And these are the names of the tribes From the north end along the way of Hethlon, as one entereth into Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward unto near Hamath -- the east and west side [belonging] to him -- shall Dan have one [portion].
Ezekiel's last chapter opens with names, not measurements: each tribe gets one strip of land, and the list starts in the far north with Dan. Did any stretch of Israel's history ever look like this, and why does Dan come first?
Dan heads the list and sits at the top of the land — a place Dan had never held. One writer walks through the tribes to show that no period of Israel's history fits:
It must be clear to every fair mind that the distribution of the tribes in the land, from Joshua to the ruin of the kingdom, is completely different from what is predicted here. And no one since can point to anything that matches the prophecy. So Dan is in the extreme north, not Naphtali, as in the old days; next Asher, and only then Naphtali. Again Manasseh, instead of being split by the Jordan, is altogether like the other tribes, with Ephraim to the south. Reuben is no longer east of the Jordan but comes next, and Judah lies just before the holy portion.
What does "one portion" look like on the ground? The same writer lays out the whole picture of the coming kingdom:
In the millennial kingdom, the tribal inheritances will run as parallel strips of land, eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan. The whole land from north to south will consist of twelve belt-like portions. Near Jerusalem these are divided by Jehovah's portion, called the holy oblation or heave-offering. It will be for the prince, the priests and the Levites, with the sanctuary in the middle. In allotting the land among the tribes, Jehovah said, "Joseph shall have two portions," that is, one for Manasseh and one for Ephraim. Levi is not counted among the twelve, but has his share in the sacred heave-offering of land devoted to Jehovah's service.
Dan is missing from other lists of the tribes. Here he heads the list, and that settles what his absence elsewhere cannot mean:
This is not because the tribe will have no share in the future division and blessing. Ezekiel 48 lists it first of all, and farthest north. Early writers held a tradition, based on Genesis 49:17, that the omission was because antichrist would come from this tribe. Dan was certainly the first tribe to approve idolatry.
Another writer ties Dan's far-northern strip to what Jacob said about him long before:
The patriarch's first words about Dan imply a low place — if not the lowest place. His portion in Ezekiel says the same: the extreme northern border of the land. He keeps his place as part of the nation, and that is all.
Why is Dan at the far edge while Judah lies close in?
Here the temple and the city, the priests, Levi, and the Prince form the centre of the land. Their position decides the order of the tribes... Judah and Benjamin, the "Lawgiver" and the "Son of my right hand," occupy the places closest to the sanctuary, to the north and to the south. Here it is a matter of government, and they are its representatives... Dan, the last tribe to the north, is as far as possible from the sanctuary. He once again occupies the place he has always held.
The chapter has a temple, priests and land shared out as Joshua once shared it. That rules out reading it as a picture of heaven:
As in the days of Joshua, the land was divided by lot; so it will be in the day when a greater than Joshua takes the kingdom. The holy portion is a completely new feature of this redistribution of Israel, when He comes whose right is the crown, and whose first care is the sanctuary of Jehovah. This is not a question of heaven, or of the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God. It is a question of the earth and the land. The temple is as prominent here as it is absent in Revelation 21.
Twelve names assume twelve peoples still in existence. What about the tribes carried away long ago?
As far as is known they never returned... as a body they are still commonly regarded as 'the Lost Tribes.' God knows where to find them when His set time of blessing arrives. The twelve tribes certainly exist, and remnants of them will come into the land again.
- Names. The chapter starts with names because every tribe, Dan included, keeps a share in the coming kingdom. God drops none of them.
- Portions. Each name gets one portion — a single belt of land running east to west, with Joseph counted twice and Levi provided for in the holy portion.
- Order. The sanctuary at the centre fixes each tribe's place, so Judah and Benjamin lie nearest and Dan farthest north.
- Earth. Temple, priests, prince and measured land mark this out as the future of Israel in the land, not a picture of heaven.
- Return. Tribes carried away long ago look lost to us, but God knows where to find them when His time of blessing comes.
And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, Asher one.
Ezekiel's book closes with a map: tribal portions laid out from the far north of the land southward, with Asher placed just under Dan. When was this ever true, why is Asher up there, and what decides how near a tribe sits to God's house?
The order here does not match Israel's history at any point. One commentator lays the two side by side and shows how far apart they are:
Any fair mind must see it. The way the tribes were spread through the land, from Joshua's day to the collapse of the kingdom, is wholly different from what this prophecy predicts. And no one can point to anything like it since. So Dan is in the far north, not Naphtali as in the old days; next Asher, and only then Naphtali. Again Manasseh is not split by the Jordan, but is like all the other tribes, and Reuben is no longer east of the Jordan...
The phrase "from the east side to the west" describes the shape of every portion in this list. What does that look like on the ground?
The end of the book of Ezekiel describes a fresh division of the land among the twelve tribes of Israel. In the kingdom to come, each tribe's inheritance will be a parallel strip of land. Each strip runs eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan. The whole land from north to south will consist of twelve belt-like portions. Near Jerusalem, the Lord's own portion divides them — the holy offering. It will be for the prince, the priests and the Levites, with the sanctuary in the middle.
Each tribe receives "one portion." Who decided which one?
When the land is "divided by lot" in a future day, that really means the land will be "allotted." God Himself has fixed the place of each of the twelve tribes.
Asher is named second because Dan comes first. Dan at the head of this list is the surprise of the chapter:
When the tribes are listed in Revelation 7 as the servants of God, Dan is left out. Idolatry is the sin that hatches all other sins in its nest... Still, such is the grace of God! In Ezekiel's prophecy of the restoration of the tribes, the question is not service but mercy. So Dan is the first named and the first provided for — the worst sinner of all. Yet how fitting that he is the least near to the sanctuary.
Coming early in the list is not the same as sitting near the centre. One writer reads the whole arrangement by distance from the temple:
Here the temple and the city, the priests, Levi, and the Prince form the centre of the land. Their position settles the order of the tribes... Notice that the sons of the lawful wives are closest to the sanctuary, and the sons of the servant women at the furthest edges. Judah and Benjamin — the "Lawgiver" and the "Son of my right hand" — hold the places nearest the sanctuary, to the north and to the south. Here the matter is government, and they represent it... Dan, the last tribe to the north, stands as far from the sanctuary as possible... This is perhaps why Asher, who on a symmetrical plan should be found after Gad to the south, is added to the north instead. That makes Dan's distance stand out even more.
Asher's name itself points to what this redrawn land will feel like for the people living in it:
Asher was Zilpah's second son, and his name means "happy." The prophecy about him points to the rich provision God will make for the nation of Israel — even "royal dainties" — when they are restored to their land in the millennium. What a contrast to their years of deprivation and desolation!
- Future. This map matches no period of Israel's past. Dan heads the list, Asher follows, Naphtali comes third.
- Measured. Every tribe receives a strip running east to west, one portion each, laid out by God rather than left to chance.
- Merciful. Revelation 7 leaves Dan out of God's servants. Here the question is mercy, not service — so Dan comes first.
- Ordered. Nearness to the sanctuary marks rank, not a high place in the list. The sons of the wives sit close in; the sons of the servant women sit at the edges. Asher's move to the north pushes Dan furthest of all.
- Happy. Asher's name means happy. His portion in that day speaks of rich provision after long desolation.
And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, Naphtali one.
Ezekiel's closing vision hands out the land tribe by tribe. Here Naphtali gets its share, next to Asher, running clean across the country from east to west. The wording is flat and legal. Yet the map it draws matches nothing in Israel's past. So when, and for whom, is this allotment meant?
The simplest test is to lay this chapter beside Israel's actual settlement of the land. One writer does that and finds the two do not match:
Any fair mind must see this. The way the tribes were spread through the land, from Joshua to the ruin of the kingdom, is completely different from what is predicted here. And no one can point to anything since that matches the prophecy. So Dan is in the far north, not Naphtali, as it was of old; next Asher, and only then Naphtali.
The phrase "from the east side to the west" describes the shape of every tribe's holding. Each one is a band stretching the full width of the country:
The end of the book of Ezekiel describes a fresh division of the land among the twelve tribes of Israel (Ezek. 47:13 – 48:35). In the millennial kingdom, the tribal inheritances will form parallel strips of land, running east from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan. From north to south the whole land will consist of twelve belt-like portions. Near Jerusalem these are divided by Jehovah's portion, called the holy oblation or heave-offering. It will be for the prince, the priests and the Levites, with the sanctuary in the middle. Of this allotment Jehovah said, "Joseph shall have two portions" (Ezek. 47:13), that is, one for Manasseh and one for Ephraim. Levi is not counted with the twelve, but has his share in the holy heave-offering, land devoted to Jehovah's service.
Naphtali's neighbours are named, not negotiated. The phrase "divided by lot" sounds like chance. One writer explains what it really means here:
The land being "divided by lot" in a future day means instead that the land will be "allotted." God Himself has directed where each of the twelve tribes will live.
This chapter measures every tribe's place from one fixed point at the centre. Naphtali's spot in the far north fits a pattern:
Here the temple and the city, the priests, Levi, and the Prince form the centre of the land. Their position settles the order of the tribes. Their places start from both sides of this centre and run north and south. Notice that the sons of the lawful wives are closest to the sanctuary, and the sons of the maidservants at the farthest edges. Judah and Benjamin, the "Lawgiver" and the "Son of my right hand," take the places nearest the sanctuary, to the north and to the south. The subject here is government, and they represent it... Then come the sons of the maidservants. Gad, the son of Zilpah, to the south has, as usual, a place somewhat apart. He corresponds to Naphtali, son of Bilhah, in the north.
The name Naphtali carries a story. One writer reads it as a struggle already finished:
This brings us to Naphtali, which means "my wrestling." The idea is not that the wrestling is still going on. It has reached its end in victory, and that brings freedom. It expresses the blessedness of the new place a man now finds himself in. Moses says of Naphtali, "satisfied with favor, and full of the blessing of the LORD." So he becomes like "a doe let loose," with all fear removed and his tongue set free to speak good words.
A list of borders looks like an odd way to end a book of prophecy. But the last thing named is God's presence in the city, and everything has been building toward it:
This then is the last and chief glory — the presence of Jehovah in the city of His choice. In this Israel will boast above all their privileges, and rightly, for it is the completion and crown of all. What a bright end to their long wanderings and their many sorrows!
- Fresh map. Naphtali sits third from the north, after Dan and Asher. That order matches no period of Israel's history, so the vision looks forward, not back.
- Fresh measure. Every tribe gets one strip running the full width of the land, from sea to river. The holy portion and sanctuary sit in the middle.
- Fresh hand. The boundaries are not left to chance; God Himself appoints where each tribe will live.
- Fresh centre. Nearness to the sanctuary sets each tribe's place, and Naphtali, son of a maidservant, still holds a real share at the northern edge.
- Fresh name. "My wrestling" ends in victory. The struggling tribe rests satisfied with favor, in a land whose centre is the presence of God.
And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, Manasseh one.
Ezekiel's final vision closes with a map rather than a sermon. God measures out the land tribe by tribe, and this verse gives Manasseh one portion beside Naphtali's — so why is every name written down one by one?
The land is cut into parallel bands, and Manasseh's portion is one of them. This arrangement explains why Joseph's two sons each appear as a tribe in this list, and why Levi does not:
The close of the Book of Ezekiel describes a fresh division of the land among the twelve tribes of Israel. In the millennial kingdom, each tribe's inheritance will be a strip of land. The strips lie side by side, running east from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan... When the land was shared out among the tribes, Jehovah said, "Joseph shall have two portions," that is, one for Manasseh and one for Ephraim. Levi is not counted among the twelve. His share is in the sacred offering of land set apart for Jehovah's service. Jehovah leaves out the land of Gilead and Bashan, east of the Jordan. The Reubenites, the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh settled there first. These tribes made a mistake in settling outside the Holy Land too early. Their error will be put right when the millennial kingdom is set up.
That last line matters for verse 4. Manasseh was the tribe split in two by the Jordan, half settling short of the land. Here he has one portion, whole.
Scripture speaks of the land being "divided by lot." One writer explains what that phrase means for this future division:
'Divided by lot' in a future day means rather that the land will be 'allotted,' because God Himself has directed where each of the twelve tribes will be placed.
Manasseh does not land beside Naphtali by accident. The border is God's decision.
One writer, comparing the tribe lists across Scripture, finds that the names run in pairs:
In reality the tribes are arranged in pairs, as the apostles are... Third, Naphtali and Manasseh, linked in the list of Ezekiel 48:4.
So the two names in verse 4 form a set, not a random sequence.
The temple decides the sequence. One writer traces the pattern:
Here the temple and the city, the priests, Levi, and the Prince form the centre of the land. Their position decides the order of the tribes... Notice that the sons of Jacob's wives are closest to the sanctuary, and the sons of the servant women are at the far ends. Judah and Benjamin, the "Lawgiver" and the "Son of my right hand," have the places closest to the sanctuary, to the north and to the south, because here it is a matter of government, which they represent. Issachar and Zebulun, sons of Leah, to the south, match Manasseh and Ephraim, sons of Rachel, to the north. Ephraim is nearer the sanctuary than Manasseh.
So Manasseh sits with the sons of Jacob's wives, nearer the sanctuary than the tribes at the far ends.
Ten of the tribes named here dropped out of sight long ago. That does not weaken the promise:
No one knows clearly or certainly where the ten tribes are; and it does not seem to be anyone's business to search for them in advance. We may leave them in the obscurity that God has put them in. We know, if we believe His word, that He has preserved the scattered remnant of the two tribes. Just as surely, He will bring the descendants of the ten out of their hiding place... Every letter of the promises will be accomplished. Scripture cannot be broken.
One part of the land goes to no tribe at all. It is set apart for the sanctuary, and it is new to this division:
This set-apart portion is a wholly new feature of Israel's fresh division of the land. It belongs to the time when He comes whose right is the crown, and whose first care is the sanctuary of Jehovah... For the question here is not heaven, nor the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God. The question is the earth and the land.
- Promise. God has not lost track of a single tribe on this list, Manasseh included; "every letter of the promises will be accomplished."
- Precision. The portions are measured strips running east to west. Joseph is counted twice, as Manasseh and Ephraim, and Levi's share lies in the land set apart for Jehovah.
- Placement. No tribe picks its own ground. God Himself has directed where each of the twelve will be placed, and nearness to the sanctuary sets the order.
- Repair. Half of Manasseh once settled outside the land. That old mistake is put right here: each tribe holds one whole portion.
- Presence. All this measuring circles one centre — the sanctuary of Jehovah — The coming King's first care is that sanctuary, and the scene is the earth and the land, not heaven.
And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, Ephraim one.
The closing chapters of Ezekiel map a future Israel, giving each tribe a strip of land from the eastern border to the sea. Verse 5 sets Ephraim beside Manasseh, which raises two questions: why is Joseph's son a tribe, and why does this map match nothing in Israel's past?
The order of the tribes here does not match the map of Joshua's day, or of the years of the kingdom. One writer lists the differences. The change to Manasseh and Ephraim is one of them.
It must be clear to every fair-minded person that the way the tribes held the land, from Joshua to the ruin of the kingdom, is wholly different from what this prophecy predicts. And no one can point to anything matching the prophecy since. So Dan is in the far north, not Naphtali, as of old; next Asher, and only then Naphtali. Again, the Jordan no longer splits Manasseh: it is just like the other tribes, with Ephraim to the south. Reuben is no longer east of the Jordan but follows next, and Judah comes just before the holy offering.
Ephraim was Joseph's son, not Jacob's. One writer explains what puts him on the list, and how the tribes still number twelve.
We may note that Joseph is given two portions — Manasseh and Ephraim. This fulfils Genesis 48:5-6. According to 1 Chronicles 5:1, the birthright that Reuben forfeited went to the sons of Joseph. Since Joseph has two portions, the number of the tribes stays twelve, though Levi is not counted: his inheritance is part of the holy offering.
The later record of Joseph's sons was dark. One writer shows why their portion still stands.
The counsels of God stand. Joseph must have his portion, whatever the dark history of his sons in the meantime. The claim of flesh failed, and Reuben forfeited his birthright. But the original gift of grace did not fail.
Ephraim's name stood for the house of Israel, split from Judah after Solomon died. Here Ephraim and Judah each hold a portion in one land. Ezekiel had already been given this promise, in the sign of the two sticks.
The Lord commands him to take two sticks. On one he is to write the name of Judah and his companions. On the other he is to write the name of Ephraim, son of Joseph, and all the house of Israel — that is, the rest of the tribes, which split into two kingdoms after the death of Solomon. He is then to tell the children of Israel that at the time of the redemption the kingdoms will be united, never to be divided again.
Each tribe here receives "one portion." One writer explains who decides where each portion falls.
The land being "divided by lot" in a future day means instead that the land will be "allotted." God has Himself directed where each of the twelve tribes will be placed.
Ephraim's name means fruitfulness. One writer places it in a cycle of blessing, and reads Ephraim through his father Joseph.
Is it any wonder that Ephraim, "fruitfulness," comes next? It must, and it always does, in such a cycle of blessing as we are considering. Manasseh and Ephraim are the sons of Joseph, so we may turn to what is said of him to learn more fully what belongs to them (Genesis 49:22-26; Deuteronomy 33:13-17). Christ is clearly before us in Joseph. And what is the fruit-bearing of the divine life in man but being conformed to His image, changed from glory to glory by the power and energy of the Spirit's transforming work?
- Portion forfeited. Reuben lost the birthright, and it passed to Joseph's sons. That is why Ephraim stands in this list at all.
- Portion granted. Ephraim's share survives a dark history, because it rests on an original gift of grace.
- Portion re-drawn. The map is unlike anything in Israel's past: Manasseh is no longer split by the Jordan, and Ephraim lies to its south.
- Portion shared. Ephraim stood for the kingdom split off from Judah. Here both hold a portion in one land, never to be divided again.
- Portion fruitful. The name means fruitfulness. One writer reads it as the life shaped into Christ's image by the Spirit's work.
And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, Reuben one.
Ezekiel 48:6 gives Reuben one strip of land, south of Ephraim and north of Judah, running the full width from the eastern border to the sea. Two questions open it up: why is the firstborn placed sixth, and why is he on the wrong side of the Jordan?
The tribes settled in Canaan before, but never like this. One commentator sets the old map beside this one, and Reuben's move is one of the clearest changes:
Every fair mind must see this: the way the tribes were spread through the land, from Joshua to the ruin of the kingdom, is completely different from what is predicted here. Nothing matching this prophecy can be pointed to since... Manasseh is no longer divided by the Jordan. It is just like the other tribes, with Ephraim to the south. Reuben is no longer east of the Jordan but comes next in order, and Judah lies right before the holy portion.
Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh once settled east of the Jordan, outside the land God had marked out. Ezekiel's allotment quietly undoes that choice in the coming kingdom, when Christ reigns over the earth:
Jehovah does not include the land of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan. The Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh first occupied it (Joshua 22). These tribes made a mistake at the start in seeking a premature settlement outside the Holy Land. Their error will be put right when the millennial kingdom comes.
Reuben was Jacob's firstborn, but his own sin cost him the birthright. Yet he still has a portion here. The reason does not lie in him:
God's purposes stand. Joseph must have his portion, whatever the dark history of his sons in the meantime. The claim of the flesh failed, and Reuben forfeited his birthright. But the original gift of grace did not fail.
The order of the strips is not random, and it is not by age. The temple at the centre fixes the order, and that is why the firstborn is not first:
Here the temple and the city, the priests, Levi, and the Prince form the centre of the land, and their position determines the order of the tribes... The sons of the lawful wives are closest to the sanctuary, and the sons of the maidservants at the farthest edges. Judah and Benjamin, the "Lawgiver" and the "Son of my right hand," take the places nearest the sanctuary, to the north and to the south. Here it is a matter of government, and they are its representatives. Then follow, on one side and the other, Reuben and Simeon, who in this way lose their rights according to nature.
Some read these chapters as a picture of heaven. One commentator draws a firm line:
This is not about heaven, or about the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God. It is about the earth and the land. The temple stands out here as sharply as it is missing in Revelation 21. So the heavenly city of Revelation has no priests or Levites, no feasts or sacrifices, and could not have them — no more than Christianity has them now.
Reuben is one of the tribes lost to history. His name in this list is a promise that God has not lost count:
As far as anyone knows they never returned, though no doubt some people found their way back in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah... but as a body they are still commonly called 'the Lost Tribes.' God knows where to find them when His set time of blessing arrives. The twelve tribes certainly exist, and remnants of them will come into the land again.
One writer draws a lesson from the shape of the strips themselves:
In Ezekiel 48 the land is divided among the tribes from east to west. So each portion points across the Jordan. The tribe's seat is in the land, with a dependency, it seems, on the other side of the river. How perfectly the earthly pictures the heavenly here! Our portion is in heaven. Yet in the coming day we will reign with Christ over the earth, and that makes our allotments stretch across the river in the very same way.
- Forfeited. Reuben lost the birthright by his own sin. His place here, sixth from the north and behind younger brothers, keeps that loss in view.
- Kept. What he still holds is the gift of grace, which his failure never cancelled.
- Relocated. The new map corrects his premature choice of land east of the Jordan. His strip now lies inside the land God promised.
- Measured. Nearness on this map starts at the sanctuary, not at birth order. Nature's rights give way.
- Guaranteed. God names a tribe long lost to history in a division that has never yet happened. So the division is still to come — on earth, in the land, under Christ's reign.
And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, Judah one.
Ezekiel's final vision ends with a map. It cuts the land of Israel into parallel bands, one band for each tribe, in order from north to south. Judah's band comes seventh, the last before the holy strip where the temple stands. Why does Judah sit here? Why is Reuben now his neighbour? And is this real geography at all?
Judah's "one portion" is one band among twelve. One centre sets the order of them all.
Ezekiel 48 describes how the land of Israel will be shared out among the various tribes. It falls into rectangular areas, or strips, starting with Dan in the north and ending with Gad in the south. Towards the centre there will be an area for the Levites and the princes, with seven tribes to the north of it and five to the south. At the centre of that area stands the temple of the coming thousand-year kingdom.
Judah closes the northern seven. His southern border is the border of God's own portion.
One writer reads these measured strips as real land for real tribes. He also sets this scene apart from the heavenly city of Revelation.
The holy portion set apart for God is a completely new feature of this fresh division of Israel. It comes when He arrives whose right the crown is, and whose first care is the sanctuary of the Lord. … This is not about heaven, or about the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, that comes down out of heaven from God. It is about the earth and the land. The temple stands out here as plainly as it is missing in Revelation 21.
The phrase "divided by lot" sounds like chance. One writer explains what it means here.
The phrase "divided by lot," used of a future day, means instead that the land will be "allotted." God Himself has directed where each of the twelve tribes will settle.
The verse puts Judah next to Reuben. On the old map those two were nowhere near each other.
Reuben was once separated from Judah by the wide Dead Sea. Now he sits next to him. Benjamin, who stood between Judah and Ephraim, moves to the south, bordering the holy portion on that side. Manasseh, once split, is now one tribe again, and sits just north of his brother tribe, Ephraim.
Two tribes touch the holy portion: Judah on the north, Benjamin on the south. One writer traces that placement back to their history under David's line.
Notice that Judah and Benjamin, the tribes that stayed faithful to David's house, receive honour by standing nearest to the glorious centre of the Messianic kingdom. "Those who honour Me I will honour, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed."
Another writer sees the same two positions as a statement about who rules. He also reads the order out from the centre along family lines.
The sons of the legitimate wives are closest to the sanctuary. The sons of the maidservants are at the farthest edges. Judah and Benjamin — the "Lawgiver" and the "Son of my right hand" — hold the places closest to the sanctuary, one to the north and one to the south. Here the subject is government, and these two tribes represent it. Then come Reuben and Simeon, on one side and on the other, and so they lose the rights that were theirs by nature.
The seven northern tribes run Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, Judah. One writer reads those names as a sequence with meaning. The list reaches its high point in Judah, whose name means praise.
We end with Judah, "praise." … This is the mark of the life that comes from God: it turns back to God again. And the joy of the Lord is always its principle of strength. … All through Scripture, praise marks out God's redeemed people. It brings us to the completeness of that salvation which began with Dan. … Then our inheritance will lie right next to the Sanctuary, as Judah's does here, whose border touches the holy portion.
Commentators differ on how far to press such name-meanings. Kelly and Hardt keep to the land and its borders, and Rossier to the order of government. This last writer finds meaning in the names as well.
- Place. Judah's strip is the seventh from the north, and the last before God's portion. Every boundary in the chapter points to one centre, where the temple stands.
- Assigned. Chance decides nothing here. God Himself directs where each tribe belongs.
- Reordered. Reuben, once cut off from Judah by the Dead Sea, is now his neighbour. Benjamin moves south. The old divisions are gone.
- Honoured. The two tribes that stayed loyal to David's house get the ground nearest the sanctuary. God honours those who honour Him.
- Praise. Judah's name means praise, and praise is what ends up closest to the holy portion. That is the shape of the whole map: gathered, allotted, reordered, drawn near, and ending in praise.