Ezekiel 47:1

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 47:1 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And he brought me back 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 was toward the east;) and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And he brought me back 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 was toward the east;) and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.
Ezekiel 47:1 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 47

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1And he brought me back 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 was toward the east;) and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house, &c.] The door of the temple, even of the holy of holies; hither the prophet is said to be brought again, or “brought back”f840; for he was last in the corners of the outward court, viewing the kitchens or boiling places of the ministers; but now he was brought back into the inner court, and to the door that led into the holiest of all: and, behold! for it was matter of admiration, as well as of observation and attention: waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; this is a new thing, to which there was nothing like it, either in the first or second temple. Ariateasf841 indeed relates what he himself saw, “a…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“VISION OF THE TEMPLE WATERS. BORDERS AND DIVISION OF THE LAND. (Eze. 47:1-23) waters--So Rev 22:1, represents "the water of life as proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." His throne was set up in the temple at Jerusalem (Eze 43:7). Thence it is to flow over the earth (Joe 3:18; Zac 13:1; Zac 14:8). Messiah is the temple and the door; from His pierced side flow the living waters, ever increasing, both in the individual believer and in the heart. The fountains in the vicinity of Moriah suggested the image here. The waters flow eastward, that is, towards the Kedron, and thence towards the Jordan, and so along the Ghor into the Dead Sea. The main point in the picture is the rapid…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The vision of the waters; or, the blessings which flow from this source to animate and refresh all the inhabitants of the earth. Compare Isaiah 44:8...; Joel 3:18. Ezekiel’s description is adopted and modifled by Zechariah and in Rev. (compare the marginal references) Hebrew tradition speaks of a spring of water, named Etham, said to be identical with the well-waters of Nephtoah Joshua 18:15, on the west of the temple, whose waters were conducted by pipes into the temple-courts for the uses needed in the ministration of the priests. The waters of Shiloah Psalms 46:4; Isaiah 8:6 flowed from the rocks beneath the temple-hill. It is quite in the manner of Ezekiel’s vision to start from an…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Eastward - The fountain lay to the west, the conduit pipes were laid to bring the water to the temple, and so must run eastward, and perhaps one main pipe might be laid under the east - gate of the temple. The right side - On the south - side of the temple. Ezekiel 47:2”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“47:1-12 Once the Temple was restored to its central place among God’s people, its beneficial influence, pictured here as a river, would spread outward, transforming death to life. 47:1 The source of the stream was within the Temple. • to the right of the altar on its south side: This location in Solomon’s Temple was occupied by the Sea, a massive bronze pool that provided the water needed for cleansing (1 Kgs 7:23, 39). It also symbolized the subjugation of the forces of chaos (often represented by the sea) in the ordered cosmos of the Temple. In Ezekiel’s vision, the static Sea had been transformed into a dynamic, life-giving river (cp. Gen 2:10-14; Ps 46).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“the door: Eze 41:2, Eze 41:23-26 waters issued: Solomon's temple and the second temple were doubtless well supplied with water, probably conveyed there by means of pipes; but these waters flowed from the temple, not as a common sewer, but as a fertilizing river. A fountain producing abundance of water was not in the temple, and could not be there on the top of such a hill; and consequently these waters, as well as those spoken of by Joel and Zechariah, must be understood figuratively and typically. These waters doubtless were an emblem of the "gospel preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven;" and their gradual rise beautifully represents it progress, from small beginnings to an…”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“The River of Water of Life When Jehovah shall have judged all the heathen in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and shall dwell as King of His people upon Zion His holy mountain, then will the mountains trickle with new wine, and the hills run with milk, and all the brooks of Judah flow with water; and a spring will proceed from the house of Jehovah, and water the Acacia valley. With these figures Joel (Joel 4:18) has already described the river of salvation, which the Lord would cause to flow to His congregation in the time when the kingdom of God shall be perfected. This picture of the Messianic salvation shapes itself in the case of our prophet into the magnificent vision contained in the section…”
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Sources and verification