“And the five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the twenty five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs. And the city shall be in its midst. And these shall be its measurements. The north side four thousand five hundred, and the south side four thousand five hundred, and on the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred. And the city shall have suburbs, towards the north two hundred and fifty, and towards the south two hundred and fifty, and towards the east two hundred and fifty, and towards the west two hundred and fifty.”
The city is to be built in the centre of the portion which is five thousand in breadth by twenty five thousand in length, the portion below and alongside the portion for the Levites. The city itself is to be foursquare, four thousand five hundred on each side. Thus there will be two hundred and fifty cubits of open space to the north and south of the city (to make up the five thousand). These, with the same measurements east and west are to be the suburbs. It will be an open space around the city.
So the city is foursquare, an indication of its perfection. But it is separated from the ‘holy' Levites' portion by the open space, and from the ‘most holy' priests' portion by the open space and the Levites' portion, and from the heavenly sanctuary by the open space, the Levites' holy portion and half the priests' most holy portion. The city is for ‘common' use, that is for the people to dwell in, and for arable land for the people to till, even though it is part of the holy Gift-offering (oblation). Ezekiel clearly wishes the city to be kept firmly in its place. Note that its portion is also only half the size of the others. It is of secondary importance