Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 47:1

"And he brought me back unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; (for the forefront of the house was toward the east;) and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar." — Ezekiel 47:1 (ASV)

The vision of the waters; or, the blessings which flow from this source to enliven and refresh all the inhabitants of the earth. Compare Isaiah 44:8; Joel 3:18. Ezekiel’s description is adopted and modified by Zechariah and in Revelation (compare the marginal references).

Hebrew tradition speaks of a spring of water named Etham, said to be identical with the waters of the well of Nephtoah (Joshua 18:15), on the west of the temple. Its waters were conducted by pipes into the temple courts for the uses needed in the service of the priests. The waters of Shiloah (Psalms 46:4; Isaiah 8:6) flowed from the rocks beneath the temple hill.

It is quite characteristic of Ezekiel’s visionary style to start from an existing feature and then proceed to an ideal picture from which to draw a spiritual lesson. The deepening of the waters in their course shows the continual deepening of spiritual life and multiplication of spiritual blessings in the growth of the kingdom of God.

As long as the stream is confined to the temple courts, it is merely a small rill, for the most part unseen; but when it issues from the courts, it immediately begins to deepen and to widen. So on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the company of believers—small then, but soon to develop into the infant Church in Jerusalem.