Ezekiel 47:1

River of the Temple, Division of the Land and Its Boundaries

1 And he brought me back to the doorway of the temple and, look! There was water coming out from under the threshold of the temple eastward, because the face of the temple [was] eastwards; and the water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, from south of the altar.

Ezekiel 47:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 47:1

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" ^F24; for he was last in the corners of the outward court, viewing the kitchens or boiling places of the ministers; but now he was brought back into the inner court, and to the door that led into the holiest of all: and, behold!
for it was matter of admiration, as well as of observation and attention: waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward;
this is a new thing, to which there was nothing like it, either in the first or second temple. Ariateas ^F25 indeed relates what he himself saw,

``a never failing conflux of water, as of a large fountain, naturally flowing underneath, and wonderful receptacles under ground; to each of which were leaden pipes, through which the waters came in on every side, for about half a mile about the temple, and washed away the blood of the sacrifices;''

and so the Talmudists ^F26 say, there was an aqueduct from the fountain of Etam, and pipes laid from thence to supply the temple with water, for the washing and boiling of the sacrifices, and keeping the temple clean: but these waters are quite different; they are such as came out of the temple, and not what were carried by pipes into it; nor were they a common sewer to carry off the filth of it, but formed a delightful and useful river. The fountain of them is not declared, only where they were first seen to issue out, under the threshold of the house eastward;
the threshold of the door of the most holy place; so that they seem to take their rise from the holy of holies, the seat of the divine Majesty, and throne of God, with which agrees ( Revelation 22:1 ) , and so the Talmudists ^F1 say, that this fountain came first from the house of the holy of holies, under the threshold of the door of it, which looked to the east: for the fore front of the house stood toward the east;
the holy of holies was at the west end of the temple; but the front of it, and so the door into it, was to the east, and from hence these waters flowed: and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house;
they are said to "come down", because the temple was high built upon the top of a mountain; and "from under", that is, the threshold of the door of it; or rather in subterraneous passages, till they appeared from under that; and this was "on the right side of the house"; that is, on the south side: for, suppose a man standing with his face to the east, as the prophet did, when he turned himself to see which way the waters flowed, having his face to the west when he first saw them come out; the south then must be on his right hand, and so it follows: at the south side of the altar;
of the altar of burnt offerings, which stood before the house.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (ynbvyw) "reduxit me", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Starckius.
F25 Hist. 70. Interpret. p. 32, 33. Ed. Oxon. 1692,
F26 T. Hieros. Yoma, fol. 41. Cippi Hebr. p. 10.
F1 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 77. 2.

Ezekiel 47:1 In-Context

1 And he brought me back to the doorway of the temple and, look! There was water coming out from under the threshold of the temple eastward, because the face of the temple [was] eastwards; and the water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, from south of the altar.

2 And he brought me out [by the way] of [the] north gate and he led me around [by the] {way leading to the outside of the outer gate} [by] way of the [gate] facing east, and look, there was water trickling from the south side.

3 As the man went eastward a measuring line [was] in his hand, and he measured a thousand {cubits}. And he led me through [on] into the water; [it was] {ankle deep}.

4 And he measured a thousand [cubits], and he brought me over into the waters [and] [it was] {knee deep}. And he measured a thousand [cubits], and he brought me over [into] the waters [and] [it was] {waist deep}.

5 And he measured a thousand [cubits], [and] [it became] a stream that I was not able to cross, because the water rose, {waters a person could swim in}, [and became] a stream that could not be crossed.