Ezekiel 47:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ezekiel 47:3
And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
a man as an individual or a male person · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
line
וְקָ֣וve.Kav
H6957
a cord (as connecting) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
hand
בְּיָד֑וֹbe.ya.Do
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
forth
בְּצֵאתbe.tzet-
H3318
to go (causatively · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
eastward
קָדִ֖יםka.Dim
H6921
the fore or front part · noun, common masculine singular absolute
measured
וַיָּ֤מָדvai.Ya.mod
H4058
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
thousand
אֶ֙לֶף֙'e.lef
H505
hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alph… · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
cubits
בָּֽאַמָּ֔הba.'a.Mah
H520
properly · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
through
וַיַּעֲבִרֵ֥נִיvai.ya.'a.vi.Re.ni
H5674
to cross over · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
waters
בַמַּ֖יִםva.Ma.yim
H4325
water · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
waters
מֵ֥יmei
H4325
water · noun, common masculine plural construct
ankles
אָפְסָֽיִם'a.fe.Sa.yim
H657
cessation · noun, common masculine dual absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ezekiel 40:3 And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand,…
Zechariah 2:1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this,…
Acts 10:45-46 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out th…
Acts 11:16-18 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Revelation 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them tha…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 47:1-12
This part of Ezekiel's vision must so necessarily have a mystical and spiritual meaning that thence we conclude the other parts of his vision have a mystical and spiritual meaning also; for it cannot be applied to the waters brought by pipes into the temple for the washing of the sacrifices, the keeping of the temple clean, and the carrying off of those waters, for that would be to turn this pleasant river into a sink or common sewer. That prophecy, Zac 14:8, may explain it, of living waters that shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them towards the former sea and half of them towards the hinder sea. And there is plainly a reference to this in St. John's vision of a pure river of water of li…
He measured a thousand cubits - the waters were to the Ankles; a thousand more, - the waters were to the Knees; a thousand more, - they became a River that could not be forded. The waters were risen, and they were waters to Swim in.
I. This may be applied to the gradual discoveries of the plan of salvation, -
1. In the patriarchal ages.
2. In the giving of the law.
3. In the ministry of John the Baptist. And,
4. In the full manifestation of Christ by the communication of the Holy Ghost.
II. This vision may be applied also to the growth of a believer in the grace and knowledge of God. There is -
1. The seed of the kingdom.
2. The blade from that seed.
3. The ear out of that blade. And,
4. T…
And when the man that had the line in his hand,.... The same as in Ezekiel 40:3 and is no other than Christ, who appeared in a human form to the prophet; and who hitherto had only made use of the measuring reed in taking the dimensions of the house, and what appertained to it; but now he uses the line of flax he had in his hand, in measuring the waters as they ran; by which line is meant the Scriptures, the word of God, by which all doctrines are to be measured: this is the rule that both preachers and hearers are to go by; and, as by the direction of this person the waters flowed where he would have them, so the doctrines of the Gospel are preached by the order of Christ where he pleases; s…
The Church Fathers
After these things, the intellect comes to behold that which in Ezekiel the Prophet is indicated by the apparition of the torrent, which depicts the figure of the three stages of soul that draw nigh to things divine, and beyond the third there is no passage. The beginning of all these things is a good purpose directed toward God, the manifold labours of stillness, and the straightforwardness that is born of prolonged separation from the world.
(Verse 3) When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles (or passed through water of remission). But the man, he said, who had a rope in his hand, when he had led me through the gate on the outer side to the road that looked towards the East, and he himself was also in the same place, measured the same water a thousand cubits; and he led me through the water up to the ankles, which Aquila and Symmachus, and Theodotio rendered as 'ankles', for which the LXX rendered: and he passed into the water, the water of forgiveness: which we can understand as signifying the first sins of men, which are forgiven for us when we enter the waters of the Lord, and they show the saving grace of baptism and are the beginnings of progress, yet they themselves are sublime. Finally, they reach the ankles, which are close to the heel and exposed to the bites of snakes, as the Lord says: You will watch out for its head, and it will watch out for your heel (Gen. III, 15, according to the Septuagint). And in the Psalms about Judas the betrayer, it is said: He who ate my bread has magnified treachery against me (Ps. XL, 10), or rather the heel, for the Greek word πτέρνη (or πτέρνα in some manuscripts) means heel.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ezekiel, Book of — Consists mainly of three groups of prophecies. After an account of his call to the prophetical office (1-3:21), Ezekiel (1) utters words of denunciation against the Jews (3:22-24), warning them of…
Ezekiel · Of the river — Of the river
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
River · .Of salvation — .Of salvation
Water · Vision of, by Ezekiel — Vision of, by Ezekiel
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
At first, the stream was a mere trickle coming out from the gate of the Temple, but as it flowed out it became deeper and deeper until it was too deep to walk through. The exiles needed to be reminded that God often works from small beginnings that miraculously blossom into full flower.
Rashi on Ezekiel 47:3
he measured one thousand cubits outside the wall. For those thousand cubits, the stream did not swell to the extent of being deep up to the אֳפְסָיִם ; the ankles, called chevilles in Fr.
