Ezekielchapter 40
49 verses · Ezekiel · 593 to 571 BC · The Prophets
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 very day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He took me there.
Introduction
Ezekiel, The Prophets, Ezekiel Overview.
Ezekiel received the last great vision of his book in the twenty-fifth year of the exile, fourteen years after Jerusalem fell. Most of his hearers had never seen the temple their fathers described, and the building itself lay in ashes. What follows is a guided tour, given by a figure who measures as he walks. Listen for the order of the walk, from the outside inward, and for how each step up brings a smaller company nearer the altar. The numbers carry the message here, so a reader does well to draw them. These chapters prepare for the return of God's glory in chapter 43.
Context
- Who
- Exiles who had grown old in Babylonia and had never seen the temple their fathers described
- What
- The opening of the temple vision, in which a guide measures the outer wall, the gates, the courts and the porch of the house.
- Where
- In vision on a very high mountain in the land of Israel, on whose southern slope stood a structure that resembled a city.
- When
- The tenth day of the first month in the twenty-fifth year of the exile, about April 573 BC, fourteen years after the city fell.
- Why
- To give the exiles a measured plan of a house where God would dwell, which they were told to set their hearts on and declare.
Historical context
The date is given with unusual precision, and the reason is in the arithmetic: fourteen years to the day, near enough, since the city fell. A generation had passed. Ezekiel would have been about fifty.
Show the rest of the historical context, 4 more paragraphs
The guide carries two tools, and both were real surveyor's equipment. A linen cord for long distances, Egyptian tomb paintings show rope-stretchers measuring fields with a knotted line, and a measuring reed for short ones. The reed is defined in the text as six cubits, each a cubit and a handbreadth. That long cubit ran about twenty and a half inches, so the reed is roughly ten feet four inches. Every measurement in the next nine chapters is in those units.
The gate complexes he measures are a recognizable building type, not an invention. A city or temple gate of that era was a deep passage with three guard chambers on each side, a vestibule, and heavy door leaves, and archaeologists have excavated exactly this six-chambered plan at Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. Ezekiel's gates are that familiar design, drawn much larger, with palm-tree carvings on the piers.
The layout is a series of levels. An outer court reached by seven steps, an inner court reached by eight more, chambers for the singers and the priests, and tables for slaughtering the burnt offering set in the gate porch. Height and access go together: the closer you get to the sanctuary, the higher you climb and the fewer people are permitted.
This vision is read here in the premillennial frame, a real sanctuary standing in a real land in the coming kingdom. Others read the measurements as a symbolic picture of God's dwelling with His people, or as a blueprint offered to the returning exiles that was never taken up; the reading is named rather than assumed.
Significance
The first thing God says to Ezekiel here is set your heart on everything I show you, for you have been brought here in order to be shown it, and declare all you see to the house of Israel.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
That instruction is the answer to a very practical exile grief. The building was ash and the plans were gone. What these men are handed is not a poem about God's presence but a measured structure with dimensions they can write down, which is what people build from.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
The site's own table in src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, probed for this lane, printed no weekly portion and no Haftarah from this chapter, and no festival reading for the book. That table carries the Haftarah of each of the fifty-four weekly portions and the books read whole at the feasts, and it carries nothing for the special Sabbaths or the fast days. This card therefore names no public reading of the chapter and leaves that question to a source that holds those readings.
The corpus joins the chapter to the weeks of the Torah portions through the works arranged by portion. Under the ninth verse it carries Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 10:17. Under the sixteenth verse it carries Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Beha'alotcha 7:1 and Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 5:1.
How it is read
Rashi is the one commentator on this chapter whose English the corpus carries, quoted here from The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, which Sefaria reports as CC-BY. Every quotation of it is held to fifty words or fewer because the translation is modern.
Rashi opens the vision of the Temple with its date. A year whose new year falls on the tenth of the month is a Jubilee year, and he works the count from the eighteenth year of Josiah. "The answer is that this is the Jubilee year" (Rashi on Ezekiel 40:1:1). The prophet sees the place in a vision: "He did not take me there but made it appear to me as if I were there" (Rashi on Ezekiel 40:2:1).
From the fifth verse on, Rashi reads the measurements as a plan, and he places each part as he goes. The House stands on the north of the mountain and the city on the south, as the end of the book lays out (Rashi on Ezekiel 40:5:1). The first gate is the eastern gate of the Women's Court, which the account calls the outer court "since it is in front of the Israelites’ Court" (Rashi on Ezekiel 40:6:1). He shows how he knows where the cells stood. "From here I learn that all that had been spoken of previously was outside it, for he had not yet entered it" (Rashi on Ezekiel 40:7:1).
He checks the vision against the Mishnah's account of the Second Temple in Tractate Middoth, and cites it three times in this chapter. The width of every entrance is ten cubits from Middoth 2:3 (Rashi on Ezekiel 40:11:1). The doors between the cells he explains from Middoth 4:3 (Rashi on Ezekiel 40:16:1). The pavement he reads as a surrounding balcony, from Middoth 2:5, and he gives his reason from the wording of the next verse (Rashi on Ezekiel 40:17:1 and 40:18:1). On the long note at the twelfth verse he works the cubits of each wall and cell until the two sides meet (Rashi on Ezekiel 40:12:1).
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries thirty-seven rabbinic locators on this chapter and the text of none, so each is cited and linked here rather than quoted. On the first verse it holds Arakhin 12a:7, Arakhin 12b:5 and Arakhin 12b:6. It also holds Arakhin 13a:5, Arakhin 13a:8 and Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Zevachim 14:3 there. It also holds Introductions to Tanaitic Literature, Introductions to Tractates of the Mishnah, Rosh HaShanah 10 and Jerusalem Talmud Rosh Hashanah 1:1:2 there. It also holds Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 19:1, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Bachodesh 1:4 and Midrash Lekach Tov, Numbers 15:17:1 there. It also holds Midrash Lekach Tov, Numbers 15:17:2, Midrash Sekhel Tov, Shemot 19:1:1 and Seder Olam Rabbah 11:1 there. It also holds Seder Olam Rabbah 26:1, Sifrei Bamidbar 64:2 and Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 274:1 there. It also holds Zevachim 118b:18 there. On the second verse it holds Aggadat Bereshit 80:1, Midrash Lekach Tov, Genesis 38:24:1 and Midrash Sekhel Tov, Bereshit 38:24:1. On the third verse it holds Aggadat Bereshit 27:2, Bereshit Rabbah 1:8 and Eruvin 58a:9. It also holds Jerusalem Talmud Eruvin 5:3:2 there. On the fourth verse it holds Sifrei Devarim 335:1.
On the fifth verse it holds Ein Yaakov, Eiruvin 5:19. On the seventh verse it holds Bava Batra 61a:3 and Midrash Tehillim 61:3. On the ninth verse it holds Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 10:17. On the fifteenth verse it holds Jerusalem Talmud Eruvin 5:1:15 and Midrash Lekach Tov, Genesis 49:11:4.
On the sixteenth verse it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 15:7, Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Beha'alotcha 7:1 and Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 5:1. On the twenty-fifth verse it holds Pesikta DeRav Kahana 21:5. On the forty-third verse it holds Midrash Sekhel Tov, Shemot 12:20:137. What each of them teaches is a saying of the rabbis, and is reported as theirs wherever this site quotes one. The quotations wait on a fetch that carries the text.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on Ezekiel 40:1:1 to 40:24:1, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/ezekiel/40.json, the 37 Talmud and Midrash locators of this chapter; The site's own files, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, probed for this chapter and printing no weekly portion, no Haftarah and no festival reading.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A man of bronze with a measuring reed
Ezekiel 40:1-4
the hand of the LORD was upon me: The vision is dated to the twenty-fifth year of the exile, the fourteenth after Jerusalem fell. A man whose appearance was like bronze meets the prophet with a linen cord and a measuring rod. The purpose comes before any measuring: “Report to the house of Israel everything you see”.
Ezekiel 40:1
“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. If that was a jubilee year, which is highly probable, this vision also falls in a jubilee year, which seems appropriate. The jubilee year began with the month of Tisri, a sufficient reason for speaking of the time as “the beginning of the year.” The tenth day of this month was the day of atonement Lev 16:29-30.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Ezekiel 40:1
“Of our captivity - Of those that were carried away into captivity with Jeconiah eleven years before Jerusalem was burnt. And this falls in with the three thousand three hundred and seventy fourth year of the world, about five hundred and seventy four years before Christ's incarnation.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
a structure that resembled a city: John Wesley takes in visions of God to mean the prophet was carried in spirit while his body stayed in Babylon. Albert Barnes explains Ezekiel saw a building like a city on the southern slope where the temple had stood on Mount Moriah. Revelation 21:10 uses a similar mountain vision.
Ezekiel 40:2
“In the visions of God - By this it appears it was not a corporeal transportation of the prophet. The frame - The portrait of a city. On the south - On the south of the mountain, where the prophet was set.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:2
“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. On the south - southward, i. e., on the southern slope, just as the temple actually stood on Mount Moriah. The temple was at the northeast corner of the city - part of the western portion of the city being more to the north, but no part directly north of the temple.”
a man whose appearance was like bronze: John Wesley identifies the man with the figure of 1:26 and with the Branch who builds the temple in Zechariah 6:12 to 13. Albert Barnes says measuring set a place apart as holy, and the exact figures show the promise is certain. Revelation 11:1 and 21:15 repeat the measuring rod.
Ezekiel 40:3
“This man spoke to the prophet, in whose hand was a cord, and whose appearance was like bronze, and he held a reed in his hand. He spoke to Ezekiel, a true architect, whom Paul the apostle imitated, saying: Like a wise architect, I have laid the foundation. But he calls him the wise architect, to distinguish him from the foolish one, who is called an unworthy shepherd in Zechariah.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekiel 12:40.1-4patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 40:3
“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. The measurements are: (1) exact, to show that the promise is certain; (2) equal, to denote harmony; (3) vast, to mark majesty and grandeur.”
Ezekiel 40:3
“A man - The same no doubt that appeared to the prophet, chap. i, 26, whose name is the branch, and who builds the temple, Zech vi, 12, 13, whose colour was like burnished brass; Rev. i, 15, which speaks glory and strength.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Adam Clarke reads the purpose as instruction for building the second temple after the return. Patrick Fairbairn and Carl Keil read the vision as a symbol of God's kingdom, while dispensational writers expect a literal temple in a future age. Ezekiel 43:10 states the aim as shame for sin.
Ezekiel 40:4
“Declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel - That they may know how to build the second temple, when they shall be restored from their captivity.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The east gate measured, chamber by chamber
six long cubits: The rod is measured before it measures anything: six long cubits, each a cubit and a handbreadth, a longer cubit than the common measure. Keil notes that every dimension in these chapters uses this long cubit, so the numbers cannot be set beside Solomon's temple without conversion.
Ezekiel 40:5
“A wall - This was that outmost wall, that compassed the whole mount Sion, upon whose top the temple stood. The man's hand - Christ, hath, and keeps the reed in his own hand, as the only fit person to take the measures of all. A measuring reed - Or cane, for this measuring rod was of those canes growing in that country, long, and light, which architects made use of.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 40:5
“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. By the cubit and an hand breadth - The Jews first used a cubit of fifteen inches, applying it principally to the vessels and furniture of the temple; next a cubit of eighteen inches (“a hand-breadth” longer than the former cubit); and lastly, after the captivity, the Babylonian cubit of twenty-one inches (a “hand-breadth” more).”
Ezekiel 40:5
“Of the several gates with the chambers adjoining to them. Here is no mention of the outer court of all, which was called the court of the Gentiles, some think because in gospel-times there should be such a vast confluence of Gentiles to the church that their court should be left unmeasured, to signify that the worshippers in that court should be unnumbered, Rev. vii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ezekiel 40:6-16
climbed its steps: At the gate facing east, threshold, gate chambers, portico, jambs and gateposts are measured in order, with palm trees on every side pillar. The tour starts in the east, the direction by which the glory left at 11:23 and returns through the eastern gate at 43:4.
Ezekiel 40:6
“Went up the stairs thereof - As the temple was built upon an eminence, there must have been steps on the outside, opposite to each door, to ascend by. And it appears there were steps to go up from one court to another, see Eze 40:22, Eze 40:26, Eze 40:34, Eze 40:37; and also from the court of the priests to the sanctuary, Eze 40:49. See MMMMM in the plan.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
one rod long and one rod wide: The rod was fixed at six long cubits, each a cubit and a handbreadth, so a gate chamber was a square of about ten feet. A long cubit was roughly twenty and a half inches. The gate's other measures build on this unit.
Ezekiel 40:7
“Five cubits - A space of two yards and one half between each chamber, either filled with some neat posts or pillars, or it may be quite void. Within - The inward and outward threshold, were of the same measures, and curiously arched over head from side to side, and end to end, which was from east to west.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
4 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 40:7
“And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad. Let us consider what usually happens in a bridal chamber, and from that let us understand what takes place in the holy Church. In the bridal chamber, of course, the bridegroom and bride are joined in covenant and united to each other in love.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 3patristic
Ezekiel 40:7
“And every little chamber was one reed - These were the chambers of the buildings which were within the inclosure of the temple round the court, and these chambers appear to have been numerous. See the map, which has been carefully copied from that of Calmet.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ezekiel 40:7
“And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad,.... The length and breadth were equal, three yards and a half long and broad; a perfect square.”
Ezekiel 40:7
“Some make these chambers to represent the particular congregations of believers, which are parts of the great temple, the universal church, which are, and must be, framed by the scripture-line and rule, and which Jesus Christ takes the measure of, that is, takes cognizance of, for he walks in the midst of the seven golden candle-sticks.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
measured the portico of the gateway inside: The portico is the gate's inner porch, facing the temple, and verse 9 gives its depth. Solomon's temple also had a portico before the house, described in 1 Kings 6:3, and Ezekiel's gates carry the same feature. The same order repeats at every gate.
Ezekiel 40:8
“He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed. This was either the measure of the breadth of the porch between the opposite chambers on both sides; or rather of the length of that space, which was between the third little chamber and the last gate; and such a space must be supposed to be between the first gate and the first little chamber, which space were three yards and a half; which shows how spacious the churches of Christ will be, and how exactly measured.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:8
“He also measured the width of the threshold of the ten-cubit gate, which is a perfect number and is contained either in the Decalogue or in the sacraments of the four Gospels. Whoever begins with one, reaches four in such a way as to fill the number ten.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekielpatristic
its jambs were two cubits thick: John Wesley describes the jambs as half columns built into the wall and projecting from it. At eight cubits the portico is deeper than the gate chambers of six cubits. Its opening toward the temple points the worshiper inward.
Ezekiel 40:9
“The porch - Probably another porch, or another gate distinct from that, ver. 6. The posts - These were half columns, that from the floor to the height of the wall jetted out, as if one half of the column were in the wall, and the other without, and the protuberance of this half column, was one cubit.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
three gate chambers on each side: Three chambers on each side make six in all, a design matching city gates of Solomon's era excavated at Megiddo, Hazor and Gezer. The equal measures show a planned symmetry. Ezekiel 44:11 later assigns Levites to guard the temple gates.
Ezekiel 40:10
“Moreover the chambers of the gate toward the way of the East were three on this side and three on that side, and there was one measure for the three. What the chambers and what the Eastern way designate, we have already said above, and we do not think it necessary to repeat them at greater length. But we must inquire what it means when it says, "Three on this side, and three on that side." For the chambers next to the Eastern way are the hearts of those fervent in the love of God.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 4patristic
ten cubits: In long cubits the entrance was about seventeen feet wide. Interpreters differ over what the thirteen cubits measure, whether the depth of the doorway or the covered length of the passage. Ezekiel 46:9 later sends festival crowds through these gates.
Ezekiel 40:11
“And he measured the width of the threshold of the gate as ten cubits, and the length of the gate as thirteen cubits. We have already said much above about the meaning of the gate, but we ought to hold to one thing through which the prudence of the reader can also penetrate the rest. Indeed it was said that Sacred Scripture can be figured through the gate. But we must now laboriously discuss why the width of the threshold of the gate is measured at ten cubits, and the length of the gate at thirteen.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 4patristic
a wall one cubit high: The low barrier fronted each chamber. At one cubit, about twenty inches, it marked the guard's space off from the passage while letting him step out quickly. The chambers match the one rod measure of verse 7, since a rod is six cubits.
Ezekiel 40:12
“And a border before the chambers of one cubit. And one cubit the border on each side. As we have often said, the chambers are the hearts of the elect, burning with love for almighty God. What then is expressed by the border before the chambers, if not faith? Because unless this is first held, one can by no means attain to spiritual love. For charity does not precede faith, but faith precedes charity. For no one can love what he has not believed.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 4patristic
twenty-five cubits from doorway to doorway: Measuring from roof to roof across the passage gives the gate's full width, chambers included. The width of twenty-five cubits matches every gate in verses 21, 25, 29, 33 and 36. Verse 15 gives the length.
Ezekiel 40:13
“And door against door. In this place, "contra" (against/opposite) is not placed in opposition to adversity, but to rectitude. For a door is opposite a door when one arrives by a straight path from the outer entrance to the inner one. In the knowledge of almighty God, our first door is faith, while the second is the vision of Him, to which we arrive by walking through faith. For in this life we enter through the former, so that we may afterward be led to the latter.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 5patristic
sixty cubits high: Sixty cubits, about a hundred feet, is a great height for gateposts, and the Hebrew is difficult. John Wesley takes it as the height of the gate built up two stories above the arch, and John Gill agrees it measures the columns. Jerome, Gill reports, read it as a width.
Ezekiel 40:14
“He made also posts of threescore cubits,.... Jerom thinks, that between the outward wall which surrounded this building, and the building itself, these posts or pillars were placed for ornament, which took up the space of sixty cubits; but rather these design the posts or columns of the gate, which supported the arch over it, on which were rooms or stories, and these were sixty cubits high; for of their height is this measure to be understood.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:14
“He made - Measured, and thereby shewed what kind of posts they should be. Threescore cubits - Probably this refers to the height of this gate built up two stories above the arch, and the posts in their height are only mentioned, but imply all the rest of the building over the east gate.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
fifty cubits: , about eighty-five feet, is the gate's length from outer threshold to inner porch. Every gate of both courts has this length and a width of twenty-five, a ratio of two to one. The repeated figures give the plan its order.
Ezekiel 40:15
“Fifty cubits - The length of the building. See MMMMM in the plan.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:15
“And after seven full weeks of festivity and joy, the first day of the Octave begins, which is the Day of Resurrection, and it brings us close to the temple. For when we have done all things, repenting for our previous errors, then we become neighbors and close to God, so that in the outer atrium, the order of creatures teaches us knowledge of the Creator with constancy, and in the inner atrium true jubilation, in which all our debts are forgiven, instructs us in the theology, and introduces us to the Holy of Holies.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekielpatristic
Each side pillar was decorated with palm trees: Palm trees were carved throughout Solomon's temple in 1 Kings 6:29, and they appear again on the inner walls in Ezekiel 41:18. Palm branches also marked the Feast of Tabernacles in Leviticus 23:40. John Wesley describes the windows as narrowing inward to light the space between the chambers.
Ezekiel 40:16
“Narrow windows - Windows narrowed inward to the middle. Their posts - The upper lintel of each door over which was a window. To the arches - Windows under the arches between post and post, to give light to the five cubits space between chamber and chamber.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
The outer court and the north and south gates
Ezekiel 40:17-19
Thirty chambers faced the pavement: In the outer court a pavement runs all around, and thirty chambers face it. The guide measures from the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court, a hundred cubits on the east as on the north. Fairbairn notes that this hundred-cubit measure recurs through the whole complex.
this was the lower pavement: John Wesley explains that the side pavement lay lower than the raised middle way, which kept it clean. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown contrast Solomon's outer court, open to idolatrous changes in 2 Kings 23:11 to 12, with this court. The design guards holiness.
Ezekiel 40:18
“The higher pavement was level with the entrance of the gates, the lower was on either side of the raised pavement thus formed. Whereas Solomon's temple had an outer court open to alterations and even idolatrous innovations (2Ki 23:11, 12; 1Ch 20:5), in this there was to be no room for human corruptions.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:18
“The length - The length was measured fifty cubits. The inner pavement - The side pavement was laid somewhat lower than this middle pavement, not only for state, but for the more convenient, keeping it clean; so the middle pavement rose with a little convex surface.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
a hundred cubits: , about 170 feet, separates the outer gate from the inner gate. John Gill calls it the lower gate because the gate opposite it, leading to the inner court, stands eight steps higher. Verses 23 and 27 repeat the distance.
Ezekiel 40:19
“Then he measured the breadth from the fore front of the lower gate,.... That is, from the front of the inner eastern gate before mentioned, Eze 40:7, called the lower gate, in respect of the gate opposite to it, which led into the inner court, to which there was an ascent of eight steps; and which the Targum calls the middle gate, because it lay between the eastern outward gate, and the gate of the inward court.”
Ezekiel 40:20-23
the outer court facing north: The north gate repeats the east gate: three gate chambers on each side, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide, seven steps, and palm trees. A gate to the inner court faces this north gate, and the guide measures a hundred cubits between them.
Ezekiel 40:20
“The different approaches corresponded in plan. In the case of these two other gates, however, no mention is made of a building with thirty chambers such as was found on the east side. Only one was needed, and it was assigned to the east as being the sacred quarter, and that most conveniently situated for the officiating priests.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the same measurements as the first gate: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe the north and south gates match the east gate in plan, yet a building is mentioned only on the east. They explain that the east was the sacred quarter, nearest the officiating priests. Gates stand on only three sides, east, north and south.
Ezekiel 40:21
“And it had, it says, fifty cubits in length and twenty-five in width, so that eternal rest might be demonstrated after fifty weeks following seven weeks: extending during the day of resurrection to the kingdoms of heaven, in which true rest is found.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekiel 12:40.20-23patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 40:21
“And the little chambers thereof were three, etc. - See the plan. Arches - Porch. The arch was not known at this period.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ezekiel 40:21
“But the description is repeated very particularly. And thus largely was the structure of the tabernacle related in Exodus, and of the temple in the books of Kings and Chronicles, to signify the special notice God does take, and his ministers should take, of all that belong to his church. His delight is in them; his eye is upon them.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Seven steps led up to it: The seven steps raise the outer court above the surrounding ground, and the inner gates add eight more in verses 31, 34 and 37. The ascent grows as one approaches the house. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the approaches correspond in plan.
Ezekiel 40:22
“And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looked towards the east,....”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:22
"And its windows, and its vestibule, and its carvings were according to the measure of the gate which looked toward the East; and its ascent was of seven steps, and the vestibule before it." All these things have already been discussed more extensively above, and therefore the discourse should not be delayed with a lengthy exposition. However, this must be especially noted: that the gate toward the North is said to have all the same things that the gate toward the East has, namely the windows of contemplation, the vestibule of humility, and the carving of good works.
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 7patristic
facing the north gate: Each outer gate faces an inner gate across the court, a hundred cubits apart, so the paths run straight toward the altar. Every approach follows the same plan, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe. Verse 19 gives the same arrangement on the east.
Ezekiel 40:23
"And the gate of the inner court opposite the gate to the North and to the East."
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 7patristic
Ezekiel 40:24-27
led me to the south side: The south gate of the outer court is measured to the pattern of the north and east. The inner court also has a gate facing south, and a hundred cubits separate the two. Gill notes that the outer court's three gates, north, east, and south, leave no west gate named.
Ezekiel 40:24
"And he led me out to the way of the South, and behold a gate which looked toward the South; and he measured its front and its vestibule according to the measures above." All these things have already been said regarding the gate of the East and the North, and it is not fitting that we should repeatedly go over what we have already explained once and twice. Nevertheless, we must note that in the spiritual building one entrance opens to the East, another to the North, and another to the South.
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 7patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:24
“According to these measures - The same measures that had been used at the eastern court.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
windows all around, like the other windows: The south gate repeats the windows found at the east and north, with a length of fifty cubits and a width of twenty-five. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the approaches correspond in plan. The windows let light into the long passage.
Ezekiel 40:25
“And there were windows in it, and in the arches thereof round about,.... That is, in the little chambers, though not expressed; and in the porches of them on each side, as you passed from the outer to the inner gate: like those windows; that were in the chambers that were in the east and north gates, Eze 40:7, the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits; see Eze 40:13.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:25
"And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits." Among these matters, however, it can be asked, since there are four parts of this world, why in this building of the outer court are not four but three gates mentioned? This would rightly have needed to be asked if the Prophet had seen a corporeal rather than a spiritual building.
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 7patristic
palm trees on its side pillars, one on each side: Every gate of both courts carries the palm on its pillars. Psalm 92:12 to 13 pictures the righteous as palms planted in the courts of the LORD's house. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that this south approach matches the others in plan.
Ezekiel 40:26
"And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof." What is the meaning of this, that earlier a painting of palms was on the fronts, but now carved palms are mentioned as being on the front? In the carving of stones, indeed, the works appear to be external. But, as we have already said above, the painting of palms is a display of signs.
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 7patristic
a gate facing south: This third hundred cubit measure matches the east in verse 19 and the north in verse 23. Equal distances on three sides set the inner court evenly within the outer, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that all the approaches correspond. Verse 31 adds eight steps up.
Ezekiel 40:27
“And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south,.... Which answered to the gate of the outward court before mentioned: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits; from the gate of the inward court, to the gate of the outward court southward, were just the same dimensions as in the east and north gates, and between their respective ones, Eze 40:19.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:27
“And lest we think there is only one atrium to the south, it is said about the second atrium: And the entrance of the inner atrium is on the southern road: and it is measured from the entrance to the entrance on the southern road one hundred cubits; so that after a week and the sacraments of the old covenant, she may reach the good land and the grace of the Gospel.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekiel 12:40.24-31patristic
The inner court gates and their porches
Ezekiel 40:28-31
inner court through the south gate: The inner court's south gate has the same measurements as the others, but one detail changes. “Eight steps led up to it,” one more than the seven of every outer gate. The added step raises the inner court above the outer, so the ground rises toward the center.
Ezekiel 40:28
"And he brought me into the inner court by the South gate, and he measured the gate according to the former measures." But if by the name of gates we understand only the holy apostles to be designated, who are indeed the first preachers of holy Church to us, and who taught us to hold most firmly to faith, hope, and charity, they therefore are gates for us in these virtues, who lead us through the same virtues to the interior understanding of eternal wisdom. But if they are the outer gates, whom do we accept as the inner ones?
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 8patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 40:28
“And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate,.... Having done with the outer court, east, north, and south, the prophet is brought into the inner court by the south gate, which was nearest to enter by.”
Ezekiel 40:28
“The inner court and its gates. according to these measures--namely, the measures of the outer gate. The figure and proportions of the inner answered to the outer.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the same measurements as the others: The inner south gate mirrors the outer gates, yet its porch faces outward toward the outer court in verse 31. The outer gates had their porches facing inward, so the paired gates face each other across the court. A worshiper passes from one porch to the next.
Ezekiel 40:29
"And he measured the gate according to the former measures, its chamber, and its front, and its vestibule with the same measures, and its windows, and its vestibule round about, fifty cubits in length, and twenty-five cubits in width, and the vestibule all around."
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 8patristic
twenty-five cubits long and five cubits deep.): This verse is a known textual problem. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the Septuagint and several manuscripts omit it and that its figures conflict with verse 28. Adam Clarke proposes that twenty dropped out of the text before five, and he reports the verse missing from several Hebrew manuscripts.
Ezekiel 40:30
“And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long - That the five cubits broad should be read twenty-five is evident from Eze 40:21, Eze 40:25, Eze 40:29, Eze 40:33, and Eze 40:36, The word ועשרים veesrim, twenty, has probably been lost out of the text. Indeed the whole verse is wanting in two of Kennicott’s MSS., one of De Rossi’s, and one of mine, (Cod. B.) It has been added in the margin of mine by a later hand. It is reported to have been anciently wanting in many MSS.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:30
“This verse is omitted in the Septuagint, the Vatican manuscript, and others. The dimensions here of the inner gate do not correspond to the outer, though Eze 40:28 asserts that they do.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Eight steps led up to it: Seven steps into the outer court and eight into the inner make fifteen in all. Albert Barnes notes this matches the fifteen Songs of Ascents, Psalms 120 to 134, which some held were sung by Levites on the temple steps. Barnes gives it as a view some held.
Ezekiel 40:31
“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. From the precincts to the outer court were “seven” steps, from the outer to the inner court “eight,” making together the number of the Psalms Ps. 120–134, supposed by some to have been called Psalms of Degrees, because they were sung by the choir of Levites upon the steps (“degrees”) of the temple-courts.”
Ezekiel 40:32-34
inner court on the east side: The inner court's east gate completes the eastern line that began at the outer east gate. Two gates now stand on this one axis, facing the direction by which the glory departed at 11:23 and returns at 43:4. The palm trees are the vision's one recurring ornament across every gate.
Ezekiel 40:32
“And he brought me into the inner court toward the east,.... Into that part of it which lay to the east, having gone through that which lay to the south: and he measured the gate according to these measures; that is, the eastern gate of the inner court; for the eastern gate that led to the outward court he measured first, Eze 40:6, and this was according to the measure of that, and of the rest.”
2 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 40:32
"And he brought me into the inner court by the East gate, and he measured the gate according to the former measures, its chamber, and its front, and its vestibule as above." This also which is written concerning the South gate is narrated in the same order concerning the East gate as well. However, the Lord can also be designated by the gate of the East, Judea by the South, and the converted Gentile world by the North. We call the gate the Lord because through Him we enter to Him.
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 8patristic
Ezekiel 40:32
“And when, through the weapons of justice, on the right and left, through glory and disgrace, through good and bad reputation, through praise and blame, we have obtained victory over this world: then palms are given to us on both sides, which neither joys have changed, nor sorrow, nor prosperity, nor adversity have overcome: and not by seven degrees, as in the region of the North, nor by seven and eight, as in the South, are we contained, but by only eight degrees do we ascend to the highest: because the number eight is sufficient for us, that is, the…”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekiel 12:40.32-34patristic
fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide: Jerome observes that the Septuagint and Symmachus place the vestibule toward the inner court, where the Hebrew reads the outer court. The Berean text in verse 34 follows the Hebrew. Every gate shares the plan of fifty cubits by twenty-five.
Ezekiel 40:33
"And its windows, and its vestibules round about, fifty cubits in length, and twenty-five cubits in width." But if the Gentile world is designated by the name of the North, it is clear to all who read carefully that the Gentile world existed before the Synagogue. For Heber himself, from whom the Hebrews are named, was chosen from among the Gentiles. Let the Eastern gate therefore be mentioned before the gate of the North and of the South, because in His divinity the Lord was born before the Gentile world and Judea, He who also exists before all ages.
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 8patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:33
“And the little chambers thereof,.... These, and what follow in this verse, are exactly the same with those of the south gate of the inner court, Eze 40:29.”
Its portico faced the outer court: This inner east gate carries a special rule in 46:1. It stays shut on the six working days and opens on the Sabbath and the New Moon. Jerome traces the eastern route with its eight steps.
Ezekiel 40:34
"And its vestibule, that is, of the inner court, and palm trees carved on its front on this side and on that, and its ascent was by eight steps."
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 8patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:34
“And the arches thereof were toward the outward court,.... As those of the south gate, Eze 40:31, and the palm trees on the posts, and the steps up to it, the same as there.”
Ezekiel 40:35-37
he brought me to the north gate: The inner north gate completes the third pair, matching the outer north gate, with the same measurements and eight steps. Three gates outside answer three gates inside on the same three sides, east, north, and south. For thirty verses one description has been repeated with only the direction changing.
Ezekiel 40:35
“And he brought me to the north gate,.... That is, of the inner court, for he had measured before the north gate that led to the outward court, Eze 40:20, and here the little chambers, posts, arches, and steps, in all things agree with those of the other gates: what were observed in it different from the rest, an account is given of it in the following verse.”
2 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 40:35
"And he brought me to the gate which looked toward the North, and he measured according to the former measures, its chamber, and its front, and its vestibule." Those things also which were said concerning the South gate and the East gate are repeated in the same words also concerning the gate which looks toward the North. The converted Gentile world is designated by the North. For Heber himself, from whom the Hebrews are named, was chosen from among the Gentiles. The Gentile world existed before the Synagogue.
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 8patristic
Ezekiel 40:35
“The work of grace, and its workings, are the same, for substance, in grown Christians that they are in young beginners, only that the former have got so much nearer their perfection. The faith of all the saints is alike precious, though it be not alike strong.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
It also had windows all around: Verse 40 places tables for slaughter at this north gateway. Leviticus 1:11 required the burnt offering to be slain on the north side of the altar, so the gate's position fits its use. Its plan matches the other gates.
Ezekiel 40:36
"And its windows round about, fifty cubits in length, and twenty-five cubits in width." But because our discourse has led us to the resurrection of the flesh, it is exceedingly sad and greatly lamentable that we know some stand in the Church and yet doubt the resurrection of the flesh. The ancient fathers most certainly believed this would come, even when they held no example yet of that same resurrection. With what condemnation, therefore, are those worthy who have already received the example of the Lord's resurrection, and yet still distrust their own resurrection?
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 8patristic
Eight steps led up to it: Palm trees mark this gate as they mark every gate in the vision, and 41:18 to 20 carries palms onto the walls of the house. The ornament links the outer approach to the sanctuary. The eight steps match the south and east inner gates.
Ezekiel 40:37
"And its vestibule looked toward the outer court, and carved palm trees on its front on this side and on that, and its ascent was by eight steps." Behold, the ancient and new Fathers agree with one another in one spirit concerning the resurrection of the flesh. Behold, Truth itself first taught by word what it afterward demonstrated by deed concerning the resurrection of the flesh, and yet still the weakness of some does not have faith while standing in the house of faith. But they are accustomed to wonder how flesh can come back to life from dust.
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 8patristic
Tables for the sacrifices and the porch of the house
Ezekiel 40:38-43
with a doorway by the portico: A chamber by the portico is where “the burnt offering was to be washed,” and eight tables serve the offerings Leviticus names. Four tables of dressed stone hold the utensils. Keil takes this detail as meaning actual sacrifice in this house, while others read the offerings as the vision's symbolism.
Ezekiel 40:38
“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.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:38
“For Le 1:11 directs the sacrifices to be killed north of the altar; and Eze 8:5 calls the north gate, "the gate of the altar." And Eze 40:40 particularly mentions the north gate.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings: Albert Barnes places the tables in the angles between the porch and the gate front, fitted to the directions of the Law. Readers divide over offerings in this vision. Keil reads them as symbols of restored worship, while dispensational writers expect literal memorial sacrifices in a future temple.
Ezekiel 40:39
“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. If the gate-building projected with its porch forward on to the pavement of the inner court, the tables were fitly placed for carrying out the directions of the Law.”
two tables on one side and two more tables on the other side: Worshipers bringing animals reached these outer tables first as they climbed toward the entrance. The pairing of two and two repeats the symmetry of the gates. Verse 41 gives the total of eight.
Ezekiel 40:40
“On either side of the entrance of the north gate (from the inner court), were two tables on the one side and two tables on the other side of the porch.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:40
“And at the outer side, which goes up to the entrance of the gate that looks toward the north. Nor does it seem foreign to reason that the prophet, when he was speaking of the outer side and naming the door of the gate, added: Which goes toward the North. For in the outer custody the law given in the letter was kept. But the door of the gate is the historical understanding itself of the law, which leads to the fear of the Lord.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 9patristic
Adam Clarke explains that on these tables the priests slew, flayed and cut up the victims. He places them at the north gate's portico, in the court of the priests. Verse 42 adds four stone tables for the burnt offering.
Ezekiel 40:41
“Four tables - These were in the porch of the north gate, in the court of the priests: on them they slew, flayed, and cut up the victims. See dddd in the plan.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
four tables of dressed stone: Albert Barnes distinguishes these stone tables from the eight of the previous verse, which he thinks were wood and used for slaying. At a cubit and a half square and a cubit high, the stone tables held the tools. Barnes suggests twelve tables may recall the twelve tribes.
Ezekiel 40:42
“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.” There may be in the number twelve a reference to the twelve tribes of Israel.”
The double-pronged hooks: The Hebrew word is rare and uncertain. John Wesley takes it as hooks for hanging the carcasses during preparation. Albert Barnes notes the dual form, a thing found in pairs, and reports the view that it means ledges a handbreadth from the table edges.
Ezekiel 40:43
“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. Some suggest that they were borders or ledges set, on either side of the tables, a handbreadth from the edges, to prevent the instruments placed on them from falling off.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ezekiel 40:43
“Within - Within the porch, where these tables stood. Hooks - Hooks on which the slaughtered sacrifice might be hanged, while they prepared it farther.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Ezekiel 40:44-46
were two chambers: Two chambers stand beside the inner gates. The priests of the altar are “the sons of Zadok,” the line that stayed faithful when other priests followed idolatry. Fairbairn notes that the Zadokite line is set in the architecture before the law governing it is stated.
Ezekiel 40:44
“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). These chambers (N, Plan II) may have been for the “singers and priests” who were for the time being engaged in the services of the temple. Other chambers (Eze 42:1 ff) were for the use of the “priests” at other times; and the Levites and singers, when “not” on duty, would find accommodation in the thirty chambers of the outer court.”
the priests who keep charge of the temple: Albert Barnes ties this charge to Numbers 3:32, where oversight of the sanctuary fell to Aaron's descendants. Ezekiel 44:14 later assigns the care of the temple to Levites who had gone astray, which suggests who used this chamber. The altar belongs to the sons of Zadok.
Ezekiel 40:45
“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.”
These are the sons of Zadok: Albert Barnes traces the priests to Aaron's sons Eleazar and Ithamar, with Zadok representing Eleazar's line under David in 1 Chronicles 24. Zadok anointed Solomon in 1 Kings 1:39, while Abiathar was removed in 1 Kings 2:27. Barnes notes that the north chamber overlooked the altar.
Ezekiel 40:47-49
a hundred cubits long: The inner court is measured last, square, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide, with the altar in front of the temple. The portico is measured next, its side pillars, its gateway and its columns. The tour stops at the threshold of the house without stepping inside.
Ezekiel 40:47
"And he measured the porch of the temple by the length of one hundred cubits, and the width of one hundred cubits, square: and the altar that was before the temple."
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekielpatristic
4 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 40:47
“He measured the court - This was the court of the priests. See FFF in the plan.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ezekiel 40:47
“Christ is both our altar and our sacrifice, to whom we must look with an eye of faith in all our approaches to God, and he is salvation in the midst of the earth ( Ps. lxxiv.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ezekiel 40:47
“Whence it is also added: And the altar before the face of the temple. What is a temple, if not the faithful people? As it is said to the disciples through the Apostle Paul: "For the temple of God is holy, which you are." And what is the altar of God, if not the mind of those living well?”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 10patristic
Ezekiel 40:47
“The court - The inner court (B) where was the brass altar Eze 43:13. The new chapter would begin better at Eze 40:48.”
the portico of the temple: The width of fourteen cubits comes from the Septuagint, and the Hebrew gives only the three cubit sidewalls. John Wesley reckons the opening at eleven cubits with folding doors, and Adam Clarke also reads a double door. Jerome says the prophet entered by the royal way.
Ezekiel 40:48
"And he brought me into the porch of the temple, and he measured the porch five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side." Moreover, the aforementioned man led Ezekiel into the vestibule, or πρόπυλον of the temple, which measured five cubits on each side, for the one who was brought in had been trained in divine understanding and knew neither right nor left, but entered by the royal way.
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ezekielpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ezekiel 40:48
“The breadth - The whole breadth was eleven cubits, but the breadth of each leaf of this folding-gate was three cubits, and they met, or shut on an upright post, set in the middle of the gate space, and this was one cubit broad.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Ezekiel 40:48
“Breadth of the gate - It is evident that the gate was a bivalve, or had folding doors. The length of the porch was twenty cubits. Josephus says the vestibule was twenty cubits long and ten broad. Antiq. lib. 8:3, 2.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
ten steps led up to it: Here too the Berean follows the Septuagint, which reads twelve cubits deep and gives ten steps. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that 1 Kings 6:3 gives Solomon's porch as ten cubits, while the Hebrew here has eleven. The two columns recall Jachin and Boaz in 1 Kings 7:21.
Ezekiel 40:49
“1Ki 6:3 designates the number by the lesser next round number, "ten"; Ezekiel here, by the larger number, "eleven" [MENOCHIUS]. The Septuagint reads "twelve." he brought me by the steps--They were ten in number [Septuagint].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
How this psalm is built
The patterns in this chapter
How this chapter is built
1 more paragraph on the patterns
The chapter is a walk, and the measures follow the order of the guide's steps. He measures the outer wall in verse 5 and the east gate in verses 6 to 16. The outer court and its north and south gates follow in verses 17 to 27, and the three gates of the inner court in verses 28 to 37. The tables for the offerings, the chambers for the singers and priests and the porch of the house follow in verses 38 to 49. The outer gates stand at the top of seven steps in verses 22 and 26, and the inner gates at the top of eight in verses 31, 34 and 37.
Keep studying
Studies5
Places1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.