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NOTES for Eze 47:1-9

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1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ancles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
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In the biblical books the Kingdom is often described as an oasis in the desert, with a river of living water flowing through it and green trees along its banks. This image is no accident. In ancient times springs and fountains were regarded as manifestations of the supernatural power through which life becomes possible; hence the pagans' deification of springs and fountains. The ancients considered them manifestations of this power because they were struck by the very fact of their continual renewal: the water in a spring was always fresh and never ran out. It emerged from the mysterious depths of the earth and brought life to everything it touched.

Ever renewing itself, a spring never grows old. Behind this image the ancients saw a mystery of the universe, the mystery of the source of life that must be hidden somewhere within it. A Yahwist, of course, saw the source of life not in the world or in creation, but in its Creator. Yet Yahwism retained the image of a spring from which a stream of living water wells up as a symbol of eternal life that is ceaselessly renewed. In Ezekiel's vision, this spring lies beneath the foundation of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Not Solomon's Temple, for it had already been destroyed when the prophet was allowed to see what he saw, but another, new Temple, which the Jewish returnees from exile would in due course build in the land of their ancestors. At first glance, the meaning of Ezekiel's vision is perfectly clear: it is God's presence dwelling in the Temple that is the source of life for the people of God as they gather once more in the land of their ancestors. But there is more: the stream flowing from beneath the Temple's foundation becomes so deep that its waters seem sufficient for the whole earth.

Clearly this is an image of the Kingdom beginning in Jerusalem and then spreading over all the earth. It begins at the place God chose for Himself as the place of His presence, from which the voice of the Messiah He has sent will be heard. It then spreads throughout the world, throughout the earth, throughout the universe. And it will all begin when a comparatively small community of returnees comes back to the land of its ancestors and builds a new Temple where the one destroyed by the Babylonian army had stood, thereby taking the first step towards the Messiah and the Kingdom.

Other notes

 
For Eze 47:1-48:35
1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ancles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
15 And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.
17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.
18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.
19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.
20 The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
1 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.
11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
15 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.
16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.
31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
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Once again we see how concrete details of the reality mentioned in the prophecy become details of a parable. The stream of living water flowing from beneath the temple threshold is the very living water of which Christ will speak several centuries later and which...  Read more

Once again we see how concrete details of the reality mentioned in the prophecy become details of a parable. The stream of living water flowing from beneath the temple threshold is the very living water of which Christ will speak several centuries later and which will restore the earthly waters now unfit to drink. The waters of the Dead Sea remind us of the grievous sin that disfigured the face of the earth, for they stretch over Sodom and Gomorrah, once a focus of sinfulness and made to taste its consequences. But just as the stream of living water will change the composition of the Dead Sea, so the consequences of the evil committed and still being committed by people will be healed and overcome by the Lord.

Then we see the command to apportion land to foreigners on equal terms with the Israelites, which may cause bewilderment. We have just read other instructions concerning them and recalled the separation from foreigners that Ezra would organize after a period brief by historical standards. Yet we will understand that there is no contradiction if we see this separation as a temporary measure conditioned by particular circumstances, rather than as a final and absolute law intended for all time.

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For Eze 47:1-48:35
1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ancles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
15 And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.
17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.
18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.
19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.
20 The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
1 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.
11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
15 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.
16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.
31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
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As in the Pentateuch, in the concluding chapters of his book the prophet Ezekiel describes the ordering of the Holy Land...  Read more

As in the Pentateuch, in the concluding chapters of his book the prophet Ezekiel describes the ordering of the Holy Land and the distribution of land among the tribes of Israel. But in this ‘technical’ text we see several details of exceptional importance. As in the preceding chapters, these details emphasise that the prophet is speaking of something more than a merely earthly arrangement. Apocalyptic notes sound in his words, combined in a remarkable way with a ‘land registry plan’ for the renewed people of God.

Chapter 47 begins with a prophecy about a stream flowing from beneath the threshold of the Temple. There is no actual counterpart to it on the Temple Mount in the earthly Jerusalem, and so the prophet’s description should be understood as a symbol of a spiritual reality. Ezekiel says that this stream flowing from the House of God waters the whole earth and gives life to everything through which it flows. Everything flourishes along its banks, its waters teem with fish, and even the waters of the sea into which it flows become ‘healthy’, fit to drink. These are the colours in which the prophets always portray the earth transformed on the day when the Almighty takes up His reign, the day of His victory over sin and death.

In the wider biblical context, Ezekiel’s stream should be compared with the water that the Lord Jesus Christ gives, which becomes in us ‘a spring of water welling up to eternal life’ (Jn 4:14). In a mysterious way, Ezekiel sees and proclaims to us those ‘rivers of living water’ which, according to Christ’s words, fill to overflowing those who believe in Him (Jn 7:38). In Ezekiel’s vision this life-giving water flows from the Temple, where God is present; within the prophet’s book and the Old Testament as a whole, it is understood as a symbol of God’s life-giving grace, a symbol of the Spirit through whom human hearts are changed from stone to flesh. In the New Testament, John the Evangelist reveals to us that this is not a matter of a symbol: it is the very water that flows from the pierced heart of the Son of God (Jn 19:34). And the same John the Evangelist bears witness in Revelation to this ‘river of the water of life’, ‘flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb’ (Rev 22:1).

Going on to describe the division of the land among the tribes of Israel, Ezekiel relates it to what should have taken place under the Sinai covenant, which Israel broke. Thus we see that in the Jerusalem that has been saved and renewed, the Sinai covenant finds its fulfilment. What did not come about because of human unfaithfulness and sin will nevertheless be fulfilled when God Himself comes to save His people and establish a New Covenant. Once again, we cannot help recalling the words of the Lord Jesus, who came ‘not to abolish the law, but to fulfil it’ (Mt 5:17). The Lord speaks of the law which, because of our sins, we could not fulfil without Christ and without the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; these words of His are also closely linked to Ezekiel’s prophecy.

In his prophecies about the lands and peoples neighbouring Israel, Ezekiel said that the Creator’s plan of salvation extended to them as well. At the end of chapter 47, this thought is developed in a way that is astonishing for the Old Testament. Speaking of the division of the land, the prophet proclaims God’s will that foreigners living among the chosen people should be counted as equals of the native inhabitants of the Holy Land and should also receive an allotment of land. These words stand in sharp contrast to the Pentateuch’s commands about separation from other peoples. This too is a detail that undoubtedly belongs to the Kingdom of the age to come for which we hope: even when Israel returns from the Babylonian captivity, Ezra and Nehemiah continue, in the spirit of the Pentateuch, to seek separation from foreigners. The time of unity of all people before God will come not upon the return from captivity, but at the end of time. Only then, with the coming of Christ, will what Ezekiel speaks of here be fulfilled in the Church of the New Covenant, as will what is spoken of after him by Second Isaiah (Is 60:3) and Zechariah (Zec 8:20–23).

In the final chapter, chapter 48, Ezekiel describes in detail how the land of Israel is to be divided. What matters fundamentally to him here is that this division of the land is based not on the tribes’ good fortune or strength, but on the will of the Sovereign of heaven and earth. It is not a matter of feeble human ‘social justice’, but of God’s righteousness. Compared with the former, the latter is as life-giving as the waters of the stream flowing from the Temple are in comparison with the bitter waters of the Dead Sea. At the centre of the entire arrangement of the land is the Temple’s land; the prince is allotted land alongside the tribes of Israel. Clearly, this decisively restricts the scope of the prince’s power and his opportunities for arbitrary rule. The central position of the House of God, the place where the Glory of the Lord is present in the world, is emphasised again in the book’s final words, where the prophet speaks of Jerusalem’s gates, open to everyone. This openness and this Presence give a new meaning to the existence of God’s people and of Jerusalem, expressed in its new name: ‘The Lord is there’.

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