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Ezekiel 48

KJV · Chapter 48/48

1Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazar–enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.

2And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.

3And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.

4And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.

5And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.

6And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.

7And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.

8And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.

9The oblation that ye shall offer unto the Lord shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.

10And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the midst thereof.

11It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.

12And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.

13And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.

14And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the Lord.

15And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.

16And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.

17And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.

18And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.

19And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.

20All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.

21And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, 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, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.

22Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince’s, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.

23As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.

24And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.

25And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.

26And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.

27And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.

28And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.

29This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord God.

30And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.

31And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.

32And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.

33And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.

34At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.

35It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The book ends with the detailed division of the land among the twelve tribes of Israel, the designation of a special portion for the temple and the city, and the final declaration that the city's name will be 'The Lord Is There.'

Explanation

The organization of the land into parallel strips for each tribe, with the sanctuary and the holy city at the center, visually communicates an entire society organized around the presence of God, rather than the other way around. It is significant that the city's twelve gates bear the names of the twelve tribes (v.31-34), symbolizing broad and equal access for the whole people to the city of God, an image taken up directly in the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:12-13. The city's final name, 'Yahweh-Shammah' (The Lord Is There), sums up the entire central message of the book of Ezekiel: despite all the judgment, exile, and pain described across 48 chapters, God's final and definitive hope for his people is to dwell permanently among them.

Fun facts

  • The city's final name in Hebrew, 'Yahweh-Shammah,' became a phrase of hope quoted in various later Jewish and Christian traditions as a summary of God's central promise to dwell with his people.
  • The structure of twelve gates named after the tribes of Israel is taken up almost identically in the vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, showing how the ending of Ezekiel literarily anticipates the ending of the entire Bible.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezekiel 48:1Dividing the land into parallel strips, one for each tribe, is an idealized, symmetrical geography that does not match the real historical map of the tribes described in the book of Joshua — the point here is not practical geography, but conveying a sense of complete order and equality.
  2. Ezekiel 48:2Continues the list of tribal portions in the northern strip: after Dan comes the portion of Asher, each strip running from east to west.
  3. Ezekiel 48:3After Asher, the portion of Naphtali, following the same pattern of parallel strips that organizes the whole chapter.
  4. Ezekiel 48:4After Naphtali, the portion of Manasseh, one of the two “halves” of the tribe of Joseph, treated here separately from Ephraim.
  5. Ezekiel 48:5After Manasseh, the portion of Ephraim, the other half of the tribe of Joseph.
  6. Ezekiel 48:6After Ephraim, the portion of Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, yet with no special position of prominence in this territorial arrangement.
  7. Ezekiel 48:7After Reuben, the portion of Judah — the last tribal strip before the great central area set aside for the temple, priests, Levites, and city.
  8. Ezekiel 48:8Describes the start of the central sacred strip, right after Judah’s territory, with the sanctuary positioned right in the middle of it.
  9. Ezekiel 48:9Repeats the measurements already given in chapter 45 for this sacred offering: twenty-five thousand by ten thousand reeds.
  10. Ezekiel 48:10Details how this central area is divided: the portion set aside for the priests occupies the north and south of the strip, with the sanctuary at the center.
  11. Ezekiel 48:11Reinforces that this priestly portion belongs specifically to the descendants of Zadok, who remained faithful even when the rest of the Levites strayed.
  12. Ezekiel 48:12This part is called “a thing most holy,” bordering the territory set aside for the other Levites.
  13. Ezekiel 48:13The Levites receive a strip of land the same size as the priests’, right next to it.
  14. Ezekiel 48:14Explicitly forbids selling, exchanging, or transferring this reserved land — it belongs permanently to sacred use, and can never become common property.
  15. Ezekiel 48:15The remaining strip, five thousand cubits wide, next to the sacred area, is for common use: the city’s housing and its surroundings.
  16. Ezekiel 48:16Details the exact measurements of this city area, forming a perfect square on its four sides.
  17. Ezekiel 48:17Also details the “suburbs,” the city’s surrounding areas, an additional strip around it.
  18. Ezekiel 48:18The rest of the land beside the sacred area, both east and west, would be used for farming, supporting those who work in service of the city.
  19. Ezekiel 48:19Specifies that these city workers would come from all the tribes of Israel, not from any one specific group.
  20. Ezekiel 48:20Sums up the total area of the sacred offering as a square of twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand reeds, including the city’s portion within that measurement.
  21. Ezekiel 48:21What remains on both sides of this central strip belongs to the prince, repeating the arrangement already described in chapter 45, with the sacred area in the middle of his lands.
  22. Ezekiel 48:22Specifically locates the prince’s lands between the territories of Judah and Benjamin, flanking the central sacred strip.
  23. Ezekiel 48:23Begins the list of tribes south of the central area, starting with the portion of Benjamin.
  24. Ezekiel 48:24After Benjamin, the portion of Simeon, following the same pattern of parallel strips.
  25. Ezekiel 48:25In Ezekiel’s vision, the order of the tribes changes: Issachar appears here in the south, near Judah, quite different from the region it actually occupied, up north near the Valley of Jezreel.
  26. Ezekiel 48:26Zebulun comes right after Issachar in this ideal land — the two tribes were already neighbors in the real division of the land recorded in the book of Joshua.
  27. Ezekiel 48:27After Zebulun, the portion of Gad, the last tribal strip before the land’s southern border.
  28. Ezekiel 48:28Describes the southern border of Gad’s territory, repeating the same boundary already described in chapter 47, from Tamar to Meribah-Kadesh.
  29. Ezekiel 48:29Closes the list of portions with a formal declaration: this is the division of the land among the tribes of Israel, by God’s direct order.
  30. Ezekiel 48:30The city’s twelve gates, three on each side, each named after a tribe, ensure that every one of Israel’s lines has a representative entrance into the city — no tribe is left out of the final design.
  31. Ezekiel 48:31Details the gates on the north side of the city, each named after a tribe: Reuben, Judah, and Levi.
  32. Ezekiel 48:32Details the gates on the east side of the city: Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan.
  33. Ezekiel 48:33Details the gates on the south side of the city: Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.
  34. Ezekiel 48:34Details the gates on the west side: Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, completing the twelve gates, one for each tribe, three on each side of the city.
  35. Ezekiel 48:35The book ends with a new name for the city: “The Lord is there.” After chapters showing the glory of God leaving the temple, in chapters 10 and 11, and then returning, in chapter 43, this final phrase sums up the whole book’s main subject in a single sentence.

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