Ezekiel 48:21

21 To the east and to the west of this area which contains the Temple, the priests' land, the Levites' land, and the city, the remaining land belongs to the ruling prince. It reaches east to the eastern boundary and west to the Mediterranean Sea, and is bounded on the north by the section belonging to Judah and on the south by the one belonging to Benjamin.

Ezekiel 48:21 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 48:21

And the residue shall be for the prince
Not the civil magistrate, but the Prince Messiah; the King, Governor, and Protector of his church and people: on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the
possession of the city:
his portion shall lie on each side of the portion for the sanctuary, the priests and Levites, and for the city and its appurtenances; so that he will be the guardian and preserver of them all; (See Gill on Ezekiel 45:7): over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward
the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty
thousand toward the west border;
or, "before the face" ^F24 "of the five and twenty thousand of the oblation"; that is, next to the tribe of Judah, close by that, and just before the holy oblation of five and twenty thousand reeds, both eastward and westward, should be the portion of the prince on one side: over against the portions for the prince;
or, "over against" these shall be that for the prince
^F25; parallel with the portions of the several tribes before described shall be that of the prince, which belongs to him: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall
be in the midst thereof;
that is, the holy oblation of the land for the priests and Levites, and the sanctuary should be between that part of the prince's portion which lay next to Judah, and that which lay next to Benjamin; of which in the next verse.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (ynp la) "ante facies", Pagninus; "ante faciem", Starckius.
F25 (ayvnl Myqlx tmel) "ex adverso portionum, [id vero] principis erit", Tigurine version; "juxta portiones, principi erit", Cocceius, Starckius.

Ezekiel 48:21 In-Context

19 Anyone who lives in the city, no matter which tribe he comes from, may farm that land.

20 And so the total area in the center of the section which was set apart will be a square measuring 10 miles on each side, and it will include the area occupied by the city.

21 To the east and to the west of this area which contains the Temple, the priests' land, the Levites' land, and the city, the remaining land belongs to the ruling prince. It reaches east to the eastern boundary and west to the Mediterranean Sea, and is bounded on the north by the section belonging to Judah and on the south by the one belonging to Benjamin.

23 South of this special section, each of the remaining tribes is to receive one section of land running from the eastern boundary west to the Mediterranean Sea, in the following order from north to south: Benjamin Simeon Issachar Zebulun Gad