And he brought me back to the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the forefront of the house looked toward the east; and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.
verse value 7223
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 94 letters. The shortest word is "the·house" (הַבַּ֒יִת֒, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·behold·water" (וְהִנֵּה־מַ֣יִם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 848: from·under, from·under. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "issuing" (יֹצְאִ֗ים), "for·face·of" (כִּֽי־פְנֵ֥י), "and·the·waters" (וְהַמַּ֣יִם). The root בית appears 4 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·door·of" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "the·house" (root בית, 159x in Ezekiel); "for·face·of" (root פנים, 150x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'east', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 8 words.
Rashi
And He brought me back. Into the inner courtyard:
At the entrance of the House. And the waters flow down from beneath the right shoulder of the House, springing forth from beneath the threshold, which is in the middle of the east, and they diverge diagonally to the right side, and they exit the Temple Court at the south of the Altar, and they go out outside the city. In Mishnah Yoma we learned: Rabbi Pinchas said in the name of Rav Huna of Tzippori: A spring issuing from the Holy of Holies. Initially, it resembled the horns of rocks; once it reached the entrance of the Heichal, it became like a thread of warp; once it reached the entrance of the Ulam, it became like a thread of weft; once it reached the entrance of the Temple Court, it became like the mouth of a small pitcher.
Radak
And He brought me back to the entrance of the House. To the entrance of the Temple, beneath the right shoulder of the House, beginning there, I saw them emerging from beneath the threshold of the House, which is in the middle of the eastern side of the House. Afterwards, they inclined toward the southern side and descended from the southern shoulder of the Temple gate. We have already explained that “shoulder” is called that which is after the gate, either from the inside or from the outside. It is possible that they were emerging from beneath the threshold of the southern passageway, into which no person entered, and they were descending from the south of the altar to outside the Court, and from there to outside the city. In the words of our Sages of blessed memory, this stream begins from the Holy of Holies. Rabbi Pinchas said in the name of Rabbi Huna of Tzipora: The stream that emerges from the Holy of Holies, initially it resembles the horns of grasshoppers. Once it reached the entrance of the Temple, it became like a thread of warp. Once it reached the entrance of the Ulam, it became like a thread of weft. Once it reached the entrance of the Court, it became like the mouth of a small jug. This is what we learned in the Mishnah: “The Water Gate, through which they bring in a jug of water for the libation on Sukkot.” And in the Tosefta of Sukkah, Rabbi Eliezer says: “The waters gush forth, churn, and rise up like the mouth of a jug, and they are destined to emerge from beneath the hand of the threshold of the House from here onward.” And He measured a thousand cubits and led me through the waters—waters up to the ankles. And He measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through waters up to the knees. And He measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through waters up to the waist. Once it reached the entrance of the House of David, it became a great river, as it is stated: “On that day there shall be a spring opened for the House of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.”
Metzudat David
“The House.” This refers to the Temple, the House of the Holy of Holies.
"And behold, waters..." He showed him that in the future a spring of water would be opened there by a miracle.
Go forward. Let them be drawn and walking toward the east:
"For the front of the house faces east." This means that the entrance of the house is on the east side; therefore, when the water is drawn from beneath the threshold toward the outside, it flows eastward.
“And the waters flow from beneath.” The waters flowed beneath the earth, and from there they emerged from the shoulder of the house on the right side—that is to say, on the side of the gate facing south. From there they passed south of the altar of burnt offering, and from there they went out to the outside through the eastern gate, as is explained below.
Metzudat Zion
Miftan. An iskopah, like the phrase “cut off to the threshold” (1 Samuel 5:
"Panai habayit." So is called the entrance of the house:
Malbim
"And He set me down from there, He brought me back to the entrance of the Court of Israel, the east side." And he saw that from beneath the threshold of the house waters were issuing and flowing toward the east, as if they were coming out from the house toward the front of the house, for the east is the front. And he saw that the place of the waters extended from the shoulder of the house on the right side, from the south side of the altar.
Then brought he me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way without to the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looks toward the east; and, behold, there trickled forth waters on the right side.
verse value 4354
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 75 letters. The shortest word is "way" (דֶּ֣רֶךְ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·he·brought·me·out" (וַיּוֹצִאֵ֘נִי֮, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 224: way, way. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·he·led·me·around" (וַיְסִבֵּ֙נִי֙), "outside" (ח֔וּץ), "outside" (הַח֔וּץ). The root דרך appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·gate·of" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "way·gate" (root דרך, 105x in Ezekiel); "and·he·brought·me·out" (root יצא, 75x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'east', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 4 words.
Rashi
"And He brought me out." From the inner courtyard to the outer courtyard through the north gate:
"And He turned me around." Around the inner wall, within the outer one:
“Unto the gate.” The outer one, facing east.
"Maim mifcham" (waters that are broad). In the vernacular, it is rendered as "broad, as broad as the mouth of a pitcher." This is how our Sages explained it, as stated above.
Radak
"And He brought me out by the gate toward the north, and He turned me around by the outer way. He encircled me from the east to the north, and He brought me out from the gate of the Court which is in the north, by the outer way to the Temple Mount."
"By the gate of the outer court, which faces east. And He brought me out from the Temple Mount by way of the eastern gate of the Temple Mount:"
And behold, waters were flowing from the right shoulder. Those waters were emerging from the southern shoulder of the Temple Mount, and the meaning of "flowing" is that they were issuing forth according to its context; and so too does the Targum render it: "and they went out."
Metzudat David
The way of the gate, northward. Of idolatry:
"And He turned me around." He was surrounding me from the outside, near that wall of the courtyard, and around the chambers that stood beneath it, to lead me to the outer gate. This is the gate that extended from the roof of the chamber to its roof, and inside it there was yet another gate, as stated above.
The way that turns eastward. To the eastern gate:
And behold, waters were issuing forth. I looked, and behold, waters were flowing out, as much as would fill the mouth of a jar, from the side of the gate that faces south.
Metzudat Zion
"מפכים" – the word is derived from "פך," which is the name of a vessel, as in "the pitcher of oil" (1 Samuel 10:1).
Malbim
And they brought me out from the Temple Court via the Northern Gate (for the Eastern Gate of the inner courtyard, as well as that of the outer courtyard, was closed), and therefore he was required to go around via the Northern Gate, and he came outside to before the Eastern Gate of the outer courtyard and saw that the waters were flowing from the courtyard onto the Temple Mount from the right shoulder, and the meaning is that the source was open like the mouth of a jar.
When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles.
verse value 1997
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "water·of" (מֵ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "when·the·man·went·out" (בְּצֵאת־הָאִ֥ישׁ, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "when·the·man·went·out" (בְּצֵאת־הָאִ֥ישׁ), "and·line" (וְקָ֣ו), "ankles" (אׇפְסָֽיִם). The root מים appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "by·the·cubit" (root אמה, 85x in Ezekiel); "when·the·man·went·out" (root יצא, 75x in Ezekiel); "in·his·hand" (root יד, 75x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·his·hand', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 7 words. Full calculation: בְּצֵאת־הָאִ֥ישׁ [when·the·man·went·out] (809) + קָדִ֖ים [east] (154) + וְקָ֣ו [and·line] (112) + בְּיָד֑וֹ [in·his·hand] (22) + וַיָּ֤מׇד [and·he·measured] (60) + אֶ֙לֶף֙ [thousand] (111) + בָּֽאַמָּ֔ה [by·the·cubit] (48) + וַיַּעֲבִרֵ֥נִי [and·he·caused·me·to·pass] (348) + בַמַּ֖יִם [in·the·water] (92) + מֵ֥י [water·of] (50) + אׇפְסָֽיִם [ankles] (191) = 1997.
Rashi
"And he measured a thousand cubits." Outside the wall, and all those thousand cubits the river did not become deep, but only up to the ankles, which are called "kabilay" in the vernacular.
Radak
“B’tzeat ha’ish” – “The man who showed him all this vision is the angel mentioned at the beginning of the vision, ‘like a copper vision.’”
"And a wick in his hand." It is a flax wick, as stated at the beginning of the vision.
"And He measured a thousand cubits." He measured with that same reed, which was the measuring reed, as has been explained. He measured from the place where these waters flowed, and he measured in them a thousand [cubits] in length, and He caused me to pass through them. They were ankle-deep waters; and the Targum renders it as "waters of the ankles." And so too did our Sages of blessed memory explain that a person would enter into them up to his ankles. These are the ankles of the leg, which they call "kavilayesh" in the vernacular.
Metzudat David
"At the going out of the man." When the speaking angel went out of the Temple, and he had the measuring line in his hand, then he measured the waters a thousand cubits in length. And afterward, he passed me through the waters, and they were waters of the ankles, meaning that they covered only the ankle and no more.
Metzudat Zion
And the measuring cord. It is the cord of measurement.
"afsim." The root is *p-s*, and the letter aleph is added; it denotes the sole of the foot. And just as the palm of the hand is referred to in the language of *pes*, as it is stated, "and the king saw the palm of the hand" (Daniel 5:5).
Malbim
"When the man went forth eastward, and he went out with him toward the eastern side by way of the Temple Mount, and he measured a thousand cubits, and still the waters were few, as nothing and as naught:"
Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through waters that were to the loins.
verse value 2082
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "water·of" (מֵ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·he·caused·me·to·pass" (וַיַּעֲבִרֵ֥נִי, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 348: and·he·caused·me·to·pass, and·he·caused·me·to·pass. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "knees" (בִּרְכָּ֑יִם). The root מים appears 3 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "thousand" (root אלף, 40x in Ezekiel); "and·he·caused·me·to·pass" (root עבר, 40x in Ezekiel); "in·the·water" (root מים, 38x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'knees', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֣מׇד [and·he·measured] (60) + אֶ֔לֶף [thousand] (111) + וַיַּעֲבִרֵ֥נִי [and·he·caused·me·to·pass] (348) + בַמַּ֖יִם [in·the·water] (92) + מַ֣יִם [water] (90) + בִּרְכָּ֑יִם [knees] (272) + וַיָּ֣מׇד [and·he·measured] (60) + אֶ֔לֶף [thousand] (111) + וַיַּעֲבִרֵ֖נִי [and·he·caused·me·to·pass] (348) + מֵ֥י [water·of] (50) + מׇתְנָֽיִם [loins] (540) = 2082.
Rashi
“And he measured a thousand.” Another [thousand], and they deepened until the knees, and another thousand, and they deepened until the waist. From here onward, a stream which one cannot cross. From here [we derive that] it is forbidden to enter the waters above the waist, lest the waters sweep him away. When he came to the level of the waist, he went out onto the bank of the river and measured another thousand before him, [a] stream which he could not cross, and his feet were standing on dry land. This is what is written: “And He set me by the bank of the stream,” meaning near the bank of the stream, where he was standing.
Radak
"And he measured a thousand." He measured another thousand, and the waters rose until they reached his knees; this is what is stated: "Waters to the knees." And he measured another thousand, and they reached his loins; this is what is stated: "And He passed me by waters to the loins."
"Waters of the knees." The construct state with the plural mem, like "words of truth," "dross of silver," and their like, which we wrote in the book Miklol.
Metzudat David
“And he measured a thousand.” And from there he measured another thousand cubits, and he passed me through the water, and the waters were up to the knees. That is to say, they covered me up to the knees.
"Waters of the loins." There were waters of the loins, meaning they covered up to the waist.
Metzudat Zion
“Knees.” They are the legs:
"Matanim." These are the loins.
Malbim
And he measured, he measured another thousand cubits, and the waters reached up to the knees; and he measured the third thousand cubits, and the waters were up to the waist.
Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.
verse value 2551
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "water·of" (מֵ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "not·I·could" (לֹא־אוּכַ֖ל, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "not·I·could" (לֹא־אוּכַ֖ל), "to·transgress" (לַעֲבֹ֑ר), "for·they·rose·up" (כִּֽי־גָא֤וּ). The root נחל appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "thousand" (root אלף, 40x in Ezekiel); "to·transgress" (root עבר, 40x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·transgress', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֣מׇד [and·he·measured] (60) + אֶ֔לֶף [thousand] (111) + נַ֕חַל [torrent] (88) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + לֹא־אוּכַ֖ל [not·I·could] (88) + לַעֲבֹ֑ר [to·transgress] (302) + כִּֽי־גָא֤וּ [for·they·rose·up] (40) + הַמַּ֙יִם֙ [water] (95) + מֵ֣י [water·of] (50) + שָׂ֔חוּ [swimming] (314) + נַ֖חַל [torrent] (88) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + לֹא־יֵעָבֵֽר [not·be·passed·through] (313) = 2551.
Rashi
Gao. Like "they grew":
Waters of swimming. The word "swims" in the vernacular refers to water in which one must swim and not cross on foot, lest the water wash him away. "Swims" means to navigate, as it is stated (Isaiah 25:11): "As the swimmer spreads out to swim."
Radak
And he measured a thousand cubits of the stream. And again he measured a fourth time, another thousand cubits, and the stream was deep, so that I could not pass through it on foot.
For the waters were proud, waters of swimming. Until the waters were waters in which one could swim, such that a person could not cross them unless he swam across them. And it is called "swimming" by weight, just as one who swims spreads out his limbs in order to swim.
Metzudat David
And he measured a thousand. And from there he measured another thousand cubits, and there was a deep stream which I could not cross.
For the waters prevailed. For the waters grew to be waters of swimming to swim in them from above, and it was a stream which could not be crossed by walking on foot.
Metzudat Zion
Gao. The matter of "gadol" (greatness), and similarly "higa'ah" (grow tall) [from] "goma" (papyrus) (Job 8:
Shachu. The matter of swimming in the water from above, as when one spreads out to swim (Isaiah 25:11):
Malbim
"And he measured the fourth thousand cubits." See that the waters rose greatly. And behold, besides the miracle being understood in its simple sense—that a spring would open from the House of the Lord, as it is stated (Joel 4:18), "And a stream will go forth from the House of the Lord and will water the valley of Shittim," and (Zechariah 14:7-8), "And it shall come to pass on that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem," for there was never a spring in Jerusalem, and then the blessing will increase from the source of living waters—besides this, it comes to allude also to the waters of knowledge, Torah, and faith which will go forth from the House of the Lord, for "out of Zion shall go forth the Torah." And it explains that these holy waters emerge from beneath the threshold of the house on the right side, from the south toward the altar, not from the side of the northern shoulder, for the northern side was designated for the slaughter of the Most Holy sacrifices, most of which came to atone for transgression and to extinguish sin, such as the sin-offering and the guilt-offering which came to atone, and also the burnt-offering comes to atone for the thoughts of the heart and for positive and negative commandments that are punishable by excision. And from this side, the waters of knowledge would not flow from the weak, for they would not know the Lord from the side of fear of punishment and turning away from evil; rather, the source would open from the right side of the altar, where voluntary offerings, peace-offerings, and thank-offerings are brought, which indicate service of the Lord from the side of recognizing His goodness, His kindness, and His truth.
However, what do the four measurements which He measured in the stream indicate? The meaning of the Ri"a is that it alludes to four types of cognitions that one will attain of the Lord through the waters of knowledge flowing from the Holy Place. And "waters to the ankles" is the cognition of the world of existence and destruction, vanity and nothingness; "waters to the knees" is the cognition of the world of the spheres, the possessors of motion; "waters to the loins" is the cognition of the world of angels, whose power is in their loins, mighty men of valor, doers of His word; and "waters to the waist" is the cognition of the Divinity, where the waters rose above the depth of comprehension, so that no man could wade through them.
And in my opinion, he hinted by this that even though at that time the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as waters cover the sea, nevertheless, they will be similar to waters covering the sea, where there are deep places and places that are not deep. For even though all will recognize the Lord, there will be a difference of levels in the quantity of cognition, the quality of cognition, and its depth, for each will attain according to his level. And He informed him that then people will be divided into four levels:
A. Nations which will remain still in the state of ancient ignorance, who served stars and constellations, like Chena and Japhan and the men of Hava; they will receive a little of the knowledge of God, and their waters will be "waters to the ankles."
B. Nations who are not idolaters and have a religion, but err regarding the Divinity and serve without the true God; they will receive more of the waters of knowledge, and their waters will be "waters to the knees."
C. Nations who accepted true opinions regarding the faith in the Divinity and His Oneness, but did not accept the true religion and the commandments of the Divinity; they will drink more from the source of living waters, and their waters of knowledge will be "waters to the loins."
D. The nation that accepted the Torah of the Lord, His statutes, and His commandments; they will attain the great cognitions, and there will be for them a flowing stream, a source of wisdom, "waters to the waist," for the waters of knowledge rose in their souls in great abundance.
And He showed that the "waters to the ankles" are closer to the Temple than the "waters to the knees," to teach that nevertheless, all will strive at His gates to seek Him and to know Him and to walk in the light of the Lord. For those who have not yet accepted the ways of the Lord at all will press more to strive at the Tent and pursue to know the Lord, as it is stated, "Come, let us go up to the Lord... and He will teach us in His ways." And those who have not learned will be more inward than those who have already learned and known the Lord, who will go outward to spread their springs abroad, until the "waters to the waist" will already remove themselves from the chamber of their conception to swim in the length and to teach throughout the land.
And our Sages of blessed memory said in their parable: "This spring, its beginning is from the Holy of Holies." Rabbi Pinchas said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: "The spring emerging from the Holy of Holies, at first it is like the horns of grasshoppers; when it reached the entrance of the Sanctuary, it became like a thread of silk; and when it reached the entrance of the Hall, it became like a thread of linen; and when it reached the entrance of the Temple Court, it became like the mouth of a small jar."
Their meaning is that these intellectual waters begin from the intellect emanated from the World of Emanation, which is alluded to by the Holy of Holies, and there it is like the horns of grasshoppers, for we do not attain from that great light except like a needle's eye. And when it reached the entrance of the Sanctuary, which alludes to the cognition in the World of the Throne, it will be recognized more, like a thread of silk. And at the entrance of the Hall, which alludes to the intellect in the World of Angels, there knowledge will open more, until it exits the gate of the Court and goes outward, and comes to the World of the Ophanim, which is the physical world, where it is like a jar, and the waters are from jars, for there people attain and examine the wisdom of the constitution of the heavens and the order of the lower world.
And by this parable, he explained that he measured the first thousand against the "Aluf" [chief/leader] and the study in the World of Emanation, and they were "waters to the ankles," for there the cognition is nothingness and void, and the intellect bound to matter will not attain there. And the cognition will expand and deepen more in the matters of the World of the Throne, up to the knees; and it will expand more in the World of Angels, up to the loins. And in the thousand and the last study, which is in the World of the Spheres possessing matter, there the waters rose, for the investigators are many, and the strength of knowledge in constitution and nature and in all kinds of sciences is great.
And he said to me: ‘Have you seen this, O son of man?’ Then he led me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river.
verse value 2394
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. Verse gematria: 2394 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "to·me" (אֵלַ֖י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·he·led·me" (וַיּוֹלִכֵ֥נִי, 7 letters). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 362x in Ezekiel); "to·me" (root אל, 204x in Ezekiel); "son·of·man" (root בין, 145x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'son·of·man', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֥אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֵלַ֖י [to·me] (41) + הֲרָאִ֣יתָ [you·saw] (616) + בֶן־אָדָ֑ם [son·of·man] (97) + וַיּוֹלִכֵ֥נִי [and·he·led·me] (132) + וַיְשִׁבֵ֖נִי [and·he·caused·me·to·return] (378) + שְׂפַ֥ת [lip] (780) + הַנָּֽחַל [torrent] (93) = 2394.
Rashi
"Have you seen, son of man?" How mighty this river is!
Radak
"And He said to me, 'Have you seen, son of man?' That is to say: see how this river keeps increasing — understand from it: so too will the good of Israel keep increasing."
“And He brought me to the riverbank and set me upon the shore of the river.” He brought me and took me out of the waters, and He set me upon the shore of the river from which He had brought me into the waters.
Metzudat David
“Have you seen?” – with a heh of interrogation, meaning: “Have you given your heart to see how the river grows stronger and stronger?”
"And He brought me." After this, He led me further from the river, and then returned and brought me back near the bank of the river.
Malbim
“And He said unto me, ‘Hast thou seen, son of man?’” – This means: Have you perceived and understood the vision which I have shown you? And then, “And He brought me again unto the bank of the river,” meaning that He returned a second time to walk along its bank.
Now when I had been brought back, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
verse value 1857
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "tree" (עֵ֖ץ, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·my·returning" (בְּשׁוּבֵ֕נִי, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "in·my·returning" (בְּשׁוּבֵ֕נִי), "to·bank·of" (אֶל־שְׂפַ֣ת). The root זה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·bank·of" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "in·my·returning" (root שוב, 61x in Ezekiel); "and·behold" (root הנה, 56x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'very', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. Full calculation: בְּשׁוּבֵ֕נִי [in·my·returning] (370) + וְהִנֵּה֙ [and·behold] (66) + אֶל־שְׂפַ֣ת [to·bank·of] (811) + הַנַּ֔חַל [torrent] (93) + עֵ֖ץ [tree] (160) + רַ֣ב [many] (202) + מְאֹ֑ד [very] (45) + מִזֶּ֖ה [on·the·one·side] (52) + וּמִזֶּֽה [and·on·the·other] (58) = 1857.
Rashi
"When He brought me back, and behold, on the bank of the river..." While He was leading me and bringing me back, a very great multitude of trees grew on the bank of the river, on this side and on that side. "Trees" is *aibitz* in the vernacular.
Radak
"When I turned back, and behold, on the bank of the river there was a very great number of trees." This refers to what was not present in it initially, when he entered from the bank into the river; there were many trees in general.
Metzudat David
“On my return.” At the time that He brought me back to the bank of the river, I saw, and behold, there grew there very many trees, on this side and on that side of the bank of the river.
Malbim
And when I returned, and behold, on the bank of the stream there was very abundant trees, I saw that in the meantime there grew abundant trees from here and from there, on both sides of the stream.
Then said he to me: ‘These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and when they shall enter into the sea, into the sea of the putrid waters, the waters shall be healed.
verse value 2319
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 80 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (אֵלַ֗י, 3 letters) and the longest is "toward·the·region" (אֶל־הַגְּלִילָה֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 95: water, water. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "toward·the·region" (אֶל־הַגְּלִילָה֙), "eastern" (הַקַּדְמוֹנָ֔ה), "into·the Arabah" (עַל־הָעֲרָבָ֑ה). The root מים appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 362x in Ezekiel); "into·the·sea" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "to·me" (root אל, 204x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'into·the Arabah', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Rashi
To the Galilee. In the vernacular: "Marka."
The ancient one. The eastern one. Our Sages taught in the Tosefta of Sukkah: To where do they go? To the Sea of Tiberias, to the Sea of Sodom, and to the Great Sea, to alleviate their salty waters and to sweeten them.
"And they went down into the plain." This refers to the Sea of Tiberias.
"And they came to the sea." This refers to the Sea of Sodom.
“Unto the sea that is their outlet.” This is the Sea of the Ocean, which is the outlet from the inhabited land, encircling the world.
"And they were healed." The waters from their saltiness. And according to the aggadic interpretation: Why does the text call them "the waters that came out"? Because they came out on two occasions.
Radak
And He said to me, "These waters flow eastward." "The district" is the name of a district, like "the district of Philistia" and similar places.
The ancient one. Explanation: the eastern one.
The Arabah. As its Aramaic translation [in the Targum]: mesharah (plain).
"And they shall come into the sea, into the sea of the outlets." As its Targum renders: "And they shall ascend into the sea, into the great sea, from the outlets." This means that they shall enter the sea, and from there into the Great Sea. And it is possible that this is the interpretation of the verse, for the river shall divide into two parts: one part shall go to the eastern sea, and one part shall go to the western sea. And this is what he said in the prophecy of Zechariah: "Half to the eastern sea, and half to the western sea." And so is its interpretation: "And they shall come into the sea, the eastern one," just as it said "to the eastern Galilee," meaning that from the direction of the east they shall come into the sea.
“to the sea, the outlet.” Its meaning is: to the western sea they shall go out as well. And our Sages of blessed memory said: To where did they go out? To the Sea of Tiberias, to the Sea of Sodom, and to the Ocean, to dilute their salty waters and sweeten them. “And they went down to the Arabah” – this is the Sea of Tiberias; “and they came to the sea” – this is the Sea of Sodom; “to the sea, the outlet” – this is the Ocean, which is the outlet from inhabited lands, encircling the world.
"And the waters were healed." From their saltiness: And the waters were healed—the aleph is at rest.
Metzudat David
"To the eastern Galilee"—that is, to the eastern district; and from there they descended to the Arabah, meaning the Sea of Tiberias, which is situated in the Arabah.
“And they came to the sea.” This refers to the sea of Sodom.
“Unto the sea of the going out.” Also, the waters will flow into the Ocean Sea, which goes out from the sea to encircle the world. So too did our Sages of blessed memory say. And it is possible that they will go there via the Western Sea, and the Sea of Sodom is the Eastern Sea, as it is written in another place: “Half of the waters shall go unto the eastern sea, and half of the waters unto the western sea” (Zechariah 14:8).
“And they were healed.” The waters, meaning, they were sweetened from their saltiness.
Metzudat Zion
The Galilee. A district. And similarly, “the districts of the Philistines” (Joel 4:4).
The willow. The Targum translates it as “b’mishra.”
And they were healed. The term is from the word "healing," meaning that their bitterness would be sweetened.
Malbim
“And He said to me”: Now He comes to explain to him the two visions that he had seen. And He first explained to him the matter of the waters and the stream that he had seen, and afterwards (in verse 12) He will explain to him what is the matter of the trees. He said to him that these waters flow forth to the eastern sea, that is to say, to the eastern sea, and they descend upon the Arabah to the Sea of the Arabah, and they come to the sea, meaning that from there they will go to another sea, to the sea of the outflowing waters, meaning and from the other sea they will go to the sea that flows out from the inhabited land, namely to the Ocean Sea, and the waters will be healed. And in all these four seas to which they will go there, the waters will be healed from their saltiness. And our Sages of blessed memory said: To where do they flow? To the Sea of Tiberias, and to the Sea of Sodom, and to the Ocean Sea, to heal the salty waters. And “they descend upon the Arabah” refers to the Sea of Tiberias; “and they come to the sea” refers to the Sea of Sodom; and “to the outflowing waters” refers to the Ocean Sea. And the intention of this speech is that the waters of knowledge, the knowledge of the Lord, will then spread between the two nations, Edom and Ishmael. For Ishmael are the inhabitants of the east, and Edom are the inhabitants of the west, as it is stated (Zechariah 14:7-8): “And it shall come to pass in that day that living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half toward the western sea.” And these are the two groups that he saw in the parable, one passing through water up to the knees and one passing through water up to the waist. And then they will drink of the waters of knowledge that flow forth from the House of the Lord, and they will accept the true faith, and they will be healed from the Sodomite salt that blinds the eyes with untruthful beliefs. And likewise, the waters of knowledge will also flow forth to the Sea of Sodom, which is a metaphor for those who are still sunk in idolatry, upon whom he alluded with the waters of the feet. And they too will be healed from the salt that destroys the eyes of those who see, and they will behold a bright light. And it will also descend to the Sea of Tiberias, where is the dwelling place of the children of Israel, upon whom he alluded with the waters of the thighs, to heal also the illnesses of their souls. And all of them will drink from the waters of knowledge, and wisdom will come like water within them, each according to his preparation.
And it shall come to pass, that every living creature wherewith it swarms, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come thither, that all things be healed and may live whithersoever the river comes.
verse value 4892
Insights
Verse structure: 25 words, 96 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to" (אֶ֣ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·it·swarms" (אֲֽשֶׁר־יִשְׁרֹ֡ץ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 345: name, name. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "all·soul" (כׇל־נֶ֣פֶשׁ), "that·it·swarms" (אֲֽשֶׁר־יִשְׁרֹ֡ץ), "wadis" (נַחֲלַ֙יִם֙). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·it·swarms" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "to" (root אל, 204x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'very', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 11 words.
Rashi
"To every place where the streams flow." This stream, which divides into several streams, sweetens the waters that mix within them, and the fish that breed in them are alive and sweet.
Radak
“And every living soul that swarms, to everything into which the streams will come, shall live.” “Shall live” — the waters will cause them to live; any living soul that swarms in them, whether one of the two streams enters them or both, shall live in that sea. For there is a sea in which fish do not swarm, nor do they live. This was noted by the scholars of research: in the Sea of the Philistines, fish do not swarm, nor do they live, because the waters are bitter due to their excessive saltiness. So too is the Sea of Sodom. And it is possible that these two streams will enter these two seas, heal the waters, and cause fish to live in them. Therefore, there will be a very great abundance of fish in them. And it says “swarms” in the masculine form, and of it it is said “shall live,” because we find that “soul” is masculine: “Every soul is seven, one soul.”
Metzudat David
“And every living soul...” And then every living soul that the waters bring forth in every place where these rivers will flow shall live and be sustained; all the breeding [of creatures] will be sustained, because previously the breeding was not sustained due to the saltiness of the waters, but when they will be healed and sweetened from their saltiness, then it will be sustained.
And the fish shall be very numerous. And then there will be many fish, for they will multiply in all the waters that have been healed.
"For they came there." To the seas mentioned, these waters that flow from the Temple came; therefore, the waters will heal, and every swarming creature will live, and they will multiply and increase.
"All that, etc." – In every place where this river shall come, it shall be so; not one [of its effects] shall be lacking.
Metzudat Zion
“Living creature.” This means that it possesses life. And he said this to add further clarification:
ישרץ. The matter of procreation is associated with multiplication, and likewise, "and they were fruitful and multiplied" (Exodus 1:7):
Malbim
And every living soul that swarms in the place where the sanctified streams will come there, it shall live, and it shall also multiply greatly, for these waters will heal from the saltiness of the bitter waters that kill the animals, and therefore they will live and multiply greatly. And the allusion here is that people who will live in those days and drink from the waters of knowledge, the waters of Torah and faith, will live spiritual life, and likewise the receivers of the true faith will multiply, for through these waters they will be healed from the disease of the soul in false beliefs, and consequently the stream will increase to pour out its waters there, and they will increase to draw with joy from the wells of salvation, for as they will increase to receive, so will the Lord increase to bestow springs of intellect and knowledge, and they will draw new insights and conceptual understandings.
And it shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand by it from En-gedi even to En-eglaim; there shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the Great Sea, exceeding many.
verse value 3511
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 86 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָה֩) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "gedi" (גֶּ֙דִי֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·until·En" (וְעַד־עֵ֣ין, 6 letters). 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "stood" (עָמְד֨וּ), "fishermen" (דַּוָּגִ֗ים), "from·En-" (מֵעֵ֥ין). The root היה appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "by·it" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "from·En-" (root עין, 73x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·will·be', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 8 words.
Rashi
"And it shall be that they will stand upon it, the *dogim*, etc., for nets." To *makmorat*:
"Let their fish be according to their species." The letter heh is not a mapik heh, and its meaning is: Let their fish be of many species.
The word *minah* is in the sense of "the majority of kinds," similar to (Exodus 7:18) "the fish which are in the Nile" (where *dag* is understood as a collective term for the various kinds of fish), and (Isaiah 51:11) "I have returned all her sighs" (where *anachah* refers to the various kinds of sighs).
Radak
"And fishermen shall stand beside it." The written text (ketiv) and the vocalized text (qere) read "they will stand." This river will be large enough for fishermen to stand beside it, meaning there will be an abundance of fish in it. And Jonathan the Aramaic translator rendered it: "And it will be a place for fishermen to stand upon it."
“From Ein Gedi to Ein Eglaim.” This is the place from Ein Gedi to Ein Eglaim, which is adjacent to this wadi. This entire area will be a flat expanse for nets, where hunters will spread out their nets.
“Let their fish be of a species.” The final heh is soft (without a dagesh), but its rule here is that it is pronounced as a mapik, meaning: “of a species of fish,” i.e., for every species of fish, their fish shall be there, and the mem in “their fishing” (dagatam) refers to the rivers.
Metzudat David
"And it shall be." Fishers shall stand upon it. That is, the river shall be a place prepared; fishermen shall stand upon it, and from Ein Gedi even unto... shall be places prepared to spread there the nets of the fishers to dry them out against the sun.
“Let their fish be according to their species.” This means that for every species of fish, the fish of the rivers shall be of that species, for there will be every species of fish, and they will be in a very great number, like the number of the fish of the great sea.
Metzudat Zion
Duginim. That is to say, fishers of fish.
From the word "spread out." The matter of spreading:
"for nets." [This refers] to nets. And likewise, "a surface of nets" (above 26):
To the species. It is from the word "min" (species):
Malbim
“And it shall be that they stand upon it, the fishermen, to catch the fish,” meaning that the entire expanse of the land, from En Gedi to En Eglaim, will be spread out with traps and nets for catching fish, and the fish will be of their kind, meaning from every species and type. And there will be large fish, like the fish of the Great Sea, and they will also be very numerous in quantity. The expression “they shall stand” implies that many prophets, teachers, and instructors will then stand to catch the fish, meaning they will take the souls that were at the level of fish—which is the lowest of living creatures—and elevate them to their own domain, so that they will be at the level of speaking, understanding, and knowing human beings. And in the place that is from En Gedi to En Eglaim, meaning the place where they served the stars and constellations, and they set a table for Gedi and exchanged their honor for the image of a calf, serving the constellation Aries and the constellation Taurus, and they thought that En Gedi was the one who searches the land and watches over it—there will be a spread of traps and nets that draw souls into the domain of holiness, faith, and knowledge. And those caught into the domain of holiness will be of every kind, from every nation and tongue, and moreover, princes and great men from every sect will increase greatly to know the Lord and to seek refuge in the shadow of His wings.
But the miry places thereof, and the marshes thereof, shall not be healed; they shall be given for salt.
verse value 1475
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "and·not" (וְלֹ֥א, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·its·marshes" (וּגְבָאָ֛יו, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "his·swamp" (בִּצֹּאתָ֧ו), "and·its·marshes" (וּגְבָאָ֛יו), "they·will·be·healed" (יֵרָפְא֖וּ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 213x in Ezekiel); "are·given" (root נתן, 207x in Ezekiel). Full calculation: בִּצֹּאתָ֧ו [his·swamp] (499) + וּגְבָאָ֛יו [and·its·marshes] (28) + וְלֹ֥א [and·not] (37) + יֵרָפְא֖וּ [they·will·be·healed] (297) + לְמֶ֥לַח [to·salt] (108) + נִתָּֽנוּ [are·given] (506) = 1475.
Rashi
"At his going out." [This refers to the sea, as it is written] "Can the papyrus grow without a marsh" (Job 8:11), [which is] "marsh" in Old French.
And its hollows. Like (2 Kings 3:16) "Make this valley full of hollows," the depressions are the depressions surrounding it, and the hollows are the pits where the water collects.
"And they shall not be healed." In order to turn it into something sweet, why? Because it was given for salt.
"And they shall not heal." This vav is superfluous and extra.
Radak
“Upon his going out.” It is written without a yod and read with a yod, and it is written with an aleph in place of a vav, and its meaning is “the places of the marsh.”
And its pools. From [the verse] “to uncover waters from the pools,” which refers to excavations in which waters gather. And the phrase “and its pools” when it goes out to the sea, which was mentioned earlier, means that when the waters of the sea are healed, the places to which their waters will flow and gather in those marshes and pools—those waters will not be healed.
"To salt they gave it." They will need those waters for the purpose of salt, in order to season the dishes and to salt anything that may be required. And the Targum [renders]: "To salt they gave it," [meaning] for the salt-pits, that there may be salt.
Metzudat David
“Its marshes and its pools” – the gathering of waters from above the wet clay adjacent to the sea, and likewise the waters that collect in cisterns near the sea, will not be cured of their saltiness; for they are destined to be salt, to season dishes and to salt any item that requires it.
Metzudat Zion
"On his going out." Thus, the entry of water into a place of wet mud is called "its going out," and likewise, papyrus without a marsh is called a "going out" (Job 8:11).
And their deep places. The meaning of excavation and pit is similar to "and to uncover water from the deep" (Isaiah 30:14):
"And they shall not heal." The letter aleph is superfluous and incidental.
Malbim
“Its marshes and its pools,” yet there will still be found wet and muddy places of water which will not be healed, because the stream will not reach them; and they were given to salt, to season the dish and to salt every thing. And the allusion is that there will remain wild, beastly men who will be cut off and separated from the stream of knowledge, and they will be few and not endure for a long time. Just as the mud and mire and muddy places near the stream dry up and their place remains salty, so too they will be consumed by smoke and become a pillar of salt.
And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall the fruit thereof fail; it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for healing.’ .
verse value 5364
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 113 letters. Notable word values: "and·they·will·be" (וְהָיָ֤ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 5364 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "and·because" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·tree·food" (כׇּל־עֵֽץ־מַ֠אֲכָ֠ל, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 296: his·fruit, his·fruit. 13 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·by·the·river" (וְעַל־הַנַּ֣חַל), "upon·its bank" (עַל־שְׂפָת֣וֹ), "all·tree·food" (כׇּל־עֵֽץ־מַ֠אֲכָ֠ל). The root עלה appears 3 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·will·be" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "abundance" (root הם, 166x in Ezekiel); "and·because" (root כי, 114x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'going·out', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 6 words.
Rashi
“According to its months it shall bring forth first-fruits” – month by month its fruits ripen.
For healing. Our Sages of blessed memory explained it as “to open the mouths of the mute and the mouths of the barren,” and its meaning is the term “healing,” as in (Jeremiah 10), “They have healed the wound of My people slightly,” and similarly, Menachem [the lexicographer] states.
Radak
And upon the river, on its bank, on this side and that side, every kind of tree for food. "Every kind of tree for food" refers to a tree that is abundant, as stated above but not specified as to which tree; now it is stated that the tree for food will be from all the fruits of the world.
"It shall not be blighted in its leaves." This applies neither in the days of summer nor in the days of rain.
And its fruit shall not fail; according to its months it shall ripen anew. And the fruit of the tree shall not be exhausted, for from month to month it shall ripen anew, and this shall be according to the way of a sign.
"For from the Temple its waters issue forth. The waters of this river issue from the Temple, as we stated above; therefore, this miracle will occur with them: the trees that are on its banks, which drink from it, will not cease to bear fruit, and their leaves will not wither."
“And its fruit shall be for food.” The ketiv is “ve-hayu” (plural), whose sense applies to both its fruit and its leaf; and the qere is “ve-hayah” (singular), whose sense applies to its fruit [alone]. And it says afterward, “And its leaf for healing,” meaning, “And likewise it shall be for healing.” And the explanation of the “healing” mentioned is from the verse, “The pillars of heaven shall tremble,” meaning, its leaf shall be to heal every fracture; if they place these trees’ leaves on every fracture, it shall heal. And Jonathan translated, “And its leaves for healing.” And our Sages of blessed memory interpreted “for healing” as an acronym for “to open the mouths of the mute and the mouths of the barren.”
Metzudat David
"Every tree that yields fruit for food." This means: a tree that produces fruits fit for eating.
"Neither shall they fail..." – The leaves shall not wither, nor shall the fruit cease; for when the ripe fruits are plucked, new ones shall immediately grow in their stead. And this is what is written: "It shall bring forth its fruit month by month," meaning that in every month new fruits shall ripen.
"For from its waters." For the waters that irrigate each and every one of them flow forth from the Temple; therefore, this miracle shall be found in them.
“And its fruit shall be.” The fruit of each one shall be pleasant and good for food, and the leaves shall be fit for healing every illness and wound.
Metzudat Zion
Yevul. Its meaning is like "to wither," as in "and its leaf shall not wither" (Psalms 1:3).
Orphan. The matter is one of destruction and completion, as in “the silver was complete” (Genesis 47:15):
Yivkhar. Thus, it is called "the ripening of the fruits," as in "the first fruits of the grapes" (Numbers 13).
For healing. The word is "refuah" (healing):
Malbim
And concerning the river, now he explains what the trees that he saw growing on the bank of the river allude to: namely, that in the future every fruit tree will grow on the bank of the river, and its leaves will not wither, nor will its fruit cease; its fruit will be for food, and its leaves for healing. The discourse is that even worldly successes, from this aspect, resemble the parable of a growing tree. Just as the life of the body, from its growing soul, possesses the power to nourish, grow, and reproduce in a similar manner, so too the success of the body will grow greatly, until their bodies will be like a fruit tree bearing fruit that will not cease, for they will prolong their days. Moreover, the leaves, which represent their wealth and possessions that guard the fruit, will not wither, for wealth will not distract them from the service of God. On the contrary, the leaves will serve as medicine and aid to happiness and perfection, because those waters, which are the Torah studies, will flow from the Temple from a trustworthy source. Furthermore, the abundance of blessing that comes to them will issue from the Temple, meaning from God’s providence, not from the celestial constellations. Therefore, it will bear fruit every month, for God will renew upon them the work of Creation. And at every renewal of the upper moon, it will pour upon them the fullness of the lunar cycle and great abundance, and a crown of glory will be renewed for them. Our Sages of blessed memory said: “For healing, to open the mouths of the mute and the barren,” meaning to repair the covenant of the tongue and the womb, so that they may bear holy fruit, which is praise.
Thus says the Lord Hashem: ‘This shall be the border, whereby you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel, Joseph receiving two portions.
verse value 4566
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 59 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יֱהֹוִ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "thus" (כֹּ֤ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "you·shall·inherit" (תִּתְנַחֲל֣וּ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "this" (גֵּ֤ה), "you·shall·inherit" (תִּתְנַחֲל֣וּ), "cords" (חֲבָלִֽים). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "said" (root אמר, 362x in Ezekiel); "whereby" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 2 words.
Rashi
Gah: "Boundary." The Targum renders it as "this boundary," similar to "this boundary." Likewise, above (25:23), "And I will make you a prey to the nations" is rendered as "And I will make you a spoil to the nations." There is also another interpretation that "gah" is in the language of "guy" (valley).
"Joseph shall have two portions": Joseph shall take two portions, one for Manasseh and one for Ephraim.
Radak
Thus says the Lord: “Gah, the boundary.” “Behold” is like “this.” And so too does the Targum render it: “this is the boundary.” And the letter gimel is the zayin in the aleph-bet of Atbash, and similar to it are the acrostics Labg and Labz.
“Joseph, two portions.” The tribe of Joseph will take two portions, as it had previously. And so did Jonathan render: “Joseph will receive two portions.”
Metzudat David
Geh. "Boundary." This means: This is the boundary of the land which you shall allot to the twelve [tribes], etc., which is stated in the verses that follow.
"Joseph [shall take] portions." By this, he explains his words: How can there be twelve tribes if the tribe of Levi does not inherit a portion, as stated above? And he said, "Behold, Joseph shall take two portions: one for Manasseh and one for Ephraim."
Metzudat Zion
Gah. It means "like 'this' [zeh]." The gimel takes the place of the zayin in the word "atbach," and similarly, "levag" for the nations (above, 25) means "levaz" for the nations.
"Ropes." [This teaches that they were] divided, for the manner of dividing an inheritance is by measuring with ropes. And similarly it is written: "And there shall be a portion for the remnant..." (Zephaniah 2:7).
Malbim
Gah: The boundary of the land is like this boundary, and one can also explain it from the notion of “bringing out,” as in “let no man of you linger” (Hosea 5:13), meaning that the boundary of the land will be brought out and expanded beyond what it was in the previous era. “Which you shall inherit among the twelve tribes of Israel”: Joseph received portions. He promised that all the tribes would be found there, and that no single tribe would be diminished during the great dispersion. He also promised that they would be more numerous than they were in the previous era, so much so that He would add and increase the portions beyond what they received in the initial division. And as we will explain, the boundary of the land will extend in length and breadth in the future more than it did in the previous era.
And you shall inherit it, one as well as another, concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it to your fathers; and this land shall fall to you for inheritance.
verse value 5392
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֣ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "your·fathers" (לַאֲבֹֽתֵיכֶ֑ם, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·you·shall·inherit" (וּנְחַלְתֶּ֤ם), "as·his·brother" (כְּאָחִ֔יו), "to·give·her" (לְתִתָּ֖הּ). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "concerning which" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "to·give·her" (root נתן, 207x in Ezekiel); "the·land" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·fathers', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: וּנְחַלְתֶּ֤ם [and·you·shall·inherit] (534) + אוֹתָהּ֙ [it] (412) + אִ֣ישׁ [man] (311) + כְּאָחִ֔יו [as·his·brother] (45) + אֲשֶׁ֤ר [concerning which] (501) + נָשָׂ֙אתִי֙ [I·lifted] (761) + אֶת־יָדִ֔י [my·hand] (425) + לְתִתָּ֖הּ [to·give·her] (835) + לַאֲבֹֽתֵיכֶ֑ם [your·fathers] (503) + וְנָ֨פְלָ֜ה [and·shall·fall·away] (171) + הָאָ֧רֶץ [the·land] (296) + הַזֹּ֛את [this] (413) + לָכֶ֖ם [to·you] (90) + בְּנַחֲלָֽה [in·inheritance] (95) = 5392.
Rashi
"A man as his brother." This is not like the first instance, "a man according to his reckoning," but rather now all the tribes are equal, like the rows of a vineyard, each portion extending from the eastern border to the western Ocean, as is explained in that matter, and no two tribes are in the same strip.
Radak
"And you shall inherit it, each man like his brother." All the portions shall be equal, unlike the first portions in the days of Joshua, for the portion of Judah was large because their officials were many, and it is stated in the Torah: "Each man according to his number shall give his inheritance."
Metzudat David
"A man like his brother": One tribe was like its fellow, not like the first division in the days of Joshua, when each took according to his census count.
“Which I raised My hand.” To lift it upward, as is the manner of an oath, to give that land to your fathers. And it is as if He said: Let them not complain when the inheritance of a tribe is diminished from what they originally inherited. For behold, I did not swear to give the entire land to those who originally inherited it; rather, I swore to give it to your fathers, and all the tribes have an equal relationship with the fathers, one like the other. This land has fallen to you as an inheritance to be possessed from the fathers, and the hand of all is equal in it.
Metzudat Zion
ונפלה. This term is used in the context of inheritance, and similarly below it says “and it shall fall as their inheritance,” as our Sages of blessed memory stated: “On that day you shall apportion the inheritances” (Bava Batra 113a).
Malbim
"And you shall inherit it, each man like his brother": According to the Sifri, all the tribes took strips equal in width, each one being seventy-five mil wide. And so did Rashi explain that it was not as before, when each received according to his census count. Nevertheless, I will explain that only in width was the portion equal, but in length they would take an inheritance without boundaries. And every tribe that increased in number would lengthen its inheritance to the east and to the west. "Which I have lifted up": This means that this will be by virtue of My oath to the Fathers. And He had already promised Abraham the Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and to Jacob an inheritance without boundaries.
And this shall be the border of the land: on the north side, from the Great Sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad;
verse value 2149
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 46 letters. Notable word values: "and·this" (וְזֶ֖ה) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "and·this" (וְזֶ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "north" (צָפ֜וֹנָה, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "to·side·of" (לִפְאַ֨ת), "Hethlon" (חֶתְלֹ֖ן), "Zedad" (צְדָֽדָה). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·land" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel); "way" (root דרך, 105x in Ezekiel); "from·the·sea" (root מן, 47x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·land', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 8 words. Full calculation: וְזֶ֖ה [and·this] (18) + גְּב֣וּל [border] (41) + הָאָ֑רֶץ [the·land] (296) + לִפְאַ֨ת [to·side·of] (511) + צָפ֜וֹנָה [north] (231) + מִן־הַיָּ֧ם [from·the·sea] (145) + הַגָּד֛וֹל [great] (48) + הַדֶּ֥רֶךְ [way] (229) + חֶתְלֹ֖ן [Hethlon] (488) + לְב֥וֹא [entrance·of] (39) + צְדָֽדָה [Zedad] (103) = 2149.
Rashi
"And this shall be the boundary of the land." The boundaries of the borders of the Land of Israel:
“Toward the north.” The northern wind:
“From the Great Sea.” This is the western boundary.
"The way of Hethlon." He came to the eastern side, to Hethlon, and to Zedad, and to Hamath, and to Berothah, and to Sibraim; all these towns were in the northern border.
Radak
"And this is the boundary of the land, the way to Chethlon." Like [the phrase] "the land of Canaan" and others similar to it.
Metzudat David
"And this is the boundary of the land." Here he enumerates only the borders of Eretz Yisrael proper, and not those of the Transjordan, as mentioned in the Torah.
“On the northern side.” The boundary on the northern side, from west to east, is from the Great Sea to the road that goes to Hattalon, and from there the boundary goes to come to Zedad.
Malbim
"This is the boundary of the land": Initially, He said, "This is the boundary which you shall inherit by lot," explaining how they would inherit it; and now He explains the boundaries of the land in its entirety. From the Great Sea, toward the north: According to the commentators, it is the very same boundary mentioned in the Torah in the Parashah of Masei. And according to their view, they will inherit in the future according to the previous boundaries. If so, what is new in Ezekiel? Go and study with my teacher! Furthermore, according to their view, they will not inherit in the future only in the Land of Canaan, but not in the eastern side of the Jordan, as Rashi z"l wrote in chapter 18. And this contradicts the prophecies of other prophets who promised us that the boundary of the land will expand in the future. And Zechariah (9:1) prophesied that it will extend as far as Damascus, and that Tyre and Sidon will be included within the northern boundary. And Ovadia said, "And the Negev shall inherit Mount Esau, and Benjamin shall inherit Gilead." Behold, he explicitly explained that Gilead, which is across the Jordan, will fall into the inheritance of Benjamin. And so, our inheritance across the Jordan will come to us even in the future. And furthermore, it will be explained (in section 48) that from Jerusalem and toward the south, five tribes will inherit in the width of five strips, each holding a width of twenty miles. And how can this be envisioned? Jerusalem is in the south of the Land of Israel, and how can there be an inheritance for five tribes south of Jerusalem, whereas in the previous time only Judah inherited its portion on the holy land? And necessarily, the boundary of the Land of Israel will extend further also in the south. Therefore, my brother, listen to me: In my opinion, there will be a great change in the inheritance of the land in the future from what it was in the past, and the boundary of the Land of Israel will expand and increase from every side. 1. On the northern side, He already said, "The land of Hadrach and Damascus, its resting place, and also Hamath will border it, Tyre and Sidon, for they are very wise." And Damascus stands opposite the northern side of the Land of Israel in the eastern corner, and Tyre and Sidon stand north of the Land of Israel in the western corner. And all of these will enter within the boundary in the north in the future. (And one can say that what is written here, "the boundary of Hauran," is the land of Hadrach mentioned there.) And behold, in the northern boundary in the Parashah of Masei, it is written, "From the Great Sea you shall set your boundary to Mount Hor, from Mount Hor you shall set your boundary to the entrance of Hamath, and the outlet of the boundary shall be toward Zedad, and the boundary shall go out to Ziphron, and its outlet shall be at Hazar-enan." It turns out that the boundary went from west to east, starting from the sea and going around Mount Hor, and from there it went through Hamath to Zedad, where the measuring line ends. And from Zedad, the boundary widened, and its end was at Hazar-enan, which was in the northeast. In the future, Tyre and Sidon will be added in the northwest, which are north beyond Mount Hor. And so, when the line goes from west to east to Zedad, it will not go through Mount Hor, but will move further north beyond Tyre and Sidon and reach Zedad through Hethlon, which was previously north outside the boundary, and in the future will enter within the boundary. And according to this, the boundary will start from the Great Sea north of Tyre and Sidon (which is much further north than Mount Hor), and when it extends from west to east to Zedad, it will go through Hethlon. And this is what it says, "From the Great Sea, the way through Hethlon to the entrance of Zedad." And behold, the northeastern boundary was previously at Hazar-enan, from where the boundary started in the northeast corner, and went from east to west through Ziphron to Zedad. Now, the boundary will widen in the northeast corner and extend toward the north to Damascus, which stands north of Hazar-enan. And Damascus stood further stretched toward the east than Hazar-enan, and stood opposite Gilead (as it is written in Amos 1:3, II Kings 8:28). And up to there, the horizontal line will reach, stretched toward the east opposite Gilead, and Damascus will enter within the boundary. And furthermore, the boundary will extend further north from Damascus to Hazar-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran, which will also be part of the Land of Israel. However, the boundary from east to west will not extend from the corner of the border of Hauran, but will start from Damascus and go from east to west to Zedad, and extend north of Hamath. And from there, through Hethlon, to the sea north of Tyre and Sidon. And in this way, Hamath, with Berotah and Sibraim, which were until now north of the Land of Israel, will enter within the boundary. For Berotah and Sibraim stand along the line extending from Damascus to Zedad, between the line that previously went from Hazar-enan to Zedad and the line that will now go from Damascus to Zedad, Berotah and Sibraim will be enclosed and enter within the boundary of the land. And Hamath, which was at the edge of the Land of Israel, will be enclosed between the line that previously went from Zedad to Mount Hor and the line that will now go from Zedad through Hethlon to the north of Tyre and Sidon, and Hamath will enter within the boundary of the land. And this is what it says, "Which is between the boundary of Damascus and the boundary of Hamath," meaning the boundary north of Hamath, up to where the line will now go from Damascus, and beyond this, Hazar-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran, will be added to the north. It is a strip that will emerge from the northern boundary, which starts from Damascus, and will stretch north in the eastern corner to that region of land, and it will also be part of the Land of Israel, except for the line going from east to west, which he called (in chapter 27) "and northward to the north."
Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.
verse value 4604
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 60 letters. The shortest word is "Hamath" (חֲמָ֤ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "between·the·border·of" (בֵּין־גְּב֣וּל, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: which, which. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "Berothah" (בֵּר֙וֹתָה֙), "Sibraim" (סִבְרַ֔יִם), "between·the·border·of" (בֵּין־גְּב֣וּל). The root גבול appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "and·between" (root בין, 145x in Ezekiel); "between·the·border·of" (root גבול, 43x in Ezekiel). First appearance of the root חמת ("Hamath") in Ezekiel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hamath', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: חֲמָ֤ת [Hamath] (448) + בֵּר֙וֹתָה֙ [Berothah] (613) + סִבְרַ֔יִם [Sibraim] (312) + אֲשֶׁר֙ [which] (501) + בֵּין־גְּב֣וּל [between·the·border·of] (103) + דַּמֶּ֔שֶׂק [Damascus] (444) + וּבֵ֖ין [and·between] (68) + גְּב֣וּל [border] (41) + חֲמָ֑ת [Hamath] (448) + חָצֵר֙ [Hazer-] (298) + הַתִּיכ֔וֹן [hatticon] (491) + אֲשֶׁ֖ר [which] (501) + אֶל־גְּב֥וּל [to·border] (72) + חַוְרָֽן [Hauran] (264) = 4604.
Rashi
The middle courtyard. The Targum: “The pool of Aggabei.”
“Which is toward the border of Hauran.” The border of Damascus in the east, adjacent to the corner.
Radak
“Hamath, Berothah.” As it says, “and also Hamath — the border is in it,” and this is not the Chamath mentioned in the Torah.
The boundary of Damascus. For Damascus will be part of the boundary of the Land of Israel, as it is stated: “And Damascus shall be his rest.”
The middle courtyard. This is the name of a place, and Jonathan [the Aramaic translator] rendered it as "the moat of the enclosure."
Metzudat David
Ḥamath. This means that from there the boundary will extend to Ḥamath; however, this is not the Ḥamath mentioned in the Torah, but rather another one, which is very large, as it is stated: “And they went from there to Ḥamath Rabbah” (Amos 6:2). In the future, it too will be included within the borders of the Land of Israel, as it is stated: “And Ḥamath also will be a border for her” (Zechariah 9:2).
“From Berothah to Sibraim.” This means that from there the boundary goes to Berothah, and from there to Sibraim.
“Which is between, etc.” This refers back to “Berothah and Sibraim,” which stood between the border of Damascus, which was situated toward the east, and the border of Hamath, which was situated toward the west.
The middle courtyard. This means Damascus, which will also be considered part of the Land of Israel in the future, as it is stated, “And Damascus shall be his rest” (Zechariah 9:1). From there, the boundary goes to the middle courtyard, which stood near the border of Hauran to its south, and Hauran will be to its north; it will not be part of the boundary of the Land of Israel. And when it is in the form:
And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enon at the border of Damascus, and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.
verse value 3253
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 57 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֨ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Hazar-" (חֲצַ֤ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·the·sea" (מִן־הַיָּ֗ם, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 41: border, border. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "Enon" (עֵינוֹן֙), "north" (וְצָפ֥וֹן). The root גבול appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "from·the·sea" (root מן, 47x in Ezekiel); "north" (root צפון, 46x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hamath', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְהָיָ֨ה [and·it·shall·be] (26) + גְב֜וּל [border] (41) + מִן־הַיָּ֗ם [from·the·sea] (145) + חֲצַ֤ר [Hazar-] (298) + עֵינוֹן֙ [Enon] (186) + גְּב֣וּל [border] (41) + דַּמֶּ֔שֶׂק [Damascus] (444) + וְצָפ֥וֹן [north] (232) + צָפ֖וֹנָה [north] (231) + וּגְב֣וּל [and·border·of] (47) + חֲמָ֑ת [Hamath] (448) + וְאֵ֖ת [and·(object marker)] (407) + פְּאַ֥ת [side·of] (481) + צָפֽוֹן [north] (226) = 3253.
Rashi
And the boundary shall be from the sea, the courtyard of Einon. And the boundary shall be toward the north, from the sea to the courtyard of Einon:
The border of Damascus. This refers to the border of Damascus, where Hazar Enan is located in the northeast corner, as is explained in the borders that Moses our Teacher wrote (Numbers 34:10): “And their issue shall be Hazar Enan,” etc., and “You shall set your border toward the east from Hazar Enan,” etc. The border of Damascus is in the northeast corner, near Hazar Enan, as stated above: “Hazar Enan and the border of Damascus.” And the border of Hamath is in the northwest corner, as it is stated there (ibid.): “This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall set your border to Mount Hor; from Mount Hor you shall set your border to the entrance of Hamath; and from there it shall turn toward Zedad.”
"And the north side toward the north, and the border of Hamath." This means: all of the northern boundary specified in the Torah, and the border of Hamath, which is also in the northern boundary, as it is stated (there): "This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall mark out for yourselves Mount Hor; from Mount Hor you shall mark out the way to come to Hamath; and the goings out of the border shall be at Zedad." This is the "Zedad" mentioned here, the way of Hethlon to come to Zedad.
"And the north side." And behold, this is the north side:
Radak
"And the border shall be from the sea, Hazar-enan." This is Hazar-enan mentioned in the Torah and mentioned below, except that those [instances] are spelled with a qamats and this [instance] with a holam. Some of these borders are mentioned in the Torah, but the border of the Land of Israel will be greater in the future than it was.
"And the north is northward." The remainder of the boundary of the Land of Israel extends to the north of the world, just as it proceeds along the boundary of Hamath; this is what is meant by "and the boundary of Hamath, and the side of the north." Thus it is stated: "And also the three winds with the side of the north"—referring to those boundaries that are not explicitly mentioned. And so it is with all of them, except for the last one, which is this one.
Metzudat David
"And it shall be the boundary." Now he states in general terms that the northern boundary shall be from the sea to Hazar-enan, which is mentioned in the Torah, and it is the end of the northern boundary; and it stands by the boundary of Damascus toward the south, and extends eastward, beyond the middle district.
“And the north, northward.” This means that the other border cities of the north are the cities of the northern border mentioned in the Torah.
"And the border of Hamath." This means that Hamath, too, will be part of the border, and the same applies to the other places mentioned above. It is as if it says: In no place will the Land of Israel be diminished from its former extent, for even in the future all the border cities mentioned in the Torah will remain, and the territory will expand even further, for Hamath and similar places will also be included within the border.
"And the north side." This means: And here is the boundary of the north side.
Malbim
And he would explain the difference that will exist there between the previous boundary and the boundary of now, meaning that the boundary which was initially from the sea to Hazar Enan, will now be the boundary of Damascus extending from the sea to Damascus, which is north of Hazar Enan, and there will be added further north, northward, the line that will extend northward from the northern boundary, namely, north of Damascus, which is the middle courtyard toward the boundary of Hauran, and the boundary of Hamath, and there will be added in the middle of the boundary of Hamath, that the line will extend from Damascus westward through the boundary of Hamath, north of Hamath, and to the northern corner, meaning that in the northwest corner there will be added the northern corner of the previous boundary, which is Tyre and Sidon.
And the east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, by the Jordan, from the border to the east sea shall you measure. This is the east side.
verse value 4936
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 85 letters. The shortest word is "land" (אֶ֤רֶץ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·from·between·Damascus" (וּמִבֵּין־דַּמֶּ֩שֶׂק֩, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 108: and·between, and·between. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·from·between·Damascus" (וּמִבֵּין־דַּמֶּ֩שֶׂק֩), "Gilead" (הַגִּלְעָ֜ד), "Jordan" (הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן). The root בין appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·sea" (root על, 272x in Ezekiel); "land" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel); "Israel" (root ישראל, 154x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·will·measure', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 3 words.
Rashi
"And between Gilead and between the land of Israel." This refers to the eastern boundary of the Land of Canaan. The Transjordan is not included within these boundaries, but only the Land of Canaan alone. Similarly, regarding the boundaries delineated in the Torah, the Transjordan is not included among them. And this is the interpretation of this verse: "The eastern boundary of the Land of Canaan, which is between Hauran and Damascus," which stand for it at the northeastern corner, as stated above in the matter of "and between Gilead and the land of Israel which is beyond the Jordan to the east."
"The Jordan, from the border, to the eastern sea, its boundary." The Jordan is its eastern border; the northern boundary is Hazar Enan, as explained above, up to the eastern sea, which is the Dead Sea, located in the southeast corner. You shall measure the length of the eastern border. And so it is explicitly stated in the Torah: "The border toward the east shall be, and its boundaries shall be the Dead Sea in the southern corner."
"And the east corner." That is to say, "And here is the east corner for you."
Radak
"And toward the east." "And between Gilead and between Israel." Gilead was not initially included in the general scope of the Land of Israel, even though it belonged to the Israelites, for it was not part of the Land of Canaan, and the Jordan River lay between them.
The eastern sea. It is the Dead Sea or the Sea of Galilee, for both lie to the east.
"Tmodu." He said it in reference to Israel, just as He said, "And you shall divide the land."
Metzudat David
"And toward the east." The boundary toward the east shall be between Choron, which stood outside the border in the north and curved toward the east opposite the Jordan, and between Damascus, which stood on the border of the Land of Israel in the north and also curved toward the east opposite Choron, as it is in the form of:
“And between the Gilead.” This refers to the territory that stood in the east of the Land of Israel, outside its border, for it was on the eastern side of the Jordan.
"And between the Land of Israel" refers to the western side of the Jordan River, which is considered the Land of Israel proper ever since they inherited it.
“The Jordan [is] from the border.” This means that the Jordan will serve as the border between Choron and Gilead on this side, and Damascus and Eretz Yisrael on that side, for it is what separates between them.
“Upon the sea, etc.” The eastern boundary is desirable, extending until the completion of the eastern sea; this is the Salt Sea, which stands in the southeastern corner of the Land of Israel.
"And the eastern border." This means: And here is the boundary of the eastern side.
Metzudat Zion
"Upon the sea." [The text says] "Unto the sea," and similarly, "And its flank extended toward Sidon" (Genesis 49:13).
"tmodu." The word is from the root of "measurement":
Malbim
And the eastern border: From the eastern side, in the previous time, it began at the northern corner of the Court of Enan and passed from north to south until the Jordan, and its terminus was the Dead Sea. And beyond the Jordan, to the east, the land of Gilead was added after the conquest of Sihon and Og, as the inheritance of Reuben and Gad. And now, the strip between Hauran and Damascus will be added to the northeastern corner for Israel, and the strip between Damascus and Gilead will be added to the northeast corner. The boundary line will extend across Gilead, which is opposite Damascus, to Israel, which was within the previous eastern border, to the Jordan, which was the eastern border at the eastern sea, which is the Dead Sea, which is in the east of Israel, and there ends the southeastern border. For even in the previous border, it began at the southeastern corner from the end of the Dead Sea, from the tongue extending southward. And the eastern border means that on the eastern side their inheritance will be without limit, as will be explained: they did not measure for each tribe a border of seventy-five mil, only in width. But in length, their border will always be extended; for as the tribe increases, they will extend their border opposite their width further toward the east, for on the eastern side there was no fixed measure for the tribes' borders.
And the south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth-kadesh, to the Brook, to the Great Sea. This is the south side southward.
verse value 4593
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 58 letters. Notable word values: "to·the·sea" (אֶל־הַיָּ֣ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "south-country" (נֶ֣גֶב, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·south·side" (פְּאַת־תֵּימָ֖נָה, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "until·waters" (עַד־מֵי֙), "Meriboth-" (מְרִיב֣וֹת), "the·south·side" (פְּאַת־תֵּימָ֖נָה). The root נגב appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·sea" (root איל, 238x in Ezekiel); "Kadesh" (root קדש, 70x in Ezekiel); "and·side·of" (root פאה, 44x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'great', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּפְאַת֙ [and·side·of] (487) + נֶ֣גֶב [south-country] (55) + תֵּימָ֔נָה [south] (505) + מִתָּמָ֗ר [from·Tamar] (680) + עַד־מֵי֙ [until·waters] (124) + מְרִיב֣וֹת [Meriboth-] (658) + קָדֵ֔שׁ [Kadesh] (404) + נַחֲלָ֖ה [inheritance] (93) + אֶל־הַיָּ֣ם [to·the·sea] (86) + הַגָּד֑וֹל [great] (48) + וְאֵ֥ת [and·(object marker)] (407) + פְּאַת־תֵּימָ֖נָה [the·south·side] (986) + נֶֽגְבָּה [south-country] (60) = 4593.
Rashi
"From Tamar." From Jericho, which is the city of dates; so too does the Targum translate it.
Until the Waters of Meribath-kadesh. It is the Wilderness of Zin.
“An inheritance unto the Great Sea.” And from there the border goes to the Wadi of Egypt, which falls into the Great Sea at the southwestern corner. And even Moses gave the border of the Negev from the Desert of Zin, passing by Edom, and he counts on until “from Azmon [to] the Wadi of Egypt, and its outlets were to the sea” (Numbers 34:5). The word *nachalah* mentioned here is like [the word] *le-nachalah* [“for an inheritance”], and I found in the Targum [the rendering] *achsana* [“a possession”]. And if it were not that the accent is on the final syllable, and I saw [the word] *nachalah* [in the phrase] “Wadi of Egypt” with the accent on the preceding syllable, and the Masorah notes on it “there is no accent mark,” I would have said that it is a corruption, and that Jonathan did not translate it thus, but rather that erring readers [introduced the error].
Radak
"And toward the south, from Tamar." Jonathan rendered it as "from Jericho," for it is called the city of palms.
“The brook unto the Great Sea.” This is what is stated: “The brook of Egypt,” and its outlets extend to the sea.
“The stream.” Like “a stream,” with the heh added, even though the word is accented on the final syllable. But “the brook of Egypt” is accented on the penultimate syllable, and so too “a stream has passed over our soul.” And the Targum renders it: “an inheritance.”
Metzudat David
"And from the south side." The boundary on the south side shall be from Tamar. It is possible that this is Chatzatzon Tamar. This is what is stated, "And behold, in Chatzatzon Tamar, it is Ein Gedi" (II Chronicles 20:2). And Ein Gedi is mentioned in Joshua among the cities of Judah, which were his inheritance on the southern border. For this is not the place of Jericho, the city of palms, for it stood very far from the border, as we see in the map of the division of the Land of Israel in the days of Joshua.
“Up to the waters of, etc.” From Tamar, the boundary extends to the waters of Meribath-Kadesh; this is the Wilderness of Zin, as it is stated regarding the waters of Meribath-Kadesh: “In the Wilderness of Zin” (Deuteronomy 32:51).
“An inheritance.” This means: And from there the border goes to the Wadi of Egypt, and from there to the Great Sea.
"And you, etc." And behold, this is the boundary of the southern region:
Metzudat Zion
“Negaiv Teymanah.” The doubling of the word in synonymous names, such as “adamat afar” (Daniel 12):
Malbim
"And the south shall be toward the south" – behold, regarding "the south," Obadiah already prophesied, "And they shall possess the Negev and Mount Esau" – meaning that the land of Seir, which is in the south of the Land of Israel, will enter within the borders of the Land. And so did our Sages of blessed memory receive, that the land of Edom and the land of Ammon and Moab will be part of the Land of Israel; these are the Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, whom the Lord promised to our father Abraham, of blessed memory, that all of them are in the south of the Land of Israel. And concerning this it says, "And the exile of Jerusalem that is in Spain shall possess the cities of the Negev." And according to this, it is impossible to interpret what is written "from Tamar" as referring to Jericho, the city of palms, and what is written "from the waters of Meribah of Kadesh" as referring to what is stated in the borders of the land, "the wilderness of Zin southward." Rather, what is written "from Tamar" is Hazazon Tamar, which was in the wilderness of the Negev, before the land of Seir. And likewise, what is written "to the waters of Meribah of Kadesh" is before Mount Seir, Ammon, and Moab, at their southern extremity, as it is stated, "And they turned back to the well of judgment, it is Kadesh, and they struck... and also the Amorite who dwelt in Hazazon Tamar." And the southern border shall expand southward to the land of Seir, Ammon, and Moab, up to the wilderness where Israel went, and it shall extend from Hazazon Tamar to the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, and from there it shall extend to the Wadi of Egypt to the Great Sea, all to the south of the first border. And concerning this it says, "And all the south, southward," intending to say that all shall expand toward the south.
And the west side shall be the Great Sea, from the border as far as over against the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side.
verse value 2299
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "sea" (הַיָּ֣ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·west·side" (וּפְאַת־יָם֙, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·the·west·side" (וּפְאַת־יָם֙), "until·opposite" (עַד־נֹ֖כַח), "the·west·side" (פְּאַת־יָֽם). The root פאה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·the·west·side" (root פאה, 44x in Ezekiel); "from·border" (root גבול, 43x in Ezekiel); "great" (root גדול, 35x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hamath', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. Full calculation: וּפְאַת־יָם֙ [and·the·west·side] (537) + הַיָּ֣ם [sea] (55) + הַגָּד֔וֹל [great] (48) + מִגְּב֕וּל [from·border] (81) + עַד־נֹ֖כַח [until·opposite] (152) + לְב֣וֹא [entrance·of] (39) + חֲמָ֑ת [Hamath] (448) + זֹ֖את [this] (408) + פְּאַת־יָֽם [the·west·side] (531) = 2299.
Rashi
And the side of the sea. And the western border:
"The great sea from the boundary even opposite the entrance of Hamath. From the southern sector mentioned above, and it is the Wadi of Egypt:"
“Until opposite to come to Hamath.” Until the northwest corner; it is Mount Hor, which is opposite to come to Hamath, for Hamath is in the northwest corner near Mount Hor, as it is written: “From the Great Sea shall your border be, Mount Hor; from Mount Hor shall you draw a line to come to Hamath,” so I have found.
Radak
"And the border of the sea, the Great Sea." From the boundary of the Great Sea is the western border of the Land of Israel, and from this boundary until opposite Lebo-hamath is the width of the border.
"Nechach." Like "neged" (opposite). And similarly, "nechachu" (they stood opposite) and "techanu" (they encamped), and they are of the same pattern:
"This is the side of the sea." This side mentioned is the western side of the Land of Israel.
Metzudat David
"And toward the sea." The boundary on the side of the sea shall be the Great Sea [the Mediterranean] from the border, and it shall be considered as part of the Land of Israel.
“Until opposite.” This refers to the location opposite the place through which one travels on the way to Chammath, which is mentioned in the Torah. It is Mount Hor, as it is written: “From the Great Sea you shall turn your boundary toward Mount Hor, and from Mount Hor you shall turn your boundary toward Chammath” (Numbers 34:7–8).
"This is the side of the sea." This is the boundary on the side of the sea.
Metzudat Zion
Nochach. "In the presence of," as in "in the presence of his wife" (Genesis 25:21):
Malbim
"And the side of the sea, the Great Sea": He begins on the southern side, from the boundary—meaning from the place where the southern boundary ends—and extends from south to north, opposite the entrance of Hamath. Regarding "and the side of the sea," here it does not say "and the side of the sea," because in the west one cannot extend the boundary beyond the sea, and the sea will always remain the boundary of the land. This is unlike the east, where one can always extend the boundary; therefore, it says "and the side of the east," as stated above.
So shall you divide this land to you according to the tribes of Israel.
verse value 2676
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "to·you" (לָכֶ֖ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·you·shall·divide" (וְחִלַּקְתֶּ֞ם, 6 letters). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·land" (root ארץ, 176x in Ezekiel); "Israel" (root ישראל, 154x in Ezekiel); "to·you" (root לכם, 32x in Ezekiel). Full calculation: וְחִלַּקְתֶּ֞ם [and·you·shall·divide] (584) + אֶת־הָאָ֧רֶץ [the·land] (697) + הַזֹּ֛את [this] (413) + לָכֶ֖ם [to·you] (90) + לְשִׁבְטֵ֥י [to·tribes·of] (351) + יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (541) = 2676.
Radak
"And you shall divide." It is clear:
Metzudat David
"And you shall divide them." You shall divide them into equal portions according to the number of the tribes of Israel:
Malbim
"And you shall divide this land as an inheritance among you" – First, they were to divide it into thirteen strips: twelve strips for you, for the tribes of Israel, corresponding to the twelve tribes; apart from the strip designated as the heave-offering of the Sanctuary, whose division was conducted in a different manner, allocated to the prince, the Levites, and the priests, and it is not yours.
And it shall come to pass, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the strangers that sojourn among you, who shall beget children among you; and they shall be to you as the home-born among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
verse value 6251
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 103 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·you" (לָכֶ֗ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "who·shall·beget" (אֲשֶׁר־הוֹלִ֥דוּ, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: Israel, Israel. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "and·to·the·strangers" (וּלְהַגֵּרִים֙), "who·live" (הַגָּרִ֣ים), "who·shall·beget" (אֲשֶׁר־הוֹלִ֥דוּ). The root תוך appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "who·shall·beget" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel); "Israel" (root ישראל, 154x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·your·midst', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 11 words.
Radak
"And it shall be that you shall cast her lot as an inheritance for you and for the strangers." The word "for the strangers" comes with the definite article according to its proper rule, unlike the custom in most cases. Its interpretation is: "And it shall be for you the boundary, that you shall cast her lot as an inheritance to her borders, for you and for the strangers who have begotten children among you in exile."
Metzudat David
"And it shall be your inheritance." This is that which you shall inherit, etc., meaning: You shall inherit this as a portion for yourselves, etc.
who begot sons: after they converted.
"And they shall be for you." They shall be reckoned to you as a complete Israel, from the days of his forefathers.
They shall fall with you. They shall inherit with you as an inheritance:
Metzudat Zion
"Like a native-born citizen." Just as a complete Israelite is called a "native-born citizen," so too is the convert referred to as a "native-born citizen," as it is written: "the native-born citizen and the convert" (Leviticus 16:29).
Malbim
And it shall be at the time that you divide it as an inheritance to distribute it among the individuals, then it shall be for you and for the converts who convert among you, namely, converts who converted long ago, for we do not accept converts in the days of the Messiah, who have begotten sons, so that then the sons too will take their portion and be to you like a native-born citizen to take a portion in the land.
And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourns, there shall you give him his inheritance, says the Lord Hashem.
verse value 3530
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 41 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "there" (שָׁ֚ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "where·he·sojourns" (אֲשֶׁר־גָּ֥ר, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 26: and·it·shall·be, Hashem. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Ezekiel. Unique to this verse in Ezekiel (hapax): "with·the·rod" (בַשֵּׁ֔בֶט), "where·he·sojourns" (אֲשֶׁר־גָּ֥ר), "the·stranger" (הַגֵּ֖ר). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 427x in Ezekiel); "where·he·sojourns" (root אשר, 341x in Ezekiel); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 335x in Ezekiel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְהָיָ֣ה [and·it·shall·be] (26) + בַשֵּׁ֔בֶט [with·the·rod] (313) + אֲשֶׁר־גָּ֥ר [where·he·sojourns] (704) + הַגֵּ֖ר [the·stranger] (208) + אִתּ֑וֹ [with·him] (407) + שָׁ֚ם [there] (340) + תִּתְּנ֣וּ [you·will·give] (856) + נַחֲלָת֔וֹ [his·inheritance] (494) + נְאֻ֖ם [utterance] (91) + אֲדֹנָ֥י [my·lord] (65) + יֱהֹוִֽה [Hashem] (26) = 3530.
Rashi
"The convert shall be with him." This refers to one who converted in the diaspora, within that same tribe.
Radak
“And it shall be in the tribe with which the stranger dwells.” For in the future, when Israel emerges from exile, the tribes will know [their identities], even though they are currently intermingled and do not know each one’s tribe. Elijah will come and genealogically assign every person to his tribe.
Metzudat David
There. In the portion of that tribe you shall give him an inheritance:
Malbim
And it shall be in the tribe wherein he sojourned: This means that in the portion of the tribe among whom he converted, while he was still in exile there, they shall give his inheritance.
Rashi
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim