And as for the rest of the tribes: from the east side unto the west side; Benjamin, one portion. And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side; Simeon, one portion. And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side; Issachar, one portion. And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side; Zebulun, one portion. And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side; Gad, one portion. And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, unto the great sea. This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their several portions, saith the Lord GOD.

And these are the goings out of the city; on the north side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure: and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel; three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one and at the east side four thousand and five hundred reeds; and three gates: even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one: and at the south side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure; and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one: at the west side four thousand and five hundred reeds, with their

three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one. It shall be eighteen thousand reeds round about. And the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.

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NOTES

BOOK I

i-iii. For the Vision of Ezekiel, and the threefold commission of his Call, see Introduction, pages xxvi-vii.

iii. The Opening of the Mouth. The interpretation of this followed above (Introduction, page xxvii) is different from that usually given (e.g. by Davidson, Driver).

The usual view is that the 'dumbness' is a restraint of prophecy, such as confinement to the prophet's house, the result of failure through the rebellious spirit of the people; and the 'opening of the mouth' is the cessation of that restraint upon the fall of Jerusalem and its confirmation of Ezekiel's position. It must be observed that (1) there is not a word of support in the text for the idea that Ezekiel exercised his ministry before the divine word of this section iii; (2) no difference in kind can be traced between his mode of ministry before and after the fall of the city. This interpretation would never be suggested except in view of two passages cited below.

The interpretation here followed is that alike the 'dumbness' and the opening of the mouth' attach to Ezekiel's ministry throughout, and are not distinctive of different periods. He is in this, the third phase of his Call, commanded to forego the public life of the popular prophets

shut thyself within thine house . . . behold, they shall lay bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them