Ezekiel 45:6

6 "You shall give the ¹city possession of an area 5,000 * cubits wide and 25,000 * * cubits long, alongside the allotment of the holy portion; it shall be for the whole house of Israel.

Ezekiel 45:6 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 45:6

And ye shall appoint the possession of the city,
&e.] Which is something distinct from the house or temple, which was as the frame of a city, being so large, and consisting of so many parts, ( Ezekiel 40:2 ) and seems also different from the city in ( Ezekiel 48:30 Ezekiel 48:35 ) , the measures of the one and of the other not agreeing. Starckius thinks that this city prefigures the academies that should be among Christians, in which the priests or ministers of the word should teach those that came out of all parts unto them; but I am rather of opinion that the civil state of the people of God is here meant, as it will be in the spiritual reign of Christ; when all civil power and authority will not as yet be put down, only it will come into the hands of the saints, and be administered by Christian kings and princes. Five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against
the oblation of the holy portion;
five thousand reeds in breadth are allowed less for the civil than the church state; and though they are contiguous, and there is a connection between them, yet are separate from each other; the material temple was in the city of Jerusalem; but the holy portion, in which the sanctuary shall be, is without the city, and the city over against that; hence John seems, to have borrowed his idea and language, "I saw no temple therein", ( Revelation 21:22 ) , though speaking of another city: the church and the world shall be no more mixed together; Christ's kingdom is not of this world, nor to be fixed on a civil establishment: it shall be for the whole house of Israel;
they shall all be under one and the same form of government; I do not say they shall be all under one temporal king or prince; but all Christian kings and princes shall exercise the same kind of rule and government; so that, as their church state will be uniform, their civil state or polity will be alike.

Ezekiel 45:6 In-Context

4 "It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the LORD , and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.

5 "An area 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the house, and for their possession cities to dwell in.

6 "You shall give the city possession of an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, alongside the allotment of the holy portion; it shall be for the whole house of Israel.

7 "The prince shall have land on either side of the holy allotment and the property of the city, adjacent to the holy allotment and the property of the city, on the west side toward the west and on the east side toward the east, and in length comparable to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border.

8 "This shall be his land for a possession in Israel; so My princes shall no longer oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes."

Cross References

• 1. Ezek 48:15-18, 30-35

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "contribution"