Ezekiel 47:5 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ezekiel 47:5
Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
thousand
אֶ֔לֶף'E.lef
H505
hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alph… · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
river
נַ֕חַלNa.chal
H5158
a stream · noun, common masculine singular absolute
could
אוּכַ֖ל'u.Khal
H3201
to be able · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
over
לַעֲבֹ֑רla.'a.Vor
H5674
to cross over · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
waters
הַמַּ֙יִם֙ha.Ma.yim
H4325
water · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
risen
גָא֤וּga.'U
H1342
to mount up · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
waters
מֵ֣יmei
H4325
water · noun, common masculine plural construct
in
שָׂ֔חוּSa.chu
H7813
a pond (for swimming) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
river
נַ֖חַלNa.chal
H5158
a stream · noun, common masculine singular absolute
over
יֵעָבֵֽרye.'a.Ver
H5674
to cross over · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
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
Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the s…
Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Daniel 2:34-35 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to p…
Matthew 13:31-32 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his…
Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood bef…
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord…
Revelation 20:2-4 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
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…
Afterward he measured a thousand,.... A fourth time a thousand cubits. Some think these four measurings respect the preaching of the Gospel in the four parts of the world; but rather they refer to four remarkable seasons of the ministry of it; as in the times of John the Baptist, and the disciples of Christ before his death; in the primitive churches of the three first centuries; at the time of the Reformation; and in the latter day glory, which is the fourth and last measuring:
and it was a river that I could not pass over; the prophet could not set his foot on the bottom, and wade through it, and cross over it, as he had done before:
for the waters were risen, waters to swim in; not to w…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 5) And he measured a thousand of a deep, which I could not pass over, because the waters were risen, waters of a deep river, which could not be passed over. For which LXX have translated: And he measured a thousand, and could not pass over: because the water was bearing a stream like the rapid stream, which cannot be passed over. Hence it is now said in the fourth (book): And he measured a thousand, with the addition of cubits, of a torrent (which the Septuagint did not translate), which I could not go through: much better than the Seventy who said, and he could not go through. For the prophet and all human nature, after the loins of the torrent of thoughts, and the incentives of vices in the heart, cannot go through. But that man, who was clothed with Baddim and was the leader of the prophets, passed through easily; who did not commit sin, nor was guile found in his mouth (Isaiah 56). And he gives the reasons why the prophet could not pass through a thousand cubits: because, he says, the deep waters of the torrent had swelled, which could not be crossed. And as it is written, with the prophet boasting: Our soul has passed through the torrent (Psalm 124, 5). But it is easily resolved if we know that this is written in Hebrew: A torrent passed through my soul. Concerning this torrent, Isaiah says: Behold, I will extend peace over them like a river, and the glory like a overflowing torrent (Isa. LXVI, 12). And in the thirty-fifth psalm, it is said about the saints: They will hope in the protection of your wings. They will be intoxicated with the abundance of your house, and you will give them to drink from the river of your delights; for with you is the fountain of life (Psal. XXXV, 8, 9). And on the hundred and twenty-fifth: Convert, O Lord, our captivity, like a stream in the South (Psalm 125:5). And about the Savior: He shall drink from the brook by the wayside (Psalm 110:7). For who among men can boast of having a pure heart? (Proverbs 20). Or whose mind, through the windows of the eyes, shall not be entered by the death of desire (Jeremiah 9), and, dare I say, the tickling of the soul? For the world is placed in the evil one (1 John 5:19), and from childhood the heart of man is inclined to evil, so that from the very beginning of his birth, not even for one day, is human condition without sin (Job 15). And David confesses in the psalm: Behold, I…
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
Rivers · Some of: Deep — Some of: Deep
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 47:5
for the water was so high [Heb. גָאוּ,lit. became haughty,] like גָדְלוּ, became large.
water for swimming [Heb. שָׂחוּ,] noer in O.F., to swim, water that one must swim in and not cross by foot lest it overpower him. שָׂחוּ means swimming, like (Isa. 25:11): “as the swimmer spreads out [his hands] to swim הַשׂחֶה לִשְׂחוֹת.”
