Ezekiel 47:1

Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. The happy fruit to the earth at large of God's dwelling with Israel in holy fellowship is, that the blessing is no longer restricted to the one people and locality, but is to be diffused with comprehensive catholicity through the whole world. So the plant from the cedar of Lebanon is represented as gathering under its "shelter all fowl of every wing" (). Even the desert places of the earth shall be made fruitful by the healing waters of the Gospel (cf. ). Behold, waters issues out from under the threshold of the hou

CHAPTER XLVII _The vision of the holy waters issuing out of the temple, and_ _their virtue; an emblem of the power of God's grace under the_ _Gospel, capable of healing all but the incorrigibly impenitent,_ _represented by the marshy ground that cannot be healed_, 1-12. _Also a description of the several divisions of the Holy Land_ _indiscriminately shared betwixt Jews and proselytes; to denote_ _that in after times the privileges now enjoyed by the Jews_ _should be also extended to the Gentiles_, 13-23. NOTES ON CHAP. XLVII Verse...

The vision of the waters; or, the blessings which flow from this source to animate and refresh all the inhabitants of the earth. Compare Isaiah 44:8...; Joel 3:18. Ezekiel’s description is adopted and modifled by Zechariah and in Rev. (compare the marginal references) Hebrew tradition speaks of a spring of water, named Etham, said to be identical with the well-waters of Nephtoah Joshua 18:15, on the west of the temple, whose waters were conducted by pipes into the temple-courts for the uses needed in the ministration of the priests. The waters of Shiloah Psalms 46:4;...

EXPOSITION As the first part of Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 40-43.) dealt with the temple, or "house," and the second (Ezekiel 44-47.) with the ritual, or "worship," so the third, which beans with the present chapter (Ezekiel 47:1; Ezekiel 48:1.), treats of the land, or "inheritance" setting forth first its relation to the temple (verses 1-12) and to outlying countries (verses 13-21), and secondly its division among the tribes, inclusive of the priests, Levites, sanctuary, prince, and city (Ezekiel 48:1), with a statement of the dimensions and gates of the last (verses 24-35). The opening section of the present chapter (verses 1-12) is by Kliefoth and others connected with the second part as a conclusio

AFTERWARD HE BROUGHT ME AGAIN UNTO THE DOOR OF THE HOUSE,.... The door of the temple, even of the holy of holies; hither the prophet is said to be brought again, or "brought back" x; for he was last in the corners of the outward court, viewing the kitchens or boiling places of the ministers; but now he was brought back into the inner court, and to the door that led into the holiest of all: AND, BEHOLD! for it was matter of admiration, as well as of observation and attention: WATERS ISSUED OUT FROM UNDER THE THRESHOLD OF THE HOUSE EASTWARD; this is a new thing, to which there was nothing like it, either in the first or second temple. Ariateas y indeed relates what he himself saw, "a never failing conflux of water, as of a large fountain, naturally flowing underneath, and wonderful receptacles under ground; to each of which were leaden pipes, through which the waters came in on every si...

III. THE VISION CONCERNING THE LAND (47-48) CHAPTER 4 7 _ 1. The waters of healing from the temple (Ezekiel 47:1) _ 2. Borders of the land (Ezekiel 47:13) 3. Concerning the stranger in the land (Ezekiel 47:22)...

EZEKIEL 47, 48. THE HOLY LAND, ITS BEAUTY, BOUNDARIES, AND DIVISIONS. Now that the Temple and its worship, which are indispensable to the welfare of the land, have been described, Ezekiel directs his parting glance to the land itself, introducing his description with a beautiful and suggestive picture, particularly refreshing after the long stretch of minute ceremonial detail, of the life-giving stream that flowed from the heart of the sanctuary. The clearness and keenness with which the prophet's imagination is working, comes out in the frequent repetition of the word Behold. EZEKIEL 47:1. THE RIVER OF LIFE. From under the threshold of the Temple the prophet, led by his supernatural guide, is startled to see water trickling out and flowing past the altar eastwards, growing deeper and stronger as it flows, in the direction of the Dead Sea, into which it finally falls.

DOOR. entrance. BEHOLD. Figure of speech _Asterismos._ App-6. CAME DOWN. were coming down. Compare Joel 3:18. and see Isaiah 12:3; Isaiah 44:3.Zechariah 14:8; Revelation 22:1. FROM UNDER. from beneath. Referring to the perennial source which has supplied the fountain of Gihon. See App-68. RIGHT SIDE: i.e. the south side. Compare Ezekiel 47:2....

From the outer court (Ezekiel 46:23) the prophet was brought again to the door of the house. There he saw waters issuing from beneath the threshold on the right, that is the south side, which flowed east, passing the altar on the south side....

BEHOLD, WATERS ISSUED OUT— There was a large quantity of water for the uses of the temple, conveyed in pipes under ground from the fountain of _Etam._ From these waters the prophet draws his similitude of the salubrious waters, which increased as they flowed, till they reached the borders of Israel; hereby not obscurely prefiguring that salvation which was to flow forth from Jerusalem to all the children of Abraham by faith. So it is elsewhere foretold, _a law shall go forth from Sion; and ye that are athirst, come to the waters,_ &c. Waters first flow towards the south of the temple, then to the east; which was the first course of the gospel, before it was disseminated widely among the Gentiles. Houbigant....