Ezekiel 47 Study Notes: The River Flowing from the Temple
Ezekiel sees water flowing east from beneath the temple and rising into a deep river that makes the Dead Sea fresh and full of fish. Fruit trees along its banks give food and healing every month. God then sets the borders of the land and gives resident foreigners a share with Israel.
General
According to the guide, what happens when the river reaches the Dead Sea (47:8-9)?
Answer: Its waters become fresh and swarm with fish and living things
The guide told Ezekiel that the water would flow east, descending to the Arabah, the low desert valley, and on to the Dead Sea, whose waters would become fresh (47:8). Wherever the river went, living creatures would teem and fish would abound, and everything would flourish because the river had made the waters fresh (47:9). Fishermen would line the shore spreading their nets and catching all sorts of fish (47:10). Only the marshy pools would stay salty (47:11). The sea the river reaches becomes full of life. This shows God’s power to bring life where there was none, as when He promised to turn desert into pools of water (Isaiah 41:18) and to breathe life into dry bones earlier in Ezekiel (37:5-6).
- Ezekiel 47:8-9 (BSB)“And he said to me, “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah. When it empties into the Dead Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Wherever the river flows, there will be swarms of living creatures and a great number of fish, because it flows there and makes the waters fresh; so wherever the river flows, everything will flourish.”The river runs down to the Dead Sea, makes its waters fresh, and brings teeming life wherever it goes.
- Ezekiel 47:10 (BSB)“Fishermen will stand by the shore; from En-gedi to En-eglaim they will spread their nets to catch fish of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.”Fishermen spread their nets along the shore and catch many kinds of fish.
- Isaiah 41:18 (BSB)“I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.”God promises to open rivers in barren places and turn desert into pools.
- Ezekiel 37:5-6 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’””Earlier in the book God promised to put breath into dry bones so that they would come to life.
Theological
What does the guide say becomes of the Dead Sea once the river empties into it (47:8-9)?
Answer: Its waters become fresh and swarm with fish and living things
The river descends east into the Arabah and enters the Dead Sea, turning its salt waters fresh (47:8). Teeming creatures and abundant fish appear wherever it flows, and everything flourishes because of it (47:9); fishermen spread their nets along a shore that now yields fish of every kind (47:10), and only the marshes are left salty (47:11). The sea’s renewal displays God’s power to create life out of barrenness, the same power promised in Isaiah’s rivers in the desert (Isaiah 41:18) and shown in Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones made to live by God’s breath (37:5-6).
- Ezekiel 47:8-9 (BSB)“And he said to me, “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah. When it empties into the Dead Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Wherever the river flows, there will be swarms of living creatures and a great number of fish, because it flows there and makes the waters fresh; so wherever the river flows, everything will flourish.”The river runs down to the Dead Sea, makes its waters fresh, and brings teeming life wherever it goes.
- Ezekiel 47:10 (BSB)“Fishermen will stand by the shore; from En-gedi to En-eglaim they will spread their nets to catch fish of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.”Fishermen spread their nets along the shore and catch many kinds of fish.
- Isaiah 41:18 (BSB)“I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.”God promises to open rivers in barren places and turn desert into pools.
- Ezekiel 37:5-6 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’””Earlier in the book God promised to put breath into dry bones so that they would come to life.
General
How were foreigners who had settled among Israel and raised children there to be treated when the land was divided (47:22-23)?
Answer: Given land within a tribe, just like Israelites by birth
God told Israel to share out the land equally among the tribes, with Joseph receiving two portions, and said it would be theirs because He had sworn this to their forefathers (47:13-14), and He set its borders on every side (47:15-20). When the land was divided among the tribes, the foreigners living among them who had children there were to be counted as Israelites by birth and given an inheritance with them (47:22). Each was to receive his share in whatever tribe he lived among (47:23). The law of Moses had already commanded Israel to treat the foreigner as one of their own and love him (Leviticus 19:34), and Isaiah foretold foreigners who give themselves to serving the LORD being brought to His holy mountain and welcomed in His house (Isaiah 56:6-7). The gospel shows the same welcome: in Christ, people who were once outsiders now belong as fellow citizens among God’s people and members of His household (Ephesians 2:19).
- Ezekiel 47:22-23 (BSB)“You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who dwell among you and who have children. You are to treat them as native-born Israelites; along with you, they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe a foreigner dwells, you are to assign his inheritance there,” declares the Lord GOD.”Foreigners who live among Israel and have children there receive an inheritance in the tribe where they live.
- Ezekiel 47:13-14 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: “These are the boundaries by which you are to divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall receive two portions. You are to divide it equally among them. Because I swore with an uplifted hand to give it to your forefathers, this land will fall to you as an inheritance.”The land is to be divided equally among the tribes, and it becomes theirs because God swore to give it to their forefathers.
- Leviticus 19:34 (BSB)“You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”The law already told Israel to regard the resident outsider as one of their own and to love him as themselves.
- Isaiah 56:6-7 (BSB)“And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant— I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.””Isaiah foresees foreigners who devote themselves to the LORD being brought to His holy mountain and made glad in His house.
- Ephesians 2:19 (BSB)“Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,”In Christ, believers who were once outsiders now belong among God’s people and in His family.
Theological
What provision does 47:22-23 make for resident foreigners with children when the land is allotted?
Answer: Given land within a tribe, just like Israelites by birth
The land is to be shared equally among the tribes, Joseph receiving two portions, and it falls to them as an inheritance because God had sworn it to the fathers (47:13-14), and its borders are fixed on every side (47:15-20). Within that allotment, resident foreigners who have raised families in Israel are to be reckoned as Israelites by birth and allotted an inheritance alongside the tribes, each in the tribe where he lives (47:22-23). The provision extends the Mosaic command to treat the sojourner like one born in the land and to love him (Leviticus 19:34) and matches Isaiah’s vision of foreigners who keep faith with the covenant being brought to God’s holy mountain (Isaiah 56:6-7). It anticipates the gospel, in which those once cut off from Israel and its covenants are made fellow citizens of God’s people and members of His family through Christ (Ephesians 2:19).
- Ezekiel 47:22-23 (BSB)“You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who dwell among you and who have children. You are to treat them as native-born Israelites; along with you, they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe a foreigner dwells, you are to assign his inheritance there,” declares the Lord GOD.”Foreigners who live among Israel and have children there receive an inheritance in the tribe where they live.
- Ezekiel 47:13-14 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: “These are the boundaries by which you are to divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall receive two portions. You are to divide it equally among them. Because I swore with an uplifted hand to give it to your forefathers, this land will fall to you as an inheritance.”The land is to be divided equally among the tribes, and it becomes theirs because God swore to give it to their forefathers.
- Leviticus 19:34 (BSB)“You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”The law already told Israel to regard the resident outsider as one of their own and to love him as themselves.
- Isaiah 56:6-7 (BSB)“And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant— I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.””Isaiah foresees foreigners who devote themselves to the LORD being brought to His holy mountain and made glad in His house.
- Ephesians 2:19 (BSB)“Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household,”In Christ, believers who were once outsiders now belong among God’s people and in His family.
General
True or False: As the guide led Ezekiel farther east, the stream grew from a trickle into a river too deep to wade across.
Answer: True
This is true. Outside the outer east gate the water was only trickling out (47:2), but as the guide led Ezekiel farther and farther east it kept rising, until it became a river so deep it could only be swum, not crossed on foot (47:3-5). The guide then asked Ezekiel whether he had seen this (47:6). The picture is of the life that comes from God’s dwelling growing greater and greater. The psalmist rejoices that God satisfies His people from the stream of His own goodness, because all life has its source in Him (Psalm 36:8-9), and Isaiah links water poured on dry ground with God pouring out His Spirit (Isaiah 44:3).
- Ezekiel 47:2 (BSB)“Next he brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and there I saw the water trickling out from the south side.”Outside the outer east gate the water is only a trickle.
- Ezekiel 47:5 (BSB)“Once again he measured off a thousand cubits, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough for swimming—a river that could not be crossed on foot.”Farther east the stream has grown into a river that must be swum rather than waded.
- Psalm 36:8-9 (BSB)“They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.”God satisfies His people from His own abundance, for He is the source of life.
- Isaiah 44:3 (BSB)“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.”God promises to water dry land and to send His Spirit on the children of His people.
Theological
True or False: According to 47:2-5, the water Ezekiel followed eastward grew from a trickle into a river too deep to cross on foot.
Answer: True
This is true. At the outer east gate the water is a mere trickle (47:2), yet with each stage of the guide’s progress eastward it rises until it is a river one must swim, which no one can cross on foot (47:3-5), and the guide asks Ezekiel whether he has seen it (47:6). The image is of life from God’s presence increasing far beyond its small beginning. The psalmist finds the source of life and of every delight in God Himself (Psalm 36:8-9), and Isaiah pairs water on thirsty ground with the outpouring of the Spirit on God’s people (Isaiah 44:3).
- Ezekiel 47:2 (BSB)“Next he brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and there I saw the water trickling out from the south side.”Outside the outer east gate the water is only a trickle.
- Ezekiel 47:5 (BSB)“Once again he measured off a thousand cubits, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough for swimming—a river that could not be crossed on foot.”Farther east the stream has grown into a river that must be swum rather than waded.
- Psalm 36:8-9 (BSB)“They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.”God satisfies His people from His own abundance, for He is the source of life.
- Isaiah 44:3 (BSB)“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.”God promises to water dry land and to send His Spirit on the children of His people.
General
Why do the trees along the river bear fresh fruit every month (47:12)?
Answer: Because the water that feeds them flows from the sanctuary
Fruit trees of every kind would grow along each bank. Their leaves would stay fresh and their crops would never run out, and they would bear a new crop each month (47:12). The reason given is that their water comes from the sanctuary, and they would give food to eat and leaves that heal (47:12). Life, fruitfulness and healing all flow from God’s presence among His people. Scripture uses the same images elsewhere: the person who delights in God’s law resembles a tree set beside streams, its leaves always green (Psalm 1:3), and John sees a river flowing from God’s throne with the tree of life standing on both banks, bearing fruit every month, its leaves given for healing the nations (Revelation 22:1-2). Jesus promised that living water would pour out from within whoever believes in Him, and He was speaking of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39).
- Ezekiel 47:12 (BSB)“Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be used for food and their leaves for healing.””Fruit trees on both banks never wither or fail; they bear monthly because their water comes from the sanctuary, giving food and healing.
- Psalm 1:3 (BSB)“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.”The blessed man of the psalm is pictured as a well-watered tree that stays green and bears fruit.
- Revelation 22:1-2 (BSB)“Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”John’s vision of the river from God’s throne, with trees bearing fruit monthly and leaves that heal the nations, echoes this scene.
- John 7:37-39 (BSB)“On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.”Jesus invites the thirsty to come to Him and says life-giving water will flow from within believers; John explains He meant the Spirit.
Theological
What reason does 47:12 give for the monthly fruit of the trees along the river?
Answer: Because the water that feeds them flows from the sanctuary
The trees on both banks are evergreen and unfailing, bearing every month, because their water issues from the sanctuary, and they give fruit to eat and leaves that heal (47:12). Fruitfulness and healing are not native to the land but derive from God’s dwelling among His people. The image recurs across Scripture: the righteous as a tree set beside streams, its leaves always green (Psalm 1:3), and the river streaming from the throne where God and the Lamb reign, with the tree of life fruiting every month and its leaves for healing the nations (Revelation 22:1-2). Jesus applies the language of living water to the Spirit given to those who believe in Him (John 7:37-39), so that the life of God’s presence flows into and through His people.
- Ezekiel 47:12 (BSB)“Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be used for food and their leaves for healing.””Fruit trees on both banks never wither or fail; they bear monthly because their water comes from the sanctuary, giving food and healing.
- Psalm 1:3 (BSB)“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.”The blessed man of the psalm is pictured as a well-watered tree that stays green and bears fruit.
- Revelation 22:1-2 (BSB)“Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”John’s vision of the river from God’s throne, with trees bearing fruit monthly and leaves that heal the nations, echoes this scene.
- John 7:37-39 (BSB)“On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.”Jesus invites the thirsty to come to Him and says life-giving water will flow from within believers; John explains He meant the Spirit.
General
Where did Ezekiel see the water coming from when the guide brought him back to the temple entrance (47:1)?
Answer: From under the temple’s threshold, flowing out toward the east
Ezekiel saw water coming out from beneath the temple’s threshold and running east, the direction the temple faced, passing along the altar’s south side (47:1). The source is the point: the stream does not rise from the hills or come from rain but from the house where Ezekiel had earlier seen the LORD’s glory return (43:4-5). Other Scriptures use the same picture of life going out from God’s dwelling. Joel speaks of a spring flowing from the LORD’s house (Joel 3:18), a psalm tells of a river that brings joy to the city where God lives (Psalm 46:4), and John is shown a river of life-giving water streaming from the throne where God and the Lamb reign (Revelation 22:1).
- Ezekiel 47:1 (BSB)“Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.”Back at the temple entrance, Ezekiel sees water coming out from beneath the threshold and running east, south of the altar.
- Ezekiel 43:4-5 (BSB)“and the glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.”Just before, Ezekiel had seen the glory of the LORD come back and fill this temple.
- Joel 3:18 (BSB)“And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.”Joel also foresees a spring going out from the LORD’s house to water a valley.
- Psalm 46:4 (BSB)“There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.”The psalmist speaks of a river whose streams bring joy to God’s city and holy dwelling.
- Revelation 22:1 (BSB)“Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb”John is shown a crystal-clear river of life-giving water coming from the throne of God and the Lamb.
Theological
According to 47:1, what was the source of the water Ezekiel saw at the temple?
Answer: From under the temple’s threshold, flowing out toward the east
The water issues from beneath the temple threshold and runs eastward, the way the temple faces, passing along the altar’s south side (47:1). Its origin is the theological center of the image: the river springs from the very house the LORD’s glory had re-entered and filled (43:4-5). Life flows outward from the place of God’s presence. The same motif runs through the prophets and psalms, a spring from the LORD’s house (Joel 3:18) and a river that gladdens the dwelling place of the Most High (Psalm 46:4), and appears again in the river of life proceeding from the throne where God and the Lamb reign (Revelation 22:1).
- Ezekiel 47:1 (BSB)“Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.”Back at the temple entrance, Ezekiel sees water coming out from beneath the threshold and running east, south of the altar.
- Ezekiel 43:4-5 (BSB)“and the glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.”Just before, Ezekiel had seen the glory of the LORD come back and fill this temple.
- Joel 3:18 (BSB)“And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.”Joel also foresees a spring going out from the LORD’s house to water a valley.
- Psalm 46:4 (BSB)“There is a river whose streams delight the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.”The psalmist speaks of a river whose streams bring joy to God’s city and holy dwelling.
- Revelation 22:1 (BSB)“Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb”John is shown a crystal-clear river of life-giving water coming from the throne of God and the Lamb.