Albert Barnes

Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds…

“The wind - Rather, as in the margin and as in Eze 37:5. The bones are the bones of the “slain,” because the scene was one which was likely to occur in the time of the Chaldaean invasion, and the fact of violent death reminded…”

Persia, Cush, and Put will accompany them, all with shields and helmets,

“Libya and Ethiopia, mixed with the northern invaders, are tribes from the extreme south, to show that this is a general combination of the foes of God’s people.”

This is what the Lord GOD says: Are you the one of whom I have spoken in former days through My servants, the prophets of Israel, who in those times…

“Gog - is not mentioned by name in any existing prophecy before Ezekiel’s time. The reference here shows (1) that the conflict with Gog does not represent a particular event, but one of which the prophets in general had to speak; (2) that in the…”

“As for you, O son of man, prophesy against Gog and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of…

“The present chapter describes the defeat of Evil and the triumph of God and His people. As the prophet predicted the advance of Evil under the figure of the invasion of an actual army; so he declares the overthrow of Evil by the figure of…”

Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, kindle fires, and burn up the weapons—the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears.

“Burn them with fire - Or, “kindle fire with them;” or, as in the margin. The weapons of the army left on the field of battle shall be so numerous as to supply fuel for the people of the land for seven years.”

And on that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Sea.

“The prophet pictures to himself some imaginary valley (compare Zec 14:5) at the “east of the sea,” the Dead Sea, a place frightful in its physical character, and admonitory of past judgments.”

And men will be employed to continually pass through the land to cleanse it by burying the invaders who remain on the ground.

“Men of continual employment - literally, as margin, i. e., men regularly appointed to this business. As the land of Israel represents figuratively the Church of Christ, the purification of that land is a proper part of the figure to indicate such a sanctification and…”

And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and…

“The purposes of the past dispensation shall be made clear to God’s people themselves and to the pagan. His judgments were the consequence of their sins; and these sins once abandoned, the favor of their God will return in yet more abundance.”

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month—in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem had been struck down—on that…

“In the first and twentieth year - This was the fiftieth year from the 18th of Josiah, the year of his memorable Passover 2Ki 23:22. See the Eze 1:1 note.”

In visions of God He took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose southern slope was a structure that resembled a…

“By which - Better as in the margin. (compare Eze 43:12). As the frame of a city - It is not “a city” which is seen, but a building (the temple and its courts) like a city in its construction, surrounded by massive walls.”

So He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze.

“The appearance of brass - Brightly shining. A line of flax - For measuring the ground plan. A measuring reed - For the walls (compare Jer 31:38-39). To measure implied a separation for sacred purposes.”

And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a…

“The boundary wall of the temple-courts. See Plan II. A wall on the outside of the house - The wall enclosing the courts in which were the entrance gates.”

Then he brought me into the outer court, and there were chambers and a pavement laid out all around the court. Thirty chambers faced the pavement,

“The “outward” or outer “court” (o, Plan II) corresponds to what was in Herod’s temple the court of Women, into which all Jews, but not Gentiles were admitted. Eze 40:17 Chambers - (I) See Jer 35:2.”

Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees. Eight steps led up to it.

“Utter court - Translate outward court Eze 40:37; Eze 42:1, Eze 42:7, Eze 42:14; Eze 44:19; Eze 46:20-21. Arches toward the outward court - See Eze 40:14 note. Eight steps - So for the east Eze 40:34 and north gates Eze 40:37.”

There was a chamber with a doorway by the portico in each of the inner gateways. There the burnt offering was to be washed.

“The chambers - Render it: and chambers, not yet described. They were north of the altar, by the “posts” or pillars in front and along the sides of the gate-building. There were several gates in the gate-building.”

Inside the portico of the gateway were two tables on each side, on which the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings were to be slaughtered.

“In the porch - Not under the covered portico, which was only ten cubits broad Eze 40:9, but in the angles formed by the porch and gate-front.”

There were also four tables of dressed stone for the burnt offering, each a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit high.

“Omit “the” and “were.” These “four tables” are not the same as those mentioned before. The eight tables (T) were for slaying and preparing the victims, and were probably of wood, these (S) were of “hewn stone.””

The double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth long, were fastened all around the inside of the room, and the flesh of the offering was to be placed on the tables.

“Hooks - The alternative renderings given in the margin indicate the doubtfulness of the translation of the original word. The form is dual, and indicates that it is some object usually found in pairs.”

Outside the inner gate, within the inner court, were two chambers, one beside the north gate and facing south, and another beside the south gate and facing north.

“Without - Outside of the gate in the inner court. See N, Plan II. Singers - These were Levites of particular families, those of Heman, Asaph, and Merari, whose genealogy is carefully traced up to Levi (see marginal reference).”

Then the man said to me: “The chamber that faces south is for the priests who keep charge of the temple,

“The priests, whose chambers (L) are here provided, were those whose business it was to exercise this oversight which had devolved upon them as descendants of Aaron Num 3:32.”

and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar.

“The position of the “chamber” looking to the north commanded a view of the brasen altar and the sacrifices, which were prepared at the north side of the altar.”

Then the man brought me into the outer sanctuary and measured the side pillars to be six cubits wide on each side.

“The Temple - Properly the holy place (a), as distinguished from the porch (G) and the holy of holies (B) 1Ki 6:17; 1Ki 7:50. The posts - The outer wall of the temple was six cubits thick Eze 41:5.”

And he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the side pillars at the entrance to be two cubits wide.

“Went he inward - Toward the holy of holies. It is not said, “he brought me in,” but “he went in,” because the holy of holies was not to be entered even by a priest like Ezekiel, but only by the high priest once a…”

Next he measured the wall of the temple to be six cubits thick, and the width of each side room around the temple was four cubits.

“The wall of the house - This was the outer wall of the temple itself. Its thickness of six cubits corresponds with the colossal proportions of the architecture of the east. Every side chamber - the side-chambers (D).”

The side rooms surrounding the temple widened at each successive level, because the structure surrounding the temple ascended by stages corresponding to the narrowing of the temple wall as it…

“An enlarging - The “wall for the side-chambers” had for the ground story its full thickness of five cubits Eze 41:9 - then it was diminished one cubit, so as to form a ledge whereon to rest the beams of the floor of the second…”