Ezekiel 45:6

Eze 45:6 And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy [portion]: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.

Ver. 6. And ye shall appoint the possession of the city.] After the church service settled, and the ministry provided for. Aristotle’s {a} advice is πρωτον περι θειων επιμελει, first take care of divine things - that is the best policy.

It shall be for the whole house of Israel.] A rendezvous for them at festival times.

{a} Polit., lib. vii. cap. 8.

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.

Eze 45:6. And ye shall appoint the possession of the city, five thousand broad, &c., over against (or by the side of, see Eze 48:14) the oblation of the holy portion — This must run parallel in length with the holy portion, though but half its breadth, by which means these three portions made an exact square. It shall be for the whole house of Israel — The capital city, to which all the tribes shall resort upon the solemn festivals, and shall have twelve gates, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, Eze 48:31. This portion appointed for the city, considered separate from the other portions, was a rectangle, containing an area of about seventeen miles in circuit; which, according to Josephus, was more than four times the circuit of Jerusalem: see Bell. Jud., 5. 4:3, where that city is stated to be thirty-three stadia in circumference.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 6. Ye shall appoint] See the plan, FF. 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.

(6) The possession of the city.—This portion, more particularly described in Eze_48:15-20, is there called “a profane place,” though still constituting a part of the oblation. It was the same length and half the width of either of the other portions, and was for the city, and for a common possession of the nation, to supply food for those who “serve the city” “out of all the tribes of Israel” (Eze_48:18-19). Nothing is anywhere said to identify this city with Jerusalem, and, indeed, it is described as in a different position geographically (see map). Jerusalem, like the ark, appears to have faded from the prophet’s sight in this vision of the future Church.

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

6. The city possesses a strip of land 5000 cubits broad and 25,000 long, running parallel to the portion of the priests, cf. Eze_48:15. The city shall stand in the midst of this tract, which it entirely covers N. to S., cf. Eze_48:16-17.

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 ye shall appoint the possession of the city, 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, Eze 40:2 and seems also different from the city in Eze 48:30, 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", Rev 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.

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

This portion is to belong to the whole people, not to be subject to the encroachments made by the later kings of Judah Jer 22:13. The Levites’ portion 10,000 reeds, the priests’ portion 10,000 reeds, and the city portion 5,000 reeds. make in all 25,000 reeds from north to south. The measure of each of these portions from east to west has been defined to be 25,000 reeds (Eze 45:1 note), and thus we have a square of 25,000 in all.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

According. Hebrew, "along or (Calmet) over-against the oblation of the holy portion." (Protestants) --- Israel, destined to serve the priests. (Haydock)

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).

Appoint; order and measure out.

The possession; land to be a possession to the citizens of Jerusalem, and to be the contents of the city.

Five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long; about two miles and half broad, and twelve miles and half long, measured by the cubit, as Eze 45:3 directs.

Over against the oblation of the holy portion: this must run along parallel in length with the holy portion, though but half its breadth.

For the whole house of Israel: as the chief and capital city, to which the tribes resort, it must be large enough to entertain them too; and was to be framed with twelve gates to twelve streets, for the twelve tribes, as Eze 48:31. as Eze 48:31; Eze 48:31.

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

In addition to the holy terumah for the priests and the portion for the Levites, should be marked off as the possession of the city a third tract of territory, five thousand (reeds) broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against rather, side by side with (Revised Version), "parallel to" (Keil)the oblation of the holy portion. That is to say, it should lie upon the south, as the Levites" territory lay upon the north of the priests" portion. Adding the 10, 000 reeds of breadth for the Levites" domain, the 10, 000 for the priests" land, and the 5000 for the city quarter, makes a total breadth of 25, 000 reeds; so that the tract in which all these were included was a square. That the portion for the city should be for the whole house of Israel implied that it should be communal property, belonging to no tribe in particular, but to all the tribes together in modern phrase should be "common good, ein Volksgut (Kliefoth), which should neither be confiscated by kingly rapacity (comp. Jer_22:13) nor invaded by individual and private appropriation, but retained for the use of the inhabitants generally. (see Eze_48:18, Eze_48:19)

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

The possession - Land to be a possession to the citizens of Jerusalem, and to be the content of the city. Broad - About two miles and half broad, and twelve miles and half long. Long - This must run along parallel in length with the holy portion, though but half its breadth. For the whole house - As the capital city, to which the tribe's resort, it must be large enough to entertain them.

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.

five thousand cubits ... twenty-five thousand

Each long cubit was about 54 centimeters. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 40:5. AT: "5,000 cubits ... 25,000 cubits" or "about 2.7 kilometers ... about 13.5 kilometers" (See: Biblical Distance)

reserved for the holy place

This can be translated in active form. AT: "that you gave for the holy place" (See: Active or Passive)

The length will correspond to the length of one of those portions

It is implied that Ezekiel is comparing the prince's land with the size of the land given to each of the tribes. AT: "The length will be the same as the length of one of the portions given to the tribes" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

from the west to the east

It is implied that these are the western and eastern borders of the land of Israel. "from the western border of Israel at the sea to the eastern border at the Jordan River"

translationWords

Israel

prince

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, [for] the property of the city The environs of the city; its properties meant for ordinary dwelling, in which the Israelites may build houses.

you shall give a width of five thousand in the south of the second one, and a length equal to the measurement of the two strips. It is found that the entire offering is square, twenty-five [thousand] by twenty-five thousand.

corresponding to the offering of the holy portion in the measurement of the length of the strips of the offering of the holy portion.

for the entire House of Israel it shall be That third strip shall be the dwelling place for non priests.

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.