Ezekiel 40:21
in Ezekiel 40Its three gate chambers on each side, its side pillars, and its portico all had the same measurements as the first gate: fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the lodges thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
KJV
And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
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This verse in Ezekiel 40
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The different approaches corresponded in plan. In the case of these two other gates, however, no mention is made of a building with thirty chambers such as was found on the east side. Only one was needed, and it was assigned to the east as being the sacred quarter, and that most conveniently situated for the officiating priests.
This site's exposition
the outer court facing north
on Ezekiel 40:20-23
The north gate repeats the east gate: three gate chambers on each side, fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide, seven steps, and palm trees. A gate to the inner court faces this north gate, and the guide measures a hundred cubits between them.
This site's exposition
the same measurements as the first gate
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe the north and south gates match the east gate in plan, yet a building is mentioned only on the east. They explain that the east was the sacred quarter, nearest the officiating priests. Gates stand on only three sides, east, north and south.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 20, 21.) He also measured the gate of the outer court that faced north, both in length and width. It had three rooms on each side, and its front and vestibule were the same size as those of the gate that faced east. The gate was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide, and its windows, vestibule, and carvings were all the same size as those of the gate that faced east. There were seven steps in its ascent, and a vestibule before it.
And it had, it says, fifty cubits in length and twenty-five in width, so that eternal rest might be demonstrated after fifty weeks following seven weeks: extending during the day of resurrection to the kingdoms of heaven, in which true rest is found.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistHomilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 7 · Written before 604.
proposed
And because in the knowledge of the Holy Trinity hearers advance from the word of preaching in love of the same Trinity, this same gate has three chambers on one side and three on the other, because everything that the Creator speaks concerning the Trinity through the New Testament, He also shows from the Old Testament. And the heart of hearers advances in love of the heavenly fatherland, so that the soul clinging to God may sit as a bride with the bridegroom in a certain chamber already, and turn itself completely away from earthly desires. Or certainly, as was said far above, because there are three orders of those living well, namely of the good married, the continent, and the preachers, and because some even placed in marriages long for the heavenly fatherland with love, while others through hope of eternal joy even mortify the flesh, and flee all earthly activities, and scorn to be entangled in the care of this world, while others both despise earthly goods and preach the heavenly joys which they have come to know, what are these if not chambers in the spiritual building, in whose thought and meditation the soul is joined to the heavenly spouse? Because the Church from the Gentiles not only has these three orders of the good, but also the Synagogue once had them, while a great multitude of spiritual persons ardently awaited the grace of the Redeemer, the gate of the heavenly building has three chambers on this side and three on that side, because every preacher, when he summons his hearer to the heavenly fatherland, demonstrates that both new and old fathers longed with heavenly desire. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the little chambers thereof were three on this side, and three on that side,.... As in the eastern gate, and the measures the same, Eze 40:
But the description is repeated very particularly. And thus largely was the structure of the tabernacle related in Exodus, and of the temple in the books of Kings and Chronicles, to signify the special notice God does take, and his ministers should take, of all that belong to his church. His delight is in them; his eye is upon them.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And the little chambers thereof were three, etc. - See the plan. Arches - Porch. The arch was not known at this period.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְתָאָ֗יו | vetaov | and chambers its | H8372 → | 13 times |
| שְׁלוֹשָׁ֤ה | sheloshah | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| מִפּוֹ֙ | mipo | from here | H6311 → | 82 times |
| וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה | usheloshah | and three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| מִפּ֔וֹ | mipo | from here | H6311 → | 82 times |
| וְאֵילָ֤יו | veeilov | and pillars its | H352 → | 187 times |
| וְאֵֽלַמָּיו֙ | veelamov | and porches its | H361 → | 15 times |
| הָיָ֔ה | hayah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּמִדַּ֖ת | kemidat | like [the] measurement of | H4060 → | 55 times |
| הַשַּׁ֣עַר | hashaar | the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן | harishon | <the> first | H7223 → | 182 times |
| חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים | chamishim | [was] fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| אַמָּה֙ | ʾamah | cubit[s] | H520 → | 247 times |
| אָרְכּ֔וֹ | ʾareko | length its | H753 → | 95 times |
| וְרֹ֕חַב | verochav | and [the] breadth | H7341 → | 101 times |
| חָמֵ֥שׁ | chamesh | [was] five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים | veesrim | and twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| בָּאַמָּֽה׃ | baamah | by the cubit | H520 → | 247 times |
וְתָאָ֗יוand chambers its
vetaovH8372 →13 times
שְׁלוֹשָׁ֤הthree
sheloshahH7969 →432 times
מִפּוֹ֙from here
mipoH6311 →82 times
וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֣הand three
usheloshahH7969 →432 times
מִפּ֔וֹfrom here
mipoH6311 →82 times
וְאֵילָ֤יוand pillars its
veeilovH352 →187 times
וְאֵֽלַמָּיו֙and porches its
veelamovH361 →15 times
הָיָ֔הit was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
כְּמִדַּ֖תlike [the] measurement of
kemidatH4060 →55 times
הַשַּׁ֣עַרthe gate
hashaarH8179 →374 times
הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן<the> first
harishonH7223 →182 times
חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים[was] fifty
chamishimH2572 →163 times
אַמָּה֙cubit[s]
ʾamahH520 →247 times
אָרְכּ֔וֹlength its
ʾarekoH753 →95 times
וְרֹ֕חַבand [the] breadth
verochavH7341 →101 times
חָמֵ֥שׁ[was] five
chameshH2568 →343 times
וְעֶשְׂרִ֖יםand twenty
veesrimH6242 →315 times
בָּאַמָּֽה׃by the cubit
baamahH520 →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 7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; Jerome, COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 12:40.20-23; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
