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Ezequiel 47

VBL · Chapter 47/48

1El hombre me llevó de vuelta a la entrada del Templo. Vi que el agua salía de debajo del umbral del Templo y fluía hacia el este (porque el Templo estaba orientado hacia el este). El agua salía de debajo del lado sur del Templo y corría al sur del altar.

2Luego me sacó por la puerta norte y me llevó por el exterior hasta la puerta exterior que daba al este. Vi que salía agua del lado sur de la puerta.

3El hombre caminó hacia el este sosteniendo un cordel de medición, midió mil codos y me condujo a través del agua que me llegaba a los tobillos.

4Midió otros mil codos y me hizo pasar por el agua que me llegaba a las rodillas.

5Midió otros mil codos, pero éste era un río que no podía cruzar. El agua había subido tanto que se podía nadar en ella. Era un río que no se podía cruzar a pie.

6“Hijo de hombre, ¿has observado todo esto?” , me preguntó. Luego me llevó de vuelta a la orilla del río.

7Cuando llegué allí, vi un gran número de árboles a ambos lados del río.

8Me dijo: “Esta agua desemboca en la tierra del este y en el Arabá. Cuando llega al Mar Muerto, convierte el agua salada en dulce.

9Habrá muchos animales y peces dondequiera que fluya el río. Como el río vuelve dulce el agua salada dondequiera que fluya, todo podrá vivir allí.

10“Los pescadores estarán en la orilla del Mar Muerto. Podrán extender sus redes desde En-gedi hasta En-eglaim y pescar muchas clases de peces. Habrá muchos peces como en el Mar Mediterráneo.

11Sin embargo, las marismas y las zonas pantanosas no se volverán frescas; seguirán siendo saladas.

12“A ambos lados del río crecerán todo tipo de árboles frutales. Sus hojas no se marchitarán y no dejarán de producir frutos. Producirá frutos todos los meses, porque el río que fluye desde el santuario viene a regarlos. Sus frutos se comerán como alimento y sus hojas se usarán para curar”.

13Esto es lo que dice el Señor Dios: “Estos son los límites que debes usar cuando asignes la propiedad de la tierra a las doce tribus de Israel. (José recibirá dos asignaciones).

14Debes asignarles la tierra por igual. Yo levanté mi mano e hice la promesa solemne de dársela a sus antepasados, de modo que esta tierra les llegará a ustedes para que la posean y la transmitan como herencia.

15“Estos serán los límites del país:

16luego sigue hasta Berotá y Sibraín en la frontera entre Damasco y Hamat, y todo el camino hasta Hazar-haticón, en la frontera de Haurán.

17Así que la frontera va desde el Mar Mediterráneo hasta Hazar-enán, a lo largo de la frontera norte con Damasco, con la frontera de Hamat al norte. Este es el límite norte.

18“El límite oriental va desde Haurán y Damasco, bajando por el Jordán entre Galaad y la tierra de Israel, hasta el Mar Muerto y hasta Tamar. Este es el límite oriental.

19“El límite meridional va desde Tamar hasta las aguas de Meribat-Cadés, y luego a lo largo del Wadi de Egipto hasta el Mar Mediterráneo. Este es el límite sur.

20“El Mar Mediterráneo es el límite occidental hasta un lugar frente a Lebo-hamat. Este es el límite occidental.

21“Ustedes deben asignar esta tierra para que la posean según las tribus de Israel.

22Ustedes van a asignar la tierra para que la posean y la transmitan como herencia para ustedes y para los extranjeros que viven entre ustedes y que tienen hijos. Los trataránde la misma manera que a los israelitas nacidos en el país. Se les asignará una tierra para que la posean entre las tribus israelitas de la misma manera que a ustedes.

23A los extranjeros se les asignará tierra para que la posean entre la tribu en la que viven, declara el Señor Dios”.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Ezekiel sees a miraculous river flowing out from the temple, growing progressively deeper, bringing life and healing wherever it goes, until it turns the salty waters of the Dead Sea into fresh water full of fish; afterward, the boundaries of the promised land are established for the twelve tribes.

Explanation

The river that grows from a small trickle of water into a current impossible to cross on foot (v.3-5) symbolizes how the presence and blessing of God, even starting small, have limitless power to grow and transform. The transformation of the Dead Sea — the saltiest and most lifeless body of water in the region, unable to sustain life — into water full of fish is one of the most powerful images of restoration in the entire Bible, showing that no place is considered by God too barren or too dead to flourish. The inclusion of resident foreigners receiving an inheritance of land equal to native-born Israelites (v.22-23) is remarkably inclusive for the standards of the time, anticipating themes of inclusion that would be further expanded in the New Testament.

Fun facts

  • This vision of the river that heals the Dead Sea is taken up almost directly in Revelation 22:1-2, in the description of the river of the water of life in the New Jerusalem, showing Ezekiel's direct influence on the Bible's final imagery.
  • The real Dead Sea has one of the highest salinity levels on the planet, about ten times saltier than the ordinary ocean, which made the promise of abundant life there an even more striking and radical image for its original hearers.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezequiel 47:1The river that flows out of the temple and grows deeper and deeper — first at the ankles, then the knees, then the waist, until it becomes impossible to cross — is an image of ever-growing blessing: the deeper someone goes into God’s presence, the greater the transforming effect.
  2. Ezequiel 47:2The guide takes Ezekiel outside the complex, around to the outer east gate, and there shows him that the same water was already visible flowing out on the right side.
  3. Ezequiel 47:3The man begins measuring the river on foot: a thousand cubits out, the water already reached the ankles — the river grows steadily the farther it gets from the temple.
  4. Ezequiel 47:4Every thousand cubits the water gets deeper: first the knees, then the waist — the growth symbolizes a small source that becomes ever more powerful.
  5. Ezequiel 47:5After four thousand cubits the water was already too deep to wade through, requiring swimming — the thin stream that starts beneath the temple becomes a flow impossible to contain.
  6. Ezequiel 47:6A rhetorical question from the guide, drawing Ezekiel’s attention to the meaning of the scene before continuing the explanation.
  7. Ezequiel 47:7Back on the bank, Ezekiel sees a huge number of trees on both sides of the river — a sign of abundance flowing directly from God’s presence.
  8. Ezequiel 47:8The river reaches the Dead Sea, here simply called “the sea,” and turns its salt water into water good for fish, except for the marshes, which stay salty on purpose, set aside for producing salt.
  9. Ezequiel 47:9The river’s water has the power to heal even the Dead Sea, mentioned in the previous verse, making a naturally salty, lifeless place livable — a powerful image of total restoration.
  10. Ezequiel 47:10The sea, once lifeless, would become so full of fish that fishermen would settle along its shores, with the same variety of species found in the “great sea,” the Mediterranean.
  11. Ezequiel 47:11The one realistic detail amid the lush imagery: the marshes and mudflats at the edges would remain salty, kept for salt extraction — not everything is transformed, but the overall effect is one of life.
  12. Ezequiel 47:12Trees bearing fruit every month, with leaves used for healing, is an image of lasting abundance around the river flowing from the temple — a scene that later biblical texts pick up again in very similar language.
  13. Ezequiel 47:13Begins the description of the land’s borders, to be divided among the twelve tribes, with Joseph receiving a double portion, through his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
  14. Ezequiel 47:14Reinforces that this division fulfills an ancient promise made to the people’s ancestors, not something newly invented in the vision.
  15. Ezequiel 47:15Describes the land’s northern border, naming cities and roads in the region of Syria — a boundary far wider than the territory Israel actually held for most of its history.
  16. Ezequiel 47:16Continues listing cities along the northern border, located between the territories of Damascus and Hamath.
  17. Ezequiel 47:17Closes the description of the northern border, placing it between Hazar-enan and the territory of Damascus.
  18. Ezequiel 47:18Describes the eastern border, using the Jordan River as the natural boundary between the land of Israel and the regions of Hauran and Gilead.
  19. Ezequiel 47:19Describes the southern border, from the region of Tamar to the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, ending at the “great sea,” the Mediterranean.
  20. Ezequiel 47:20Describes the western border simply as the Mediterranean Sea itself, from the south up to the area of Hamath in the north.
  21. Ezequiel 47:21The provision that resident foreigners receive a land inheritance alongside the tribes of Israel, rather than being treated as second-class outsiders, is a remarkably inclusive provision for such an ancient text.
  22. Ezequiel 47:22A notable detail: foreigners living among the people, with children born there, were to receive a land inheritance as if they were native-born Israelites.
  23. Ezequiel 47:23Specifies how this would work in practice: the foreigner receives his portion within the tribe where he actually lives, alongside the rest of that territory’s residents.

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