Ezekiel 44

Ezekiel 44 is one of the chapters in the new temple vision of Ezekiel 40–48. In Ezekiel 43 the glory of the LORD returned to the temple through the east gate, and chapter 44 opens with the command that this gate be kept shut. The chapter then sets out who will serve in the temple and how.

Outline

• Verses 1–3: The outer east gate of the sanctuary is shut. Because the LORD has entered by it, it may not be opened again. Only the prince (so the KJV; the New Korean Revised Version reads "ruler") may enter by way of the porch and eat bread before the LORD.
• Verses 4–9: Ezekiel is brought by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, sees the glory of the LORD filling it, and falls on his face. The LORD rebukes the people for bringing into the sanctuary foreigners uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, and declares that such foreigners shall not enter.
• Verses 10–14: The Levites who went astray after idols may not serve as priests. Instead, they are assigned to keep the temple gates and to slay the sacrifices, among other duties.
• Verses 15–16: The priests descended from Zadok, who kept the charge of the sanctuary, may come near to the LORD to offer the fat and the blood.
• Verses 17–27: Ordinances for the priests follow. They are to wear linen garments, keep their hair trimmed, and drink no wine in the inner court. There are also regulations concerning whom they may marry, teaching the people and judging disputes, observing the feasts and the Sabbath, and defilement from a dead body and subsequent purification.
• Verses 28–31: The LORD is the priests' inheritance (their allotted portion). The priests live on the people's offerings and firstfruits, and they are not to eat any animal that dies of itself or is torn.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 44:2 "This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened": This shows that the presence of the LORD has returned to the temple.
• Ezekiel 44:15 "But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary": Duties are assigned according to faithfulness.
• Ezekiel 44:28 "I am their inheritance": In place of land, the priests receive God himself as their portion.

People and Places

• Ezekiel: The prophet who sees the vision.
• Zadok: A priest in the time of David and Solomon.
• Levites and priests: Those who minister in the temple.
• Temple in Jerusalem: The new temple seen in the vision.

Points for Reflection

• Interpreting the new temple vision: Dispensationalism understands it as an actual temple to be built during the Millennium. Other interpreters read it as an idealized blueprint for the community after the return from exile, or as a symbol pointing to Christ and the church.
• The shut east gate and Mary: Patristic tradition within the Catholic Church has linked the shut east gate to the perpetual virginity of Mary. Protestants generally do not accept this interpretation.
• The present-day Golden Gate: Some popular accounts connect the sealed Golden Gate in the walls of Jerusalem with this passage. The text, however, speaks of a gate of the temple seen in the vision.
• Differences from the Mosaic law: The marriage regulation in verse 22 differs from that in Leviticus 21, and the relationship between the two texts has long been debated.
• Connections with the New Testament: The regulation excluding foreigners is often read alongside the "middle wall of partition" passage in Ephesians 2:14–17. The priesthood is discussed in parallel with the teaching of Christ as High Priest in Hebrews and with the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.