Ezekiel 40:31
in Ezekiel 40Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees. Eight steps led up to it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof: and the ascent to it had eight steps.
KJV
And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps.
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This verse in Ezekiel 40
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
This site's exposition
inner court through the south gate
on Ezekiel 40:28-31
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.
This site's exposition
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 24 and following) 'And he led me to the south gate, and behold, there was a gate that faced south. And its frontispiece and vestibule were measured according to the upper measurements, and its windows and vestibules all around were like the other windows. It had a length of fifty cubits, and a width of twenty-five cubits, and it was ascended by seven steps, and there was a vestibule in front of its doors, and palm trees were carved on it, one on one side, and the other on the other side in front of it.'
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistHomilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 8 · Written before 604.
proposed
"And its palm trees on the front, and there were eight steps by which one ascended to it." This step, as Truth teaches, was shown to a certain man, who when the precepts of the law were spoken to him, responded: All these things have I kept from my youth. For he was standing as it were already on seven steps, when he said he had kept all things from his youth.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the arches thereof were toward the outward court,....
But in this gospel-temple we meet with no altar till after the glory of the Lord has taken possession of it, for Christ is our altar, that sanctifies every gift.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵלַמָּ֗יו | veelamav | and porches its | H361 → | 15 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | [was] to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חָצֵר֙ | chatzer | a courtyard | H2691 → | 191 times |
| הַחִ֣צוֹנָ֔ה | hachitzonah | <the> outer | H2435 → | 25 times |
| וְתִמֹרִ֖ים | vetimorim | and palm trees | H8561 → | 19 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | [were] to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֵילָ֑יו | ʾeilov | pillars its | H352 → | 187 times |
| וּמַעֲל֥וֹת | umaalot | and [was] steps | H4609 → | 32 times |
| שְׁמוֹנֶ֖ה | shemoneh | eight | H8083 → | 109 times |
| מַעֲלָֽיו׃ | maalov | ascents its | H4608 → | 18 times |
וְאֵלַמָּ֗יוand porches its
veelamavH361 →15 times
אֶל־[was] to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חָצֵר֙a courtyard
chatzerH2691 →191 times
הַחִ֣צוֹנָ֔ה<the> outer
hachitzonahH2435 →25 times
וְתִמֹרִ֖יםand palm trees
vetimorimH8561 →19 times
אֶל־[were] to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֵילָ֑יוpillars its
ʾeilovH352 →187 times
וּמַעֲל֥וֹתand [was] steps
umaalotH4609 →32 times
שְׁמוֹנֶ֖הeight
shemonehH8083 →109 times
מַעֲלָֽיו׃ascents its
maalovH4608 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 40:26Seven steps led up to it, and its portico was opposite them; it had palm trees on its side pillars, one on each side.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 40:16
The gate chambers and their side pillars had beveled windows all around the inside of the gateway. The porticos also had windows all around on the inside. Each side pillar was decorated with palm…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 40:22
Its windows, portico, and palm trees had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 40:29
Its gate chambers, side pillars, and portico had the same measurements as the others. Both the gateway and its portico had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
- 2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
- Ezekiel 40:16
Through
Ezekiel 40:22Its windows, portico, and palm trees had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 40:37
Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees on each side. Eight steps led up to it.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 40:6
Then he came to the gate facing east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate to be one rod deep.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 40:49
The portico was twenty cubits wide and twelve cubits deep, and ten steps led up to it. There were columns by the side pillars, one on each side.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 40:34
Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees on each side. Eight steps led up to it.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 40:37
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Gregory the Dialogist, Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 8; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.