Ezekiel 41:1
in Ezekiel 41Then the man brought me into the outer sanctuary and measured the side pillars to be six cubits wide on each side.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.
KJV
Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.
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This verse in Ezekiel 41
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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. The eastern posts of this wall forming part of the front of the temple were ornamented with pillars, six cubits on each side. He measured the breadth - This breadth was twenty cubits Eze 41:2. Omit “which was.” “tabernacle” is here the interior (the covered portion) of the temple.
This site's exposition
brought me into the outer sanctuary
on Ezekiel 41:1-4
The guide measures the outer sanctuary, forty cubits by twenty, then goes into the inner sanctuary. His own words name the room: “This is the Most Holy Place”. Gill notes the slowness of the tour, so that the reader reaches the innermost room only after every approach has been counted.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 41, Verse 1 and following) 'And he brought me into the temple, and measured the fronts, six cubits in width here and six cubits in width there, the width of the tabernacle. And the width of the gate was ten cubits, and the sides (or shoulders) of the gate were five cubits here and five cubits there. And he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.'
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Ezekiel was himself a priest, but by the iniquity and calamity of the times was cut short of his birthright privilege of ministering in the temple; but God makes up the loss to him by introducing him into this prophetical, evangelical, celestial temple, and employing him to transmit a description of it to the church, in which he was dignified above all the rest of his order.
), namely, twelve cubits, Exod. xxvi. In comparison with what had been under the law we may say, Wide is the gate which leads into the church, the ceremonial law, that wall of partition which had so much straitened the gate, being taken down. The most holy place was an exact square, twenty cubits each way,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Afterward he brought me to the temple,.... Having measured the porch into it, its posts, and gate.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
tabernacle--As in the measurement of the outer porch he had pointed to Solomon's temple, so here in the edifice itself, he points to the old tabernacle, which being eight boards in breadth (each one and a half cubits broad) would make in all twelve cubits, as here. On the interior it was only ten cubits.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
To the temple - He had first described the courts and the porch. See chap. 40.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
six cubits wide That is the width of the wall of the Heichal, between the Heichal and the hall (from east to west).
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And he brought me into the Main Hall (the *Heichal*) and measured the posts, which were six cubits wide on each side, matching the width of the Structure.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְבִיאֵ֖נִי | vayvieni | and he brought me | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַהֵיכָ֑ל | haheikhal | the temple | H1964 → | 80 times |
| וַיָּ֣מָד | vaiyamod | and he measured | H4058 → | 51 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאֵילִ֗ים | haeilim | the pillars | H352 → | 187 times |
| שֵׁשׁ־ | shesh- | [was] six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| אַמּ֨וֹת | ʾamot | cubits | H520 → | 247 times |
| רֹ֧חַב־ | rochav- | [the] breadth | H7341 → | 101 times |
| מִפּ֛וֹ | mipo | from here | H6311 → | 82 times |
| וְשֵׁשׁ־ | veshesh- | and [was] six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| אַמּֽוֹת־ | ʾamot- | cubits | H520 → | 247 times |
| רֹ֥חַב | rochav | [the] breadth | H7341 → | 101 times |
| מִפּ֖וֹ | mipo | from here | H6311 → | 82 times |
| רֹ֥חַב | rochav | [the] breadth of | H7341 → | 101 times |
| הָאֹֽהֶל׃ | haohel | the tent | H168 → |
וַיְבִיאֵ֖נִיand he brought me
vayvieniH935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַהֵיכָ֑לthe temple
haheikhalH1964 →80 times
וַיָּ֣מָדand he measured
vaiyamodH4058 →51 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאֵילִ֗יםthe pillars
haeilimH352 →187 times
שֵׁשׁ־[was] six
shesh-H8337 →216 times
אַמּ֨וֹתcubits
ʾamotH520 →247 times
רֹ֧חַב־[the] breadth
rochav-H7341 →101 times
מִפּ֛וֹfrom here
mipoH6311 →82 times
וְשֵׁשׁ־and [was] six
veshesh-H8337 →216 times
אַמּֽוֹת־cubits
ʾamot-H520 →247 times
רֹ֥חַב[the] breadth
rochavH7341 →101 times
מִפּ֖וֹfrom here
mipoH6311 →82 times
רֹ֥חַב[the] breadth of
rochavH7341 →101 times
הָאֹֽהֶל׃the tent
haohelH168 →
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 40:17Then 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,
it leads to
- Ezekiel 42:1
Then the man led me out northward into the outer court, and he brought me to the group of chambers opposite the temple courtyard and the outer wall on the north side.
- Revelation 11:2
But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
- 1 Chronicles 23:28
but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and…
- Ezekiel 45:5
An adjacent area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide shall belong to the Levites who minister in the temple; it will be their possession for towns in which to live.
- Ezekiel 10:5
The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.
- Ezekiel 42:1
Through
Ezekiel 41:23Both the outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary had double doors,
it leads to
- 1 Kings 6:31–35
For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, Solomon constructed doors of olive wood with five-sided doorposts.
- 1 Kings 6:31–35
Through
Ezekiel 41:21The outer sanctuary had a rectangular doorframe, and the doorframe of the sanctuary was similar.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 40:14
Next he measured the gateposts to be sixty cubits high. The gateway extended around to the gatepost of the courtyard.
- 1 Kings 6:33
In the same way he made four-sided doorposts of olive wood for the sanctuary entrance.
- Ezekiel 40:14
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 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, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.