Ezekiel 48:1-7

Tribal allotments in the north 48:1-7

The tribe of Dan was to receive the northernmost section of the Promised Land. The order of tribes from north to south, north of the sacred district, was Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Judah-seven tribal allotments of equal size (Ezekiel 47:14). Since they will be of equal size, and since the east-west width of the Promised Land would vary depending on the latitude of each allotment, it seems that the north-south distance would also vary somewhat.

The order of these tribes does not conform to any other in Scripture. These tribal allotments are not like those that Joshua assigned nor are they as large (cf. Joshua 14-22). There is a general progression from the most unfaithful tribe, Dan, to the most faithful, Judah. Judah, from which Messiah came, receives the blessing of being adjacent to the holy allotment. The tribes that descended from Jacob’s concubines (Dan, Asher, Naphtali, and Gad) receive land to the far north and far south. Those that descended from Jacob’s wives receive land toward the center of the land (cf. Genesis 35:23-26).