Ezekiel 45:2

2 Within this area there is to be a section for the sanctuary 500 cubits square, ^[a] with 50 cubits ^[b] around it for open land.

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 are to set aside a portion for the LORD, a holy portion of the land 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide. This entire tract of land will be holy.

2 Within this area there is to be a section for the sanctuary 500 cubits square, with 50 cubits around it for open land.

3 From this holy portion, you are to measure off a length of 25,000 cubits and a width of 10,000 cubits, and in it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.

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

5 An adjacent area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide shall belong to the Levites who minister in the temple; it will be their possession for towns in which to live.

Footnotes

• [a]. 500 (long) cubits is approximately 875 feet or 266.7 meters.
• [b]. 50 (long) cubits is approximately 87.5 feet or 26.7 meters.