Ezekiel 47:13-14

[13] Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. [14] And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.

What is the context of Ezekiel 47:13-14?

What does Ezekiel 47:13-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The Lord instructed the future Israelites (cf. Ezekiel 47:21) to divide the Promised Land for their inheritance. He first described the boundary around the entire land. The tribes of Joseph, namely, Ephraim and Prayer of Manasseh , were to have two portions (cf. Genesis 48:5-6; Genesis 48:22). This was important to clarify at the outset because the tribe of Levi would receive another portion of the land ( Ezekiel 45:1-8; Ezekiel 48:8-14). Thus the number of tribal allotments would be12plus the Levitical portions. Each tribe was to have as much land as all the others; the portions were to be equal in size. This was not the case when Joshua divided the land among the tribes; some tribes received more land than others. Thus the Lord would fulfill His promise to give the Israelites the land as an inheritance. The overall boundaries described here are almost identical to the ones in Numbers 34:3-12 (cf. 1 Kings 8:65).