Ezekiel 45:3

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

Ezekiel 45:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 45:3

And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of
five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand
Not that the sense is, that of and according to the cubit measure last mentioned, this length and this breadth should be measured; but "after this measure", as Starckius renders it, and as the particle is rendered, ( Daniel 11:23 ) ( Nehemiah 13:21 ) and which Sanctius mentions; and Jerom seems to have understood it in this light: and the sense is, that after he had finished the measure of five hundred reeds square, and fifty cubits round, he should proceed to measure the rest of the twenty five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: and in it shall be the sanctuary, and the most holy place;
that is, in the midst portion of land, consisting of the above measures, be the holy place, and the holy of holies; this is, but a further explanation of the two preceding verses.

Ezekiel 45:3 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]. The portion was to be approximately 8.3 miles long and 3.3 miles wide (13.3 kilometers long and 5.3 kilometers wide); similarly in verse 5.
• [b]. Or the Holy of Holies