tween. 2 Or, Meribah. among the Tribes. unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. (23) And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD. (18) And the east side ye shall measure | Heb., from be shall divide it by lot for an inheritance 1from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side. (19) And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward. (20) The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come 3 Or, valley. over against Hamath. This is the west side. (21) So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. (22) And it shall come to CHAPTER XLVIII.-(1) Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of one goeth to Hamath, 4 Or, toward Te- Hethlon, as ye man. (18) From Hauran, and from Damascus.-The eastern boundary is also the same as that given in Num. xxxiv. 10-12, although more particularly described there. In both cases it excludes the territory of the trans-Jordanic tribes, which was not included in Palestine proper, even after its conquest by Moses, and in which the two and a half tribes were allowed to settle with some reluctance (Num. xxxii.). The word "from," occurring four times in this verse, is literally from between, as is noted in the margin; it means that the boundary was to run between the territories of Hauran, Damascus, and Gilead on the one side, and that of Israel on the other. The boundary is to be the Jordan; but as this does not extend so far north, it became necessary to mention the territory of Damascus as bounding the land of Israel, and in this connection Hauran and Gilead are also spoken of. The boundary extends, as of old, beyond the mouth of the Jordan to the southern end of the Dead Sea and thence to Kadesh. The extreme length of the land is somewhat uncertain, but must have fallen short of 250 miles. (19) From Tamar even to the waters of strife. -The southern border, as given in Num. xxxiv. 3—5, is identical with that described here, as far as the two can be compared. Tamar has been identified with Kurnub, a ruined village some twenty-five miles west of the southern end of the Dead Sea; but as the old boundary certainly went far to the south of this. and as the next place mentioned is Kadesh, about thirty miles nearly south from the Dead Sea, the Tamar here meant is more probably some place not yet identified. Kadesh, known from the "waters of strife" as Meribah (Num. xx. 3-14), is called Kadesh-barnea in Num. xxxiv. 4. It has been identified by Robinson with the Ain-el-Weibeh, about thirty miles slightly west of south from the Dead Sea. Its exact situation, however, is somewhat doubtful. The river to the great sea.-Literally, riverward to the great sea. From Kadesh the boundary was to strike across the mountainous desert to what is often called in Scripture "the river of Egypt," and was anciently known as the Rhinocolura, now called the Wady-el-Arish. It followed this to the Mediterranean. The length of the southern boundary, following the curve of the Rhinocolura, must have been nearly 100 miles, or about eighty-seven miles from east to west. (20) Over against Hamath.-The western boundary, as in Num. xxxiv. 6, is the Mediterranean, and con tinues to the starting-point, Hamath being here, as in verses 16, 17, the district of Hamath. (22) By lot. See Note on chap. xlv. 1. To the strangers.-An entirely new feature is here added to the Mosaic law. According to Lev. xix. 34, strangers were to be treated with kindness, but the entire territory was to be divided among the Israelites, and strangers could therefore acquire no land except in so far as they might purchase a temporary right between the years of Jubile. Now, however, such of them as "shall beget children among you," thus showing a disposition to permanent residence, are to receive an inheritance along with the tribes and in the portion of that tribe where they may have chosen to fix their residence. This privilege is absolute, without any condition of receiving circumcision. XLVIII. The closing chapter of Ezekiel is mainly occupied with the distribution of the land in detail. Beginning at the north, a portion is assigned to each of seven tribes (verses 1-7); then the "oblation" is described, with its parts for the Levites, the priests and Temple, the city and those that serve it, and for the prince (verses 8-22), and lastly portions for the remaining five tribes. The chapter and the book close with an account of the size and the twelve gates of the city, the whole ending with its name, "The Lord is there." The distribution of the land is entirely different from that made under Joshua, nor is it easy to trace any historical reasons for it, except that the central portion, containing the Temple, the land of the priests and the prince, is flanked by the two tribes of the southern kingdom, Judah and Benjamin. The chapter can best be understood by the aid of a small map, the outline of which is traced from Dr. Wm. Smith's ancient atlas. This might be drawn with the lines between the tribes perpendicular either to the general course of the Jordan, or to the general coast-line of the Mediterranean. The latter would give a little more width for the oblation, but still not enough, and would leave no space at all on the west for the prince. The former arrangement is on the whole preferred. It will be seen that the tribes are not arranged either according to their seniority or their maternity. The territory falling to each tribe was much smaller than of old, partly because of the large space occupied by the "oblation" (fully one-fifth of the whole), and partly because the remainder was to be divided among the whole twelve tribes, instead of among Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan. (2) And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher. (3) And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali. (And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh. (5) And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim. (6) And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben. (7) And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah. (8) And by the border of Judah, from 1 Or. The sanctified The Sanctuary. the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst. of it. (9) The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth. (10) And for them, even for portion shall be the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof. (11) 1 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which for the priests. only nine and a half. The portion thus given to each tribe was rather less than two-thirds that assigned, on the average, by Joshua. (1) These are his sides east and west.—Lit., The east side, the west side, shall be to him, meaning that the portion of Dan stretches across the country from the eastern to the western boundary. So of them all. The original portion of Dan was at the west of Benjamin, but a part of the tribe having conquered Laish, and settled at the extreme north, Dan is now made the most northern of the tribes. Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, and Ephraim are so far approximated to their old places as to be north of the sanctuary. (8) In length as one of the other parts.-The oblation, which has been already spoken of in chap. xlv. 1-7 in a different connection, is here (verses 8-22) more exactly described. Its whole width is again stated as 25,000 reeds, and its length from the eastern to the western boundaries of the land "as one of the other parts," no account being taken in this of the varying distance between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. It cannot, however, be so placed as not to exceed that distance. (9) The oblation.-This is the same word as is translated offering in verse 8. It is used in this passage in three different senses:-(1) as including the whole strip from the Jordan to the Mediterranean and 25,000 reeds wide; (2) for that part of this set aside for the priests, and for the Levites; (3) for the most sacred part of this, appropriated to the priests and Temple, 25,000 reeds from east to west, and 10,000 from north to south. This last portion, although in the middle, is mentioned first on account of its especial sacredness. (10) In the midst thereof.-The whole connection shows that this is to be understood strictly; the sanctuary was to be not merely within the priests' portion, but in its centre. (11) Sons of Zadok.-See Note on chap. xl. 46. As the Levites went astray.-That the Levites were far more affected than the priests by the general apostasy, may be reasonably inferred from the fact that at the restoration less than 400 Levites, and as many have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. (12) And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites. (13) And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand. (14) And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD. : (15) 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. (16) And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred. (17) And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward For the City and Prince. the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty. (18) And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city. (19) And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel. (20) All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: 1 Or, ward, or, or ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city. dinance. Nethinims, returned (Ezra ii. 40–58; Neh. vii. 43—60), while there were 4,239 of the priests. (14) Shall not sell of it.-The Levites' portion (verse 13) was of the same size as that of the priests, instead of their having (as under the law) nearly three times as many cities, and the restriction of Lev. xxv. 34 that they might not even temporarily alienate the fields attached to their cities, is here extended to their whole land on the express ground that it is "first-fruits." (15) The five thousand that are left.-The two strips of territory for the Levites and the priests, each 10,000 reeds wide, being deducted from the whole width of the oblation, leaves a strip of 5,000 wide and 25,000 long which is here apportioned to the city and its suburbs. It is called "profane" in contrast to the "holy" possession of the Levites (verse 14), and the "most holy" of the priests (verse 12), though it was still a part of the oblation. (16) The measures.-The city itself is to be an exact square of 4,500 reeds, and according to verse 17, was to have "suburbs," or rather an open space on all sides of 250 reeds. The whole was, therefore, 5,000 reeds a little less than ten miles-square, the exact width of the space that was left of the oblation, and leaving 10,000 reeds on each side of it. (18) Shall be for food. This piece of land, only four times the size of the city itself, would seem a very insufficient provision for raising all the food required for the labourers of the city. But here, as everywhere, it is to be remembered that the description is ideal. (19) Out of all the tribes of Israel. The city itself is no longer, as of old, to belong to any particular tribe, but is to be situated on the common oblation, (21) And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof. (22) Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the and its labourers are to be taken alike from all the tribes. Thus the old jealousies are to be extinguished, and in this, as in all other respects, each tribe is to be treated like every other. (21) The residue shall be for the prince.The length of the oblation from east to west is supposed to leave a strip at either end which is assigned to the prince. This strip is to extend from north to south, the whole width of the oblation. The expression “over against the portions for the prince" is somewhat obscure from its extreme brevity and want of punctua tion in our version; it means that the part of the oblation over against the tribe portions shall be for the prince-i.e., he is to have all that is left of the oblation between it and the portions assigned to the tribes. As already said, this was geographically impossible on the estimate of the length of the cubit here adopted. Even if the cubit were reduced to eighteen inches, which is the smallest estimate that can well be made, the side of the oblation would still be 42 miles long, or more than the distance between the Jordan and the Mediterranean at its northern end. It is quite idle, therefore, to attempt any calculation of the prince's portion. The description is necessarily ideal, and no hint is given in the vision of how much was intended for the prince. If it be suggested that the prophet may have had in mind measures following the uneven surface of the ground and the sinuosities of the roads, it can only be replied that such a supposition at once destroys all possibility of following his measures, and is singularly opposed to the whole symmetry of his description, as well as inconsistent with the equality of the measure on the four sides. The Northern Tribes. EZEKIEL, XLVIII. city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince. (23) As for the rest of the tribes, from Size and Gates of the City. for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD. (30) And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures. (31) And the the east side unto the west side, Benja- 1 Heb.,one portion. gates of the city shall be after the names min shall have la portion. (24) And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion. (25) And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west kades. side, Issachar a portion. (26) And by the 2 He, Meribah- of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. (32) And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan. (33) And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun. (34) At the west side four thousand and five at the south side southward, the border 3 Heb., Jehovah hundred, with their three gates; one shammah. (23) The rest of the tribes.-In verses 23-29 the remaining five tribes have their portions assigned on the south of the oblation in precisely the same way as the seven on the north. (30) The goings out of the city. In verses 30-34 the dimensions of the city are again given for the purpose of introducing the mention of the gates, three on each side, one for each of the tribes of Israel. In this enumeration Levi takes his place as a tribe, and Joseph is therefore reckoned as only one tribe; but the order of their names is neither that of their geographical arrangement nor of their seniority. It will be remembered that the symbolism of the twelve gates enters also into the vision of Rev. xxi. 12, 21. (35) Round about eighteen thousand.-The circuit of the city, not including its "suburbs," or open space, was 4x4,500-18,000 reeds, or something over thirty-four miles. Josephus reckoned the circuit of Jerusalem in his day at four miles. gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. (35) It was round about eighteen thousand measures: And the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. Measures.-This word is rightly supplied from verses 30, 33. On the symmetry of the city and its gates and the names of the gates, comp. Rev. xxi. 12, 13, 16. The Lord is there.—With this name of the city Ezekiel closes his vision and his book. It is a most fitting close; for the object has been to depict, under the figures of the Jewish dispensation, the glories of the Church of the future. The culmination of this glory must ever be that the Lord, according to His promise (John vi. 56), will dwell in the believer, and the believer in Him. Imperfectly as this may be carried out here on earth, the effect of the Gospel is to bring about ever more and more fully its realisation; and the closing book of the volume of Revelation, catching the echoes of Ezekiel's prophecy, looks forward to the Holy City, the New Jerusalem "coming down from God out of heaven," and declares, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God" (Rev. xxi. 2, 3). EXCURSUS ON NOTES TO THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. EXCURSUS A (at end of chap. iii.): ON THE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLICAL ACTIONS OF EZEKIEL. At this point, when the prophet has been fully commissioned for his work, and his actual prophecies begin, it may be well to consider their general character, especially as the very next chapter brings us at once into the midst of symbolical action. That much of Ezekiel's language is figurative, and that some of the actions he records were done in vision only, it is impossible to doubt. Thus, for example, in chap. xxiv. 6 the prophet is told to "bring it (the city) out piece by piece," and then to set it upon the coals (verse 11), which of course could only have been done mentally or symbolically, and that it was the former is plain from verse 3. In chap. xxi. 19, the appointing of two ways, from which the king of Babylon was to choose, could not have been literally done; and there are many like passages, in which it is plain that the prophet has merely expressed in concrete figures (thus giving them vividness and force) the ideas he wished to convey. On the other hand, there are passages in which a symbolical use is made of events and acts which are evidently to be taken in a literal sense. Thus in chap. xxiv. 16-24, it would be impossible to understand the sudden death of Ezekiel's wife and the prohibition of mourning for her as otherwise than strictly literal, and yet he is directed to make important symbolical use of them. What has been said of actions applies equally to prophecies. There is in them also the same mingling of the literal and the symbolical, the same intense disposition to embody every thought in some concrete form. How then, it may be asked, is the literal to be distinguished from the figurative, whether in language or in act? It may not always be possible to do so in regard to every detail; to be absolutely certain whether the binding of chap. iii. 25, for instance, was only a figurative expression or a symbolical act, although, in this case, we believe the former to be the true explanation. But the details of the application are comparatively unimportant; and sometimes there may well be a difference of opinion in regard to them. The literal and the figurative blend together, and pass the one into the other, in the prophet's teaching of these spiritual infants, as children often carry on their tales partly by sensible images an.. partly by pure imagination. In fact, this is often a necessity in the teaching of things which lie partly above human comprehension, as may be seen, for instance, in our Lord's description of the end of the world, and in many other passages. No serious harm can come of occasionally understanding literally that which was meant figuratively, provided it contains no internal marks of its figurative character. In the chapter which immediately follows there has always been a difference of opinion whether the prophet actually performed the symbolic actions recorded, or whether they were only mentally done, and then related. The latter seems almost the necessary interpretation, for several reasons: the mere lying upon one side for 390 days, so bound that he could not move, if not an impossibility, is extremely unlikely; it is also inconsistent with the command for the preparation of his food during the same time; the amount of food allowed, though sufficient to sustain life, would have led to great emaciation; the preparation of the food itself would have been, in the eyes of the law, abominable; and although this is very effective as a vision, it would have been exceedingly strange as a reality; the tile seems quite insufficient in size for all the uses to which it is put; and, finally, the time of 430 days in all is scarcely possible. From the fifth day of the fourth month in the fifth year (chap. i. 1, 2), to the fifth day of the sixth month of the sixth year (chap. viii. 1), according to the length of either the Jewish or Chaldean year, would have been 420 days only, and at least eight days of this had already passed. There is, then, too little time by eighteen days, and even if we were to suppose that this was the year for an intercalary month (of which there is no evidence), it would yet leave but twelve intervening days for the two important prophecies of chaps. vi. and vii. Still there has been a difference of opinion here, and it is not of much consequence in itself. The important point is to recognise the general habit of the prophet's mind; for there can be no satisfactory interpretation of his writings without a full appreciation of his readiness to clothe his thoughts in concrete forms, whether those forms were sensible realities or only the creations of his own mind. EXCURSUS B: ON CHAPTER IV. 5, 6. The explanation of the periods of time here mentioned has occasioned great difficulty and difference of opinion among the commentators. The subject may be best approached by first observing what points are clearly determined in the text itself, and then excluding all interpretations which are inconsistent with these. In the first place, it is expressly stated in each of these verses that these days represent years. No interpretation, therefore, can be admitted which requires them to be literal days. Secondly, it is plain that the period is one of "bearing their iniquity "; not a period in which they are becoming sinful, but one in which |