Ezekiel 46:4

Eze 46:4 And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD in the sabbath day [shall be] six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.

Ver. 4. Six lambs without blemish.] This was a larger sacrifice than Moses had appointed {Num 28:9} - Christians have more cause than Jews had to sanctify the Sabbath - as that for the new moons {Eze 46:6} was lesser. See Num 28:11. Hereby it appeareth that God was about to abrogate the Mosaical worship, and the Levitical priesthood: Lex enim posterior derogat priori. This the Jewish doctors would fain say something to, but cannot tell what. The wit of these miscreants, reprobate concerning the faith, will better serve them to devise a thousand shifts to elude the truth, than their obstinace will suffer them once to yield and acknowledge it.

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.

The offerings prescribed here Eze 46:4-15 are generally in excess of those enjoined by the Law, to note not only the greater devotion and magnificence under the new state of things, but also the willingness (compare Deu 16:17) of king and people ready to give of their substance to the utmost of their means.

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

Eze 46:4-5. The burnt-offering that the prince shall offer, &c. — It was the prince’s part to provide sacrifices for the sabbaths and other festivals: see Eze 45:17. But this was a new ordinance; and the number of the beasts that were to be offered, and the proportions of the meat and drink- offerings, are different here from those prescribed in the law, as will appear by comparing the fourth, sixth, seventh, and fourteenth verses of this chapter, with Num 28:9-12; Num 28:15. And the meat-offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give — The Hebrew is, According to the gift of his hand; that is, as much as he shall think sufficient.

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

Verse 4. The burnt-offerings that the prince shall offer] The chief magistrate was always obliged to attend the public worship of God, as well as the priest, to show that the civil and ecclesiastical states were both under the same government of the Lord; and that no one was capable of being prince or priest, who did not acknowledge God in all his ways. It is no wonder that those lands mourn, where neither the established priest nor the civil magistrate either fear or love God. Ungodly priests and profligate magistrates are a curse to any land. In no country have I found both so exemplary for uprightness, as in Britain.

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

(4) Six lambs . . . and a ram.—The burnt offering for the Sabbath, according to the Mosaic law (Num_28:9), was two lambs. This is greatly increased here, and the “meat offering” for the ram is also made larger, while that for the lambs (Eze_46:5) is left to the prince’s generosity.

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

4–6. On the sabbath the burnt-offering shall be six lambs and a ram, and the meal-offering an ephah of flour for the ram and what the prince thinks good for the lambs; and the libation a hin of oil.

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 the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram,.... See Gill on Eze 45:24,

and the meat offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give; or, and "the gift of his hand" (k); it was fixed and stinted under the law, Num 28:9, but now should be free and voluntary, and according to the ability of the giver; that is, the preacher of the word, who officiates for the prince, and in his name, and sets before the people the meat, or rather bread offering, Christ the bread of life, freely, and according to the ability and measure of the gift of grace bestowed upon him:

and an hin of oil to an ephah; which was also a larger quantity than under the law, denoting the larger measure of the gifts and graces of the Spirit, signified by oil, given unto the ministers of the word, and the people also; See Gill on Eze 45:24.

(k) "donum manus ejus", Cocceius, Starckius.

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

Six. Moses only prescribed two lambs for every day, Numbers xxviii. 9.

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).

The burnt-offering; this is different from that Eze 42:13, as appears both from the kind of sacrifice and the occasion of it, or the time of each.

In the sabbath day; or weekly, sabbath by sabbath; this was three times as much as was required, Num 28:9.

Six lambs of the first year, and males, Eze 46:13, and as the Hebrew implies.

Without blemish; unblemished sacrifices were ever required, and so this, Lev 1:3; Num 6:14.

A ram; when it was more than a year old, the Jews accounted it a ram.

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

4-7. Instead of two lambs for a burnt offering the prince in this new and ideal commonwealth shall offer six on the Sabbath (Num_28:9), and instead of two tenths of an ephah of flour mingled with oil for a meat and drink offering (ibid.) an entire ephah is required and a bin of oil (about 1½ gals.) to each ephah of flour (about 9 gals.). The amount of flour for each lamb is left to the liberality of his hand (Eze_46:5; Eze_46:7). The offering at the new moons, however, is less than the Levitical law required (Num_28:11-15), and the sin offering is entirely omitted. The divergences between the directions of Ezekiel and the Pentateuchal law are as yet inexplicable, as we are too little acquainted with the sacrificial symbolism to explain them. To declare that this law was later than Ezekiel and based upon his legislation does not remove the difficulty; for such small changes as these could not have been made without sufficient reason, and we cannot now know what that reason was; though we may be pretty confident that in the Hebrew ritual, as in that of other nations, each act of the priest and each sacrifice had some definite religious meaning. (Compare Eze_43:11-12.)

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 4, 5 describe the sacrifices the prince should offer unto the Lord on the sabbaths.

(1) A burnt offering of six lambs and a ram, all without blemish. The Mosaic Law, or so-called priests" code, demanded two yearling lambs. (Num_28:9)

(2) A meat offering, consisting of an ephah of fine flour for a ram, and for the lambs as he shall be able to give; literally, a gift of his hand not a handful, but, as ver. 7 explains, what his hand can attain unto, (comp. Lev_14:31 Lev_25:26) i.e. as much as he can, with a hin of oil to an ephah, for which again the Law required two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil. (Num_28:9)

Vers. 4-12The optional and the obligatory in the kingdom of God.

1. Here are minute and positive prescriptions, requiring exact conformity and allowing no deviation. The burnt offering was to be six lambs and one ram no more and no less (ver. 4). In the day of the new moon at that particular time the offering was to include a young bullock (ver. 6). They who entered in by the north gate were to go out by the south gate, and vice versa (ver. 9). These (and other) instructions were in full and careful detail, and there was to be no departure from them.

2. On the other hand, the prince might, at certain hours and on occasion, bring an offering that was purely "voluntary;" one that was "voluntarily" presented unto the Lord (ver. 12). Room was left for spontaneity, even in the midst of these very specific requirements. In the kingdom of Jesus Christ we have these two orders of service the obligatory and the optional, the plainly and positively enjoined, and the voluntary; and that Christian life is not complete which is lacking in either.

I THE OBLIGATORY. Of those things pertaining to our Christian life which are indispensable there are:

1. At its entrance:

(1) humility (or penitence); and

(2) faith, that living faith in Jesus Christ which includes the acceptance of him as the Savior of the soul and the Lord of the life.

2. Throughout its course:

(1) worship, or the approach of the human spirit to the Divine in prayer, in thanksgiving, in consecration;

(2) obedience, or the conformity of conduct to those precepts which are an essential part of Christian morals;

(3) love, including not only the "love of the brethren," or a special attachment to those who are the friends and followers of Jesus Christ, but also a genuine pity for those who are far from him and need to be brought nigh, and a practical determination to seek and to win these erring souls.

II THE OPTIONAL. There is room for the voluntary as well as for the necessary in our Christian life.

1. In the particulars of our worship. We have one main principle binding upon all men everywhere, (Joh_4:23, Joh_4:24) but it is left to our individualchoice to our own judgment and conscience at what times, in what forms, within what buildings, with what kind of human ministry, we shall draw nigh to God in true and pure devotion.

2. In the minutiae of obedience. What shall be the rules and the regulations we shall lay down for the observance of the great principles of purity, of temperance, of equity, of veracity, of reverential speech, of courtesy., these are not to be found in any Christian directory; they are to be decided upon m the sanctuary of every consecrated spirit and of every cultivated conscience.

3. In the measure and methods of loving service. What proportion of our income, what amount of our time, what order of personal effort, we shall devote to the cause of Christ and in the interest of our fellow-men, this rests with every individual Christian man to decide. These must be, in some sense and degree, "voluntary offerings. C.

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

On the Sabbath day shall be six lambs I do not know why, for the Torah said (Num. 28:9): “two lambs,” and “on the Sabbath Day” means either the Sabbath commemorating the Creation or a festival. I, therefore, say that this Sabbath is not the Sabbath commemorating the Creation, but a festival that requires seven lambs and two rams. Scripture comes and teaches you that [the absence of one] does not render the other one invalid, and if he does not find seven, he should bring six, and if he does not find two rams, he should bring one, as our Rabbis expounded regarding the New Moon.

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.