Ezekiel 43:13
in Ezekiel 43These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits (a cubit and a handbreadth): Its gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge. And this is the height of the altar:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And these are the measures of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about a span; and this shall be the base of the altar.
KJV
And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.
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This verse in Ezekiel 43
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The altar of sacrifice which stood in the inner court, not the altar of incense described Eze 41:22. In the temple of the vision the dimensions differ from those of the tabernacle Exo 27:1, and of Solomon’s Temple 2Ch 4:1, with a view to introduce definite propositions and symbolic numbers. See Plan L. The bottom - The base (I) of the altar so called, because it forms with its “border” (K) a kind of socket to receive the “lower settle” (L). It was to be “a cubit” in depth.
This site's exposition
the measurements of the altar in long cubits
on Ezekiel 43:13-17
The altar is measured “in long cubits (a cubit and a handbreadth),” rising by ledges to a hearth “twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide”. Commentators read the stepped ledges as an altar approached in stages, the restraint that governed the earlier altar of earth or unhewn stone (Exodus 20:24-25).
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 13 seqq.) These are the measurements of the altar: in the true cubit, which is a cubit and a handbreadth (or παλαιστὴν) in his bosom, the cubit was in length, and its width was measured from its lip to the surrounding palm of one hand. This was also the trench of the altar. From the bosom of the earth to the outermost base, it was two cubits in height, and the width of one cubit. And from the smaller base to the larger base, it was four cubits, and the width of one cubit.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Border - A ledge going round on all the squares. The edge - On the outer edge of this settle a span high. The back - As the back bears burdens, so this was to bear the weight of the whole altar.
Directions are here given, 1. Concerning the dedication of the altar at first. Seven days were to be spent in the dedication of it, and every day sacrifices were to be offered upon it, and particularly a goat for a sin-offering (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The cubit is a cubit and a hand breadth - It is the same cubit by which all the previous admeasurements were made, and was a hand breadth or four inches longer than the Babylonian cubit.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵ֨לֶּה | veeleh | and these | H428 → | 746 times |
| מִדּ֤וֹת | midot | [are] [the] measurements of | H4060 → | 55 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| בָּֽאַמּ֔וֹת | baamot | by <the> cubits | H520 → | 247 times |
| אַמָּ֥ה | ʾamah | a cubit | H520 → | 247 times |
| אַמָּ֖ה | ʾamah | [is] a cubit | H520 → | 247 times |
| וָטֹ֑פַח | vatofach | and a hand breadth | H2948 → | 5 times |
| וְחֵ֨יק | vecheik | and a gutter | H2436 → | 38 times |
| הָאַמָּ֜ה | haamah | [is] the cubit | H520 → | 247 times |
| וְאַמָּה־ | veamah- | and [is] a cubit | H520 → | 247 times |
| רֹ֗חַב | rochav | [the] breadth | H7341 → | 101 times |
| וּגְבוּלָ֨הּ | ugevulah | and border its | H1366 → | 240 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שְׂפָתָ֤הּ | sefatah | edge its | H8193 → | 176 times |
| סָבִיב֙ | saviv | around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| זֶ֣רֶת | zeret | a span | H2239 → | |
| הָאֶחָ֔ד | haechad | <the> one | H259 → | 971 times |
| וְזֶ֖ה | vezeh | and this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| גַּ֥ב | gav | [is] [the] mound of | H1354 → | 13 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
וְאֵ֨לֶּהand these
veelehH428 →746 times
מִדּ֤וֹת[are] [the] measurements of
midotH4060 →55 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙the altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
בָּֽאַמּ֔וֹתby <the> cubits
baamotH520 →247 times
אַמָּ֥הa cubit
ʾamahH520 →247 times
אַמָּ֖ה[is] a cubit
ʾamahH520 →247 times
וָטֹ֑פַחand a hand breadth
vatofachH2948 →5 times
וְחֵ֨יקand a gutter
vecheikH2436 →38 times
הָאַמָּ֜ה[is] the cubit
haamahH520 →247 times
וְאַמָּה־and [is] a cubit
veamah-H520 →247 times
רֹ֗חַב[the] breadth
rochavH7341 →101 times
וּגְבוּלָ֨הּand border its
ugevulahH1366 →240 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שְׂפָתָ֤הּedge its
sefatahH8193 →176 times
סָבִיב֙around
savivH5439 →336 times
זֶ֣רֶתa span
zeretH2239 →
הָאֶחָ֔ד<the> one
haechadH259 →971 times
וְזֶ֖הand this
vezehH2088 →1180 times
גַּ֥ב[is] [the] mound of
gavH1354 →13 times
הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃the altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 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 40:5And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a handbreadth), and he measured…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 42:20
So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.
- Isaiah 26:1
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts.
- Ezekiel 42:20
Through
2 Chronicles 4:1He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:64
On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of…
- Ezekiel 43:13–17
These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits (a cubit and a handbreadth): Its gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its…
- 2 Kings 16:14–15
He also took the bronze altar that stood before the LORD from the front of the temple (between the new altar and the house of the LORD) and he put it on the north…
- 1 Kings 8:22
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,
- Exodus 27:1–8
“You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high.
- 1 Kings 8:64
Through
Ezekiel 41:8I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the full length of a rod, six long cubits.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 40:5
And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a handbreadth), and he measured…
- Ezekiel 40:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
