Ezekiel 48
12 Tribes of Israel, home again
Northern tribes of new Israel
1This is the tribal land, starting in the far north and working south:Dan’s territory extends all the way across Israel, west to east, from the seacoast to the eastern boundary. It tracks along the road from Hethlon to Lebo-hamath. Then it goes on to Hazar-enon, which lies on Damascus’s northern border with the territory of Hamath.
2Ashur’s land lies parallel on Dan’s southern border. It, too, stretches all the way across Israel. 3Naphtali lies south of Ashur, stretching across the land. 4Manasseh, lies south of Naphtali, stretching west to east, from border to border.
5Ephraim comes next, below Manasseh, all the way across the land. 6Reuben’s tribe follows Ephraim, all across the land. 7Judah follows Reuben, from west to east, border to border.
Temple zone
8The Jerusalem Temple will stand on a sacred reserve south of Judah’s tribal territory. This reservation covers all the land from the sea to the eastern border. North to south it extends about seven miles. [1]9Inside that reserve there are several blocks of land for the Temple, Jerusalem, and for different groups of people. The total area covers about 42 square miles (110 sq km). North to south it will extend to the full seven miles of the reservation. But the footprint west to east will cover just six miles of land. [2]
10The northern block, measuring 7 by 3 miles, [3] is reserved for selected priests. 11Only priests descended from Zadok [4] can live there. Of all the priests in the tribe descended from Jacob’s son Levi, Zadok’s family is the one that remained loyal to God. The other priests turned their backs on God. So did many of the people. 12They get the most sacred land of all, with the Temple as its centerpiece. Levite [5] associates of the priests live on a parallel strip of land to the north. [6]
13So, the Levites get the other half of the sacred reserve, seven miles west to east and three miles north to south. 14These two blocks of territory for priests and Levites are holy land to the LORD. No one can sell the land or give it away. It stays with the priests and Levites.
Public land in Israel
15South of the sacred reserve there’s a parallel strip of public land seven miles west to east and almost 2 miles north to south. It’s for people to build homes and graze their livestock.16The city of Jerusalem is there, too, laid out as a square, measuring a mile and a half on each of the four sides. [7] 17Outside the city walls are open fields 150 yards deep on each side.
18East and west of the city there’s farmland, to produce food for the area. Each block of farmland is three miles west to east. And it’s a mile and a half north to south. 19Jerusalem farmers alongside farmers from all tribes work the land.
20The full footprint lays out as a square seven miles on each side. This contains the reserve for priests and Levites, along with the city and other public land.
21The rest of the reserve, parallel to the tribal lands, belongs to the ruler. This royal land lies outside the square block of sacred and public lands. The ruler has one area to the east of the sacred reserve and another to the west. Each plug of ground stretches seven miles north to south. But east to west it extends to Israel’s borders, sea to sea. From Jerusalem, the ruler’s land would run roughly 20 miles [8] east to the Dead Sea and Jordan River Valley, and about 35 miles west to the Mediterranean Sea.
22The land of the priests and Levites lay between the two stretches of royal land. This royal land runs parallel to the territory of Judah in the north and Benjamin in the south.
The rest of the tribal lands
23Benjamin’s land comes next, below the strip of royal, sacred, and public lands. 24Simeon’s land lies south of Benjamin, stretching across the nation. 25Issachar lies south of Simeon, stretching west to east, from border to border.26Zebulun comes next, below Issachar, all the way across the land. 27Gad’s tribe follows Zebulun, all across the land.
28The southern border goes from Tamar to the oasis of Kadesh-barnea, [9] and on to the usually dry riverbed called the Wadi of Egypt. From there, it stretches to the Mediterranean Sea. 29This is your land. The Lord God said so.
Gates into Jerusalem
30Jerusalem’s walls are built into a square. Each wall runs about 1 1/3 miles [10] long and has three gates. 31Each gate is named after a tribal family. The northern gates are called: Reuben, Judah, and Levi.32Gates of the east wall: Joseph, [11] Benjamin, Dan. 33Gates of the south wall: Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun. 34Gates of the west wall: Gad, Asher, and Nephtali.
35Distance around the city is just over five miles. [12] The city’s name is I AM Here. [13]
Footnotes
In ancient Hebrew measurements, it’s 25,000 cubits. At the 18-inch cubit, that’s 7 miles or about 11 kilometers. There was also a 20-inch cubit, and 21 inches. Using those numbers, 25,000 cubits would run about 8 miles or 12 kilometers.
That’s 11 by 10 kilometers. In ancient measurements, it was 25,000 by 20,000 cubits. Reports vary in ancient manuscripts. Some Hebrew copies say it measured just 25,000 by 10,000 cubits. That’s about 7 by 3 miles or 11 by 5 kilometers. Greek manuscripts say 25,000 by 20,000 cubits, as in Ezekiel 48:9.
That’s 25,000 cubits by 10,000 cubits or 11 by 5 kilometers.
Zadok was a priest who helped King David hold onto his royal power when David’s son Absalom led a violent coup. He also helped David’s son Solomon claim the throne, instead of Solomon’s older half-brother Adonijah—who Solomon later had executed. Zadok’s family of priests began to produce the high priests and other chief priests. Only descendants of Zadok could serve as chief priests. There were other families of priests, but those in the Zadok dynasty led Israel in matters of worship and Jewish law.
Levites were descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s 12 sons. Levi’s descendants, or tribe, became the nation’s priests, Temple workers, and other worship leaders and associates. Bible writers often mention priests and Levites as though Levites were associates of priests. Yet, both were descendants of Levi, which makes them both Levites in one sense of the word. But there was another sense of the word. Historians still debate what the difference was between a priest and a Levite. It seems that priests performed what people considered the more important religious duties. Levites may have been more like associate ministers.
That’s a guess. The passage says only that it’s parallel to the priestly reserve. Other scholars place the Levites in the northern block and priests below.
Two kilometers.
That’s roughly 30 kilometers to the Dead Sea and the Jordan River Valley and 55 kilometers to the Mediterranean Sea.
Ezekiel used an alternate name for the oasis: Meribath-kadesh. This was the largest oasis in the southern region there. Scholars most often identify Kadesh-barnea, also called Kadesh, as the spring-fed oasis at Tel el-Qudeirat, on Egypt’s side of the border with Israel. Another contender is Ain Qadeis, also on Egypt’s side of the border.
That’s 4,500 cubits or 2 kilometers.
Joseph’s name incorporates the names of his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who made up the 12 tribes when the tribe of Levi wasn’t included. When Moses divided the land among the Hebrew settlers, Levites didn’t get a big plug of land. They got cities scattered throughout the tribal lands, to give people access to worship leaders and counselors.
That’s 18,000 cubits or about 8 kilometers.
Most Bibles translate the name as something like: The LORD is there. The Hebrew words are Yahweh Sam. When Moses asked God what his name is, God said: Yahweh, which means I AM. So, it’s tempting to say the name of the city is I AM Sam. As in, Sam I AM. But Sam in Hebrew usually refers to a location, such as: here, there, behind, or inside. That’s why many Bibles go with a city name of “The LORD is there” or “The LORD is here.” When we use LORD in all caps, that’s English code for Yahweh, which is Hebrew code for “I AM” in whatever language. But “I AM here,” uses the mystical meaning of his name in a way that sounds like a “Welcome home.” The name is mystical because we’re left wondering what he meant by “I AM.” Was he saying: “You don’t need to know my name;” “We don’t use names here;” “I’m real and the other gods are not”? We’re left guessing.
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