Ezekiel 41:7
in Ezekiel 41The 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 rose upward. And so a stairway went up from the lowest story to the highest, through the middle one.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the side-chambers were broader as they encompassed the house higher and higher; for the encompassing of the house went higher and higher round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house continued upward; and so one went up from the lowest chamber to the highest by the middle chamber.
KJV
And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.
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This verse in Ezekiel 41
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Vers. 5 seqq.) And the wall of the house was measured six cubits, and the width of each side was four cubits all around the house. The sides were side by side, thirty-three on each side, and there were projections that entered through the wall of the house on the sides all around, in order to contain them and not touch the wall of the temple. And there was a ascending courtyard: going up through a spiral staircase and leading to the upper room of the temple in a circular path.
This site's exposition
the wall of the temple
on Ezekiel 41:5-11
The wall of the temple is six cubits thick. Side rooms ring it in three levels of thirty rooms each, widening at each level because the wall narrows as it rises. Ledges carry the rooms, “so that the supports would not be fastened into the wall of the temple itself”.
This site's exposition
widened at each successive level
Albert Barnes explains the widening: the supporting wall grew thinner by one cubit at each floor, and the rooms gained that cubit. The building steps inward as it rises. Jerome read the stairway through the middle story as a spiral stair leading to the upper rooms.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The higher we build up ourselves in our most holy faith the more should our hearts, those living temples, be enlarged. The Vision of the Temple. 12 Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:37w-of-63
And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 story, and again was further diminished one cubit for the floor of the third story. Thus there was an “enlarging” of the second story of the chambers by one cubit, and of the third story by two cubits beyond the breadth of the chambers on the ground-floor.
An enlarging, and a winding about - Perhaps a winding staircase that-widened upward as the inner wall decreased in thickness; this wall being six cubits thick; as high as the first story, five from the floor of the second story to that of the third, and four from the floor to the ceiling of the third story: and thus there was a rest of one cubit in breadth to support the stories. - Newcome.
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽרָחֲבָ֡ה | verachavah | and it was broad | H7337 → | |
| וְֽנָסְבָה֩ | venasevah | and it surrounded | H5437 → | 161 times |
| לְמַ֨עְלָה | lema'lah | <to> upwards <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| לְמַ֜עְלָה | lema'lah | <to> upwards <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| לַצְּלָע֗וֹת | latzelaot | to the side-chambers | H6763 → | 40 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מֽוּסַב־ | musav- | [the] surrounding of | H4141 → | |
| הַ֠בַּיִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| לְמַ֨עְלָה | lema'lah | <to> upwards <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| לְמַ֜עְלָה | lema'lah | <to> upwards <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| סָבִ֤יב׀ | saviv | all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| סָבִיב֙ | saviv | all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| לַבַּ֔יִת | labayit | to the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֥ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| רֹֽחַב־ | rochav- | [the] breadth | H7341 → | 101 times |
| לַבַּ֖יִת | labayit | of the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| לְמָ֑עְלָה | lemaelah | <to> upwards <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| וְכֵ֧ן | vekhen | and thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הַתַּחְתּוֹנָ֛ה | hatachtonah | the lower [story] | H8481 → | 13 times |
| יַעֲלֶ֥ה | yaaleh | someone will ascend | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָעֶלְיוֹנָ֖ה | haelyonah | the upper [story] | H5945 → | 53 times |
| לַתִּיכוֹנָֽה׃ | latikhonah | to the middle [story] | H8484 → | 11 times |
וְֽרָחֲבָ֡הand it was broad
verachavahH7337 →
וְֽנָסְבָה֩and it surrounded
venasevahH5437 →161 times
לְמַ֨עְלָה<to> upwards <towards>
lema'lahH4605 →140 times
לְמַ֜עְלָה<to> upwards <towards>
lema'lahH4605 →140 times
לַצְּלָע֗וֹתto the side-chambers
latzelaotH6763 →40 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מֽוּסַב־[the] surrounding of
musav-H4141 →
הַ֠בַּיִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
לְמַ֨עְלָה<to> upwards <towards>
lema'lahH4605 →140 times
לְמַ֜עְלָה<to> upwards <towards>
lema'lahH4605 →140 times
סָבִ֤יב׀all around
savivH5439 →336 times
סָבִיב֙all around
savivH5439 →336 times
לַבַּ֔יִתto the house
labayitH1004 →2046 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֥ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
רֹֽחַב־[the] breadth
rochav-H7341 →101 times
לַבַּ֖יִתof the house
labayitH1004 →2046 times
לְמָ֑עְלָה<to> upwards <towards>
lemaelahH4605 →140 times
וְכֵ֧ןand thus
vekhenH3651 →771 times
הַתַּחְתּוֹנָ֛הthe lower [story]
hatachtonahH8481 →13 times
יַעֲלֶ֥הsomeone will ascend
yaalehH5927 →890 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָעֶלְיוֹנָ֖הthe upper [story]
haelyonahH5945 →53 times
לַתִּיכוֹנָֽה׃to the middle [story]
latikhonahH8484 →11 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
Hebrews 6:1Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God,
it leads to
- Hebrews 5:12–14
Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food!
- 2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Hebrews 9:14
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
- Hebrews 12:13
Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
- Acts 26:20
First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of…
- Hebrews 5:12–14
Through
Matthew 13:32Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 31:6
All the birds of the air nested in its branches, and all the beasts of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade.
- Daniel 4:12
Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant, and upon it was food for all. Under it the beasts of the field found shelter, in its branches the birds of the air nested, and…
- Ezekiel 17:23–24
I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel so that it will bear branches; it will yield fruit and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it, taking…
- Ezekiel 31:6
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; 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.