Division of the Land and Inheritance Boundaries
Ezekiel 47:13-23
Eze.47.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- גה: PRON,dem
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תתנחלו: VERB,hith,impf,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לשני: PREP+NUM,card,dual,m
- עשר: NUM,card,m,sg,cons
- שבטי: NOUN,m,pl,con
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יוסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חבלים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 26:52-56 (verbal): Prescribes dividing the land as an inheritance to the tribes and determining allotments by lot—directly parallels the theme and language of land distribution to the twelve tribes.
- Joshua 18:10 (structural): Shows the concrete procedure of casting lots and assigning territory to the tribes in the settlement of Canaan, paralleling Ezekiel's allotment scheme.
- Ezekiel 48:1 (structural): Immediate continuation of Ezekiel's vision that lists the tribal boundaries and allotments—directly related to 47:13's statement about dividing the land among the twelve tribes.
- Genesis 48:5 (allusion): Jacob's declaration that Joseph's two sons shall be counted as his (giving Joseph a double portion) echoes the special reference to Joseph receiving a portion in the tribal allotment.
- Deuteronomy 33:13-17 (thematic): Moses' blessing of Joseph (and reference to his share/abundance) thematically connects with the notion of Joseph's inheritance and prominence among the tribal allotments.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thus says the Lord GOD: This is the boundary by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance for the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two portions.
- Thus says the Lord GOD: This is the border by which you shall divide the land for inheritance to the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two portions.
Eze.47.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונחלתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- אותה: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כאחיו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נשאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- לתתה: INF,qal,infc,3,f,sg
- לאבתיכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons+PRON,2,m,pl
- ונפלה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- בנחלה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 33:54 (verbal): Speaks of taking possession of the land and settling in it as an inheritance—language and legal idea of territorial allotment echo Ezekiel’s claim that the land 'fell to you for an inheritance.'
- Joshua 21:43-45 (thematic): Describes Yahweh giving Israel the land and fulfilling his promises to the patriarchs—parallels Ezekiel’s affirmation that God swore to give the land to the ancestors and it became the people's inheritance.
- Genesis 15:18 (allusion): The covenant formula 'to your descendants I give this land' is the foundational promise echoed by Ezekiel’s reference to God’s oath to the fathers about the land.
- Ezekiel 47:13 (structural): Immediate context in Ezekiel frames the determination of tribal borders and the principle that the land is apportioned to tribes, directly corresponding to v.14’s statement about inheritance and allotment.
- Psalm 105:8-11 (thematic): Affirms God’s covenant remembrance and the giving of the land to Abraham’s seed—parallels Ezekiel’s appeal to the prior oath and the settled possession of the land by the people.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall inherit it, one as with his brother; I have sworn by My hand to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.
- And you shall inherit it by lot, one to his brother, as I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers; and this land fell to them as an inheritance—this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.
Eze.47.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וזה: CONJ+PRON,dem,m,sg,abs
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לפאת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- צפונה: ADV
- מן: PREP
- הים: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- הגדול: ADJ,m,sg,def
- הדרך: NOUN,f,sg,def
- חתלן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבוא: VERB,qal,inf
- צדדה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 34:7-9 (verbal): Direct, near-verbatim listing of the northern border — mentions the Great Sea and the entrance/way of Hethlon/Hamath and Zedad, matching Ezekiel’s border formula.
- Ezekiel 47:13-20 (structural): Immediate context: the same section in Ezekiel that delineates the land’s borders and the division by lot; verse 15 is part of this block of boundary legislation.
- Ezekiel 48:1-3 (structural): Continues the book’s final topographical and tribal allotment material and repeats northern boundary material as part of the overall land-demarcation scheme.
- Deuteronomy 11:24 (thematic): The broader theme of territorial promise and boundary possession — God granting the land ‘from sea to sea’ echoes the concept of defined national borders found in Ezekiel 47:15.
Alternative generated candidates
- And this shall be the border of the land toward the north: from the Great Sea by the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Zedad.
- And this shall be the boundary of the land on the north side: from the Great Sea by the way of Hethlon to Hazar-enan, to the border of Damascus northward.
Eze.47.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חמת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ברותה: NOUN,prop,f,sg
- סברים: NOUN,prop,m,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בין: PREP
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- דמשק: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ובין: CONJ+PREP
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- חמת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- חצר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- התיכון: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אל: NEG
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- חורן: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 47:15 (structural): Immediate context—verse 15 begins the prophetic description of the land's northern border that verse 16 continues, listing the same place‑names and border markers.
- Ezekiel 48:1 (structural): Continuation/recapitulation—chapter 48 develops the allotment and border schema for the renewed land, returning to the same northern boundary motif and place‑names.
- 2 Samuel 8:9–10 (verbal): Mentions Berothai (Berothah) in a historical context (David's victory over Hadadezer); the same city name appears in Ezekiel's list, linking the prophetic border list to known historical/topographical sites.
- 2 Kings 14:28 (thematic): Reports that Jeroboam II restored Israel's territory 'from the entrance of Hamath'—uses Hamath as a northern boundary marker, paralleling Ezekiel's use of Hamath to define the land's limits.
- Numbers 34:11–12 (thematic): The Pentateuchal list of the Promised Land's northern borders (naming northern towns and landmarks) forms an older boundary‑tradition that Ezekiel echoes and reconfigures in his prophetic description.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim—between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath—Hazer-hatticon to the border of Hauran.
- Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim—those that lie between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath—toward the border of Hauran.
Eze.47.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- מן: PREP
- הים: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- חצר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עינון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גבול: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- דמשק: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וצפון: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צפונה: ADV
- וגבול: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חמת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ואת: CONJ
- פאת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- צפון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 47:15 (verbal): Immediate context in the same chapter that frames the land by named borders; shares the same border-listing language and geographic orientation.
- Ezekiel 47:16 (verbal): Continues the contiguous description of the northern limits and place-names (Damascus, Hamath, the north), forming part of the same border formula.
- Ezekiel 48:1-3 (structural): Later section that systematically lays out tribal allotments beginning from the north; repeats and expands the border scheme and many of the same directional/place motifs.
- Joshua 1:4 (thematic): An earlier territorial boundary formula that names extents of the land (to the great sea, to the north/Hamath, to the Euphrates), echoing the motif of defining national borders by place-names.
- Numbers 34:8 (thematic): Part of the Mosaic description of Canaan's borders that uses similar 'from the sea' and directional language to delimit land, paralleling Ezekiel's boundary-listing style.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus; and to the north shall be the entrance of Hamath; this is the northward boundary.
- And the border shall go from the sea to the entrance of Hamath, to the border of Damascus on the north, and to the border of Hamath—this is the north side.
Eze.47.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ופאת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- קדים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- מבין: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חורן: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ומבין: PREP
- דמשק: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ומבין: PREP
- הגלעד: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ומבין: PREP
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הירדן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מגבול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- הים: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- הקדמוני: ADJ,m,sg,def
- תמדו: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ואת: CONJ
- פאת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- קדימה: ADV
Parallels
- Numbers 34:1-12 (thematic): God gives Moses explicit national boundaries (north, south, east, west), including directions tied to the Jordan and the sea—parallels Ezekiel's delineation of the eastern border toward the sea.
- Joshua 13:8 (verbal): Mentions Gilead and territories beyond the Jordan assigned to Israel; echoes Ezekiel's placement of Gilead in the description of the eastern border.
- Deuteronomy 3:12-13 (verbal): Specifies that Gilead was given as territory (to the tribes/Machir), resonating with Ezekiel's use of Gilead as a landmark in the eastern boundary.
- Ezekiel 48:1-7 (structural): Later in the same prophecy Ezekiel provides a detailed allotment and border scheme; this continues and finalizes the book's boundary/topographical program begun in 47:18.
- Psalm 72:8 (thematic): Speaks of dominion 'from sea to sea, and from the river,' using river-and-sea boundary imagery analogous to Ezekiel's description of border measurements from the Jordan toward the sea.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the east side shall be from between Hauran and Damascus, from between Gilead and the land of Israel, from the Jordan and its border, even to the Great Sea on the east; this shall be the east boundary.
- And the east side shall be from between Hauran and Damascus, from between Gilead and the land of Israel: the Jordan, from the border even to the Great Sea—this is the east side.
Eze.47.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ופאת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- נגב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תימנה: ADV
- מתמר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- מריבות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- קדש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נחלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- הים: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- הגדול: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- פאת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תימנה: ADV
- נגבה: ADV
Parallels
- Numbers 34:3-5 (verbal): Numbers specifies the southern boundary ‘‘from the wilderness of Zin along by the south of Kadesh‑barnea’’ and on to the great sea—language and landmarks (Kadesh, southern line to the sea) closely parallel Ezekiel 47:19.
- Joshua 15:1-4 (verbal): Joshua’s description of Judah’s allotment places the southern border in the same sector (wilderness/Kadesh area) and ends at the great sea; shares place‑names and border motif with Ezekiel 47:19.
- Exodus 23:31 (thematic): God’s promise to set Israel’s borders ‘‘from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines’’ echoes the theme of divinely established territorial limits reaching the great sea, as in Ezekiel 47:19.
- Ezekiel 47:13-20 (structural): The surrounding verses in Ezekiel give the fuller program of tribal allotments and boundary specifications; 47:19 is part of this contiguous treatment of the southern boundary (Tamar → Meribah Kadesh → Great Sea).
Alternative generated candidates
- And the south side shall be from Tamar unto the waters of Meribah-kadesh, to the brook that flows to the sea; this shall be the south boundary.
- And the south side shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, to the brook that flows into the Great Sea—this is the south side.
Eze.47.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ופאת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ים: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- הים: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- הגדול: ADJ,m,sg,def
- מגבול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- נכח: PREP
- לבוא: VERB,qal,inf
- חמת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- פאת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ים: NOUN,m,sg,cs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 48:28 (verbal): Nearly identical boundary formula in the same prophetic vision: the land's northern limit runs to the Great Sea and the entrance of Hamath, repeating the same geographic/phrasing.
- Numbers 34:6-7 (structural): Priestly/legislative description of Israel's western boundary as the Great Sea and related northern markers—parallel genre and function (defining territorial borders).
- Joshua 1:4 (thematic): Broad covenantal description of the land's extent 'from the wilderness and this Lebanon... even unto the great sea...,' thematically parallel in delineating Israel's territorial limits to the Great Sea.
- Ezekiel 47:13 (structural): Immediate context within the same chapter setting out the allotment and borders of the land to be divided, of which 47:20 is a specific northern/western specification.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the west side shall be the Great Sea, from the border even unto the point opposite the entrance of Hamath; this shall be the west boundary.
- And the west side shall be the Great Sea from the border even to the entrance of Hamath—this is the west side.
Eze.47.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וחלקתם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- לשבטי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 34:13 (verbal): Uses the same language and idea of appointing men to 'divide the land' for Israel; parallels the command to distribute the land among the tribes.
- Numbers 26:52-56 (verbal): Gives the injunction to apportion the land by lot according to the tribes (based on the census), reflecting the same principle of tribal allotment.
- Joshua 18:1-10 (thematic): Narrative account of the census and the process by which Joshua and the leaders survey and divide the remaining land among the tribes—practical fulfillment of the allotment motif.
- Ezekiel 48:1-29 (structural): Immediate literary continuation of Ezekiel 47–48 that records the specific tribal boundaries and allotments, completing the vision's directive to divide the land among the tribes.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall divide this land among you, according to the tribes of Israel.
- You shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.
Eze.47.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- תפלו: VERB,qal,imf,2,mp
- אותה: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- בנחלה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- ולהגרים: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,def
- הגרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- בתוככם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הולדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בתוככם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- והיו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- כאזרח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בבני: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,const
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- יפלו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- בנחלה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בתוך: PREP
- שבטי: NOUN,m,pl,con
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 19:34 (verbal): The command that the stranger who sojourns with Israel 'shall be to you as the native among you' echoes Ezek. 47:22's language that resident foreigners born among you 'shall be to you as citizens.'
- Leviticus 25:47-55 (thematic): Laws concerning a resident alien who lives among Israel, his redemption and relation to land and kinship, relate thematically to Ezekiel's provision granting land-inheritance status to resident foreigners.
- Numbers 15:15-16 (verbal): The declaration that one statute shall be for the native and for the stranger who sojourns with you parallels Ezekiel's establishment of equal inheritance rights for aliens born among Israel.
- Numbers 36:7-9 (structural): Rules ensuring that inherited tribal land remain within the tribe (e.g., daughters must marry within the tribe) connect to Ezekiel's specification that inheritances for resident aliens be allotted 'within the tribes of Israel.'
- Ezekiel 47:21-23 (verbal): Immediate context: the surrounding verses lay out the same allotment scheme—how land is to be distributed to Israelites and resident foreigners, repeating and expanding the language of v.22.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall cast lots for it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who dwell among you, who have begotten children among you; they shall be as native-born among the children of Israel and shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
- It shall be allotted to you for an inheritance; and to the aliens who reside among you, who have been born in your land and are fathered by you—those they shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel; they shall receive an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
Eze.47.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- בשבט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- גר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- שם: ADV
- תתנו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- נחלתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs,suff:3,m
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 19:34 (verbal): Uses the almost identical phrase—'the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you'—establishing equal treatment of resident foreigners, as in Ezekiel's instruction to give a sojourner an inheritance in the tribe where he lives.
- Numbers 36:7-9 (structural): Addresses retention of tribal inheritances (daughters of Zelophehad must marry within the tribe) to prevent transfer of land from one tribe to another; parallels Ezekiel's regulations about allotting inheritance within the tribe of residence.
- Leviticus 24:22 (verbal): Declares one law for the stranger and the native, echoing Ezekiel's theme of placing the sojourner on the same footing as those born in the land regarding legal status and inheritance.
- Leviticus 25:23 (thematic): Affirms that the land belongs to the LORD and that the people are sojourners, framing laws about land tenure and regulated inheritance—background for Ezekiel's prescriptions about distribution to resident foreigners.
- Ruth 4:4-5 (thematic): The kinsman-redeemer's purchase/retention of family land in the clan preserves ancestral inheritance locally; thematically parallels Ezekiel's concern that land/inheritance be allocated and retained within tribal units, even for foreigners dwelling there.
Alternative generated candidates
- And in the tribe where the stranger sojourns, there you shall give him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD.
- And when the stranger sojourns among you and is attached to one of your tribes, there you shall give him his inheritance, says the Lord GOD.
Thus says the Lord GOD: This is the boundary by which you shall apportion the land for an inheritance to the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two portions.
You shall inherit it, one man with his brother; as I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers, this land fell to them as an inheritance. And this shall be the border of the land on the north side: from the Great Sea by the road to Hethlon as you come to Zedad.
Hammath, Berothah, Sibraim—between the border of Damascus and the border of Hammath—Hazar‑enan to the border of Hauran. And the border from the sea shall be Hazar‑enan; the boundary of Damascus northward to the border of Hammath—this shall be the northernmost edge. And the eastern boundary shall run from between Hauran and Damascus, from between Gilead and the land of Israel: the Jordan shall be the eastern boundary toward the eastern sea; that shall be the eastern side.
As for the south side, it shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah‑Kadesh; the boundary shall reach to the Great Sea—this shall be the southern edge. And the western border shall be the Great Sea—from the border to the place opposite Hamath; that shall be the western side. And you shall divide this land among you; you shall allot it as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel. And you shall allot it as an inheritance to you and to the sojourners who live among you, who have been fathered in your land and bear sons among you; they shall be to you as native‑born Israelites—they shall receive an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. And when a foreigner resides with you and becomes one of you, there you shall give him his inheritance, says the Lord GOD.