Ezekiel 48:8

And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering,.... Or the oblation of a holy portion of the land unto the Lord before made mention of, Ezekiel 45:1 this was

And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah. No JFB commentary on these verses.

The offering; the holy portion, of which , set out for priests, Levites, and city, . Reeds is here supplied by the translators, but I rather think cubits; for the greatness of the portion measured by reeds will eat out the tribes, or leave very little for them, as appears thus: The whole length from north to south was about one hundred and sixty miles, the breadth about sixty. Now twenty-five thousand reeds is at the least seventy-seven miles, at one thousand paces to a mile. These seventy-seven taken out of one hundred and sixty, there will remain but eighty-three for the twelve tribes, which will afford not quite seven miles in breadth for each tribe; whereas seventy-seven miles are allotted to the priests, Levites, and city; so that there will remain but eighty-three miles for the twelve tribes, that is, to each one almost seven miles. Now this to me would seem very much disproportioned; but twenty-five thousand cubits reckoned doth give the holy portion and city twelve miles and half square, and gives near as much in breadth to each tribe, and five times almost as much in length to each tribe; which appears thus: twelve times twelve make one hundred and forty-four, and twelve quarters make three wholes; give then each tribe twelve and a quarter, you divide one hundred and forty-seven by twelve and a quarter: now to this add the prince’ s, the holy portion, and the city land, which is twelve miles and a half, and you have one hundred and fifty-nine miles and three quarters, which is the length of the whole land. Thus the breadth of each portion for each tribe; but the length of each exceeded the prince’ s by twelve and a half, and the holy portion as much as sixty exceeds twelve and a half. From the east side to the west side; that is, twenty-five thousand in length, which amounts to twelve miles and a half. Now the residue of the land from the sea eastward abutting on the whole breadth of the holy portion by equal proportion, will be twenty-three and a quarter, and as much from the other side, measuring from the eastern bounds of the holy portion to the utmost bounds eastward of the land, which is sixty miles from its utmost western bounds; as appears thus: take an oblong square, whose breadth is twelve and a half, its length sixty; suppose in the very middle twelve and a half square taken up, there will remain at each end the half of forty-seven and a half, which is twenty-three and three quarters. According to this we conceive the prince hath assigned him as much as two tribes very near, and almost four times as much as the holy oblation; so that there is good reason for that , against oppression, and the command that he be content. The sanctuary; the whole contents of suburbs, courts, and house.

Ezekiel 48:8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand [reeds in] breadth, and [in] length as one of the [other] parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.Ver. 8. Shall be the offering.] Whereof see Ezekiel 45:1-7. Of five and twenty thousand reeds.] Which being exactly cast up, saith one, come to forty-five miles, and therefore cannot be meant of any city to be built by the Jews again after their return from Babylon, but must be understood as the Church under the gospel.

XLVIII. The closing chapter of Ezekiel is mainly occupied with the distribution of the land in detail. Beginning at the north, a portion is assigned to each of seven tribes (Ezekiel 48:1-7); then the “oblation” is described, with its parts for the Levites, the priests and Temple, the city and those that serve it, and for the prince (Ezekiel 48:8-22), and lastly portions for the remaining five tribes. The chapter and the book close with an account of the size and the twelve gates of the city, the whole ending with its name, “The Lord is there.” The distribution of the land is entirely different from that made under Joshua, nor is it easy to trace any historical reasons for it, except that the central portion, containing the Temple, the land of the priests and the prince, is flanked by the two tribes of the southern kingdom, Judah and Benjamin. The chapter can best be understood by the aid of a small map, the outline of which is traced from Dr. Wm. Smith’s ancient atlas. This might be drawn with the lines between the tribes perpendicular either to the general course of the Jordan, or to the general coast-line of the Mediterranean. The latter would give a little more width for the oblation, but still not enough, and would leave no space at all on the west for the prince. The former arrangement is on the whole preferred. It will be seen that the tribes are not arranged either according to their seniority or their maternity. The territory falling to each tribe was much smaller than of old, partly because of the large space occupied by the “oblation” (fully one-fifth of the whole), and partly because the remainder was to be divided among the whole twelve tribes, instead of among only nine and a half. The portion thus given to each tribe was rather less than two-thirds that assigned, on the average, by Joshua. (1) These are his sides east and west.—Lit., The east side, the west side, shall be to him, meaning that the portion of Dan stretches across the country from the eastern to the western boundary. So of them all. The original portion of Dan was at the west of Benjamin, but a part of the tribe having conquered Laish, and settled at the extreme north, Dan is now made the most northern of the tribes. Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, and Ephraim are so far approximated to their old places as to be north of the sanctuary. (8) In length as one of the other parts.—The oblation, which has been already spoken of in Ezekiel 45:1-7 in a different connection, is here (Ezekiel 48:8-22) more exactly described. Its whole width is again stated as 25,000 reeds, and its length from the eastern to the western boundaries of the laud “as one of the other parts,” no account being taken in this of the varying distance between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. It cannot, however, be so placed as not to exceed that distance.

8. the offering … reeds in breadth] The Oblation (Ezekiel 45:1) … cubits in breadth, i.e. N. to S. This is the breadth of the whole part subtracted from the territory of the country, and devoted to the priests, the Levites, the city and the prince. In length it goes from the Jordan to the sea, just “as one of the other parts,” i.e. the portions of the tribes. The sanctuary shall be situated in the centre of this oblation, viz. in the portion assigned to the priests—that assigned to the Levites being on the north and that assigned to the city on the south.

“Length” is throughout measured from west to east, as breadth is from north to south.

8, 9. Toy reads: “On the border of Judah, from the east end to the west end, shall be the reservation which ye shall set aside: twenty-five thousand cubits wide, and in length equal to one tribal