Ezekiel 44:1
in Ezekiel 44The man then brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faced east, but it was shut.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.
KJV
Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.
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This verse in Ezekiel 44
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Outward sanctuary - The court of the priests, as distinguished from the temple itself. This gate was reserved for the prince, to whom it was opened on certain days. Only a prince of the house of David might sit down in the priests’ court (compare Eze 46:1-2).
This site's exposition
the outer gate of the sanctuary that faced east
on Ezekiel 44:1-3
The east gate is to remain shut, and “no man shall enter through it” since the God of Israel has entered by it. Only the prince may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the LORD, entering and leaving by the portico.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Who is this gate, if not Mary? Is it not closed because she is a virgin? Mary is the gate through which Christ entered this world, when He was brought forth in the virginal birth and the manner of His birth did not break the seals of virginity.
Some quite emphatically understand this closed gate through which only the Lord God of Israel passes... as the Virgin Mary, who remains a Virgin before and after childbirth. In fact, she remains always a Virgin, in the moment in which the Angel speaks with her and when the Son of God is born.
(Chapter 44, verses 1 onwards) And he brought me back to the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces eastward and was closed. And the Lord said to me: This gate shall be closed and shall not be opened, and no man shall enter through it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered (or will enter) by it; it shall be closed for the prince. The prince himself shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord.
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Thomas AquinasSumma Theologiae, Third Part, Question 28, Article 3 · Written before 1274.
proposed
On the contrary, It is written (Ezekiel 44:2): "This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it; because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it." Expounding these words, Augustine says in a sermon …
A commentator
John DamasceneAn Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book IV), Chapter 14 · Written before 749.
proposed
But just as He who was conceived kept her who conceived still virgin, in like manner also He who was born preserved her virginity intact, only passing through her and keeping her closed. [Ezekiel 44:2] The conception, indeed, was through the sense of hearing, but the birth through the usual path by which children come, although some tell tales of His birth through the side of the Mother of God. For it was not impossible for Him to have come by this gate, without injuring her seal in anyway. The ever-virgin One thus remains even after the birth still virgin, having never at any time up till death consorted with a man.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The outward sanctuary - In opposition to the temple itself, which was the inner sanctuary.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֣שֶׁב | vaiyashev | and he brought back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֹתִ֗י | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דֶּ֣רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| שַׁ֤עַר | shaar | [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הַמִּקְדָּשׁ֙ | hamikdash | the sanctuary | H4720 → | 75 times |
| הַֽחִיצ֔וֹן | hachitzon | <the> outer | H2435 → | 25 times |
| הַפֹּנֶ֖ה | haponeh | which faces | H6437 → | 135 times |
| קָדִ֑ים | kadim | east | H6921 → | 69 times |
| וְה֖וּא | vehu' | and it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| סָגֽוּר׃ | sagur | [was] shut | H5462 → | 91 times |
וַיָּ֣שֶׁבand he brought back
vaiyashevH7725 →1056 times
אֹתִ֗י<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 times
דֶּ֣רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
שַׁ֤עַר[the] gate of
shaarH8179 →374 times
הַמִּקְדָּשׁ֙the sanctuary
hamikdashH4720 →75 times
הַֽחִיצ֔וֹן<the> outer
hachitzonH2435 →25 times
הַפֹּנֶ֖הwhich faces
haponehH6437 →135 times
קָדִ֑יםeast
kadimH6921 →69 times
וְה֖וּאand it
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
סָגֽוּר׃[was] shut
sagurH5462 →91 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 42:14Once the priests have entered the holy area, they must not go out into the outer court until they have left behind the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They are…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 44:19
When they go out to the outer court, to the people, they are to take off the garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes…
- Leviticus 8:7
He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. He tied the woven band of the ephod around him and fastened…
- Ezekiel 44:19
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
- 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.
- 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
Through
Ezekiel 43:1Then the man brought me back to the gate that faces east,
it leads to
- Ezekiel 42:15
Now when the man had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the gate that faced east, and he measured the area all around:
- 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.
- Ezekiel 46:1
“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘The gate of the inner court that faces east must be kept shut during the six days of work, but on the Sabbath day and on the…
- Ezekiel 42:15
Through
Ezekiel 40:6Then he came to the gate facing east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate to be one rod deep.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 43:1
Then the man brought me back to the gate that faces east,
- Ezekiel 43:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, De institutione virginum 8.52; Jerome, Commentarium in Evangelium Lucae, PL 25, 430.; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Damascene, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book IV), Chapter 14; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel and Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Third Part, Question 28, Article 3.