Ezekiel 47

Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 573 BC · Exile in Babylon · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·

23 verses · 672 words · ~3 min read · ~4 min listen

Waters from under the Temple

The Borders of the Land

Footnotes (8)
  1. a v3 1,000 (long) cubits is approximately 1,750 feet or 533.4 meters.
  2. b v8 That is, the Dead Sea
  3. c v8 Hebrew is healed; also in verses 9 and 11
  4. d v10 That is, the Mediterranean Sea; also in verses 15, 19, and 20
  5. e v13 Since Levi had no portion, Josephʼs sons Ephraim and Manasseh received land as two tribes.
  6. f v16 LXX; MT 15...through Lebo to Zedad, 16 Hamath, Berothah, and Sibraim
  7. g v18 See Syriac; that is, of Israel, to the Dead Sea and as far as Tamar; Hebrew of Israel. And along the Eastern Sea you are to measure.
  8. h v19 Hebrew does not include of Egypt.

Study notes on this chapter · 2

Prophecy & fulfillmentDebated

Ezekiel's vision of the temple

In the twenty-fifth year of the exile Ezekiel is taken in vision to a high mountain and shown a temple with precise dimensions, the return of God's glory, and a river flowing from the threshold that turns the Dead Sea fresh. No such temple was built. Readers disagree about what it depicts.

When: Ezekiel, 573 BC; proposed fulfillments from the return from exile to the end of the age.

Ways people read this (4)
  • A temple to be built literally in a future age, with sacrifices as memorials (dispensational premillennial).
  • A blueprint for the returning exiles that was never carried out, because the people did not repent.
  • A symbolic vision of God's presence among his people, fulfilled in Christ and the church, with the river of Revelation 22 as its fulfillment.
  • Jewish tradition has long found these chapters difficult (the Talmud says Elijah will resolve their problems) and has looked to the messianic era for their meaning.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

Prophecy & fulfillmentDebated

Rivers of living water

At the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus cries out that whoever believes in him will have rivers of living water flowing from within, 'as Scripture has said'. No verse says exactly this, and John explains it as the Spirit to be given after Jesus was glorified. Which passage he has in mind is disputed, as is whose heart the water flows from.

When: Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles, c. AD 29; the Feast itself recalled water from the rock and looked to the Lord's day in Zechariah 14.

Ways people read this (4)
  • Ezekiel 47:1-12 and Zechariah 14:8: the river flowing from the temple.
  • Isaiah 55:1 and 58:11: the thirsty invited to water, and a well-watered garden.
  • Water from the rock in the wilderness (Exodus 17:6; Psalm 78:16), which Paul also links to Christ.
  • The punctuation and grammar can be read so the water flows from Jesus himself or from the believer; manuscripts and translations differ.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

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