HesekielLuku 45

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When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance, you shall set apart a portion for the LORD as a holy district out of the land: twenty-five thousand long and ten thousand wide.[^1] [^1]: The Hebrew does not state the unit of measure; cubits are commonly assumed. Some ancient witnesses read twenty thousand for the width.

Of this, a square of five hundred by five hundred shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits of open land around it.

From this district you shall measure off a section twenty-five thousand long and ten thousand wide, and in it shall stand the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.

It is the holy portion of the land; it shall belong to the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who draw near to serve the LORD. It shall be the place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.

Another section, twenty-five thousand long and ten thousand wide, shall belong to the Levites who minister in the temple, as their possession, with twenty chambers.

As the possession of the city you shall assign an area five thousand wide and twenty-five thousand long, alongside the holy district. It shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

The prince shall have the land on both sides of the holy district and the city's possession, bordering the holy district and the city's possession, extending westward on the west side and eastward on the east side, its length running alongside one of the tribal portions, from the western boundary to the eastern boundary.

This land shall be his possession in Israel. My princes shall no longer oppress my people, but shall give the house of Israel the land according to their tribes.

Thus says the Lord GOD: Enough, you princes of Israel! Put away violence and plundering, and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing my people, declares the Lord GOD.

You shall have honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath.

The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure: the bath a tenth of a homer, and the ephah a tenth of a homer. The homer shall be the standard for both.

The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.

This is the offering you shall present: a sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and a sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley.

The required portion of oil, measured by the bath: a tenth of a bath from each kor—a kor is ten baths, that is, a homer, for ten baths make a homer.

And one sheep from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel, for a grain offering, a burnt offering, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them, declares the Lord GOD.

All the people of the land shall be bound to bring this offering to the prince in Israel.

It shall be the prince's duty to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offering, and the drink offering at the festivals, the new moons, and the Sabbaths—at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.

Thus says the Lord GOD: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and purify the sanctuary.

The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.

You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned unintentionally or in ignorance. So you shall make atonement for the temple.

In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days, during which unleavened bread shall be eaten.

On that day the prince shall provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.

During the seven days of the feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to the LORD seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, daily for the seven days, and a male goat each day as a sin offering.

As a grain offering he shall provide an ephah with each bull and an ephah with each ram, along with a hin of oil for every ephah.

In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall provide the same for seven days: the same sin offering, burnt offering, grain offering, and oil.

Haku

Yhteenveto2

Luku 45

Main Theme: The chapter provides regulations for the holy land distribution, fair trade, and festival offerings in restored Israel.

Content: God commands that a holy area be set apart for the temple, the priests, and the Levites, while the prince receives land on both sides. The princes are urged to cease violence and oppression and to practice justice. Detailed rules are given for honest weights and measures, as well as regulations for the offerings of the people and the prince at Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Key Words/Images:

Holy area (terumah): A parcel of land dedicated to the Lord for the temple and the priesthood.
The Prince (nasi): The leader who receives his own territory and is responsible for providing the festival offerings.
Just measures: Requirements for honest weights and units of measure as an expression of a just social order.
Purification of the temple: Ritual sacrifices at the new moon to cleanse the sanctuary from sin.

Historiallinen konteksti

Historical and Cultural Context for Ezekiel 45

People

The Prince (נָשִׂיא, nasi) appears as a central but clearly limited figure. His main responsibility is to finance the public offerings at the festivals (v. 17), but he shall no longer have power to seize the people's land (v. 8). This reflects a reaction against the abuses of pre-exilic kings, such as Ahab, who confiscated property from their subjects. The prince thus becomes more of a liturgical benefactor than an absolute ruler.

Events and Customs

The chapter describes an extensive allocation of land in which a "holy portion" (תְּרוּמָה, terumah) was to be set apart for the Lord. The concept of "lifting up" or "setting aside" (רום) a portion as holy was known from the sacrificial laws, but here it is applied to the land itself. The dimensions given (25,000 by 10,000 cubits) create a sacred district intended to house the temple, the priests, and the Levites. In contrast to the pre-exilic period, where royal and religious domains often came into conflict, this vision establishes clear boundaries between the prince's territory and the holy area.

The chapter also contains detailed regulations for just measures and weights. The criticism of Israel's leaders for "violence and oppression" (v. 9) and the command for "just scales" reflect frequent prophetic accusations against economic exploitation (cf. Amos 8:5, Micah 6:10-11). In the ancient Near East, standardized measures were a royal responsibility, and manipulation of weights was a widespread form of oppression.

The celebration of Passover (פֶּסַח, pesach) and the Feast of Tabernacles is described with sacrificial regulations that differ somewhat from the laws in the books of Moses. Passover is placed on the fourteenth day of the first month, followed by seven days of unleavened bread. Notably, Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks/שָׁבֻעוֹת) is not mentioned in this chapter. The festival of the seventh month (v. 25) corresponds to the Feast of Tabernacles, but Ezekiel's regulations for the number of sacrificial animals (seven bulls and seven rams daily) are more extensive than those in Numbers 29. The purification ritual on the first and seventh days of the first month (vv. 18-20) has no direct parallel in the Torah and seems to represent an expanded understanding of the sanctuary's need for cleansing.

Key Terms

The word נָשִׂיא (nasi, "prince") is used consistently in Ezekiel's vision instead of מֶלֶךְ (melekh, "king"). This is likely intentional to mark a difference from the earlier monarchical model that had failed. The prince is given a clearly limited role—he is to provide for the offerings but has no access to the sanctuary itself.

חֹמֶר (homer) and אֵיפָה (efa) were standard measures: a homer corresponded to approximately 220-450 liters, while an efa was one-tenth of that amount. בַּת (bat) was the liquid measure corresponding to the efa for dry goods. The standardization of these measures in verses 10-12 emphasizes that justice in the restored nation begins with everyday commercial practices.

Henkilöt

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Avainsanat8

Temple Area — The holy place where God dwells and is worshiped, central to Ezekiel's vision of future Israel.
Sacrifice — Ritual acts in which animals or food are offered to God as a form of worship and atonement for sin.
Priests — The religious leaders in Israel who performed sacrificial rites and served in the temple on behalf of the people.
Levites — One of the twelve tribes of Israel with special duties and responsibilities connected to the temple and its services.
Holy Place — The innermost part of the temple where God's presence was strongest, also called the Most Holy Place.
Land Distribution — The process of dividing the land of Israel among the twelve tribes, described in detail in Ezekiel 45.
Prince — A leader or ruler in Israel, often referred to as a king or prince. In Ezekiel 45 this may refer to a messianic figure.
Festivals — Religious celebrations and feasts in Israel, such as Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles, where the people gather to worship God and remember his deeds.