Ezekiel 46

Translator Notes

1. The east-facing gate of the inner court is distinct from the outer east gate that remains permanently shut (44:1-2). This inner gate opens only on Sabbaths and new moons — the rhythm of sacred time governs the architecture. The Hebrew maaseh ('work') in 'six working days' is the same word used in the creation narrative for God's 'work' of creating.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The nasi ('prince') enters through the vestibule but does not pass through the gate itself — he worships at the threshold. This spatial limitation distinguishes the prince from both the priests (who enter the inner court) and from the LORD (whose glory entered through the east gate). The Hebrew shelamav ('his peace offerings') is rendered 'fellowship offerings' because the shelamim were shared meals — part consumed on the altar, part eaten by the worshiper — making them acts of communion rather than merely 'peace.'

Translator Notes

1. The 'people of the land' (am ha-aretz) worship at the entrance, not the threshold — even further from the inner court than the prince. The concentric zones of holiness are visible in who may stand where: priests inside, prince at the threshold, people at the entrance.

Translator Notes

1. The Sabbath offering here is significantly larger than the Sabbath offering prescribed in Numbers 28:9 (two lambs). Ezekiel's restored worship envisions greater abundance — the eschatological Temple demands more lavish offerings. The word tamim ('without defect, whole, complete') indicates physical perfection required for sacrificial animals.

Translator Notes

1. The Hebrew mattat yado ('gift of his hand') indicates a voluntary amount — the lambs' grain offering is not fixed but proportional to the prince's generosity. An ephah is approximately 22 liters (about 3/5 of a bushel), and a hin is approximately 6 liters. The KJV renders minchah as 'meat offering,' but the Hebrew term specifically denotes a grain offering — flour mixed with oil.

Translator Notes

1. The new moon offering adds a bull to the Sabbath requirements, making it a more substantial offering. The new moon (rosh chodesh) was an important marker in the Israelite calendar, and Ezekiel's vision maintains its liturgical significance. The repetition of temimim ('without defect') emphasizes the absolute requirement of unblemished animals.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase ka'asher tassig yado ('as his hand can reach/attain') is a standard Hebrew idiom for 'according to his means' — the same expression used in Leviticus 14:21-22 for poverty provisions. Even the prince's offering for the lambs is scaled to capacity, introducing a principle of proportional giving into the liturgy.

Translator Notes

1. The prince enters and exits by the same route — through the vestibule of the east gate. This contrasts with the rule for the general worshipers in the following verses, who must exit by a different gate than the one they entered.

Translator Notes

1. The one-way flow of worshipers through the Temple creates an ordered, processional movement — entering on one side and exiting on the opposite. The Hebrew nikhcho ('straight ahead, opposite') indicates forward movement, preventing any backtracking. The practical effect is crowd control in a sacred context, but the theological symbolism is also present: encounter with God changes your direction. The term mo'adim ('appointed times, festivals') designates the major pilgrimage festivals.

Translator Notes

1. The prince does not process separately from the people during the festivals. He enters and exits with them, embedded in the worshiping community rather than elevated above it. This is a striking vision of leadership: the prince is 'among them' (betokham), not ahead of them or apart from them.

Translator Notes

1. This verse repeats the proportions from verse 7, extending them to all festivals and appointed times. The repetition ensures consistency across the entire liturgical calendar — the same offering ratios apply whether at Sabbath, new moon, or pilgrimage festival.

Translator Notes

1. The nedavah ('freewill offering') is distinct from the obligatory Sabbath and new moon offerings. When the prince voluntarily offers, the east gate is specially opened for him — but unlike the Sabbath, the gate is closed immediately after his departure rather than remaining open until evening. This distinguishes voluntary worship from the communal Sabbath opening.

Translator Notes

1. The daily offering (tamid) in Ezekiel's Temple requires only one lamb in the morning, whereas Numbers 28:3-4 prescribes two lambs — one morning and one evening. This difference is not explained. Some scholars suggest Ezekiel is streamlining the daily offering; others see it as evidence that Ezekiel's Temple vision represents an independent priestly tradition.

Translator Notes

1. The verb laros ('to moisten, to sprinkle') describes mixing the oil into the flour. The proportions are precisely specified: one-sixth ephah (approximately 3.7 liters of flour) and one-third hin (approximately 2 liters of oil). The phrase chuqqot olam tamid ('perpetual statutes, continually') stacks three terms of permanence — this offering is meant to endure without interruption.

Translator Notes

1. The shift from 'you' (singular) in verses 13-14 to 'they' in verse 15 likely indicates that the priests carry out the daily offering. The tamid ('continual') offering is the heartbeat of Temple worship — the one sacrifice that never ceases, marking every day as belonging to the LORD.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The section shifts from liturgical regulation to land law. The prince may transfer land to his sons permanently because such transfers keep the land within the family — the ancestral nachalah ('inheritance') remains intact. The word achuzzah ('holding, possession') denotes permanent, hereditary land ownership.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The shenat ha-deror ('year of liberty/release') corresponds to the Jubilee year of Leviticus 25, though Ezekiel does not specify the fifty-year cycle. The word deror appears in Leviticus 25:10 ('proclaim liberty throughout the land') and in Isaiah 61:1 ('to proclaim liberty to the captives'). The rule ensures that the prince's generosity to servants cannot permanently alienate family land from his sons.

Translator Notes

1. The verb honot (from yanah, 'to oppress, to defraud') is a strong term — it implies not merely taking but taking by abuse of power. The phrase 'so that none of my people will be driven from their property' reveals God's perspective: the people's land is God's concern, and the prince is accountable to God for protecting it. This is one of the clearest limits on royal power in the prophetic literature.

Translator Notes

1. The guided tour resumes — the angelic guide leads Ezekiel to the priests' chambers on the north side. The Hebrew yarkathayim yammah ('at the two far sides, westward') indicates the western extremity of these chambers. The text shifts from prescriptive law back to visionary narrative.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The purpose of containing the sacrificial preparation within the priests' area is to prevent the 'contagion' of holiness — leqaddesh et ha'am ('to sanctify the people') here means to inadvertently transfer dangerous holiness to unprepared persons. In Ezekiel's priestly worldview, holiness is not merely a moral quality but a potent force that must be carefully contained and managed (cf. 44:19). The asham ('guilt offering') and chattat ('sin offering') are the most intensely holy sacrifices.

Translator Notes

1. The tour moves from the inner priestly area to the outer court. The Hebrew repeats chatzer bemiqtzo'a hechatzer ('a court in the corner of the court') twice to emphasize the symmetry — identical courtyards in all four corners. These smaller courtyards serve the function described in the following verses.

Translator Notes

1. The dimensions are forty by thirty cubits (approximately 20 by 15 meters or 66 by 50 feet). The Hebrew qeturot is difficult — it may mean 'enclosed' or 'cornered' or 'roofed.' The Septuagint translates it differently. The uniformity of dimensions (middah achat, 'one measure') reflects Ezekiel's insistence on symmetry and order in sacred architecture. The word mehuqtza'ot ('cornered, set at angles') reinforces the precise angular construction.

Translator Notes

1. The Hebrew tur ('row, ledge, course of stones') describes a stone shelf or bench running along the interior walls. The mebashelot ('boiling places, cooking stations') were built into or beneath these ledges — a practical arrangement for large-scale food preparation. The repetition of saviv ('all around') emphasizes that every wall had these cooking stations.

Translator Notes

1. The chapter ends with a remarkably domestic detail — Temple kitchens. The mesharetei habayit ('ministers of the house') are the Levitical servants who handle the less-holy sacrifices (as distinct from the Zadokite priests who handle the most holy offerings). The zevach ha'am ('sacrifice of the people') refers to the fellowship offerings and other sacrifices whose meat is eaten by the worshipers. These kitchens in the outer court are distinct from the priestly cooking area described in verses 19-20 — the separation maintains the holiness gradient between inner and outer precincts.