Ezekiel 48:15 · Bible study
Ezekiel 48:15 Commentary: Common Ground for God's City
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does Ezekiel's vision place the city on 'common' land? Explore the sacred-secular boundary and God's plan for his people to dwell with him.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The city and its common land are placed within the holy oblation but designated “common” (KJV: “profane”) to distinguish it from the consecrated priestly portions.
- Key words: “Common” / “profane”, Hebrew chol, meaning ordinary, not set apart for ritual use; “city”, the dwelling place for all Israel.
- Main debate: Is this a literal blueprint for a future restored Jerusalem, or a symbolic picture of the church as God’s dwelling? Both views have strong supporters.
- Theological theme: The sacred and secular are distinct yet integrated within God’s kingdom; the ordinary is not excluded from his presence but ordered around it.
- Best use: A passage for teaching how God’s holiness does not push away daily life but draws it into proper relationship with himself.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for common use by the city, for houses, and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it
WEB World English Bible 2000
“The five thousand cubits that are left in the width, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for pasture lands; and the city shall be in the middle of it.
KJV King James Version 1769
And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And the five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the five and twenty thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And the five thousand that is left in the breadth, on the front of the five and twenty thousand, is common--for the city, for dwelling, and for suburb, and the city hath been in its midst.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And the five thousand that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a common [place] for the city, for dwellings and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst of it.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
But the five thousand that remain in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city for dwelling, and for suburbs and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y las cinco mil cañas de anchura que quedan de las veinticinco|strong="H6242, H2568" mil, serán profanas, para la ciudad, para habitación y para ejido; y la ciudad estará en medio.
E as cinco mil canas de largura que restam das vinte e cinco mil, serão de uso comum para a cidade, para habitação e arrebaldes; e a cidade estará no meio delas.
Les cinq mille cannes qui resteront en largeur sur les vingt-cinq mille seront destinées à la ville, pour les habitations et la banlieue; et la ville sera au milieu.
Aber die übrigen fünftausend Ruten in die Breite gegen fünfunzwanzigtausend Ruten in die Länge, das soll gemeines Land sein zur Stadt, darin zu wohnen, und zu Vorstädten; und die Stadt soll mittendarin stehen.
Maar de vijf duizend, dat is hetgeen overgelaten is in de breedte, voor aan de vijf en twintig duizend, dat zal onheilig zijn, voor de stad, tot bewoning en tot voorsteden; en de stad zal in het midden daarvan zijn.
I cinquemila cubiti che rimarranno di larghezza sui venticinquemila, formeranno un’area non consacrata destinata alla città, per le abitazioni e per il contado; la città sarà in mezzo,
A pięć tysięcy łokci, które pozostaną wszerz przeciwko onym dwudziestu i pięciu tysięcy, będzie miejsce pospolite dla miasta na mieszkanie i dla przedmieścia, a miasto będzie w pośrodku niego.
А остальные пять тысяч в ширину с двадцатью пятью тысячами в длину назначаются для города в общее употребление, на заселение и на предместья; город будет в средине.
這二萬五千肘 前面 所剩下 五千肘 寬 之地要作 俗用，作為造城 蓋房 郊野之地。城 要 在當中。
And the other five thousand, measured from side to side, in front of the twenty-five thousand, is to be for common use, for the town, for living in and for a free space: and the town will be in the middle of it.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse sets aside a portion of the holy oblation for the city and its surrounding land, and that this portion is designated “common” (or “profane” in the KJV) to distinguish it from the consecrated territory of the priests and Levites. Barnes explains that “profane” here means “for common use, as distinguished from that which is holy unto the Lord.” Wesley calls it “a common, not consecrated place.” Jamieson-Fausset-Brown note that it is “not strictly sacred as the sacerdotal portions, but applied to secular uses.”
There is broad agreement that the city is intended for the whole house of Israel, not just for the clergy, and that its placement within the larger holy oblation shows God’s design for his people to live in the ordinary sphere while still being held within the domain of what is consecrated to him. Clarke observes that the remaining land is “for laymen” who served the priests, and Cambridge calls it “the portion of the oblation assignable to the city.” The city itself is placed at the center of this common area, pointing to the centrality of God’s dwelling among his people in the midst of everyday life.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal future restoration: Emphasizes the precise measurements and parallels to other OT prophecies; sees this as a blueprint for a millennial temple and city in Israel.
- Symbolic / ecclesiological: Reads the passage as an allegory of the church (the city of God), with the common ground representing believers’ everyday life consecrated to God.
- Post-exilic fulfillment: Sees the vision as a program for the restoration community after the exile, not requiring a future literal fulfillment.
What is clear: The city is placed on common ground within the holy oblation, showing God’s design for his people to live ordinary lives in the presence of his holiness.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Literal vs symbolic interpretation | The city represents a place where God’s people dwell with him at the center. | Some Christians read this as a literal future Jerusalem on earth (premillennial); others see it as an allegory of the church or heaven (amillennial). |
| Meaning of 'common' (profane) | It distinguishes this land from the holy portions for priests and Levites. | Some emphasize that it still belongs to the holy oblation, so the city is set apart; others focus on the word 'profane' as indicating ordinary secular use. |
| Place of non-priestly Israelites | The city is for the whole house of Israel, not just clergy. | How this applies today: some see it as encouraging lay ministry and valuing ordinary work; others see it as a future political arrangement for ethnic Israel. |
| Eschatological timing | Ezekiel’s vision describes a restored order after judgment. | Christians differ on whether this order was fulfilled in the post-exilic return, awaits a future millennium, or is realized spiritually in the church age. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Ezekiel’s vision of a new temple and a restored land (chapters 40, 48) is given during the Babylonian exile, when the old Jerusalem lay in ruins and the distinction between holy and common had been tragically blurred. The prophet had indicted Israel’s priests for failing to teach this distinction (Ezekiel 22:26). The vision therefore reinstates clear boundaries: a square holy oblation of 25,000 cubits (about 8 miles per side) is set apart for the sanctuary, the priests, and the Levites. Within that holy area, a 5,000-by-25,000 cubit strip is assigned for the city and its surrounding fields, designated “common” (Hebrew chol, rendered “profane” in older translations). This does not mean unholy or sinful; it simply means not set apart for sacred ritual use.
Culturally, this reflects the Israelite understanding of the land as a gift from God to be ordered according to his holiness. The city is large enough to accommodate all the tribes (Ezekiel 45:6; 48:19), and its “common” status allows non-priestly Israelites to dwell there and cultivate the land for food (vv. 18-19). The vision rejects the pre-exilic pattern where sacred and secular were mixed carelessly, but it also rejects an extreme separation that would exclude everyday life from God’s presence. The city sits in the midst of the common ground, with the sanctuary at the center of the entire oblation (v. 10). God’s holiness does not push ordinary life away; it draws it into proper relation.
Literarily, this passage is part of a larger symmetrical structure. The tribes are arranged around the central sanctuary, and the city with its common land serves as a buffer between the holy precincts and the tribal portions. It is a designed space where God’s people can live, work, and worship in ordered harmony.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Ezekiel 48:15. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the main English translations (KJV, ASV, BSB, YLT, Darby, Douay) render the sense consistently: an area of common or profane land set aside for the city. Discrepancies are limited to vocabulary choice (“common” vs. “profane” vs. “for common use”) and do not affect the core meaning.
Reception History
Early Christian interpreters, such as Origen, read Ezekiel’s temple vision allegorically, seeing the holy oblation as the church and the city as the heavenly Jerusalem. Augustine in The City of God used the image of a holy city to contrast earthly and heavenly kingdoms. Medieval exegetes continued the allegorical tradition, often identifying the city with the Virgin Mary or the church militant. Reformation-era commentators (e.g., Calvin, Luther) tended toward a literal-historical reading, though they also saw typological significance. Matthew Henry and Gill (17th, 18th c.) applied the city to the Gospel church, with its suburbs representing those waiting at wisdom’s gates. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the rise of dispensationalism revived a literal, future interpretation, while covenant theologians continued to read it as a picture of the church’s present and final state.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God sets boundaries between the holy and the common. The city’s land is deliberately called “common” (or “profane”). This is not a downgrade but a gift, a space for everyday life and work, distinct from the sanctuary but still within the larger oblation. Preaching point: the ordinary is not outside God’s order.
- The city is at the center of the common space. God puts his dwelling and his people’s gathering place in the middle of the area designated for common use. This shows that his presence is not only for the sanctuary but also for the marketplaces and homes. The sacred reaches into the secular.
- This arrangement is for the whole house of Israel. The city is not just for priests; it is for all the tribes. In the new creation, every believer has a place in God’s ordered community. The holy oblation contains a common space that invites everyone to live near God.
Five-point outline
- Ezekiel envisions a restored land with precise boundaries (Ezekiel 48 overview).
- The holy oblation includes portions for priests and Levites, but also a common section for the city (vv. 8-14, 15).
- The city’s land is “profane” in terms of ritual status, it is for dwelling, pasture, and daily use.
- This common ground is still part of the oblation, showing that ordinary life is encompassed by God’s holiness.
- The city at the center points to Christ, who dwells among his people, making all of life sacred.
Illustration hooks
- A church that builds its fellowship hall with the same care as its sanctuary: Just as the common ground in Ezekiel is part of the holy oblation, so the spaces where we eat and talk and work are sacred to God.
- A family meal at the edge of a national park: You can see the wilderness boundaries, but you’re still inside the park, God’s holiness creates zones, but all are contained in his presence.
- A cathedral with a bustling market in its square: The sacred and the practical exist side by side; the city in Ezekiel is not isolated from common life.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God care about my daily work and ordinary routines, or only about what happens in church?
- Why does the Bible make such a big deal about “holy” and “common”, isn’t that an old covenant thing?
- How do I live as a Christian in a world that feels secular, without either retreating from it or losing my faith?
Leading a Discussion
Ezekiel 48:15 is part of a detailed vision of a restored temple and land. The verse can feel like a surveyor’s report, lots of numbers and zones. But behind the measurements is a question: where does God want his people to live, and how does his holiness relate to our ordinary days? This passage helps us think about the relationship between sacred and secular in our own lives. Read Ezekiel 48:15 together, and then discuss the following questions.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What does the verse say about the land set aside for the city? What is it called in the different translations you read?
- Interpretation: The KJV calls it a “profane place.” Given the context, what does “profane” actually mean here? How is it different from “unholy” or “sinful”?
- Interpretation: Why do you think the city is placed in the middle of this common portion? What does that location suggest about God’s relationship to daily life?
- Connection: Read Ezekiel 44:23 and 42:20. How do those verses help explain the importance of the holy/common distinction in this vision?
- Application: In your own life, what “common” activities (work, family, hobbies) do you find it hard to see as connected to God? How might seeing them as part of God’s “oblation” change your perspective?
- Application: The vision reserves land for the city and its pasturelands. How does this challenge a view that only “spiritual” things matter to God?
- Wider view: Compare this verse with Revelation 21:3, “God’s dwelling place is among the people.” How does Ezekiel’s vision point forward to the new creation where sacred and common are fully united in Christ?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Ezekiel 22:26 | Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths. So I am profaned among them. |
| Ezekiel 42:20 | He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, the length five hundred cubits, and the width five hundred cubits, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common. |
| Ezekiel 44:23 | They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. |
| Ezekiel 45:6 | “‘“You shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand long, side by side with the offering of the holy portion. It shall be for the whole house of Israel. |
| I Timothy 3:15 | but if I wait long, that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke explains the purpose of the land remaining after the Levites' territory was set aside. Half formed a second city or suburbs for lay workers serving the priests and Levites, while the other half provided fields and gardens for their support. He observes that cultivated land lay only east and west, not between the Levites' portion and the prince's.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that the five thousand refers to the remaining portion of a 25,000-reed square from north to south, designated as profane or common use. He stresses that "profane" here simply means set apart for ordinary purposes, contrasting it with what is holy to the Lord.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The city's portion, when combined with the holy oblation reserved for the sanctuary, forms a perfect square of 25,000 cubits on each side. The open suburbs around the city create a free space, but the total measured area is a square, not separate rectangles.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes highlight that the five thousand measure of land is designated as a common or profane area, in contrast to the holy portion set apart for the sanctuary. This allocation provides space for the city, its houses, and surrounding suburbs, with the city itself positioned at the center of this section.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill interprets the five thousand reeds left for the city as a "profane place" only in comparison to the holy priests' portion, meaning it is common and open to all Israel. He then reads the city allegorically as the Gospel church, with its suburbs representing those who are not yet members but wait at wisdom's gates for admission.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that the section designated for the city within the larger sacred square is described as "profane" — meaning it is not set apart for holy purposes like the priests' portion, but is instead allocated for ordinary, everyday use.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads the entire vision as a symbolic prophecy of the Christian Church, not a future earthly restoration of Israel. The division of the land, the temple waters, and the city named Jehovah Shammah all point to Christ and the Spirit poured out at Pentecost, finding ultimate fulfillment in the New Jerusalem of Revelation.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes the careful symmetry of the tribal allotments, each a straight strip running east to west, with the sanctuary placed exactly at the center. This arrangement shows that God's presence is to be the heart and crown of the restored land, surrounded equally by all the tribes.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
A profane place - A common, not consecrated place.