Bible Strands
Ezekiel 48:19
The workers of the city who cultivate it will come from all the tribes of Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Ezekiel records a divine vision detailing the final territorial division of the promised land. God specifies the boundaries and resources allocated for the holy portion and the adjacent city.
The words — עֹבֵד ('o.Ved) means worker or cultivator, and עִיר ('Ir) means city. The phrase עֹבֵד הָעִיר (worker of the city) identifies those responsible for its agricultural upkeep.
The thread — This provisioning model parallels Solomon’s governors supplying the royal household (1 Kings 4:7) and the post-exilic resettlement of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11:1). Ezekiel 45:6 similarly mandates a designated urban territory within the tribal allotments.
Why it lands — The text requires recognizing that urban maintenance depends on coordinated labor from every tribe. It establishes a structural principle where communal sustenance is distributed across the entire covenant community rather than isolated to a single group.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 4:7 Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,
- Nehemiah 11:1 Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.
- Ezekiel 45:6 As the property of the city, you are to set aside an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, adjacent to the holy district. It will belong to the whole house of Israel.