Ezekiel41
New King James Version
1Then he brought me into the sanctuary and measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side—the width of the tabernacle.
2The width of the entryway was ten cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on this side and five cubits on the other side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.
3Also he went inside and measured the doorposts, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits high; and the width of the entrance, seven cubits.
4He measured the length, twenty cubits; and the width, twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”
5Next, he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits. The width of each side chamber all around the temple was four cubits on every side.
6The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty chambers in each story; they rested on ledges which were for the side chambers all around, that they might be supported, but not fastened to the wall of the temple.
7As one went up from story to story, the side chambers became wider all around, because their supporting ledges in the wall of the temple ascended like steps; therefore the width of the structure increased as one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the middle one.
8I also saw an elevation all around the temple; it was the foundation of the side chambers, a full rod, that is, six cubits high.
9The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits, and so also the remaining terrace by the place of the side chambers of the temple.
10And between it and the wall chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.
11The doors of the side chambers opened on the terrace, one door toward the north and another toward the south; and the width of the terrace was five cubits all around.
12The building that faced the separating courtyard at its western end was seventy cubits wide; the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.
13So he measured the temple, one hundred cubits long; and the separating courtyard with the building and its walls was one hundred cubits long;
14also the width of the eastern face of the temple, including the separating courtyard, was one hundred cubits.
15He measured the length of the building behind it, facing the separating courtyard, with its galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits, as well as the inner temple and the porches of the court,
16their doorposts and the beveled window frames. And the galleries all around their three stories opposite the threshold were paneled with wood from the ground to the windows—the windows were covered—
17from the space above the door, even to the inner room, as well as outside, and on every wall all around, inside and outside, by measure.
18And it was made with cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces,
19so that the face of a man was toward a palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion toward a palm tree on the other side; thus it was made throughout the temple all around.
20From the floor to the space above the door, and on the wall of the sanctuary, cherubim and palm trees were carved.
21The doorposts of the temple were square, as was the front of the sanctuary; their appearance was similar.
22The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits. Its corners, its length, and its sides were of wood; and he said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”
23The temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
24The doors had two panels apiece, two folding panels: two panels for one door and two panels for the other door.
25Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the temple just as they were carved on the walls. A wooden canopy was on the front of the vestibule outside.
26There were beveled window frames and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the vestibule—also on the side chambers of the temple and on the canopies.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 41.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Vision of the Temple. (1-26).
vv1-26
After the prophet had observed the courts, he was brought to the temple. If we attend to instructions in the plainer parts of religion, and profit by them, we shall be led further into an acquaintance with the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
Key Words
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
הֵיכָל: a large public building, such as a palace or temple
מָדַד: properly, to stretch; by implication, to measure (as if by stretching a line); figuratively, to be extended
אַיִל: properly, strength; hence, anything strong; specifically a chief (politically); also a ram (from his strength); a pilaster (as a strong support); an oak or other strong tree
פֹּה: this place (French ici), i.e. here or hence
שֵׁשׁ: six (as an overplus beyond five or the fingers of the hand); as ord. sixth
אַמָּה: properly, a mother (i.e. unit of measure, or the fore-arm (below the elbow), i.e. a cubit; also a door-base (as a bond of the entrance)
רֹחַב: width (literally or figuratively)
אֹהֶל: a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance)
פֶּתַח: an opening (literally), i.e. door (gate) or entrance way
Cross References
Ezekiel 41The dimensions of the temple house correspond directly with Solomon's temple measurements.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The Holy of Holies is a perfect square of twenty cubits, as in Solomon's temple.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Matches the structural design of side chambers resting on ledges without entering the main temple wall.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Describes the winding stairs or passages ascending upward through the stories of side chambers.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The measuring reed of six great cubits defines the foundations of the side chambers.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Carvings of cherubim and palm trees decorated the walls and doors of Solomon's temple.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies the wooden altar as the table where priests minister directly before the Lord.
Supported by JFB
The dimensions of the wooden altar of incense are compared with the tabernacle's golden altar.
Supported by JFB
Establishes the boundary dividing the holy place from the most holy place in the tabernacle.
Solomon built side chambers against the walls of the temple round about both sanctuary and oracle.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Explains how the upper chambers were wider as the walls of the house receded.
The two faces of the cherubim (man and lion) link back to the four-faced living creatures.
The squared posts of the temple entrance parallel the square posts in Solomon's temple.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The theological significance of the Holy of Holies and access into the divine presence.
The narrow windows and palm tree decorations echo the design elements of the outer gates.
Solomon's temple likewise featured narrow, latticed windows for light and ventilation.
The altar is functionally called the 'table of the Lord' in sacrificial vocabulary.
The two folding leaves for each of the two doors matches the entrance pattern.