Ezekiel
Ezekiel 47
1He brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, waters flowed out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the front of the house faced toward the east. The waters came down from underneath, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar. 2Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me around by the way outside to the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looks toward the east. Behold, waters ran out on the right side.
3When the man went out eastward with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. 4Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through waters that were to the waist. 5Afterward he measured one thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters had risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be walked through.
6He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen?”
Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river. 7Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8Then he said to me, “These waters flow out toward the eastern region, and will go down into the Arabah. Then they will go toward the sea; and flow into the sea which will be made to flow out; and the waters will be healed. 9It will happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, will live. Then there will be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters have come there, and the waters of the sea will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river comes. 10It will happen, that fishermen will stand by it. From En Gedi even to En Eglaim will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many. 11But the miry places of it, and its marshes, will not be healed. They will be given up to salt. 12By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, will grow every tree for food, whose leaf won’t wither, neither will its fruit fail. It will produce new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary. Its fruit will be for food, and its leaf for healing.”
13The Lord Yahweh says: “This shall be the border, by which you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. 14You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it to your fathers. This land will fall to you for inheritance.
15“This shall be the border of the land:
“On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad; 16Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer Hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. 17The border from the sea, shall be Hazar Enon at the border of Damascus; and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.
18“The east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the east sea you shall measure. This is the east side.
19“The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook, to the great sea. This is the south side southward.
20“The west side shall be the great sea, from the south border as far as opposite the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side.
21“So you shall divide this land to yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22It will happen, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who will father children among you. Then they shall be to you as the native-born among the children of Israel. They shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23It shall happen, that in whatever tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord Yahweh.
Commentary
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What others are saying
4 commentators · 53 notes on this chapter
Matthew Henry2
Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.
Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.
This part of Ezekiel's vision must so necessarily have a mystical and spiritual meaning that thence we conclude the other parts of his vision have a mystical and spiritual meaning also; for it cannot be applied to the waters brought by pipes into the temple…
We are now to pass from the affairs of the sanctuary to those of the state, from the city to the country. 1. The Land of Canaan is here secured to them for an inheritance (Eze 47:14): I lifted up my hand to give it unto your fathers, that is, promised it upon…
John Gill23
The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.
Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.
Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house,.... The door of the temple, even of the holy of holies; hither the prophet is said to be brought again, or "brought back" (x); for he was last in the corners of the outward court, viewing the kitchens…
Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward,.... Out of the inward court where he was, by the way of the north gate, the eastern gate being shut: and led me about the way without unto the utter gate, by the way that looketh eastward; and from…
And when the man that had the line in his hand,.... The same as in Ezekiel 40:3 and is no other than Christ, who appeared in a human form to the prophet; and who hitherto had only made use of the measuring reed in taking the dimensions of the house, and what…
Adam Clarke15
The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.
Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.
Behold, waters issued out from under the threshold - Ezekiel, after having made the whole compass of the court of the people, is brought back by the north gate into the courts of the priests; and, having reached the gate of the temple, he saw waters which had…
There ran out waters - מים מפכים mayim mephaccim, the waters seem to have been at first in small quantity; for the words imply that they oozed or dropped out. They were at first so small that they came guttatim, drop by drop; but they increased so, that they…
He measured a thousand cubits - the waters were to the Ankles; a thousand more, - the waters were to the Knees; a thousand more, - they became a River that could not be forded. The waters were risen, and they were waters to Swim in. I. This may be applied to…
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown13
The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.
Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.
trees--not merely one tree of life as in Paradise (Gen 3:22), but many: to supply immortal food and medicine to the people of God, who themselves also become "trees of righteousness" (Isa 61:3) planted by the waters and (Psa 1:3) bearing fruit unto holiness.
the desert--or "plain," Hebrew, Arabah (Deu 3:17; Deu 4:49; Jos 3:16), which is the name still given to the valley of the Jordan and the plain south of the Dead Sea, and extending to the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea. the sea--the Dead Sea. "The sea" noted as…
rivers--in Hebrew, "two rivers." Hence Hebrew expositors think that the waters from the temple were divided into two branches, the one emptying itself into the eastern or Dead Sea, the other into the western or Mediterranean. So Zac 14:8. However, though this…
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