Ezekiel - 48:15



15 The five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in its midst.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Ezekiel 48:15.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And 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.
And the five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the five and twenty thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
But the five thousand that remain 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.
And the five thousand that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a common place for the city, for dwellings and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst of it.
And the five thousand that is left in the breadth, on the front of the five and twenty thousand, is common, for the city, for dwelling, and for suburb, and the city hath been in its midst.
And 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 middle thereof.
And the other five thousand, measured from side to side, in front of the twenty-five thousand, is to be for common use, for the town, for living in and for a free space: and the town will be in the middle of it.
And the five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the five and twenty thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for open land; and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
But the five thousand that is left over, out of the twenty-five thousand in width, will be a profane place of the city for dwelling and for the suburbs. And the city shall be in the center.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

The five thousand - The remainder of the square of 25,000 reeds from north to south.
Profane - For common use, as distinguished from that which is holy unto the Lord.

And the five thousand that are left - The territory of the Levites was twenty-five thousand square cubits, Ezekiel 48:20, But their city was only four thousand five hundred square cubits, see Ezekiel 48:13 and Ezekiel 48:16; there remained, therefore, ten thousand cubits square to be divided, of which five thousand cubits in breadth, by twenty-five thousand in length, on the east and west sides, were reserved for a sort of second city; or for suburbs where laymen might dwell who were employed by those priests and Levites who lodged in the temple and in the city, Ezekiel 48:18. And another space of one thousand cubits in breadth, by twenty-five thousand in length, which extended only from north to south, was for fields and gardens appointed for the support of those lay servants. On which we may remark, there was no cultivated land between the portion of the Levites and that of the prince, but only on the east and west sides. See Ezekiel 45:6, and the map FF.

And the five thousand that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand,.... Which belonged to the Levites, which was a square of twenty five thousand reeds by twenty five thousand; by the side of, or parallel to, the twenty five thousand in length, ran twenty five thousand in breadth, two ten thousands, as in the portion of the priests, Ezekiel 48:10 so in theirs, Ezekiel 48:13, the residue whereof, five thousand,
shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs; to build a city upon for the Israelites to dwell in, and suburbs to be inhabited by those that were not of the city; or for fields and gardens, to supply the city with things necessary and convenient; though the Jewish commentators, Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, say the suburbs were an open place, where were neither houses, nor fields, nor gardens: when this spot for the city and suburbs is said to be a "profane place", it is to be understood comparatively, with respect to the portion for the priests and Levites; otherwise it was a part of the holy oblation; or rather, that it was common to all the people of Israel, who might all dwell in it; and therefore Symmachus and Theodotion render it This "city" signifies the Gospel church, often compared to a city in Scripture, being compact together; consisting of Christians knit together in love, of the same sentiment, and joining in religious worship: a city seated on an eminence; well founded; built on the rock Christ Jesus; its buildings large and beautiful, and of lively stones; its inhabitants many, the fellow citizens of the saints; these inhabitants, of all nations, of every rank, age, and sex; and very healthful, none of them sick and diseased; healed of all maladies; living in a wholesome air, by a river, the streams whereof make glad this city, and the inhabitants of it; who have many privileges, being Christ's freemen; governed by good laws, under proper officers appointed to explain them, and see them executed: a city well fortified with the bulwarks of salvation; the city of solemnities, and of the great King. The suburbs of it are for such who are not yet of it, but are waiting at Wisdom's gates, and at the posts of her door, hoping for admittance ere long:
and the city shall be in the midst thereof; of the area of five thousand reeds.

The five thousand rods, apportioned to the city out of the twenty-five thousand square, are to be laid off in a square of four thousand five hundred, with the two hundred fifty all around for suburbs.
profane--that is, not strictly sacred as the sacerdotal portions, but applied to secular uses.

A profane place - A common, not consecrated place.

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