Ezekiel 40:15
in Ezekiel 40And the distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its inner portico was fifty cubits.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And from the forefront of the gate at the entrance unto the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.
KJV
And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.
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This verse in Ezekiel 40
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
climbed its steps
on Ezekiel 40:6-16
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.
This site's exposition
fifty cubits
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
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.
(Verse 14 and following) He made fronts for sixty cubits, and the courtyard of the gate had a surrounding circuit. And before the face of the gate, which reached up to the face of the interior vestibule gate, there were fifty cubits, and oblique windows in the chambers, and in their fronts which were inside the gate all around. Similarly, there were windows in the vestibules all around inside: and before the fronts, there was a depiction of palms.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistHomilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 5 · Written before 604.
proposed
And before the face of the gate which extended to the face of the vestibule of the inner gate, fifty cubits. That which is said in this place, "Before the face of the gate," describes not the exterior, but the interior place before the gate, since it is reported to extend up to the face of the vestibule of the inner gate. Hence that same place is said to have been measured at fifty cubits. For by the number fifty, eternal rest is signified. For the number seven has its own perfection, because on that day the number of days was completed. And through the law the Sabbath was given for rest. Moreover, that same number seven multiplied by itself yields forty-nine, and if a monad is added to it, one arrives at fifty, because all our perfection will be in the contemplation of that One, in whose vision there will no longer be anything lacking of salvation and joy for us. Hence also the jubilee, that is, the fiftieth year, was given for rest, because whoever has arrived at the eternal joys of almighty God will no longer have labor and groaning. It should be noted that the place which is described as extending for fifty cubits is said to reach to the face of the vestibule of the inner gate. Therefore in this place the prophet is not describing the vestibule of the inner gate itself, but the place within which extends to the vestibule of the inner gate. By which place, of course, as we have said, our hope is signified, which while it seeks eternal rest, leads the mind to the vestibule of the inner gate. For in this very fact that we desire heavenly things, that we sigh for the promised joys, that we seek the rest of eternal life, we are already approaching the face of the inner vestibule. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And from the face of the gate of the entrance,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Fifty cubits - The length of the building. See MMMMM in the plan.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And he made the pillars sixty cubits The height of the pillars of the posts of the hall was sixty cubits.
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַ֗ל | veal | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵי֙ | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַשַּׁ֣עַר | hashaar | the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הָֽאִית֔וֹן | haiyoton | the entrance | H2978 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לִפְנֵ֕י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֻלָ֥ם | ʾulam | [the] porch of | H197 → | 34 times |
| הַשַּׁ֖עַר | hashaar | the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הַפְּנִימִ֑י | hapenimi | <the> inner | H6442 → | 32 times |
| חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים | chamishim | fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| אַמָּֽה׃ | ʾamah | cubit[s] | H520 → | 247 times |
וְעַ֗לand on
vealH5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵי֙[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַשַּׁ֣עַרthe gate
hashaarH8179 →374 times
הָֽאִית֔וֹןthe entrance
haiyotonH2978 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
לִפְנֵ֕י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
אֻלָ֥ם[the] porch of
ʾulamH197 →34 times
הַשַּׁ֖עַרthe gate
hashaarH8179 →374 times
הַפְּנִימִ֑י<the> inner
hapenimiH6442 →32 times
חֲמִשִּׁ֖יםfifty
chamishimH2572 →163 times
אַמָּֽה׃cubit[s]
ʾamahH520 →247 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Ezekiel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Gregory the Dialogist, Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 5; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.
