Ezekiel 45:5. And the five and twenty thousand, &c.— And there shall be other five and twenty thousand of length, and ten thousand of breadth; and it shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, for them for a possession; twenty ranges of building: or, as some render the last clause, for cities to dwell in. See Archbishop Newcombe on this passage. read more
Ezekiel 45:6. It shall be for the whole house of Israel— "This shall be the capital city, to which all the tribes shall resort upon the solemn festivals; which shall have twelve gates, according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel." See Lowth, Revelation 11:1. read more
The sacred district in the Promised Land 45:1-8The Lord next gave Ezekiel directions for the division of some of the Promised Land in the future. Revelation about apportioning the rest of the land follows later (Ezekiel 47:13 to Ezekiel 48:35). These descriptions do not coincide with any division of the land in the past, and the amount of detail argues for a literal fulfillment in the future. read more
Within this area there was to be a space 500 cubits by 500 cubits (about 833 feet by 833 feet). This was the size of the temple complex (cf. Ezekiel 42:20). Surrounding this complex there would be an open space of an additional 50 cubits (83 feet), a kind of green belt. This sacred space would facilitate and illustrate the holiness of the sanctuary area. The temple sanctuary would stand within this 25,000 by 10,000 cubits (8.3 miles by 3.3 miles) area and constitute the most holy part of the... read more
The other Levites would occupy another 25,000 by 10,000 cubits (8.3 miles by 3.3 miles) area beside the one just described (cf. Ezekiel 48:13). It would evidently be immediately to the north. Under the Mosaic system the priests and Levites lived scattered throughout Israel, not all in very close proximity to the temple, as here. read more
Another parcel of land 25,000 by 5,000 cubits (about 8.3 miles by 1.7 miles), apparently immediately to the south, would contain the city of Jerusalem, and all the Israelites would have access to it. Later Ezekiel clarified that the city itself would occupy the center of this portion of land, and suburbs, or city lands, would flank it on the east and west (cf. Ezekiel 48:15; Ezekiel 48:17-19). read more
The Lands for the Priests, Levites, Prince, and CityThe division of the whole country is described in ch. 48, which includes the substance of the present passage, and shows the position of these lands in relation to those of the tribes. The holy portion (Fig. 7, a b g h) was to be 25,000 cubits long (a b, g h) and 20,000 cubits broad (a g, b h). The sanctuary (s) was to occupy a square of 500 cubits each way, with a border on every side of 50 cubits more. The holy portion was to be subdivided... 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
(5) For a possession for twenty chambers.—Adjoining the priests’ portion of the oblation, another equal portion is assigned to the Levites. The last clause of the verse, as it stands, admits of no satisfactory explanation. The suggestion that it may refer to twenty out of the thirty chambers in the outer court of the sanctuary (Ezekiel 40:17) is quite out of place. Even if these were intended for the use of the Levites (which does not appear), it would be strange that they should be abruptly... read more
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E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ezekiel 45:6
the whole house of Israel . Compare Ezekiel 48:19 . read more