22and the property of the Levites and of the city, shall be in the middle of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is transliterated “Levites” in English (only the Contemporary English Version translates it as “temple helpers”) is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “temple caretakers,” Yatzachi Zapotec as “people born in the family line of Levi, people whose responsibility it was to do the work in the important church of the Israelites,” in Alekano as “servants in the sacrifice house from Jerusalem place,” and in Tenango Otomi as “helpers of priests.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
In American Sign Language with a sign that combines “temple” + “servant.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Levite” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 48:22:
Kupsabiny: “So/Therefore, the portion of the king is what is in between the land of Judah and of Benjamin.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The remaining lands, in the east and west of the holy land and of the town, will-belong to the leader. These lands have a width of twelve kilometers and it reaches until the boundary of Israel in the east and west. Therefore in the center of the land which is for the leader is my holy land, the temple, the land of the descendants of Levi, and the town. The land which is for the leader is in the center of the land for thetribe of Juda and of the land for the tribe of Benjamin.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “The area that belongs to the king will be between the land of the tribe of Judahto the north and the land of the tribe of Benjamin to the south.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Benjamin” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “wolf,” referring to Genesis 49:27. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince: In verses 21-22 God describes the rest of the section of land described in verse 8. Like the allocations to each of the tribes, this section of land will stretch from the western border of Israel to its eastern border. What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city refers to the areas to the east and west of the land for the priests, the Levites, and the city (for the holy portion, see verse 10). These areas will belong to the prince, that is, the king of Israel (see the comments on 44.3).
God describes these areas as Extending from the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the twenty-five thousand cubits to the west border, that is, they will stretch from the edge of the holy area to the eastern and western borders of the country respectively. The reference to the twenty-five thousand cubits (which is equivalent to about 12.5 kilometers [8 miles]) is just a different way of referring to the holy section God has just been describing. These areas will be parallel to the tribal portions, that is, they will run alongside and follow the boundaries of the territories allocated to the two tribes that are next to the special area, namely, the territory of Judah to the north (see Ezek 48.8) and the territory of Benjamin to the south (see verse 23). Thus the king’s land will lie between the lands of those two tribes. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple in its midst, that is, the territory allocated to the priests (see verses 10-12), the property of the Levites (see verse 13), and the property of the city (see verses 15-19) are the three sections that make up the whole area mentioned in verse 20. This area will be in the midst of that which belongs to the prince, that is, it will be “in the middle of” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) the land that belongs to the king, because the king will have two sections of land, one on either side of the area. Here in the midst of most likely means “in the center of” (New International Version, New International Reader’s Version; similarly Contemporary English Version).
In Hebrew verse 22 begins literally with “and from the property of the Levites and from the property of the city…” (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). It is difficult to make good sense of this reading, although some translators have tried; for example, New Jerusalem Bible renders verse 22 as “Thus, apart from the property of the Levites and the property of the city which lie in the middle of the prince’s portion, everything between the borders of Judah and the borders of Benjamin must belong to the prince” (similarly New Living Translation, King James Version / New King James Version, Jerusalem Bible, Christian Community Bible, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). However, most translations omit the preposition “from” and begin verse 22 in a similar way as that of Revised Standard Version (so New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, Revised English Bible, Complete Jewish Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Translators may follow this reading, on which the following model is based, because it includes all three sections of the holy portion of the land that is in the middle of the king’s territory, not just the Levites’ land and the land around the city.
A model for combining verses 21-22 is:
• This area, which is 12.5 kilometers square, will contain the holy land of the priests (where the Temple will be), the Levites’ land, and the land where the city will be. It will be in the middle of the king’s land. The king will have the rest of the land, that is, two sections, one stretching from the edge of this area to the eastern border of the country, the other stretching from the [other] edge of this area to the western border. These two sections of land belonging to the king will run alongside the borders of the territories of Judah and Benjamin. It will lie between those two territories [south of Judah and north of Benjamin].
Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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