“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.” (Ezekiel 48:1-35 AV)
Chapter 48
The share of the country for 7 *tribes to the north – Ezekiel 48:1-7
v1 ‘Here is a list of the names of the *tribes.
The northern border is from the sea through Hethlon to Lebo Hamath. Then the border goes all the way to Hazar Enan. North of here is Damascus. The end of the border is next to Hamath.
Here Dan will have one share of land. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v2 South of Dan, Asher will have one share of land. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v3 South of Asher, Naphtali will have one share of land. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v4 South of Naphtali, Manasseh will have one share of land. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v5 South of Manasseh, Ephraim will have one share of land. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v6 South of Ephraim, Reuben will have one share of land. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v7 South of Reuben, Judah will have one share of land. It will go from the east side to the west side.’
Verses 1-7 To the north of the *holy area will be the shares of 7 of the *tribes. The shares are all the same size. Each share goes from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.
The *holy area – Ezekiel 48:8-12
v8 ‘South of Judah will be the *holy area of land which you are to give to the *LORD. It will be 25 000 *cubits wide, and its length from east to west will be equal to one share of land for the *tribes. The *temple will be in the centre of it.
v9 The share that you will give to the *LORD will be 25 000 *cubits long and 10 000 *cubits wide. v10 This will be the *holy area for the priests. It will be 25 000 *cubits long on the north side. It will be 10 000 *cubits wide on the west side. It will be 10 000 *cubits wide on the east side. And it will be 25 000 *cubits long on the south side. The *temple of the *LORD will be in the centre of it. v11 This land is for the *holy priests who serve the *LORD. Their *ancestor is Zadok. These priests remained loyal to me. They did my work. They did not *turn away from me when the *Israelites and the *Levites *turned away from me. v12 They will have a special share in the *holy area of the land. It will be a very *holy share. It will be next to the land that belongs to the *Levites.’
Verses 8-12 To the south of Judah’s share there will be the *holy area of land. The total length of this area from east to west will be the same as the *tribe’s shares.
In this total area, there will be a square of 8.3 miles (13.4 kilometres). From the north of this square 3.3 miles (5.3 kilometres) width is for the *Levites. The next 3.3 miles (5.3 kilometres) width is for the *Lord. The last 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometres) is for the city.
The *Lord’s share will be for the Zadok priests. They will live there. But in the centre of it will be the *temple area.
An area for the *Levites – Ezekiel 48:13-14
v13 ‘Next to the priests, the *Levites will have a share of land. It will be 25 000 *cubits long and 10 000 *cubits wide. The whole length shall be 25 000 *cubits and the width 10 000 *cubits. v14 They must not sell or trade any of this land. It is the best land. Nobody else can own a part of this land. It is *holy and it belongs to the *LORD.’
Verses 13-14 The share for the *Levites is to the north of the *holy area. They will not be able to sell any of this land. It must remain the property of the *Levites. The *Lord will be the actual owner of the land.
The extent of the city – Ezekiel 48:14-20
v15 ‘The rest of the area will be 5000 *cubits wide and 25 000 *cubits long. It will not be *holy but it will belong to the city. There will be houses and open areas with the city in the centre. v16 The city will be square. Each side will be 4500 *cubits long. v17 The city shall have open land. To the north of the city, it will be 250 *cubits. To the south of the city, it will be 250 *cubits. To the east of the city, it will be 250 *cubits. And to the west of the city, it will be 250 *cubits. v18 Along the long side of the *holy area there will be 10 000 *cubits on the east side. And there will be 10 000 *cubits on the west side. This land will be for agriculture. It will produce food for the workers in the city. v19 The workers from the city who farm it will come from all the *tribes of *Israel. v20 This whole area will be square, 25 000 *cubits on each side. You shall give to the *LORD the *holy share and the city land.’
Verses 14-20 South of the *holy area will be the 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometres) for the city. The city will be in a square of 1½miles (2.4 kilometres). This will be in the centre of this whole area. All round the city there will open ground 437½ feet (135 metres) wide. So, the city and its open ground make a square of 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometres). Beyond this square on each side, there will be land 3.3 miles (5.3 kilometres) by 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometres).
This land by the sides of the city area will be for farms. People from the *tribes will live in the city. Some of them will work here to provide food for the city.
The share of land for the prince – Ezekiel 48:21-22
v21 ‘Some land will remain on both sides of the *holy part and the city. This land will belong to the prince. That land will be from the east of the *holy area to the east border. And it will be from the west of the *holy area to the west border. Both of these areas will be as long as the lands of the *tribes. They belong to the prince. The *holy area will have the *temple in the middle of it. v22 The *Levites’ land and the city land will be in the middle of the prince’s land. The lands of the prince will be between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin.’
Verses 21-22 The land on both sides of the *holy area (this includes the city area) will belong to the prince. He is the leader, under *Messiah, of the *Israelites. He is from the family of David. And like David, he loves and serves the *Lord with all his heart. His lands will be 8.3 miles (13.4 kilometres) from north to south.
The share of the country for 5 *tribes to the south – Ezekiel 48:23-29
v23 ‘Here is what the rest of the *tribes will receive. Benjamin will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v24 South of Benjamin's land, Simeon will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v25 South of Simeon's land, Issachar will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v26 South of Issachar's land, Zebulun will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v27 South of Zebulun's land, Gad will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.
v28 The southern border of Gad's land will be towards the Negev. The border will go from Tamar to the waters called Meribah Kadesh. Then it will go along the river of Egypt to the Great Sea.
v29 This is the land that you will give to the *tribes of *Israel to be their shares.’ So says the *LORD your King.
Verses 23-29 To the south of the *holy area will be the shares of the other 5 *tribes. The shares are all the same size. Each share goes from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.
Judah and Benjamin are next to the *holy area. This may be because these two *tribes were more loyal to the *temple than the other *tribes were.
The 12 *tribes come from the sons of Jacob. He had 8 sons by his two wives. Their shares will be next to the *holy area. To the north, there will be the shares for Judah, Reuben, and Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh). To the south, there will be the shares for Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar and Zebulun.
Also, Jacob had sons from the maids of his wives. Their shares will be furthest from the *holy area. To the north, there will be Naphtali, Asher and Dan. To the far south, there will be the share of Gad.
Because of their cruelty, Jacob *prophesied against Simeon and Levi. They did not receive shares in the time of Joshua. They lived among the other *tribes. But in the future Simeon’s *tribe will have a share. It will be equal to the shares of the other *tribes. And Levi’s *tribe will have their place in the *holy area.
So all the *tribes will be there. They will all have their proper place in the country. No *tribe will have more land than another *tribe.
The City with 12 gates – Ezekiel 48:30-35
v30 ‘These exits will be the exits of the city. The north side will be 4500 *cubits long. v31 There will be three gates on the north side. Each gate will have the name of a *tribe of *Israel. The gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi.
v32 The east side will be 4500 *cubits long. Here there will be three gates. They will be the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan.
v33 The south side will be 4500 *cubits long. Here there will be three gates. They will be the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun.
v34 The west side will be 4500 *cubits long. Here there will be three gates. They will be the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali.
v35 The city shall be 18 000 *cubits round about. From that time, the name of the city will be “The *LORD is there.” ’
Verses 30-35 There will be three gates on each side of the city. The names of the gates will be the names of the *tribes.
The gates to the north will be Reuben, Judah and Levi. The gates to the east will be Joseph, Benjamin and Dan. Joseph was the father of Ephraim and Manasseh. So, Joseph’s name replaces their names here. The gates to the south will be Simeon, Issachar and Zebulun. The gates to the west will be Gad, Asher and Naphtali.
The gates to the north and the south have the names of Leah’s sons. She was one of Jacob’s wives. The gates to the east have the names of Rachel’s two sons and Dan. Rachel was the other wife of Jacob. Dan was the son of Rachel’s maid. The gates to the west have the names of Leah’s maid’s sons.
This city is for all the *Israelites. That is why the names of all the *tribes are on the gates.
For many centuries, the capital city of *Israel has been Jerusalem. That name means ‘the city of peace’. But the city has not often been peaceful. There have been many wars there. Only Jesus the *Messiah can bring about true peace that will last. And when he does, people from all the *tribes will live together peacefully in the capital city. And that city will have a new name, because the *Lord will be present with his people.
So, Ezekiel ends his *prophecy with the name of the city. Its name will be ‘the *Lord is there.’ The whole city, not just the *temple, has the *Lord’s name. This shows that there will be a new relationship between the *Lord and his people *Israel.