Bible Strands
Ezekiel 48:28
The southern border of Gad will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then along the Brook of Egypt and out to the Great Sea.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Ezekiel records the Lord’s declaration during a vision detailing the future division of the Promised Land among the twelve tribes of Israel. This instruction occurs as the vision concludes the specific territorial allotment to the tribe of Gad.
The words — גְּב֣וּל (ge.Vul) denotes the fixed border or margin [H1366], and נֶ֣גֶב (Ne.gev) identifies the southern direction [H5045]. These terms anchor the territorial description in concrete geographic terms.
The thread — Ezekiel 47:19 repeats this exact southern boundary line from Tamar to the Great Sea. Ezekiel 48:29 immediately follows by confirming this geography as the final allotment for the tribes of Israel.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize the certainty of God’s promised boundaries and the precise order of tribal inheritance. It demands acknowledgment that divine provision leaves no territory undefined or unassigned.
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 by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 20:2 Then some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the Sea; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).
- Ezekiel 47:15 This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side it will extend from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon through Lebo-hamath to Zedad,
- Ezekiel 47:19 On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, and along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This will be the southern boundary.
- Genesis 14:7 Then they turned back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
- Genesis 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Numbers 20:1 In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
- Numbers 20:13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them.
- Numbers 34:5 where it will turn from Azmon, join the Brook of Egypt, and end at the Sea.
- Joshua 13:3 from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;
- Psalms 106:32 At the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them.