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The Prophets · Old Testament

Ezekiel 44

Ezekiel 44: the shut east gate, the Levites' demotion and the sons of Zadok

General context

The prophet is brought back to the gate of the outward sanctuary toward the east, and it is shut. The Lord says it will stay shut and no man will enter by it, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; it is for the prince, who will sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. At the north gate the prophet sees the glory filling the house and falls on his face. The Lord tells him to mark well the ordinances of the house and to say to the rebellious house of Israel that their abominations are enough: they brought into the sanctuary strangers uncircumcised in heart and flesh. No such stranger is to enter. The Levites who went far from him after idols when Israel went astray will bear their iniquity; they will still minister at the gates and slay the offerings for the people, but not come near as priests. The priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of the sanctuary when Israel strayed, will come near to offer the fat and the blood. Rules follow: linen garments in the inner court and nothing that causes sweat; garments changed in the holy chambers before going out to the people; hair polled, neither shaved nor left long; no wine in the inner court; wives to be maidens of Israel or a priest's widow; teaching the difference between holy and profane; judging by his judgments; no contact with the dead except close family, with seven days after cleansing and a sin offering. The Lord is their inheritance and possession; they eat the meat, sin and trespass offerings, receive the firstfruits and the first of the dough, and eat nothing dead of itself or torn.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 44:1, Ezekiel 44:2, Ezekiel 44:3, Ezekiel 44:4, Ezekiel 44:5, Ezekiel 44:6, Ezekiel 44:7, Ezekiel 44:8, Ezekiel 44:9, Ezekiel 44:10, Ezekiel 44:11, Ezekiel 44:13, Ezekiel 44:14, Ezekiel 44:15, Ezekiel 44:17, Ezekiel 44:18, Ezekiel 44:19, Ezekiel 44:20, Ezekiel 44:21, Ezekiel 44:22, Ezekiel 44:23, Ezekiel 44:24, Ezekiel 44:25, Ezekiel 44:26, Ezekiel 44:28, Ezekiel 44:29, Ezekiel 44:30, Ezekiel 44:31

Ezekiel 44 (KJV)

1Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.

2Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.

3It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

4Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.

5And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.

6And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,

7In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.

8And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

9Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

10And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.

11Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.

12Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity.

13And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

14But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

15But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God:

16They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.

17And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

18They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.

19And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.

20Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.

21Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

22Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.

23And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

24And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

25And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.

26And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days.

27And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord God.

28And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.

29They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.

30And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.

31The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.

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Historical context

Two speakers are distinguished in the chapter. The one who leads the prophet to the gates is called only "he", but from verse 2 the words are the Lord's: "Then said the Lord unto me". "The prince" is introduced without a name or lineage; the text gives him a place to eat bread in the shut gate and says he enters by its porch, and nothing more here. The reason the gate is shut is stated: the Lord entered by it, as narrated in 43:4. The chapter divides the tribe of Levi in two. "The Levites that are gone away far from me" are those who "went astray" after idols; "the sons of Zadok" are those who "kept the charge of my sanctuary" at that time. The text does not say when this straying happened. The strangers excluded are defined by the text's own pairing, "uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh". The priestly rules on clothing, hair, wine, marriage, mourning and food are given here as the Lord's ordinances for this house; the chapter does not cite any earlier law. Verse 19 repeats the rule about garments given by the man in 42:14. The statement "I am their inheritance" is the reason given for the priests holding no possession in Israel.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 44:2, Ezekiel 44:3, Ezekiel 43:4, Ezekiel 44:10, Ezekiel 44:15, Ezekiel 44:9, Ezekiel 44:19, Ezekiel 42:14, Ezekiel 44:28

Literary context

The chapter opens on a closed door. The gate through which the glory entered is shut, and the shutting is explained in the same sentence, so the first image is of a way that has been used once and is now sealed. The prophet's second fall on his face repeats the gesture of the previous chapter, and the Lord's command to "mark well" and "behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears" repeats the man's command in 40:4. The accusation and the ordinances are organised by the word near. The strayed Levites "shall not come near"; the sons of Zadok "shall come near" and "come near to my table". The chapter's contrast is stated in matching clauses about the same past moment: some went astray "when Israel went astray", others "kept the charge" when Israel went astray. The rules then run as a long chain of prohibitions, "no wool", "neither shall they shave", "neither shall any priest drink wine", "neither shall they take", before turning to what the priests are to do: teach, judge, hallow. Near the end the chapter puts possession in place of land, "I am their inheritance", and then closes on a food rule, as plainly as it began.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 44:1, Ezekiel 44:2, Ezekiel 44:4, Ezekiel 44:5, Ezekiel 40:4, Ezekiel 44:13, Ezekiel 44:16, Ezekiel 44:10, Ezekiel 44:15, Ezekiel 44:17, Ezekiel 44:22, Ezekiel 44:23, Ezekiel 44:28

Key moments

  1. The east gate shut (Ezekiel 44:2). The Lord says the east gate will stay shut because he entered by it.
  2. A gate for the prince (Ezekiel 44:3). The prince may sit in the shut gate to eat bread before the Lord, entering by its porch.
  3. Strangers in the sanctuary (Ezekiel 44:7). Israel is charged with bringing the uncircumcised in heart and flesh into the sanctuary.
  4. Levites who went astray (Ezekiel 44:10). The Levites who followed idols will bear their iniquity and minister at the gates rather than as priests.
  5. The sons of Zadok come near (Ezekiel 44:15). The sons of Zadok, who kept the charge, will come near to offer the fat and the blood.
  6. Linen, not wool (Ezekiel 44:17). Priests entering the gates of the inner court are to be clothed with linen garments, with no wool upon them.
  7. I am their inheritance (Ezekiel 44:28). The priests receive no possession in Israel because the Lord is their inheritance.

For reflection

Two groups of Levites are set apart by what they did at one past moment, when Israel went astray: some followed the idols, some kept the charge of the sanctuary. What does the text make of that single season as the ground for who may come near and who may not?

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