1 And he brought me to the temple; and he measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, the breadth of the tent.
2 And the breadth of the entry was ten cubits, and the sides of the entry were five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits.
3 And he went inwards, and measured the post of the entry, two cubits; and the entry, six cubits; and the breadth of the entry, seven cubits.
4 And he measured its length, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy [place].
5 And he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of the side-chambers, four cubits, round about the house on every side.
6 And the side-chambers were three, chamber over chamber, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which the house had for the side-chambers round about, that they might have hold; but they had not hold in the wall of the house.
7 And for the side-chambers there was an enlarging, and it went round about [the house] increasing upward; for the surrounding of the house increased upward round about the house; therefore the house had width upward, and so ascended [from] the lower [story] to the upper, by the middle one.
8 And I saw that the house had an elevation round about: the foundations of the side-chambers, a full reed, six cubits to the joint.
9 The thickness of the wall, which was for the side-chambers without, was five cubits, as also what was left free along the building of the side-chambers that pertained to the house.
10 And between the cells [and the house] was a width of twenty cubits round about the house on every side.
11 And the entry of the side-chambers was toward what was left free, one entry toward the north, and one entry toward the south; and the width of the space left free was five cubits round about.
12 And 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 its length ninety cubits.
13 And he measured the house: the length a hundred cubits; and the separate place, and the building, and its walls, the length a hundred cubits;
14 and the breadth of the front of the house, and of the separate places toward the east, a hundred cubits.
15 And he measured the length of the building before the separate place, which was at the back of it, with its galleries on the one side and on the other side, a hundred cubits; and the inner temple, and the porches of the court.
16 The thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries round about the three of them (opposite the thresholds it was wainscoted with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered),
17 [and] above, over the entry, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about, within and without, [all was] by measure.
18 And it was made with cherubim and palm-trees, and a palm-tree was between cherub and cherub; and the cherub had two faces:
19 the face of a man was toward the palm-tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm-tree on the other side: [so] was it made upon all the house round about.
20 From the ground unto above the entry were the cherubim and the palm-trees made, and [on] the wall of the temple.
21 As for the temple, the door-posts were squared; and the front of the sanctuary had the same appearance.
22 The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; and its corners, and its length, and its walls were of wood. And he said unto me, This is the table which is before Jehovah.
23 And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
24 And the doors had two leaves, two turning-leaves: two for the one door, and two leaves for the other.
25 And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm-trees, as there were made upon the walls; and there was a wooden portal in front of the porch without,
26 and closed windows and palm-trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch and the side chambers of the house and the portals.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezekiel 41
Commentary on Ezekiel 41 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 41
Eze 41:1-26. The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.
1. tabernacle—As in the measurement of the outer porch he had pointed to Solomon's temple, so here in the edifice itself, he points to the old tabernacle, which being eight boards in breadth (each one and a half cubits broad) would make in all twelve cubits, as here. On the interior it was only ten cubits.
2. length thereof—namely, of the holy place [Fairbairn].
3. inward—towards the most holy place.
4. thereof—of the holy of holies.
before the temple—that is, before, or in front of the most holy place (so "temple" is used in 1Ki 6:3). The angel went in and measured it, while Ezekiel stood in front, in the only part of the temple accessible to him. The dimensions of the two apartments are the same as in Solomon's temple, since being fixed originally by God, they are regarded as finally determined.
5. side chamber—the singular used collectively for the plural. These chambers were appendages attached to the outside of the temple, on the west, north, and south; for on the east side, the principal entrance, there were no chambers. The narrowness of the chambers was in order that the beams could be supported without needing pillars. The plan is similar to that of the hall at Koyunjik, a large central hall, called the oracle, with smaller rooms built round it.
6. might … hold, but … not hold in … wall of the house—1Ki 6:6 tells us there were rests made in the walls of the temple for supports to the side chambers; but the temple walls did not thereby become part of this side building; they stood separate from it. "They entered," namely, the beams of the chambers, which were three-storied and thirty in consecutive order, entered into the wall, that is, were made to lean on rests projecting from the wall.
7. the breadth … so increased from the lowest … to the highest—that is, the breadth of the interior space above was greater than that below.
8. foundations … six … cubits—the substructure, on which the foundations rested, was a full reed of six cubits.
great—literally, "to the extremity" or root, namely, of the hand [Henderson]. "To the joining," or point, where the foundation of one chamber ceased and another began [Fairbairn].
9. that which was left—There was an unoccupied place within chambers that belonged to the house. The buildings in this unoccupied place, west of the temple, and so much resembling it in size, imply that no place was to be left which was to be held, as of old, not sacred. Manasseh (2Ki 23:11) had abused these "suburbs of the temple" to keeping horses sacred to the sun. All excuse for such abominations was henceforth to be taken away, the Lord claiming every space, and filling up this also with sacred erections [Fairbairn].
10. the chambers—that is, of the priests in the court: between these and the side chambers was the wideness, &c. While long details are given as to the chambers, &c., no mention is made of the ark of the covenant. Fairbairn thus interprets this: In future there was to be a perfect conformity to the divine idea, such as there had not been before. The dwellings of His people should all become true sanctuaries of piety. Jehovah Himself, in the full display of the divine Shekinah, shall come in the room of the ark of the covenant (Jer 3:16, 17). The interior of the temple stands empty, waiting for His entrance to fill it with His glory (Eze 43:1-12). It is the same temple, but the courts of it have become different to accommodate a more numerous people. The entire compass of the temple mount has become a holy of holies (Eze 43:12).
12-15. Sum of the measures of the temple, and of the buildings behind and on the side of it.
15. galleries—terrace buildings. On the west or back of the temple, there was a separate place occupied by buildings of the same external dimensions as the temple, that is, one hundred cubits square in the entire compass [Fairbairn].
16. covered—being the highest windows they were "covered" from the view below. Or else "covered with lattice-work."
17. by measure—Measurements were taken [Fairbairn].
21. appearance of the one as the appearance of the other—The appearance of the sanctuary or holy of holies was similar to that of the temple. They differed only in magnitude.
22. table … before the Lord—the altar of incense (Eze 44:16). At it, not at the table of showbread, the priests daily ministered. It stood in front of the veil, and is therefore said to be "before the Lord." It is called a table, as being that at which the Lord will take delight in His people, as at a feast. Hence its dimensions are larger than that of old—three cubits high, two broad, instead of two and one.
25. thick planks—a thick-plank work at the threshold.