born by virtue of the patriarchal blessing, and the one chosen by Jehovah for His own service in the place of the first-born. Then follow, for the eastern gates, the two sons of Rachel, according to their age (thus deviating from Deu 33:12 and Deu 33:13), and, along with them, the elder son of Rachel’s maid; for the southern gates, the three other sons of Leah; and lastly, for the western gates, the three other sons of the maids. Being thus indicated by the names of its gates as the city of all Israel, the city itself receives a name, which exalts it into the city of God (Jehovah). But different explanations have been given of the words in Eze 48:35 which refer to this name. The allusion in מיום and the meaning of שׁמּה are both disputed points. It is true that the latter literally means “thither;” but Ezekiel also uses it as synonymous with שׁם, “there,” in Eze 23:3 and Eze 32:29-30, so that the assertion that שׁמּה never means “there” is incorrect. מיום, from day forward, equivalent to henceforward; but not henceforth and for ever, though this may be implied in the context. Whether מיום be taken in connection with the preceding words, “the name of the city will henceforward be,” or with those which follow, the name of the city will be, “henceforward Jehovah there,” makes no material difference so far as the thought is concerned, as the city can only bear the name from the time when Jehovah is שׁמּה, and can only bear it so long as Jehovah is שׁמּה. But so far as the question is concerned, whether שׁמּה signifies thither or there in this passage, Hävernick is of opinion, indeed, that the whole of Ezekiel’s vision does not harmonize with the meaning “there,” inasmuch as he separates temple and city, so that Jehovah does not properly dwell in Jerusalem, but, in the strictest an highest sense, in His sanctuary, and turns thence to Jerusalem with the fulness of His grace and love. But if Jehovah does not merely direct His love toward the city from afar off, but, as Hävernick still further says, turns it fully toward it, causes His good pleasure to rest upon it, then He also rules and is in the city with His love, so that it can bear the name “Jehovah thither (there).” In any case, the interpretation, “Jehovah will from henceforth proceed thither, to restore it, to make it a holy city” (Kliefoth), is untenable; for the name is not given to Jerusalem when lying waste, but to the city already restored and fully built, which Ezekiel sees in the spirit. He has therefore before this turned His favour once more to Jerusalem, which was laid waste; and the name יהוה שׁמּה, given to the new Jerusalem, can only affirm that henceforward it is to be a city of Jehovah, i.e., that from this time forth Jehovah will be and rule in her. The rendering “Jehovah thither” does not answer to this, but only the rendering, “Jehovah will be there.” compare Isa 60:14, where Jerusalem is called the city of Jehovah, Zion of the Holy One in Israel, because the glory of Jehovah has risen over her as a brilliant light.

The Division of the Land. (b. c. 574.)

1 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.   2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher. 3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali. 4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh. 5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim. 6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben. 7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah. 8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it. 9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the Lord shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth. 10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the midst thereof.   11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. 12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites. 13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand. 14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the first-fruits of the land: for it is holy unto the Lord . 15 And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof. 16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred. 17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty. 18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city. 19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel. 20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation four-square, with the possession of the city. 21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof. 22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince. 23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion. 24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion. 25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion. 26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion. 27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion. 28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea. 29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord God . 30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.

We have here a very short and ready way taken for the dividing of the land among the twelve tribes, not so tedious and so far about as the way that was taken in Joshua's time; for in the distribution of spiritual and heavenly blessings there is not that danger of murmuring and quarrelling that there is in the participation of the temporal blessings. When God gave to the labourers every one his penny those that were uneasy at it were soon put to silence with, May I not do what I will with my own? And such is the equal distribution here among the tribes. In this distribution of the land we may observe, 1. That it differs very much from the division of it in Joshua's time, and agrees not with the order of their birth, nor with that of their blessing by Jacob or Moses. Simeon here is not divided in Jacob, nor is Zebulun a haven of ships, a plain intimation that it is not so much to be understood literally as spiritually, though the mystery of it is very much hidden from us. In gospel times old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. The Israel of God is cast into a new method. 2. That the tribe of Dan, which was last provided for in the first division of Canaan (Josh. xix. 40), is first provided for here, v. 1. Thus in the gospel the last shall be first, Matt. xix. 30. God, in the dispensation of his grace, does not follow the same method that he does in the disposals of his providence. But Dan had now his portion thereabouts where he had only one city before, northward, on the border of Damascus, and furthest of all from the sanctuary, because that tribe had revolted to idolatry. 3. That all the ten tribes that were carried away by the king of Assyria, as well as the two tribes that were long afterwards carried to Babylon, have their allotment in this visionary land, which some think had its accomplishment in the particular persons and families of those tribes who returned with Judah and Benjamin, of which we find many instances in Ezra and Nehemiah; and it is probable that there were returns of many more afterwards at several times, which are not recorded; and the Jews having Galilee, and other parts, that had been the possessions of the ten tribes, put into their hands, in common with them, they enjoyed them. Grotius says, If the ten tribes had repented and returned to God, as the chief fathers of Judah and Benjamin did, and the priests and Levites (Ezra i. 5), they would have fared as those two tribes did, but they forfeited the benefit of this glorious prophecy by sin. However, we believe it has its designed accomplishment in the establishment and enlargement of the gospel church, and the happy settlement of all those who are Israelites indeed in the sure and sweet enjoyment of the privileges of the new covenant, in which there is enough for all and enough for each. 4. That every tribe in this visionary distribution had its particular lot assigned it by a divine appointment; for it was never the intention of the gospel to pluck up the hedge of property and lay all in common; it was in a way of charity, not of legal right, that the first Christians had all things common (Acts ii. 44), and many precepts of the gospel suppose that every man should know his own. We must not only acknowledge, but acquiesce in, the hand of God appointing us our lot, and be well pleased with it, believing it fittest for us. He shall choose our inheritance for us, Ps. xlvii. 4. 5. That the tribes lay contiguous. By the border of one tribe was the portion of another, all in a row, in exact order, so that, like stones in an arch, they fixed, and strengthened, and wedged in one another. Behold how good and how pleasant a thing it is for brethren thus to dwell together! It was a figure of the communion of churches and saints under the gospel-government; thus, though they are many, yet they are one, and should hold together in holy love and mutual assistance. 6. That the lot of Reuben, which before lay at a distance beyond Jordan, now lies next to Judah, and next but one to the sanctuary; for the scandal he lay under, for which he was told he should not excel, began by this time to wear off. What has turned to the reproach of any person or people ought not to be remembered for ever, but should at length be kindly forgotten. 7. That the sanctuary was in the midst of them. There were seven tribes to the north of it and the Levites, the prince's, and the city's portion, with that of five tribes more, to the south of it; so that it was, as it ought to be, in the heart of the kingdom, that it might diffuse its benign influences to the whole, and might be the centre of their unity. The tribes that lay most remote from each other would meet there in a mutual acquaintance and fellowship. Those of the same parish or congregation, though dispersed, and having no occasion otherwise to know each other, yet by meeting statedly to worship God together should have their hearts knit to each other in holy love. 8. That where the sanctuary was the priests were: For them, even for the priests, shall this holy oblation be, v. 10. As, on the one hand, this denotes honour and comfort to ministers, that what is given for their support and maintenance is reckoned a holy oblation to the Lord, so it intimates their duty, which is that, since they are appointed and maintained for the service of the sanctuary, they ought to attend continually to this very thing, to reside on their cures. Those that live upon the altar must serve at the altar, not take the wages to themselves and devolve the work upon others; but how can they serve the altar, his altar they live upon, if they do not live near it? 9. Those priests had the priests' share of these lands that had approved themselves faithful to God in times of trial (v. 11): It shall be for the sons of Zadok, who, it seems, had signalized themselves in some critical juncture, and went not astray when the children of Israel, and the other Levites, went astray. God will put honour upon those who keep their integrity in times of general apostasy, and he has special favours in reserve for them. Those are swimming upwards, and so they will find at last, that are swimming against the stream. 10. The land which was appropriated to the ministers of the sanctuary might by no means be alienated. It was in the nature of the first-fruits of the land, and was therefore holy to the Lord; and, though the priests and Levites had both the use of it and the inheritance of it to them and their heirs, yet they might not sell it nor exchange it, v. 14. It is sacrilege to convert that to other uses which is dedicated to God. 11. The land allotted for the city and its suburbs is called a profane place (v. 15), or common; not but that the city was a holy city above other cities, for the Lord was there, but, in comparison with the sanctuary, it was a profane place. Yet it is too often true in the worst sense that great cities, even those which, like this, have the sanctuary near them, are profane places, and it ought to be deeply lamented. It was the complaint of old, From Jerusalem has profaneness gone forth into all the land, Jer. xxiii. 15. 12. The city is made to be exactly square, and the suburbs extending themselves equally on all sides, as the Levites' cities did in the first division of the land (v. 16, 17), which, never being literally fulfilled in any city, intimates that it is to be understood spiritually of the beauty and stability of the gospel church, that city of the living God, which is formed according to the wisdom and counsel of God, and is made firm and immovable by his promise. 13. Whereas, before, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were principally of Judah and Benjamin, in whose tribe it lay, now the head city lies not in the particular lot of any of the tribes, but those that serve the city, and bear office in it, shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel, v. 19. The most eminent men must be picked out of all the tribes of Israel for the service of the city, because many eyes were upon it, and there was great resort to it from all parts of the nation and from other nations. Those that live in the city are said to serve the city, for, wherever we are, we must study to be serviceable to the place, some way or other, according as our capacity is. They must not come out of the tribes of Israel to the city to take their ease, and enjoy their pleasures, but to serve the city, to do all the good they can there, and in so doing they would have a good influence upon the country too. 14. Care was taken that those who applied themselves to public business in the city, as well as in the sanctuary, should have an honourable comfortable maintenance; lands are appointed, the increase whereof shall be food unto those that serve the city, v. 18. Who goes a warfare at his own charges? Magistrates, that attend the service of the state, as well as ministers, that attend the service of the church, should have all due encouragement and support in so doing; and for this cause pay we tribute also. 15. The prince had a lot for himself, suited to the dignity of his high station (v. 21); we took an account of it before, ch. xlv. He was seated near the sanctuary, where the testimony of Israel was, and near the city, where the thrones of judgment were, that he might be a protection to both and might see the that duty of both was carefully and faithfully done; and herein he was a minister of God for good to the whole community. Christ is the church's prince, that defends it on every side, and creates a defense; nay, he is himself a defence upon all its glory and encompasses it with his favour. 16. As Judah had his lot next the sanctuary on one side, so Benjamin had, of all the tribes, his lot nearest to it on the other side, which honour was reserved for those who adhered to the house of David and the temple at Jerusalem when the other ten tribes went astray from both. It is enough if treachery and apostasy, upon repentance, he pardoned, but constancy and fidelity shall be rewarded and preferred.

The Plan of the City. (b. c. 574.)

31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. 32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.   33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun. 34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. 35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.

We have here a further account of the city that should be built for the metropolis of this glorious land, and to be the receptacle of those who would come from all parts to worship in the sanctuary adjoining. It is nowhere called Jerusalem, nor is the land which we have had such a particular account of the dividing of any where called the land of Canaan; for the old names are forgotten, to intimate that the old things are done away, behold all things have become new. Now, concerning this city, observe here, 1. The measures of its out-lets, and the grounds belonging to it, for its several conveniences; each way its appurtenances extended 4500 measures 18,000 in all, v. 35. But what these measures were is uncertain. It is never said, in all this chapter, whether so many reeds (as our translation determines by inserting that word, v. 8, each reed containing six cubits and span, ch. xl. 5, and why should the measurer appear with the measuring reed in his hand of that length if he did not measure with that, except where it is expressly said he measured by cubits?) or whether, as others think, it is so many cubits, because those are mentioned ch. xlv. 2 and ch. xlvii. 3. Yet that makes me incline rather to think that where cubits are not mentioned must be intended so many lengths of the measuring reed. But those who understand it of so many cubits are not agreed whether it be meant of the common cubit, which was half a yard, or the geometrical cubit, which, for better expedition, is supposed to be mostly used in surveying lands, which, some say, contained six cubits, others about three cubits and a half, so making 1000 cubits the same with 1000 paces, that is, an English mile. But our being left at this uncertainty is an intimation that these things are to be understood spiritually, and that what is principally meant is that there is an exact and just proportion observed by Infinite Wisdom in modelling the gospel church, which though now we cannot discern we shall when we come to heaven. 2. The number of its gates. It had twelve gates in all, three on each side, which was very agreeable when it lay four square; and these twelve gates were inscribed to the twelve tribes. Because the city was to be served out of all the tribes of Israel (v. 19) it was fit that each tribe should have its gate; and, Levi being here taken in, to keep to the number twelve Ephraim and Manasseh are made one in Joseph, v. 32. On the north side were the gates of Reuben, Judah, and Levi (v. 31), on the east the gates of Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan (v. 32), on the south the gates of Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun (v. 33), and on the west the gates of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, v. 34. Conformable to this, in St. John's vision, the new Jerusalem (for so the holy city is called there, though not here) has twelve gates, three on a side, and on them are written the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, Rev. xxi. 12, 13. Note, Into the church of Christ, both militant and triumphant, there is a free access by faith for all that come of every tribe, from every quarter. 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. 3. The name given to this city: From that day, when it shall be newly-erected according to this model, the name of it shall be, not, as before, Jerusalem—The vision of peace, but which is the original of that, and more than equivalent to it, Jehovah Shammah—The Lord is there, v. 35. This intimated, (1.) That the captives, after their return, should have manifest tokens of God's presence with them and his residence among them, both in his ordinances and his providences. They shall have no occasion to ask, as their fathers did, Is the Lord among us, or is he not? for they shall see and say that he is with them of a truth. And then, though their troubles were many and threatening, they were like the bush which burned but was not consumed, because the Lord was there. But when God departed from their temple, when he said, Migremus hinc—Let us go hence, their house was soon left unto them desolate. Being no longer his, it was not much longer theirs. (2.) That the gospel-church should likewise have the presence of God in it, though not in the Shechinah, as of old, yet in a token of it no less sure, that of his Spirit. Where the gospel is faithfully preached, gospel ordinances are duly administered, and God is worshipped in the name of Jesus Christ only, it may truly be said, The Lord is there; for faithful is he that has said, and he will be as good as his word, Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world. The Lord is there in his church, to rule and govern it, to protect and defend it, and graciously to accept and own his sincere worshippers, and to be nigh unto them in all that they call upon him for. This should engage us to keep close to the communion of saints, for the Lord is there; and then whither shall we go to better ourselves? Nay, it is true of every good Christian; he dwells in God, and God in him; whatever soul has in it a living principle of grace, it may be truly said, The Lord is There. (3.) That the glory and happiness of heaven should consist chiefly in this, that the Lord is there. St. John's representation of that blessed state does indeed far exceed this in many respects. That is all gold, and pearls, and precious stones; it is much larger than this, and much brighter, for it needs not the light of the sun. But, in making the presence of God the principal matter of its bliss, they both agree. There the happiness of the glorified saints is made to be that God himself shall be with them (Rev. xxi. 3), that he who sits on the throne shall dwell among them, Rev. vii. 15. And here it is made to crown the bliss of this holy city that the Lord is there. Let us therefore give all diligence to make sure to ourselves a place in that city, that we may be for ever with the Lord.

CHAP. XLVIII.

Ver. 1. NOw theſe are the names of the tribes] Who are in this chapter aſſigned their ſeveral ſeats, and the land divided amongſt them: but this diviſion is much different from that of old, which was a plain prediction of a perfect and total abrogation of the Moſaical polity and Levitical worſhip; together with a new ſtate of the Church of God after the coming of Jeſus Chriſt.

To the coaſt of the way of Hethlon] Chap. 47.15, 16, 17. Judaea was not, ſay Geographers, above 200 miles long, and 50 miles broad: But R. Kimchi here noteth that the Talmudiſts affirm that the poſſeſſion of Iſrael ſhall extend unto the utmoſt coaſts of the earth:Oecol. id quod ex spiritu dictum exiſtima: This was well and truely ſpoken, though they underſtood not what they ſpake; as dreaming only of an earthly Kingdom.Pſal. 89.11, 12. But as elſewhere, ſo here, the land of Canaan is put for the whole world, whereof all true believers are heires together with faithful Abraham, Rom. 4. whether they be Jews or Gentiles. Chriſts Kingdom runs to the end of the earth, Pſal. 28. & 72.8.

A portion for Dan] This tribe which was (for their ſhameful revolt from the true religion, Judg. 18.) cut out of the roll, as it were, 1 Chron. 7. & Rev. 7. is here reckoned firſt of thoſe who had partem & ſortem, part and lot amongſt Gods people. So true is that of our Saviour, Many that are firſt ſhall be laſt, and the laſt ſhall be firſt, Mat. 19.30. & 20.1. Judge not therefore according to the appearance, &c. Repent and God will reaccept. The ſable of Antichriſt to come of this tribe, is long ſince exploded.

Ver. 2. From the Eaſt ſide to the Weſt] The longitude is deſcribed, not the latitude: for why? Chriſts Kingdom is limitleſs, and his dominion without dimenſion.

Ver. 3. A portion for Naphthali] There are many portions of inheritance in Chriſts Kingdom: there are alſo in heaven many manſions, Joh. 14.2. all which ſhall be divided among the Elect.

Ver. 4. A portion for Manaſſeh] Which they do not of their own accord, and as they ſee good, ſeize upon: but take their ſhare ſet them out of the divine ſentence.

Ver. 5. A portion for Ephraim] An equal portion with his elder brother Manaſſeh. In Chriſts Kingdom all is of grace, nothing of merit.

Ver. 6. And by the border of Ephraim] There is a continuity and conjunction of all the portions; to ſet forth the communion that is betwixt the Saints: a ſweet mercy, a heaven aforehand.

Ver. 7. A portion for Judah] Who is ſet next to the ſanctified oblation of the Lord, wherein were the portions of the Prieſts, Levites, City and Prince. He muſt be a Jew inwardly, a confeſſour and witneſs of the truth, who ſhall have part and portion in the priviledges of Gods people.

Ver. 8. Shall be the offering] Whereof ſee chap. 45.1, 2, 3, &c.

Of 25000. reeds] Which being exactly caſt up, ſaith one, come to 45. miles, and therefore cannot be meant of any City to be built by the Jews again after their return from Babylon, but muſt be underſtood of the Church under the Goſpel.

Ver. 9. Ʋnto the Lord] As diſtinguiſhing it from other oblations: here ſtood the Sanctuary.

Ver. 10. And for them even for the Prieſts] No mention is here made of Cities of refuge, as of old; for they ſhall not hurt nor deſtroy in all Gods holy mountain: but the earth ſhall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the ſea, Eſa. 11.9.

Ver. 11. Of the ſons of Zadok] See chap. 44.15, 16, &c.

Which went not aſtray] To be faithful with God in a common defection, is a ſingular praiſe. See my Righteous mans Recompenſe, pag. 695.

Ver. 12. And this oblation of the land] Miniſters of Gods Word may lawfully take maintenance of the Church, 1 Cor. 9.

Ver. 13. The Levites ſhall have] But after the Prieſts. There are degrees of officers in the Church, and good order muſt be well obſerved there.

Five and twenty thouſand in length] Theſe ſeveral portions ſet together make up a perfect ſquare: which ſerveth well to ſet forth the beauty and firmity of the Church of Chriſt.

Ver. 14. And they ſhall not ſell of it] This law is here occaſionally, and by the way inſerted. It ſeemeth to hold forth, that lands given to the Miniſters of Chriſt under the New Teſtament, may never be again taken away or put to any other uſe, but to their maintenance for ever. See Mr. Clarks Mirrour, chap. of Sacriledge.

The firſt-fruits of the land] i. e. This part thus conſecrated to God, as the firſt-fruits of the earth were.

Ver. 15. Shall be a profane place] i. e. A common place: and ſo all Iſrael were profane in a ſenſe, ſc. as compared to the Prieſts and Levites, thoſe conſecrated perſons. Symmachus and Theodotion reader it [non-Latin text not transcribed]. See Deut. 20.6.

And the City ſhall be in the midſt thereof] Ten miles at leaſt diſtant from the Temple; ſome ſay many more: to ſhew, ſay they, what a long way he muſt go, that would attain to eternal life: he muſt get above the world howſoever, who would ſerve God acceptably.

Ver. 16. And theſe ſhall be meaſures thereof] This repreſentation is meerly figurative and myſtical: ſhewing us how ſpecious and spacious the Church of Chriſt is.

Ver. 17. And the ſuburbs of the City] Theſe were much larger then the ſuburbs of the Temple, as may be obſerved by comparing, chap. 40. See chap. 45.2.

Ver. 18. For food to them that ſerve the City] To all the Citizens; who all are to turn ſervitours to their fellow-brethren that come to the publike meetings, to ſerve one another in love: which they that do, ſhall not loſe their reward; but verily they ſhall be fed.

Ver. 19. Shall ſerve it out of all the tribes] i. e. At the common charge; and by a general contribution.

Ver. 20. Ye ſhall offer the holy oblation foure ſquare] See on ver. 13. All our dealings muſt be ſquare: or elſe we are not of the holy portion,Epilogus eſt. of the new Jeruſalem, Rev. 21.16.

Ver. 21. And the reſidue ſhall be for the Prince] His occaſions are many, and therefore his proportion is very large: yet muſt he not be Regni dilapidator, the Waſter of the Kingdom by his profuſeneſs, as our Henry the third was called, whereby he became ill beloved of his people.

Ver. 22. Being in the midſt of that which is the Princes] The Prince was taught by this poſition of his portion, to have an equal care of Church and State.

Ver. 23. Benjamin ſhall have a portion] The diviſion of the land as it ended with Judahs portion in ſpeaking of the ſeven former tribes, ver. 8. ſo here it beginneth with Benjamins, in ſpeaking of the five following.

Ver. 24, 25, 26, 27.] See the Notes on ver. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Ver. 28. Even from Tamar] Not Jericho, but Palmira, called afterwards Adrianople of the Emperour Adrian, who rebuilt and beautified it.

And to the river] The river of Egypt called Sihor, Joſh. 13.3.

Ver. 29. This is the land] This is the Epilogue of the whole chapter, as to the greatneſs of the holy City. It remaineth only to touch at the ſituation and meaſures thereof, the gates alſo and the Miniſters, together with their uſe and maintenance, the elegancy (laſtly) and perpetuity of the City.

For inheritance] Not from the brook, as Tremellius mis-tranſlateth it.

Ver. 30. And theſe are the goings out of the City] That is the utmoſt bounds, as Rabbi Solomon gloſſeth.

Ver. 31. And the gates of the City] Through which all the Iſrael of God, both Jews and Gentiles from all parts, Qua data porta, ruunt, do enter into the Church of Chriſt; flowing and flocking thereto, as waters do to the ſea, and as the doves to their windows.

Three gates Northward] Twelve in all: the reaſon whereof, ſee in the Note on Rev. 21.13.

One gate of Levi] Who though he had no lot in the land, yet he had a gate into the City, as Vatablus here noteth.

Ver. 32. Four thouſand and five hundred] And the like on each ſide; of all which are made up fifty and four miles at the leaſt: ſo large is the City of God: Niniveh was nothing to it, no more is Alcair, Scandereon, or Cambalu, the Metropolis of Tartary, which yet is ſaid to be twenty eight miles about.

Ver. 33. One gate of Simeon] Here all along the tribes are reckoned, not as they were before in this Chapter, but as they are ſet down in Numbers, at the marching of the Tabernacle in the midſt of them; ſaving that whole Joſeph hath here but one gate, and Levi is taken into the number of the twelve tribes. And foraſmuch as it entreth not into the heart of man what God hath prepared for them that love him, and ſith this City is a type of heavens happineſs, which is fitter to be believed then poſſible to be expreſſed, therefore I am the leſs troubled, ſaith good Oecolampadius here, that I underſtand no more of this ſurmounting matter.

Ver. 34. At the Weſt-ſide, &c.] See on ver. 32, 33.

Ver. 35. It was round about eighteen thouſand meaſures] See on ver. 32. and on Rev. 21.16.

The Lord is there] Jehovah-ſhammah: this is the true Churches name, and the true Chriſtians happineſs; ſuch as no good can match, no evil overmatch, viz. that whereſoever he is there God is, and therefore there heaven is: like as where the King is, there his Court is: this very name implyes Gods everlaſting being with his Church, according to thoſe precious texts of Scripture, every ſyllable whereof dropeth myrrh and mercy, Lev. 26.11, 12. Mat. 18.20. & 28.20. Joh. 14.23. 1 Cor. 15.28. Rev. 7.14. &c & 21.3, 4, 5. & 22.3, 4, 5, 6. This is the truth of that, which the Temple whil'ſt it ſtood as a type or figure did repreſent, This is my reſt for ever; here will I dwell, Pſal. 132.14. God will not forſake his Church as he did the Synagogue, but have it up to heaven to him, Rev. 21. where are crowns, ſcepters, Kingdoms, beatifical viſions, unutterable exſtaſies, ſweeteſt varieties, felicities, eternities; and all becauſe Jehovah ſhammah, the Lord is there: to him be glory and praiſe everlaſting. Amen. So be it.

Soli Deo Gloria. The Jews having finiſhed a book, adde, Benedictus qui dat fatigato robur.