Ezekiel 45:3

Eze 45:3 And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary [and] the most holy [place].

Ver. 3. The length of five and twenty thousand.] Here the same again is repeated, {as Eze 45:1} and further is shown how this holy portion of ground was to be employed to the use of the priests.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

45:3-4 Within this holy portion, the Temple complex would form the Most Holy Place at the heart of a sacred square. Just as the Most Holy Place in the Temple was protected by an inner court that only the priests could enter, the Temple complex was surrounded by a section reserved only for priests.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. And of this measure] See the plan, A, B, C, D, E. See Clarke on Eze 48:35.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) Of this measure.—If the Hebrew text of Eze_45:1 be preserved unchanged, we must understand this to refer to the whole oblation of 25,000 reeds broad which was in the prophet’s mind, though he does not speak of it until afterwards; this verse will then be a repetition of the latter part of Eze_45:1, for the sake of specifying that the sanctuary was to be within it. The territory here assigned to the priests, more than 47 miles long by nearly 19 broad, with only one square mile deducted for the sanctuary, is enormously larger than the 13 cities assigned for their residence in Jos_21:19, and is also considerably larger than that given (Ezekiel 48) to any of the tribes. It has been suggested that, as Ezekiel makes no mention of the tithes, this large territory may have been given to the priests for their support instead of the tithes; but the law of tithes was a very ancient institution (see Gen_14:20; Gen_28:22), and was important for the good of the people as well as for the support of the priests. It is unlikely that Ezekiel would have introduced so radical a change without any allusion to it. The enlargement of the priests’ possessions is quite in proportion to the enlargement of the sanctuary, and both seem designed in this symbolical vision to set forth the prominence of the Divine worship, and its precedence over all other things.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. The portion of the sacred land assigned to the priests shall consist of a tract 25,000 long by 10,000 broad.

sanctuary and the most holy] sanctuary, (even) the most holy thing. The whole area of land is holy, the sanctuary most holy.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand,.... Not that the sense is, that of and according to the cubit measure last mentioned, this length and this breadth should be measured; but "after this measure", as Starckius renders it, and as the particle is rendered, Dan 11:23 and which Sanctius mentions; and Jerom seems to have understood it in this light: and the sense is, that after he had finished the measure of five hundred reeds square, and fifty cubits round, he should proceed to measure the rest of the twenty five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth:

and in it shall be the sanctuary, and the most holy place; that is, in the midst portion of land, consisting of the above measures, be the holy place, and the holy of holies; this is, but a further explanation of the two preceding verses.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Measure, from the centre of the temple; so that the dimensions given must be doubled, (chap. xlviii. 10.) as also ver. 5.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Of, or by, or from this cubit measure, Eze 45:2, shalt thou measure. So express, that indeed I wonder a dispute can arise; and this justifies the French version, which from this verse no doubt took the coudee, which they use in Eze 45:1.

In it, in the centre or navel of this twenty-five thousand and ten thousand, shall the whole sanctuary, courts, temple, and holy of holies, or the oracle, be built.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And of this measure shalt thou measure. As above explained, if mi, "of," be taken as equivalent to "from," i.e. deducted from, then the whole "measure" in ver. 1 must have been 25, 000 20, 000 reeds; but if, as Ewald translates, it may signify "after," "according to," then the text in ver. 1 will not require to be altered (see on ver. 1), and the present verse will be merely a reiteration of the statement in ver. 1 that the priests" portion should be 25, 000 10, 000 reeds, preparatory to the additional notification that in it should be the sanctuary and the most holy place, or rather, the sanctuary which is most holy (Revised Version). The exact position of the sanctuary in the priests"portion is afterwards stated to have been in the midst. (see Eze_48:8)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And in it - In the center of this.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to the house of Israel.

this area

the temple and the border surrounding it

a portion

"a portion of land"

twenty-five thousand cubits ... ten thousand

Each long cubit was about 54 centimeters. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 40:5. AT: "25,000 cubits ... 10,000 cubits" or "about 13.5 kilometers ... about 5.4 kilometers" (See: Biblical Distance)

translationWords

holy place

priest

servant

holy

Levi

house of God

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And with this measurement [lit. from this measurement.] With the measuring rod by which the 500 by 500 square of the Temple Mount was measured, as is stated above (42:20): “To four sides he measured it; its wall all around, five hundred rods, etc.”

you shall measure the length of 25,000 rods and the width of 10,000 rods. Because he did not explain in the first verse what the 25,000 are, whether rods or cubits, he had to say, concerning the 25,000 measures that they were measured with the measuring rod by which the five hundred by five hundred of the Temple Mount were measured.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.