Chapter Forty-Four

The holiness of the temple and the requirements it imposes on its visitors and servants: the Levites and the priests

Having described the temple in chapters XL-XLII and its sanctification (through the return to it of the Lord and the cleansing of the altar) in chapter XLIII, the prophet can now turn to the ordinances of the new temple. The whole character of these ordinances can be foreseen from the holiness of the temple depicted in relief up to this point and again indicated (verses 1-2, 4-5). The order of the ordinances now set forth is very characteristic. It emanates from the prince (Ezek 44:3), to return to him in the conclusion (Ezek 45:7). But far more important in the new theocracy are the priests (cf. Ezek 44:1 with verse 4, 24); therefore a series of ordinances is given a) on the separation of the uncircumcised from the ritual personnel (verses 7-9) and b) the Levites from the priesthood (10-14), c) concerning the Zadokites as the only lawful priesthood among the descendants of Aaron (15-16); d) on the obligations (17-27) and e) the maintenance (28-31) of the new priesthood.

Ezekiel 44:1. Then he brought me back toward the outer gate of the sanctuary that faced east, and it was shut. The prophet, whom we left on the inner court (Ezek 43:5) for contemplation of the altar (Ezek 43:13 and following), is brought (“brought” without a subject; see explanation of Ezek 40:17) again (Ezek 40:6) to the outer eastern gates of the temple (“sanctuary,” mikdash in the widest sense) – and indeed, as seen from verse 4 (see explanation), to their inner side, to show that these gates and the time interval since the prophet was at them last (Ezek 42:15), turned out to be closed.

Ezekiel 44:2. And the Lord said to me, these gates shall be shut; they shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by them, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by them; therefore they shall be shut. They were closed, as the prophet learns from a special revelation of God to him concerning this – consequently of extraordinary importance – circumstances, forever, the reason for which was the entry through them of God observed by the prophet in Ezek 43:1 into the new temple for eternal dwelling in it, hence an entry essential, not merely symbolic and gracious, as into the former temple with its free access through all gates (perhaps even in the real temple the eastern gates, as facing uninhabited territory, opened rarely or at least the main passage was closed, and for the use of the people a passage through the vestibule of the gates – verse 3 was provided. – Prof. A. Olesnitsky, Old Chr. 431). It is precisely the threshold of the temple, the beginning and boundary of it, which by virtue of God’s entry into the temple must remain not trampled by the feet of man. Thus was well symbolized the complete reality of God’s dwelling in the new temple. The Orthodox Church therefore justly sees the fulfillment of this prophecy in the Incarnation of the Son of God from the Mother of God and in the preservation by her of her perpetual virginity, in view of which the passage serves as a lesson reading on feasts of the Mother of God.

Ezekiel 44:3. As for the prince, he, as the prince, shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the vestibule of these gates and shall go out by the way of the same. The inaccessibility of the eastern gates was somewhat diminished for the prince, – Hebrew hanasi, not melekh – the king Messiah, as in Ezek 36:22 only ‘ηγουμενος, Slavonic “elder,” but in the liturgical readings “hegumen.” Not having the right, like all others, to step upon their sacred threshold, he may use – and this as an exclusive and most honorable privilege – the extensive (Ezek 40:6 and following) structures of these gates, their vestibule, so that he may eat in them bread before the Lord, that is, the portions designated for sacred feasting from the peace offering and grain offering (Ezek 43:27). For this meal of the prince could serve either the vestibule of the gates (plan 1) or one of the 30 chambers of the outer court (Ezek 40:17), designated for sacred meals of the people, and indeed apparently adjoining the eastern gates. But for this purpose the prince must enter into the gate structure and leave it not through the gates themselves, the main passage, but “by the way of the vestibule” of them, LXX: κατα την ᾿οδον αιλαμ της πυλης, Slavonic “by the way of the elam,” (in the readings inaccurately: “of the elam gates”), that is, through an annexe to them on the side of the outer court, having more than one exit to the latter (Ezek 40:13; see plan 1 and 3). Thus even the prince could only “bow down” at the holy threshold of these gates, not stepping upon it.

Ezekiel 44:4. Then he brought me by the way of the north gate into the front of the house; and I looked and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; and I fell upon my face. From the eastern gates, where the prophet stands, he is led with the purpose of showing him that the glory of God fills the temple (bayit, that is, the building of the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies), before its front, but is brought not by the nearest way through the inner eastern gates, which was impossible in view of Ezek 46:1-2, but “by the way of the northern gates.” Before the face of God’s glory, manifesting the presence in the temple of God Himself, the prophet naturally fell prostrate.

Ezekiel 44:5. And the Lord said to me, son of man, pay attention with your heart to all that I am about to show you, and hear with your ears all that I am about to say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws; and pay attention to the entrance of the temple and to all exits from the sanctuary. Apparently from within the sanctuary or the Holy of Holies and the cloud filling them the prophet hears the present revelation. He is called by the Lord to special attentiveness both to the preceding revelations (“look with your eyes…”) and to the present one: the ordinances of the House of the Lord and its laws. The importance of the revelation is indicated already by the breadth and solemnity of this introduction to it. This revelation will concern entry into the temple, that is, as we shall see from its content, those entering the temple, having access to it, to (before this the Russian version adds “and,” which is not in the Hebrew or the LXX, and be, in, renders as “to,” as does the preceding le, for) all its exits, to which such important significance was given already in Ezek 43:11, see explanation there.

Ezekiel 44:6. And say to the rebellious house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Let it suffice you, O house of Israel, to commit all your abominations, This revelation receives particular importance because of the grave unlawfulness previously permitted by Israel in this regard, which the ordinances now given are to prevent, and the bitter memory of which draws from the prophet’s lips, with respect to Israel, an epithet not used before in the second part of the book – “rebellious house” (first used in the book 1, 8 and last up to this point Ezek 24:3). At least, now in the new theocracy Israel must abandon all its abominations, especially those defiling the temple by introducing into it unworthy elements (which – the following ordinances make hints about).

Ezekiel 44:7. In that you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary and to profane My house, in that they offered My bread, fat and blood, and they broke My covenant by all your abominations. The first and worst of such abominations, of which three kinds are indicated (see introduction to the chapter), is the admission of foreigners (poetically powerfully called “sons of a foreign woman,” not belonging by their tribe to the covenantal relationship with God), who all or mostly are therefore uncircumcised in heart (a spiritual understanding of circumcision, anticipating the Apostle Paul!) – that is, idolaters – and others uncircumcised in flesh (such were all pagans, except the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Assyrians and some others), admission to the parts of the temple that could be accessible only to priests and Levites, even to the sanctuary itself (if mikdash is understood here narrowly), which the following seems to forbid, for the performance of the sacred duties – the offering (that is, presumably, the presenting to the hands of the priests) of God’s bread (the sacrifice, as the symbolic food and divine meal) and even of the holiest parts of it – fat and blood (which were most often burned), since the peace offering, of which only these parts were burned, was apparently the most commonly used. By such unpleasing to the Lord participation of pagans in sacred acts the covenant of God was violated, in which only Israel can participate. The prophet clearly has in mind here the practice established since Joshua and hardly without his approbation (Joshua himself in his book does not consider it a fault) with respect to the Gibeonites (Josh 9:27) – the custom of using for lower work at the tabernacle, which according to the sense of Mosaic law should all be performed by Levites, military captives who formed a special estate at the temple – the Nethinim (Ezra 2:43-54; Nehem 7:46-56); from the cutting of wood and the carrying of water, which Joshua assigned to them, the Nethinim probably proceeded to other work at the tabernacle, requiring a proximity to sacred objects inaccessible to anyone except Levites. The present passage does not limit to the right granted to pagans by the Mosaic law and always recognized (see the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple) for sacrifice in the temple, though not every kind (for instance, the eating of the Passover lamb was forbidden to them). Ezekiel is not dealing here with what is permitted to pagans by the Mosaic law.

Ezekiel 44:8. And you have not kept the charge of My holy things; but you have set keepers of My charge in My sanctuary for yourselves. For temple guard, probably often soldiers were used, without distinction, whether they were Hebrews or not (cf. 2 Sam 11).

Ezekiel 44:9. Thus says the Lord God: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, even such foreigner as lives among the sons of Israel. The prohibition for an uncircumcised foreigner (“foreigner” adjective in the nominative; masculine instead of “foreigners” verse 7, where it is genitive feminine) to enter the sanctuary is repeated conclusively as a sign of insistence with the remark that it extends also to such a foreigner “who lives among the sons of Israel,” that is, has permanent residence and rights of citizenship in the new sacred community and whom (Ezek 42:22) in other respects he equates with Israelites.

Ezekiel 44:10. But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray and who strayed from Me after their idols shall bear their punishment for their iniquity. Tolerating no pagan servants in itself, the sanctuary cannot reconcile itself with those of its own lawful servants – descendants of Levi (“the Levites” here means the whole tribe of Levi) – who during Israel’s apostasy abandoned the Lord, turning aside into idolatry. The restriction of rights in service, which they must bear for this, is depicted in verses 11-14. The critical school sees in the present passage a historical explanation of the distinction introduced by the Pentateuch between priests and Levites: those of the tribe of Levi became Levites who in the pre-monotheistic period served at the high places and rural shrines, while the priests remained the Jerusalemite aristocratic line of Zadok. This degradation caused by historical circumstances the Pentateuch traces back to a difference in the origin of Levites and priests. This is proven by the fact that: 1) in Deuteronomy the Levites allegedly are equal to priests, 2) in Ezekiel this equality is destroyed and the difference is motivated, and 3) in the so-called “Priestly Code” (part of Leviticus) this distinction belongs already to the time of Moses (Smend). Without speaking of other arbitrary claims of this hypothesis (for instance, about Deuteronomy, where by reason of the general nature of the content there was no occasion to dwell on the distinction between priests and Levites), it puts falsehood into the mouth of the divinely-inspired author of the book of Leviticus.

Ezekiel 44:11. And they shall serve in My sanctuary as keepers of the gates of the house and as servants of the house; they shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them. The lower service at the temple assigned to the Levites, as well as the higher service of the priests, will consist of two main kinds: guarding and, properly, service (cf. verse 16). Under the direction of the priests the Levites will be gatekeepers of the temple (for which the latter are supplied with chambers – Ezek 40:7) and servants at the sacrifices. This latter kind of ecclesiastical service (“servants of the house”) will consist in slaughtering whole burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people; for the prince the sacrifices, apparently, were slaughtered by the priests themselves – Ezek 46:2; they alone slaughtered sin offerings and trespass offerings – Ezek 43:19; the remaining sacrifices, according to Mosaic law, apparently it was permissible for the sacrificer himself to slaughter: Lev 1:5, – who, if he had difficulty doing this or simply did not wish, would entrust it to a skilled Levite. Thus the service of the Levites was directed not so much toward God (cf. verse 16) as toward the people: Slavonic “they shall stand before the people (to stand before someone to serve: Gen 41:46; Deut 1:38 and others; Russian unclearly: “before them”) to serve them.” But since it concerned also God and took place in direct proximity to His sanctuary, it was and should be honorable and desirable for everyone (Ps 83:11), and therefore wrongfully had been previously entrusted to foreigners (see explanation of verse 7). It is remarkable that even after the captivity the Levites in comparison with the priests turned out to be so few (340-360, of which only 74 served with the priests, while the latter numbered 4289, – according to Ezra 2:36-41; Nehem 7:43-45; Ezra later found only 38 more), that it was necessary to make up for the shortage with Nethinim, the former foreign servants of the temple.

Ezekiel 44:12. Because they served them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have raised My hand against them, says the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment for their iniquity; The idolatry of the Levites is less forgivable to them than to the people, since they were appointed for direct service to God, yet became idolaters; therefore now in the new temple they will serve not so much God as the people, whom they led into the snare (“stumbling block of iniquity,” Slavonic: “torment of unrighteousness,” see explanation in Ezek 7:19 “cause of transgression”). God with an oath (“I have raised My hand against them” see explanation of Ezek 20:5) promises them punishment for this monstrous (hence the oath) sin.

Ezekiel 44:13. And they shall not come near to Me to serve Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, the most holy things, but they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they committed. Having determined positively the obligations of the Levites, the prophet determines them negatively, thereby vividly and not without bitterness characterizing their humble but fully deserved status. They cannot come near to God with the closeness of the priests (Ezek 40:46) a) through direct service as priests (laying on of offerings, burning of incense, etc.), b) through approach (Slavonic “to offer”) – an imprecise translation (Greek προσαγειν) to holy things (instead of “My” the LXX has the definition “of the sons of Israel” gen. subjecti, instead of objecti), Hebrew mikvashim, which, having in other places the meaning “sanctuaries,” here probably, as the plural shows, means sacrifices, the holiest of which, for instance, sin offering and trespass offering (intended only for priests), are further named “things most holy,” as in Ezek 42:3; Num 4:19.

Ezekiel 44:14. But I will make them guardians of the temple, for all its service and for all that is done in it. The Levites will thus be merely guardians (“guards” here in a broader sense than in verse 11) – in the sense of lower servants of the temple in all its sacred acts.

Ezekiel 44:15. But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. To the apostate Levites are contrasted the descendants of Levi, coming from Zadok (descendant of Eleazar, son of Aaron), whose very name means righteousness and who at the installation of Solomon as king remained faithful to David and anointed Solomon, while the high priest Abiathar (descendant of Ithamar son of Aaron) sided with Adonijah (1 Sam 1:7), for which he lost the high priesthood, which from that time passed to Zadok (1 Sam 2:26-27). Zadok also performed the first sacrifice in Solomon’s temple. The faithfulness of Zadok to David and Solomon (1 Sam 2:35) was as a pledge of the faithfulness of his descendants to the true God. The sons of Zadok and later, even during the “apostasy” of Israel (see explanation of verse 10) “kept the charge of My sanctuary,” defended the legitimacy of worship in Jerusalem alone and in its temple (high places) and to the one true God. Therefore they and they alone among the descendants of Levi “shall come near” to the Lord “to minister” to Him (see explanation of Ezek 40:46) and “shall stand before the face” (see explanation of verse 11) of the Lord “to offer him fat and blood” (see explanation of verse 7). The Lord assures them of this with His word. In the opinion of the critical school, Ezekiel here champions the privileges gradually appropriated by the Jerusalem priesthood (the Zadokites) over against the provincial priesthood (“high places”) and its claim to exclusive right of service (from recent commentators: Smend, Bertholet, Kraetzschmar).

Ezekiel 44:16. They shall enter My sanctuary and approach My table to minister to Me and keep My charge. Besides the obligations on the inner court at the Lord’s altar – the offering of fat and blood – verse 15, the priestly Zadokites will have further even more exalted and honorable obligations within the “sanctuary” (in the proper sense) at the “table of the Lord”; as it is called also in Ezek 41:22 (see explanation) the altar of incense, where they will a) minister to the Lord (through the burning of incense and presumably the sprinkling of blood on this altar; if in Ezekiel’s temple are presupposed a table for bread of presence and a lampstand, then here are understood also the service connected with these sacred objects) and b) keep the charge of the Lord in the sanctuary, that is, care in all ways for this holiest part of the temple.

Ezekiel 44:17. When they go into the inner court, they shall put on linen garments; they shall have nothing of wool on them, while they are in the inner court and serving in the house. The holiness of the direct servants of God – the priests – is most evidently and vividly expressed through extraordinarily strict requirements even concerning their clothing – this very external and at first glance insignificant detail in a person, which nevertheless man regards as a continuation of his existence in the external world. The main requirement concerning this clothing is that it shall not be woolen. The basis for this requirement is not indicated, unless one counts a hint at it in the remark of verse 18: “in sweat they shall not gird themselves,” – that in woolen clothing the body sweats more readily and sweat, this filthy secretion of the organism, is retained by wool forever and cannot be washed from it as from linen. Probably the basis for this requirement is some other, deeper and more symbolic one (perhaps: wool is a kind of carrion, dead matter). During their service, both in the entire inner court, beginning from its gates, that is, chiefly at the altar, and all the more “within the temple,” in the sanctuary, the priests must be in linen garments, by their cleanness and white color belonging to the celestial beings appearing on earth (Ezek 9:2; Dan 10:5 and following). Linen material is here called pishe, true linen (means also flax standing), whereas in the Pentateuch bad (fibers). According to Mosaic law only the lower garment (“from the loins to the knees” – the breeches) should be linen (bad) for the priests, while the upper – tunic and turban – should be white (cotton), consequently the prophet Ezekiel strengthens here the requirement of Moses concerning the clothing of the priests and elevates the idea of their cleanness. The priests must change into such linen clothes at the very “gates of the inner court” that is the northern or southern (eastern gates were mostly closed and not used for entering: Ezek 46:1-2) perhaps in the chambers arranged at them for singers Ezek 40:44; plan 3 – C and D, and remove these clothes in the chambers Ezek 42:14 (N and N’). Thus the priests leave the inner court not by the same gates by which they enter, as more definitely required for laymen in Ezek 46:9.

Ezekiel 44:18. They shall have linen turbans upon their heads, and linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causes sweat. Even the “turbans” (headdress, Greek κιδαρεις, Slavonic “cowls,” Hebrew pe’er, but in the Pentateuch migba’a, and for the high priest mitznefet; pe’er – ordinary secular headdress: Ezek 24:17; Isa 3:20 and others) as well as the lower garment (Slavonic “girding,” but Greek περισκελη, Vulgate leminalia, Hebrew miknesa’im, properly short breeches (Josephus Ant. 3:7, 1; in Exod 28:42 Slavonic “breeches”) must be linen for the priests. Further the prophet, apparently, also indicates a basis for such a requirement: “they shall not gird themselves with sweat,” a remark which admits also such a translation: “that which sweats (yaza, but close to zea Gen 3:19 “sweat”) they shall not clothe themselves” (see explanation of verse 17). LXX: “and let them not bind themselves tightly,” βια – they should not tighten themselves in the clothes, which restricts freedom of movement and causes sweating.

Ezekiel 44:19. When they go out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; and they shall put on other garments, that they may not sanctify the people with their garments. The sacred garments must be removed by the priests when they leave for the people, that is, to the outer court, in special sacred chambers, so that by them “they do not sanctify the people” (Russian according to the Targum “not to come into contact with,” but LXX: “that they may not sanctify the people”). The holiness must be so guarded against contact with anything mundane: although by its contact it sanctifies the mundane, this sanctification must be sacrificed for the sake of maintaining its crystal purity. The transcendence of the idea of Deity in Ezekiel is to such a degree. The critical school unjustly sees here an extreme materialization of holiness: this is deep symbolism.

Ezekiel 44:20. And they shall not shave their heads, nor let their locks grow long; they shall keep their hair trimmed. Rules concerning clothing naturally lead to rules about hair, this natural garment of animals. The priests are equally forbidden both to shave the hair, which in antiquity was a sign of mourning (Ezek 7:18; Amos 8:10 and others) and in Egypt – a mark of priests, but in Israel was forbidden by Mosaic law both to priests and to laymen (Deut 14:1), and also to let it grow long, as did Nazirites (among them was Samuel 1 Sam 1:11; for priests this was inconvenient), but they must trim it (kasam, cf. Assyrian kasamu, to cut). Cf. Lev 21:5. Hair was also thought of as the seat of life, which is why Nazirites burned their hair as an offering to God at the end of their vow. The life of the priests of the new temple will be kept within proper bounds, not developing at the whim of nature and not fading away.

Ezekiel 44:21. And no priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. The Mosaic (Lev 10:9) prohibition for priests to consume wine before performing their duties, that is, before entering the inner court, is confirmed. Wine, having widespread use in pagan, in particular Canaanite cults, always did not enjoy the sympathy of true servants of the Lord (Nazirites, Rechabites) and the prophet Ezekiel does not mention it among the sacrificial offerings (Ezek 45:17).

Ezekiel 44:22. They shall not marry a widow, or a divorced woman, but only a virgin of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who was the widow of a priest. The requirements of purity pass gradually to more important sides of a priest’s life: from clothing to hair, then to food and here finally to marital cohabitation. A priest shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only a pure maiden and indeed of the tribe of Israel, because foreign women were considered daughters of other gods (Mal 2:11) with whom the Lord wishes to have no connection. However, a widow of a priest, as sanctified by cohabitation with him, may be taken by a priest as a wife. The requirements of Moses are not so strict: a priest is forbidden to marry only a harlot, disgraced, or divorced woman; and to the high priest – also a widow (Lev 21:7 and following).

Ezekiel 44:23. They shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. The requirements enumerated so far were more external and negative in character. Now are indicated positive and internal requirements, the fulfillment of which more deeply sanctifies the priest. By their very idea, the priest is, first of all, the guardian of holiness on earth, this power by which it stands. Only to him is given true knowledge and feeling of all that is holy, which is the same as what belongs to God and bears His seal on earth. They teach the people to distinguish from it the non-sacred, thereby guarding the idea of Deity from mixing with anything mundane (a phenomenon characterizing paganism), and also to distinguish the clean, that is, that of the earthly which is worthy of approach to God, from the unclean. Cf. Lev 10:10 (and also XI-XVI, XXI); Ezek 22:26; Mal 2:7.

Ezekiel 44:24. In a dispute they shall stand to judge, and they shall judge it according to My ordinances; they shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed feasts, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths. As leaders of religious life, the priests of the new temple must take an active part also in civic and social as well as religio-social life. They a) must form the highest authority in every court, as was commanded also by Moses (Deut 17:8 and following Deut 19:17; Exod 18:25 and following; based on this law Jehoshaphat appointed judges in the cities from priests and Levites – 2 Chr 19:8; cf. 2 Chr 17:7 and following, 2 Chr 19:5 and following; and the judges of Christ were priests: Mark 15:43 and others), “in disputes” (LXX: “in the court of blood”; Hebrew hamma, they, reading dam, blood, to limit the participation of priests in court to the most important, criminal cases) they must be present (Slavonic more accurately: “let them stand,” for although judges sat in court, but pronounced judgment standing) in court, and by My ordinances (instead of human caprice) judge them.” The Torah was always the main source of Hebrew law (Benzinger Archäol. § 44-45) and should be by its idea such, consequently its interpreter should be the supreme judges. “The piling up of expressions shows that this has not been done so far” (Smend). b) Even more the priests should be leaders of religio-social life, most vividly expressed in feasts and Sabbaths: they must “keep My laws (the basic and main) and My statutes (the more particular) concerning all My feasts, and hallow (Ezekiel especially emphasizes) My Sabbaths,” both the one and the other (feasts and Sabbaths) in the era of the new temple will compose for life, of course, more than before. Cf. Ezek 20:12.

Ezekiel 44:25. They shall not go near a dead person to become unclean; only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or for sister who has had no husband may they become unclean. To the requirements mentioned is added yet another, apparently less important, but necessary for completeness and final achievement of his holiness, for the inviolable preservation of it: a priest must not go near (Hebrew bo, Slavonic “they shall not come”; not only touch; in Lev 21:1-3 “to become defiled,” by contact or approach, is not said) a dead person (LXX “over the soul of a man”). Such ordinances were given also by paganism to their priests: about the Flamen of Jupiter it is said in Noct. Attic. P. 15: “never go to the place where corpses are burned and never touch a corpse.” An exception, in accordance with Lev 21:1-3, is made for the closest relatives, although they too are unclean, concerning which it is expressly said: “on account of them they may become unclean to themselves” (Slavonic more accurately and strongly “shall be defiled.” Such is God’s condescension to human weakness. Characteristically, a) from the number of blood relatives of the priest a sister (not a daughter!) who has married is excluded, having entered another family and b) that in this number is not included the wife of the priest, as not standing with them in blood relationship, which sheds light on Ezek 24:15-27: in view of the present law, if Ezekiel was indeed a priest, it was clearer to him why God commanded him not to mourn his wife. To the high priest Lev 21:10 forbids even defilement by such close relatives, and Ezekiel altogether does not speak about the high priest in the vision of the new temple.

Ezekiel 44:26. And after he is cleansed, seven days shall pass for him. Ezekiel 44:27. And when he goes into the inner court, into the sanctuary, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord God. If contact with a corpse, according to Mosaic law, defiles even a layman for 7 days, and for his cleansing certain rites are required: sprinkling on the 3rd and 7th day with cleansing water mixed with the ash of a red heifer (Num 19:11 and following), then for a priest of the new temple such cleansing is not enough: after the completion of it, this cleansing, not described here by the prophet as well known to all, the priest is still for 7 days considered unclean and is not admitted to the inner court for service in the sanctuary (LXX so render the Hebrew bahodesh, Russian “for service in the sanctuary”). Through these 7 days the priest who became unclean still must offer a sin offering, although here the sin was apparently not only completely natural and excusable, but also permitted by the law. Such cleansing and holiness does service to God in the new temple demand! In verse 26 instead of “after cleansing” it is proposed (Cornill) to read “after defiling,” thus bringing the law into correspondence with Num 19:11. Those attributing the origin of parts of the Pentateuch to the post-captivity era see in the present passage an indication of the gradual development of laws concerning defilement by a corpse: the seven-day uncleanness from contact with a corpse for a priest (cf. Lev 21:1-4) is extended to everyone in Num 19:11.

Ezekiel 44:28. And this shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession. Complete holiness of the priests, their belonging solely to God, would be hindered not only by the defilements enumerated, but even by so innocent a thing as property, especially so valuable property as land. Their inheritance (“as for their inheritance” – emphasizes the thought) (the expression literally from Num 18:20; Deut 18:1) is the Lord Himself (what an honorable and advantageous replacement for land!), in the nearest sense, that which belongs to Him, the sacrificial portions and the like, enumerated in verses 29 and 30. The priests (and as seen from the projected division of land in chapters XLV and XLVII, also the Levites) shall not have possessions in Israel. Although they are given land plots in Ezek 45:1-5 (perhaps only homesteads), yet the entire tribe of Levi is not given a defined territory.

Ezekiel 44:29. They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. Holiness is communicated to the priests also through their food, which consists entirely of the greatest sanctities. The priests shall have: 1) a bloodless sacrifice (minha) of bread and certain food products, which as a type of the bloodless sacrifice and progenitor of the holiest bread of presence, here thus is first among the greatest sanctities (Lev 2:3 and following); 2) sin offerings and trespass offerings, which may have replaced the original redemption in the tabernacle for sins and therefore naturally and entirely belong to the priests (Lev 6:19-22; Num 18:9); this, as the greatest sanctity, could be eaten only in the temple chambers (Ezek 42:13); 3) the devoted, herem, that is, what is set apart for God without the right of redemption (Lev 27:28) and becoming, as the exclusive property of God, an inviolable sanctity, even if it was sinful (captured cities. Lev 27:21; Num 18:14). – “Theirs,” perhaps indicates the dispute over the rights of priests to the latter (the devoted).

Ezekiel 44:30. And the first of all the firstfruits of every kind and every offering of every kind from all your offerings shall belong to the priests; you shall also give to the priest the first of your ground meal, that a blessing may rest upon your house. The means of support enumerated are more sacred than abundant. Now are indicated more substantial means of support of the priests. Such are: a) “The first of the fruits,” literally “the best” (reshit, first – both in origin and in quality) of the firstborn (bikkurim). The firstfruits (bikkurim), and according to Mosaic law were to be brought to the sanctuary, as are the “offerings” and “ground meal” mentioned further, and they were consumed by those who brought them together with priests and the poor: Exod 23:16 and others; but according to Num 18:12 and Nehem 10:36 they seem to go entirely to the priest; so here: a strengthening of the original law. LXX: “the firstfruits (απαρχαι – properly the very firstfruits) and the firstborn” (πρωτοτοκα), meaning apparently under the latter livestock, but under the former fruits; but bikkurim is always only about fruits and breads, but not about livestock; about the firstborn of livestock Ezekiel for some reason does not speak; but Exod 22:30 and others demand this offering to the priests. b) Offerings – temura, properly raised (by the rite of elevation performed on them); LXX: “shares,” αφαιρεματα, separated, that is, for the Lord, – voluntary offerings in contrast to the former as obligatory by law, c) The first (Hebrew also reshit) of the ground meal (that is, groats, flour; Hebrew arisa, cf. Talmud. arsan, barley groats), but Targum Pesh. here and LXX in Num 15:20 “dough”; LXX in Nehem 10:38 “bread,” here: πρωτογεννηματα, but Slavonic “firstfruits of grain.” Passing through the millstones, bread, of which a first offering has already been given to the priest, becomes a new kind of product and from it again a first offering is appointed to the priest, that is, to the Lord. This obligation is heavier than the preceding ones (corresponding to the tithes of Moses), therefore for it a special blessing of God is promised on the house, capable of amply making up for the loss incurred for the sake of the Lord; cf. Mal 3:10.

Ezekiel 44:31. The priests shall not eat anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by beasts. To the positive requirement concerning the sustenance of the priests is added the negative: the prohibition to eat nevela, carrion, dead things and trefah, what is torn – equally from both birds and beasts. Both are forbidden also to all Israelites – the first Exod 22:31, the second Deut 14:21, but not as strictly as for priests: according to Lev 17:15 and Lev 11:39 one who eats this only becomes unclean until evening; consequently, to the layman such unintentional defilement by such food is considered forgivable. But the special holiness of the priest demands, according to Ezekiel, as well as according to Moses (Lev 22:8), unconditional protection.