Ezekiel 48:21

21 "The rest of this land, the country stretching east to the Jordan and west to the Mediterranean from the seven-mile sides of the 'holy square,' belongs to the prince. His land is sandwiched between the tribal portions north and south, and goes out both east and west from the 'sacred square' with its Temple at the center.

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 Workers from all the tribes of Israel will serve as field hands to farm the land.

20 "This dedicated area, set apart for holy purposes, will be a square, seven miles by seven miles, a 'holy square,' which includes the part set aside for the city.

21 "The rest of this land, the country stretching east to the Jordan and west to the Mediterranean from the seven-mile sides of the 'holy square,' belongs to the prince. His land is sandwiched between the tribal portions north and south, and goes out both east and west from the 'sacred square' with its Temple at the center.

22 The land set aside for the Levites on one side and the city on the other is in the middle of the territory assigned to the prince. The 'sacred square' is flanked east and west by the prince's land and bordered on the north and south by the territories of Judah and Benjamin respectively.

23 "And then the rest of the tribes: "Benjamin: one portion, stretching from the eastern to the western boundary.