What Does Ezekiel 45:4 Mean in the King James?
The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Here, drawing near to God is given a measured place that includes both a home and a sanctuary.
THE MEANING
The verse gives nearness a place: a measured share of land is set apart for those who draw near to serve the LORD. Their houses and the sanctuary belong inside that same allotment, holding daily dwelling and sacred service together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the idea that sacred service has no place in ordinary dwelling: the allotment includes both their houses and the sanctuary.
THE ROOT
לְמַקְרִיבִים
lemaqrevim
GROWS FROM
קרב
q-r-b
to approach or draw near; in a causative form, to bring near
“come near” in this verse is lemaqrevim. English separates approaching from offering, but the Hebrew family links them: the one who offers is the one who brings near. The allotted ground is a defined space for that approach to be enacted.
ALSO GROWS
qarov: near
קָרוֹב
Nearness shares the same root as the priests’ work of drawing near.
qorban: offering
קָרְבָּן
An offering is something brought near, joining the act of giving with the act of approach.
הַקְּדֹשָׁה
ha-qedoshah
GROWS FROM
קדש
q-d-sh
to set apart
“holy” in this verse is ha-qedoshah. The same root names both the set-apart portion and the sanctuary within it. The verse gives sacredness a shape through place and distinction.
ALSO GROWS
qadosh: set apart
קָדוֹשׁ
The land’s portion is marked off for a particular purpose.
miqdash: sanctuary, a set-apart place
מִקְדָּשׁ
The sanctuary shares the root of the portion called holy, placing one set-apart space within another.
הַמִּדָּה
hammiddah
GROWS FROM
מדד
m-d-d
to measure
The Hebrew word rendered “portion” carries the sense of a measure or extent. The verse describes sacred space as an actual allotment with room for both homes and sanctuary.
ALSO GROWS
madad: to measure
מָדַד
The verb makes the portion’s bounded extent explicit.
middah: measure, dimension, extent
מִדָּה
This noun names the measured share given to the priests.
THE PATTERN
Approach to God takes shape in a set-apart place where service and dwelling meet.
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.THE THREAD
But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:In 44:15, “come near” and “offer” share the Hebrew root קרב (qarav): an offering is a bringing-near. That makes the allotment in 45:4 more than a backdrop; the land itself is shaped around the priests’ work of approach and service.
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