The conclusion of Ezekiel's prophecies offers a profound vision of a future city, blending massive physical proportions with an eternal spiritual nature. The city stands as a place where God's watchful care is permanently established, a reality reflected in both its vast size and its profound identity.
The perimeter of this future city measures eighteen thousand units. Because the city is perfectly square, each of its four sides spans four thousand five hundred units [רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. This physical measurement carries a deep spiritual significance. The eighteen thousand units correspond to the number of angelic camps that surround God's heavenly chariot. It is as though an angel stands guard at every single unit of measure along the city's borders [מלבי״ם].
Beyond its physical borders, the city is defined by a deep connection to the Divine. The primary approach among commentators is that the city receives a new title acting as a future promise. From the day it is rebuilt, it will be known by a name declaring that God is present there, serving as an eternal sign that His presence will never again depart [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective views this not as a newly given name, but as an affirmation of its historical identity. Under this view, the city simply retains its original name, Jerusalem. This name combines "Yireh," the title Abraham gave the site during the Binding of Isaac, and "Shalem." This confirms that God's presence has dwelled in this place since its earliest days, an identity that will remain forever [רש״י, חומת אנך].
A deeper layer of meaning emerges from a tradition that interprets the city's title to mean that the city itself is called by God's name. In this view, Jerusalem is one of three entities, alongside the righteous and the Messiah, that are called directly by God's name. This ultimate merging of the city's identity with God's presence symbolizes the peak of redemption and the absolute elevation of the Divine in the world [מנחת שי, רד״ק, חומת אנך].