Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 46

Verse 1

Eze 46:1. A gate could be shut and not be fastened, and there is nothing said about that subject. However, the fact of its being opened on the sabbath indicates that the Lord's business was going on.

Verse 2

Eze 46:2. Sometimes the prince may be also the priest since the word has a general meaning. But both names are used in this place which leaves the first to mean a ruler or other outstanding man among the Jews. He will be required to make offerings for the Lord's service and the priest will be the one to preside at the altar.

Verse 3

Eze 46:3. The people means the unofficial Jews of the nation, and they were all required to contribute to the Lord's work. These offerings were to he made at the entrance of the gate and not in their private homes. Not all sabbaths were the days of the new moons, but every new moon marked the day as a sabbath, according to Num 28:11; 1Sa 20:5; 1Sa 20:18; 1Sa 20:24; 1Sa 20:27).

Verse 4

Eze 46:4. The details of the burnt offerings are given in Leviticus 1. All the animals for the sacrificial altar must be perfect and the best of the herd or flock.

Verse 5

Eze 46:5. The meat (meal) offering was offered in connection with the animal sacrifice. Thig vegetable offering was accompanied with a small amount of olive oil.

Verse 6

Eze 46:6. The day of the new moon was the beginning of the month and was a holy or sabbath day. Like other Special days, it was celebrated by offering animal sacrifices.

Verse 7

Eze 46:7. According as his hand shall attain means that a man was required to give according to hia ability. Whether many or few, ail animals must be without blemish and be offered with a small amount of olive oil as in verse 5.

Verse 8

Eze 46:8. The Lord was particular about some apparently incidental mat¬ters. The prince was told by what gate he should enter and leave the building.

Verse 9

Eze 46:9. This “one way” require¬ment is another one of the unusual regulations imposed by the Lord. We are able at least to realize that much confusion would be avoided by not trying to reverse one's direction in the midst of so many coming and going.

Verse 10

Eze 46:10. The prince was to become one of the crowd generally speaking, but that was not to interfere with his own personal activities as stated in verse 1 and 2.

Verse 11

Eze 46:11. This small amount of grain (meat offering) was added to the animal.

Verse 12

Eze 46:12. The law made a distinction between freewill or voluntary offerings and those specifically required. (See Lev 22:23; Num 15:3.) But the distinction did not exempt the worshiper from all restrictions as may be seen in this verse.

Verse 13

Eze 46:13. This verse refers to the well known “daily sacrifice" that was a prominent ordinance in the law of Moses (Exo 29:38-42),

Verse 14

Eze 46:14. This meat offering means the same as in other places which was a small amount of meal or ground grain. Perpetual ordinance means it was to be a continuous practice as long as the nation had an existence.

Verse 15

Eze 46:15. Continual burnt offering means the same as “perpetual ordinance.”

Verse 16

Eze 46:16, The main point in this verse is that a gift of real estate from a prince to his son was to be permanent. That is, no circumstance was to alter that gift so as to turn it back to the prince.

Verse 17

Eze 46:17. The year of liberty was the same as the jibile described in Leviticus 25. In that year certain readjustments were made in the relations of property and also of servants, and that is what is meant by this verse.

Verse 18

Eze 46:18. The prince did not have the right to use his position in a special favor to even his own sons. He could not cut off even them from the enjoyment of their inheritance no matter how much reason he would think he had so to do. Being restricted from such an act as to his sons, the temptation would be to defraud the people not related to him of their possessions so as to give them to his sons, and this verse is a law against such an injustice. That my people be not scattered states one of the Lord's motives for the regulations just described. If the people were assured of the uninterrupted possession of their property, they would not be induced to scatter out to find houses and lands.

Verse 19

Eze 46:19. Having revealed to Ezekiel the foregoing laws and ordinances for observance by Israel in the future, the man brought him through the entry of the side gate. The purpose of this movement was to show the prophet the spot where some of the ordinances that he had been hearing were to be carried out.

Verse 20

Eze 46:20. Some of the sacrificial offerings were boiled and others were baked or roasted in an oven. The parts that were to be consumed by fire were offered on the altar. Hence there were different places used in the preparation and use of the materials furnished by the people and turned over to the prince or priest. It will give the reader some light on this subject. If he will examine carefully the first 5 chapters of Leviticus, also some verses in the 6th and 7th chapters of that book.

Verse 21

Eze 46:21. Court is a rather indefinite word whose general meaning is any space enclosed by a fence or wall or otherwise marked off from the surrounding area, hence in this verse we read of courts within a court. Moffatt renders this, “at the four comers of the court there were four small courts."

Verse 22

Eze 46:22. This verse refers to the same smaller courts referred to in the preceding verse and adds some information about their size and other arrangement. Each of the courts was 40 by 30 cubits in size. Joined la rendered “bound to” by Young which is a reasonable translation, as we know they were near the main wall of the larger court.

Verse 23

Eze 46:23. There ts no separate original word for building, but row is from tuwr which Strong defines, “to arrange in a regular manner," Made with boiling places under the rows means the arrangement in the definition of row had provision made at the bottom far boiling the flesh of the sacrificial offerings.

Verse 24

Eze 46:24. By way of explanation the “man” told Ezekiel the above named "rows” were the places (fireplaces) where the ministers ("attendants”) were to boil the sacrificial offerings that were brought by the people.