It is for the prince The words, It is, are not in the Hebrew, which is only, For the prince; and therefore the meaning seems to be, that this gate should, in general, be shut for, or to the prince, as well as to private persons; even he should not have the liberty of entering in at it, except at certain seasons. Dr. Waterland translates the clause thus: As to the prince, since he is prince, he shall sit, &c. The kings of Judah had a distinguished place in the temple; a kind of tribunal placed opposite the eastern gate: see Eze 46:12; 2 Chronicles 6:12-13. By the prince here is probably meant the chief governor of the Jews after the captivity, such as were Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, for Sheshbazzar, or Zerubbabel, is called the prince of Judah, Ezra 1:8. The prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord To eat part of the peace-offerings which were provided at his charge: see chap, Ezekiel 46:2. Bread stands for all sorts of entertainments, and particularly for a religious feast made of the remainder of a sacrifice: see the margin.
Related Commentaries of Ezekiel 44:3
Ezekiel 44:3
3 It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.