THEOSISJerome of Stridon
And on the borders of Judah, from the eastern side of the sea, there will be a designated inheritance that you will consecrate. Its width will be twenty-five thousand reeds, with a length equal to the various inheritances extending from the eastern side to the seashore, and in the center will be a sanctuary. The section you set apart for the Lord will measure twenty-five thousand reeds in length and ten thousand reeds in width. There is little need to reiterate what has already been articulated, as if we had not previously addressed the matter.
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Following the delineation of the seven tribes, we note that from east to west the principal area measures twenty-five thousand reeds in width, with a length identical to that of each tribe spanning from the east to the sea, though the precise measure of that length remains unspecified. Even when detailing each tribe, its dimensions are not made explicit. However, if the breadth is set at twenty-five thousand reeds, one might reasonably assume that its length is considerably greater, as it is typically more extensive than the width. The sanctuary within it is designated for the Lord, measuring twenty-five thousand reeds in length and ten thousand in breadth. Upon reading this, I can only echo the words of the apostle: ‘O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and how inscrutable His ways!’ (Rom. 11:33). Furthermore, he states that you may grasp, along with all the saints, the dimensions of love—its breadth, length, depth, and height—understanding the love of Christ that empowers the fulfillment of God within everyone (Eph. 3:18-19). The number twenty-five symbolizes the senses, as it is written: ‘you will have a divine feeling,’ while ten thousand denotes complete and perfect virtue, which extends from the tenth commandment of the Old Testament to the Gospel of salvation; we have referenced this briefly earlier, and here it warrants partial recall. By sequentially counting from one to four, one arrives at the total of ten, thereby illustrating how the Old Testament is complemented by the New, and how the New is enriched by the Old.