Ezekiel 48:13-14 - Exposition

The Levites' portion is next described by its situation , as lying over against — לְעֻמַּת , "at or near," answerable to (Revised Version), parallel with (Keil)— the border of the priests ; by its dimensions , as twenty-five thousand reeds in length , from east to west, and ten thousand reeds in breadth, or from north to south, i.e. it should be as large as the priests' portion—in point of fact larger, since the space necessary for the sanctuary required to be deducted from the former; by its tenure , which was such that the Levites could neither sell , exchange, nor alienate it , any more than under the Law the Levites could sell the field of the suburbs or pasture-lands of their cities (Le 25:34); and by its character , which, as consisting of the firstfruits of the land , i.e. of the first portion of the land heaved up or presented in offering (see Ezekiel 45:1 ), was holy unto the Lord (cf. Ezekiel 44:30 ). The changes in the text made by the LXX . and favored by Hitzig and Smend—"to the Levites" instead of "the Levites" ( Ezekiel 48:13 ), and "twenty" instead of "ten thousand" ( Ezekiel 48:13 )—are unnecessary.