The Division of the Land for Holy Use

45 “You will divide the land for the Israelite family groups by throwing lots.* At that time, you will separate a part of the land. It will be a holy part for the Lord. The land will be 25,000 cubits* long and 20,000 cubits* wide. All of this land will be holy. ²A square area that is 500 cubits* long on each side will be for the temple. There will be an open space around the temple that is 50 cubits* wide. ³In the holy area you will measure 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits* wide. The temple will be in this area. The temple area will be the Most Holy Place. ⁴This holy part of the land will be for the priests, the servants of the temple, where they come near to serve the Lord. It will be a place for the priests’ houses and a place for the temple. ⁵Another area, 25,000 cubits* long and 10,000 cubits* wide, will be for the Levites who serve in the temple. This land will also belong to the Levites for their cities to live in. ⁶“And you will give the city an area that is 5,000 cubits* wide and 25,000 cubits* long. It will be along the side of the holy area. It will be for all the family of Israel. ⁷The ruler will have land on both sides of the holy area and of the land belonging to the city. It will be in the area between the holy area and the area belonging to the city. It will be the same width as the land that belongs to a family group. It will go all the way from the west border to the east border. ⁸This land will be the ruler’s property in Israel. So the ruler won’t need to make life hard for my people any more. But they will give the land to the Israelites for their family groups.” ⁹The Lord my Master said these things, “Enough, you rulers of Israel! Stop being cruel and stealing things from people! Be fair and do good things! Stop forcing my people out from their homes!” The Lord my Master said these things. ¹⁰“Stop cheating people. Use accurate scales and measures! ¹¹The ephah (a dry measure) and the bath (a liquid measure) must be the same size: A bath and an ephah must both equal 1/10 homer.* Those measures will be based on the homer. ¹²A shekel* must equal 20 gerahs. A mina must equal 60 shekels. It must be equal to 20 shekels plus 25 shekels plus 15 shekels. ¹³“This is a special offering that you must give: 1/6 ephah* of wheat for every homer* of wheat; 1/6 ephah of barley for every homer of barley; ¹⁴1/10 bath* of olive oil for every cor* of olive oil. Remember: Ten baths make a homer. Ten baths make a cor. ¹⁵And one sheep for every 200 sheep from every watering hole in Israel. “Those special offerings are for the grain offerings, for the burnt offerings, and for the fellowship offerings. These offerings are to make the people pure.” The Lord my Master said these things. ¹⁶“Every person in the country will give to this offering for the ruler of Israel. ¹⁷But the ruler must give the things needed for the special holy days. The ruler must provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings for the feast days, for the New Moons, for the Sabbaths, and for all the special feasts of the family of Israel. The ruler must give all the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings that are used to make the family of Israel pure.” ¹⁸The Lord my Master says these things, “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you will take a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. You must use that bull to make the temple pure. ¹⁹The priest will take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar,* and on the posts of the gate to the inner courtyard. ²⁰You will do the same thing on the seventh day of that month for any person who has sinned by mistake or by not knowing it. So you will make the temple pure.

Offerings During the Passover Feast

²¹“On the 14th day of the first month you must celebrate the Passover. The festival of unleavened bread* begins at this time. That festival continues for seven days. ²²At that time, the ruler will offer a bull for himself and for all the people of Israel. The bull will be for a sin offering. ²³During the seven days of the feast the ruler will offer seven bulls and seven rams* that have nothing wrong with them. They will be burnt offerings to the Lord. The ruler will offer one bull on every day of the seven days of the festival. And he will offer a male goat every day for a sin offering. ²⁴The ruler will give an ephah* {of barley} as a grain offering with each bull, and an ephah {of barley} with each ram. And the ruler must give a hin* of oil for each ephah {of grain}. ²⁵The ruler must do the same thing for the seven days of the Festival {of Shelters}. This festival begins on the 15th day of the seventh month. These offerings will be the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering and the oil offering.”

lots Sticks, stones, or pieces of bone used like dice for making decisions. See Proverbs 16:33. homer A measure that equals about 6 bushels or 48.4 gallons or 220 liters. shekel A weight equal to 2/5 of an ounce or 11.5 grams. This also this became an amount of money too. 1/6 ephah 14 cups or 3.67 liters. 1/10 bath 1/2 gallon or 2.2 liters cor 55 gallons or 220 liters. altar(s) A stone table or raised area used for offering sacrifices. unleavened bread Bread made without yeast. ram(s) A male sheep. ephah A dry measure (3/5 bushel or 22 liters). hin A liquid measure (1 gallon or 2.2 liters).

Cubit Measurements: 50 cubits 86’1 1/2” or 26.25m. 500 cubits 861’3” or 262.5m. 5,000 cubits 1.63 miles or 2.625km. 10,000 cubits 3.26 miles or 5.25km. 20,000 cubits 6.52 miles or 10.5km. This is from the Greek translation. The Hebrew has 10,000 cubits (3.26 miles or 5.25km). 25,000 cubits 8.12 miles or 13.125km.

The Ruler and the Festivals

46 The Lord my Master says these things, “The east gate of the inner courtyard will be closed on the six working days. But it will be opened on the Sabbath* day and on the day of the New Moon. ²The ruler will go into the porch of that gate and stand by the gatepost. Then the priests will offer the ruler’s burnt offering and fellowship offerings. The ruler will worship at the opening of that gate. Then he will go out. But the gate will not be shut until evening. ³On the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon, the common people will also worship the Lord at that gate. ⁴“The ruler will offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the Sabbath.* He must provide six lambs that have nothing wrong with them, and a ram* that has nothing wrong with it. ⁵He must give an ephah* of grain offering with the ram. As for the grain offering with the lambs, the ruler can give as much as he wants. But he must give 1 hin* of olive oil for each ephah of grain. ⁶“On the day of the New Moon he must offer a young bull that has nothing wrong it. He will also offer six lambs and a ram that have nothing wrong with them. ⁷The ruler must give an ephah* of grain offering with the bull, and an ephah of grain offering with the ram. As for the grain offering with the lambs, the ruler can give as much as he wants. But he must give 1 hin* of olive oil for each ephah of grain. ⁸“When the ruler goes in, he must enter at the porch of the east gate—and he must leave that same way. ⁹“When the common people come to meet with the Lord at the special feasts, the person who enters through the north gate to worship will go out through the south gate. The person who enters through the south gate will go out through the north gate. No one will return the same way he entered. Each person must go out straight ahead. ¹⁰The ruler should be there among the people. When the people go in, the ruler will go in with them. When they go out, the ruler will go out. ¹¹“At the feasts and other special meetings, an ephah* of grain offering must be offered with each young bull. And an ephah of grain offering must be offered with each ram. As for the grain offering with the lambs, the ruler can give as much as he wants. But he must give 1 hin* of olive oil for each ephah of grain. ¹²“When the ruler gives a freewill offering to the Lord—it might be a burnt offering, a fellowship offering, or a freewill offering—the east gate will be opened for him. Then he will offer his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings like he does on the Sabbath* day. After he leaves, the gate will be shut.

The Daily Offering

¹³“Every day you will provide a year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it. It will be for a burnt offering to the Lord. You will provide it every morning. ¹⁴Also, you will offer a grain offering with the lamb every morning. You will give 1/6 ephah* {of flour} and 1/3 hin* of oil to make the fine flour moist. It will be the daily grain offering to the Lord. ¹⁵So they will give the lamb, the grain offering and the oil every morning, for a burnt offering forever.”

Laws of Inheritance for the Ruler

¹⁶The Lord my Master says these things, “If the ruler gives a gift from part of his land to any of his sons, it will belong to his sons. It is their property. ¹⁷But if the ruler gives a gift from part of his land to one of his slaves, the gift will belong to the slave only until the year of freedom.* Then the gift will go back to the ruler. Only the ruler’s sons will keep a gift of land from the ruler. ¹⁸And the ruler will not take any of the people’s land or force them to leave their land. He must give some of his own land to his sons. In that way, my people will not be forced to lose their land.”

The Special Kitchens

¹⁹The man led me through the entrance at the side of the gate. He led me to the holy rooms for the priests on the north side. There I saw a place at the west end {of the path}. ²⁰The man said to me, “This is the place where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering. It is where the priests will bake the grain offering. Why? So they will not need to bring these offerings out into the outer courtyard. So they will not bring those holy things out where the common people are.” ²¹Then the man led me out to the outer courtyard. He led me to the four corners of the courtyard. I saw smaller courtyards in each corner of the large courtyard. ²²There was a small, enclosed area in each of the four corners of the courtyard. Each small courtyard was 40 cubits* long and 30 cubits* wide. The four areas measured the same. ²³There was a brick wall around each of the four small courtyards. And there were places built into the brick walls for cooking. ²⁴The man said to me, “These are the kitchens where the people that serve at the temple cook the sacrifices for the people.”

Sabbath Saturday, a special day of rest and worship for Jews. ram(s) A male sheep. ephah A dry measure (3/5 bushel or 22 liters). hin A liquid measure (1 gallon or 2.2 liters). 1/6 ephah 14 cups or 3.67 liters. year of freedom Also called “Jubilee.” Every 50 years the Israelites were to set their slaves free if they were Israelites. Also the people gave all the land back to the Israelite family that originally owned the land. 40 cubits 68’10 3/4” or 21m. 30 cubits 51’8 1/16” or 15.75m.