east country = the eastern Allah i.e. circular border-land. Used of the Jordan in Joshua 22:11 . desert = plain. Hebrew 'arabah. See Deuteronomy 3:17 ; Deuteronomy 4:49 . the sea. The sea = called Salt, or Dead Sea. read more
Ezekiel 47:8. And go down into the desert— That is to say, along the plain towards the lake, where Sodom formerly stood, called the Dead or Salt Sea. Almost all the writers who describe this sea or lake, observe, that nothing can live in it. The text tells us, that these living and salubrious streams, by mixing with the salt and brackish waters of the sea, shall render them wholesome, and fit for use; mystically implying the healing virtue of God's grace in curing the vices of corrupt man. read more
8. the desert—or "plain," Hebrew, Arabah (Deuteronomy 3:17; Deuteronomy 4:49; Joshua 3:16), which is the name still given to the valley of the Jordan and the plain south of the Dead Sea, and extending to the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea. the sea—the Dead Sea. "The sea" noted as covering with its waters the guilty cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah. In its bituminous waters no vegetable or animal life is said to be found. But now death is to give place to life in Judea, and throughout the... read more
The temple river 47:1-12 read more
The man explained that the river continued east and emptied into the Arabah, the Jordan valley, and eventually into the Dead Sea. Presently this involves a drop in elevation of over 3,700 feet (from the temple mount at 2,430 feet above sea level to the Dead Sea at 1,290 feet below sea level). These waters purified the waters of the Dead Sea and made it a live sea. The Dead Sea presently contains 24-26 percent minerals compared with normal seawater that contains 4-6 percent. [Note: Ibid., p.... read more
The Lifegiving StreamEzekiel was now brought in his vision to the door of the Temple proper. Here he saw a stream of water which came from beneath the threshold somewhat to the S. of the entrance, and ran eastwards, crossing the inner court on the S. of the altar, and leaving the outer court on the S. of the outer E. gate. It rapidly deepened till it became an unfordable river, with trees on both its banks. It traversed the barren region between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, and entering the... read more
§ 2. The Ordinances of the New Israel (Ezekiel 40-48)This concluding section of the book is dated in the twenty-fifth year of Ezekiel's captivity, i.e. the fourteenth year after the fall of Jerusalem (572 b.c.). It is therefore thirteen years later than the previous section (Ezekiel 33-39), and, with the exception of Ezekiel 29:17-21, forms the latest part of the book. It is in the form of a vision, which is the counterpart of that in Ezekiel 8-11. There God forsook the old Temple which had... read more
(8) Go down into the desert.—The word for country is the same as is used in Joshua 22:10-11, for the borders of the Jordan, and undoubtedly has the same meaning here: the valley of the Jordan, called the Ghor. The word desert is better translated in the margin, plain, and refers to that expansion of the Jordan valley just north of the Dead Sea in which the city of Jericho was situated. So far the course of the river has been due east; now, without any allusion to the Jordan, it apparently takes... read more
Ezekiel 47:5 I tell you, sirs, you must not trust your own apprehensions nor judgments of the mercy of God; you do not know how He can cause it to abound: that which seems to be short and shrunk up to you, He can draw out and cause to abound exceedingly.... This therefore is a wonderful thing, and shall be wondered at to all eternity, that the river of mercy, that at first did seem to be but ancle-deep, should so rise and rise that at last it became 'waters to swim in, a river that could not be... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 47:1-12
The river of life (47:1-12)Upon completing his description of the temple and its rituals, Ezekiel moves on to the remarkable climax to his visions. He saw a trickle of water coming from under the door of the temple, then flowing across the court and under the main outer wall (just south of the east gate) (47:1-2). The stream headed east, rapidly growing wider and deeper until, within a very short distance, it became a large river (3-6a).The first thing that Ezekiel noticed about this remarkable... read more