Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Ezekiel · About this commentary
The Prince at the Gate, and the Boiling Places
Ezekiel 46:1-24
1 “‘The Lord Yahweh says: “The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. · WEB
The prince worships at a threshold he may not cross, and the chapter ends in the kitchens where ordinary people's offerings are cooked.
The inner east gate is shut for the six working days and opened on the Sabbath and the new moon. Access to the courts is governed by the calendar, and the days on which the gate stands open are the days the covenant sign marks. The Sabbath is named first, as it was named among the things Israel profaned Ezekiel 20:12 Ezekiel 22:8.
What the prince does on those days is described with care, and every clause limits him. He enters by the porch of the gate. He stands by the post of the gate. The priests prepare his offerings — he does not. He worships at the threshold, and then goes out the way he came. He is the most privileged worshiper in the vision and he is stopped at a doorway, and the people of the land worship at the door of the same gate. The difference between prince and people is a matter of a few paces.
The traffic rules for the feasts are stranger and more practical than they first appear. Anyone entering by the north gate must leave by the south, and anyone entering by the south must leave by the north: he shall not return by the way of the gate by which he came in, but shall go out straight before him. In a crowded court that keeps people moving in one direction. It also means that nobody leaves by the way they came, which is a small physical statement about what worship is for.
The prince is addressed again on property, and the ruling is exact. A gift to a son is his permanently. A gift to a servant reverts to the year of liberty and then returns. And the rule underneath both: the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession. He shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession. A king had once taken a vineyard from a man who would not sell it 1 Kings 21:15–16, and this provision makes that impossible.
The last verses of the chapter are the least expected in the whole vision. The guide shows him the kitchens — boiling places at the four corners of the outer court, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people. After nine chapters of holy portions and priestly garments, the survey ends among cooking pots in the public courtyard, in the part of the building where ordinary worshipers' food is prepared.
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