Bible Strands
Ezekiel 48:8
Bordering the territory of Judah, from east to west, will be the portion you are to set apart. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and the length of a tribal portion from east to west. In the center will be the sanctuary.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Ezekiel receives this vision from the Lord while detailing the future division of the promised land. The text specifies the exact boundaries for the tribal allotment of Judah and the adjacent sacred district.
The words — The phrase מִפֶּאֶת קָדִים עַד־פֶּאֶת יָמָּה (mip'et qadim 'ad-p'et yammah) literally translates to "from the side of the east to the side of the west." It defines the precise east-west measurement of the set-apart portion.
The thread — This measured sanctuary corresponds to the holy portion in Ezekiel 45:1 and aligns with the Zion focus in Isaiah 12:6 and Isaiah 33:20. The motif tracks God's fixed boundaries for worship and tribal inheritance across the prophetic and poetic texts.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that the sanctuary occupies the exact center of the reorganized land. It demands acceptance of divine spatial order over human territorial claims.
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 Judah, from 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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 12:6 Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”
- Isaiah 33:20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any of its cords be broken.
- Ezekiel 45:1 “When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance, you are to set aside a portion for the LORD, a holy portion of the land 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide. This entire tract of land will be holy.
- Ezekiel 48:21 The remaining area on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city will belong to the prince. He will own the land adjacent to the tribal portions, extending eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the holy district toward the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. And in the center of them will be the holy portion and the sanctuary of the temple.
- Ezekiel 48:35 The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”
- Zechariah 2:11 “On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you.
- 2 Corinthians 6:16 What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
- Ephesians 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
- Colossians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
- Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.