Ezekiel 47:13-23

Boundaries and Division of the Land

13 Thus says the Lord GOD, "This shall be the ¹boundary by which you shall divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve * tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two ²portions.

14 "You shall divide it for an inheritance, each one equally with the other; for I ³swore * to give it to your forefathers, and this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.

15 "This shall be the boundary of the land: on the ⁴north side, from the Great Sea by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of ⁵Zedad;

16 ⁶Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of ⁷Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.

17 "The boundary shall extend from the sea to ⁸Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, and on the north toward the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

18 "The ⁹east side, from between Hauran, Damascus, ¹⁰Gilead and the land of Israel, shall be the ¹¹Jordan; from the north border to the eastern sea you shall measure. This is the east side.

19 "The ¹²south side toward the south shall extend from ¹³Tamar as far as the waters of ¹⁴Meribath-kadesh *, to the ¹⁵brook of Egypt and to the ¹⁶Great Sea. This is the south side toward the south.

20 "The ¹⁷west side shall be the Great Sea, from the south border to a point opposite ¹⁸Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.

21 "So you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.

22 "You shall divide it by ¹⁹lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the ²⁰aliens who stay in your midst, who bring forth sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an ²¹inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

23 "And in the tribe with which the alien stays, there you shall give him his inheritance," declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 47:13-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 47

This chapter gives an account of the vision of the holy waters, and of the borders of the holy land, and the division of it to Israelites and strangers. The waters are described by the original and spring of them, Eze 47:1,2, by the progress and increase of them, Eze 47:3-5, by the healing and quickening nature of them, and the places where they were so, and were not, Eze 47:8-11, and by the trees which grew upon the banks of them, Eze 47:6,7,12. The borders of the holy land are fixed, Eze 47:13,14, the northern border, Eze 47:15-17, the eastern border, Eze 47:18, the southern, Eze 47:19, and the western, Eze 47:20, which is to be divided by lot to the tribes of Israel, and the strangers that sojourn among them, Eze 47:21-23.

Cross References

• 1. Numbers 34:2-12
• 2. Genesis 48:5; Ezekiel 48:4, 5
• 3. Deuteronomy 1:8; Ezekiel 20:6
• 4. Numbers 34:7-9
• 5. Numbers 34:8
• 6. Numbers 13:21; Isaiah 10:9; Ezekiel 47:17, 20; Ezekiel 48:1; Zechariah 9:2
• 7. Genesis 14:15; Ezekiel 47:17, 18; Ezekiel 48:1
• 8. Numbers 34:9
• 9. Numbers 34:10-12
• 10. Genesis 37:25; Jeremiah 50:19
• 11. Genesis 13:10, 11
• 12. Numbers 34:3-5
• 13. Ezekiel 48:28
• 14. Deuteronomy 32:51
• 15. Numbers 34:5; 1 Kings 8:65; Isaiah 27:12
• 16. Ezekiel 47:10, 15
• 17. Numbers 34:6
• 18. Judges 3:3; 2 Chronicles 7:8; Ezekiel 48:1; Amos 6:14
• 19. Numbers 26:55, 56
• 20. Isaiah 14:1; Isaiah 56:6, 7
• 21. Acts 11:18; Acts 15:9; Ephesians 2:12-14; Ephesians 3:6; Colossians 3:11

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch
• [b]. Lit "like his brother"
• [c]. Lit "lifted up My hand"
• [d]. Lit "in"
• [e]. Or "Hamath"
• [f]. Or "Zedad"
• [g]. Lit "be"
• [h]. Or "entrance of Hamath"