Ezekiel 45:2

2 In this area there will be a square [section]^[a] for the sanctuary, 875 by 875 [feet],^[b][c] with 87 and a half feet^[d] of open space all around it.

Ezekiel 45:2 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 45:2

Of this there shall be for the sanctuary
Or temple, the house before described in the preceding chapters: five hundred in length, and five hundred in breadth, square round
about:
that is, five hundred reeds square, as is manifest from ( Ezekiel 42:16-20 ) , and this denotes the largeness, perfection, and stability of the church of Christ, which the sanctuary was a type of: and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof;
which were a void place of fifty cubits round about the sanctuary, measuring from the wall to that; this was done in reverence to the holy place, and to show that we should not rush hastily into the house of God, and church of Christ, but first pass through the suburbs or open place. Cubits being here mentioned, show that reeds are to be understood where the kind of measure is not expressed.

Ezekiel 45:2 In-Context

1 "When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance, you must set aside a donation to the Lord, a holy portion of the land, eight and one-third [miles] long and six and two-thirds [miles] wide. This entire tract of land will be holy.

2 In this area there will be a square [section] for the sanctuary, 875 by 875 [feet], with 87 and a half feet of open space all around it.

3 From this holy portion, you will measure off an area eight and one-third [miles] long and three and one-third [miles] wide, in which the sanctuary, the most holy place, will stand.

4 It will be a holy area of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who draw near to serve the Lord. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary.

5 There will be [another area] eight and one-third [miles] long and three and one-third [miles] wide for the Levites who minister in the temple; it will be their possession for towns to live in.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit square all around
• [b]. Lit 500 by 500 [cubits]
• [c]. Ezk 42:20
• [d]. Lit 50 cubits