HarperCollins Study Bible
Page 312
25Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name. 26They shall forgeth their shame, and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they live securely in their land with no one to make them afraid, 27when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have displayed my holiness in the sight of many nations. 28Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God because I sent them into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will leave none of them behind; 29and I will never again hide my face from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.
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a Or of the Abarim
b That is, the Horde of Gog
c Heb travelers
d Heb travelers
e That is, the Horde of Gog
f That is The Horde
g Heb chariots
h Another reading is They shall bear
39.1–5 Destruction on the mountains of Israel.
39.1–2 Parallel in formulation to 38.1–2, 8.
39.3 Personal combat between God the warrior and Gog, who is depicted as an archer.
39.4 Birds…wild animals. Cf. 29.5.
39.6 Send fire on reflects the mode of punishment in Amos’s oracles against the nations (1.4, 7, 10, 12; 2.5). Coastlands, perhaps Tyre (26.15, 18; 27.3) or, more generally, the maritime trading regions (38.13).
39.7 My holy name. Cf.v. 25; 36.20–23.
39.8 It has come! It has happened, better “Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about” (RSV), since the reference is to the “day of the LORD.”
39.9–10 Destruction of Gog’s weaponry; cf. Ps 46.9. Those who live in towns. Cf. v. 13, all the people of the land. On the specific weapons, cf. 23.24. Buckler, a small shield. Seven years, an idealized number based on the sabbath and sabbatical cycle; cf. vv. 12, 14.
39.10 Israel apparently uses the wood for domestic purposes.
39.11–16 Burying Gog.
39.11 Valley of the Travelers, Hebrew “Valley of the Obarim” however, perhaps one should read “Abarim,” a mountain range east of the Dead Sea in northern Moab. The place of burial would be outside the land, hence avoiding contamination from corpse impurity (see Num 19.11–13) and allowing for purification (Ezek 39.12, 16).
39.14 A group set apart from all the people, who search for bones for another seven months.
39.15 Buriers, another group.
39.17–20 An elaboration of v. 4b. Ezekiel is to summon birds and animals for a sacrificial feast, perhaps with allusions to earlier Canaanite myths; cf. Isa 34.5–7; Zeph 1.7.
39.18 The proper sacrificial character is underlined by construing the dead warriors as animals acceptable for sacrifice. Fatlings of Bashan. Cf. Ps 22.12; Am 4.1. In standard Israelite practice, humans did not consume the blood and fat (so 44.7, 15; Lev 3.16–17).
39.21–29 Concluding oracles.
39.21–22 God’s actions perceived by both the nations and Israel; cf. 39.6–8.
39.23–24 Defeat and exile are treated as God’s just punishment. Hid my face. Cf. Pss 13.1;22.24; 27.9; 104.29; Isa 54.8; 57.17; 59.2; 64.7; Num 6.24–26.
39.25–29 Restore the fortunes. Cf. 16.53–58;29.14; Jer 33.26. Jealous for my holy name. Cf. 36.22–23; Joel 2.18.
39.27 When I have brought them back. Return is still a future event.
39.29 Pour out my spirit. Cf. 36.26–27; Joel 2.28–29.
EZEKIEL 40
The Vision of the New Temple
1In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me there. 2He brought me, in visions of God, to the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. 3When he brought me there, a man was there, whose appearance shone like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. 4The man said to me, “Mortal, look closely and listen attentively, and set your mind upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you; declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”
5Now there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area. The length of the measuring reed in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length; so he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed. 6Then he went into the gateway facing east, going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep.a There were 7recesses, and each recess was one reed wide and one reed deep; and the space between the recesses, five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the vestibule of the gate at the inner end was one reed deep. 8Then he measured the inner vestibule of the gateway, one cubit. 9Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and its pilasters, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end. 10There were three recesses on either side of the east gate; the three were of the same size; and the pilasters on either side were of the same size. 11Then he measured the width of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits; and the width of the gateway, thirteen cubits. 12There was a barrier before the recesses, one cubit on either side; and the recesses were six cubits on either side. 13Then he measured the gate from the backb of the one recess to the backc of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, from wall to wall.d 14He measurede also the vestibule, twenty cubits; and the gate next to the pilaster on every side of the court.f 15From the front of the gate at the entrance to the end of the inner vestibule of the gate was fifty cubits. 16The recesses and their pilasters had windows, with shuttersg on the inside of the gateway all around, and the vestibules also had windows on the inside all around; and on the pilasters were palm trees.
17Then he brought me into the outer court; there were chambers there, and a pavement, all around the court; thirty chambers fronted on the pavement. 18The pavement ran along the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates; this was the lower pavement. 19Then he measured the distance from the inner front ofh the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court, one hundred cubits.i
20Then he measured the gate of the outer court that faced north—its depth and width. 21Its recesses, three on either side, and its pilasters and its vestibule were of the same size as those of the first gate; its depth was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits. 22Its windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faced toward the east. Seven steps led up to it; and its vestibule was on the inside.j 23Opposite the gate on the north, as on the east, was a gate to the inner court; he measured from gate to gate, one hundred cubits.
24Then he led me toward the south, and there was a gate on the south; and he measured its pilasters and its vestibule; they had the same dimensions as the others. 25There were windows all around in it and in its vestibule, like the windows of the others; its depth was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits. 26There were seven steps leading up to it; its vestibule was on the inside.k It had palm trees on its pilasters, one on either side. 27There was a gate on the south of the inner court; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, one hundred cubits.
28Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it was of the same dimensions as the others. 29Its recesses, its pilasters, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others; and there were windows all around in it and in its vestibule; its depth was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits. 30There were vestibules all around, twenty-five cubits deep and five cubits wide. 31Its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its pilasters, and its stairway had eight steps.
32Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gate; it was of the same size as the others.
33Its recesses, its pilasters, and its vestibule were of the same dimensions as the others; and there were windows all around in it and in its vestibule; its depth was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits. 34Its vestibule faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its pilasters, on either side; and its stairway had eight steps.
35Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it; it had the same dimensions as the others. 36Its recesses, its pilasters, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others;l and it had windows all around. Its depth was fifty cubits, and its width twenty-five cubits. 37Its vestibulem faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its pilasters, on either side; and its stairway had eight steps.
38There was a chamber with its door in the vestibule of the gate,n where the burnt offering was to be washed. 39And in the vestibule of the gate were two tables on either side, on which the burnt offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering were to be slaughtered. 40On the outside of the vestibuleo at the entrance of the north gate were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables. 41Four tables were on the inside, and four tables on the outside of the side of the gate, eight tables, on which the sacrifices were to be slaughtered. 42There were also four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, and one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high, on which the instruments were to be laid with which the burnt offerings and the sacrifices were slaughtered. 43There were pegs, one handbreadth long, fastened all around the inside. And on the tables the flesh of the offering was to be laid.
44On the outside of the inner gateway there were chambers for the singers in the inner court, onep at the side of the north gate facing south, the other at the side of the east gate facing north. 45He said to me, “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple, 46and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar; these are the descendants of Zadok, who alone among the descendants of Levi may come near to the LORD to minister to him.” 47He measured the court, one hundred cubits deep, and one hundred cubits wide, a square; and the altar was in front of the temple.
The Temple
48Then he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the pilasters of the vestibule, five cubits on either side; and the width of the gate was fourteen cubits; and the sidewalls of the gate were three cubitsq on either side. 49The depth of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width twelver cubits; ten steps led ups to it; and there were pillars beside the pilasters on either side.
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a Heb deep, and one threshold, one reed deep
b Gk: Heb roof
c Gk: Heb roof
d Heb opening facing opening
e Heb made
f Meaning of Heb uncertain
g Meaning of Heb uncertain
h Compare Gk: Heb from before
i Heb adds the east and the north
j Gk: Heb before them
k Gk: Heb before them
l One Ms: Compare verses 29 and 33: MT lacks were of the same size as the others
m Gk Vg Compare verses 26, 31, 34: Heb pilasters
n Cn: Heb at the pilasters of the gates
o Cn: Heb to him who goes up
p Heb lacks one
q Gk: Heb and the width of the gate was three cubits
r Gk: Heb eleven
s Gk: Heb and by steps that went up
40.1–48.35 The new temple and polity. Chs. 40–48, the fourth major section of the book, is the fourth vision report. Ezekiel travels to Jerusalem, receives a tour of the new temple complex (chs. 40–42), and perceives the glory of the Lord returning to the rebuilt temple (43.4–5). Then he is instructed in the Torah (43.12–46.24) relevant to the new structure and the community gathered around it. Finally, in chs. 47–48, the land beyond the temple is defined and described.
40.1–42.20 The temple and its courtyards.
40.1–4 Prologue. The date in v. 1 is April 28, 573 BCE (see note on 1.2). A quarter century after Ezekiel and the first deportees were taken into exile and fourteen years after Jerusalem was razed, he returns via visionary experience (the hand of the LORD [see note on 1.3], in visions of God) to Jerusalem.
40.2 A very high mountain, Mount Zion, upon which the temple stood; cf. 17.22;20.40; 43.12; Isa 2.2. A city to the south places Jerusalem south of the temple; cf. 48.15–19.
40.3 A man will guide Ezekiel throughout this final vision; the last mention of the man is in 47.6. Like bronze. As with the creatures in 1.7, bronze characterizes the man as something other than a human; cf. the figure described in 8.2. A linen cord and a measuring reed, two instruments for linear measurement. The reed (also inv. 5) was a little longer than 10 feet, or 3 meters. The cord does not recur; cf. Zech 2.1.
40.4 The rationale for Ezekiel’s experience is the imperative to declare all that you see; cf. 43.10.
40.5 A long cubit was about 518 millimeters, or 20 inches, long; the ratio of a short to long cubit was 6 to 7, a distinction known throughout the ancient Near East.
40.5–16 The eastern gate (gateway facing east) to the temple compound, which has the basic configuration of city gates excavated at Gezer, Hazor, and Megiddo, in this case a passageway with four recessed rooms (three recesses and one vestibule on either side). Such fortified gates make Ezekiel’s temple rather like a religious citadel. As with other city gates, this wall met the gate before the first recess, with the rest of the gate structure inside the temple area. Apart from v. 5b, which may be a later addition, the measurements provide a ground plan, i.e., with no elevations, though there were seven stairs just before the gate (see v. 22). The entire gate complex was almost ninety feet long. Windows provided light in the rooms.
40.16 Pilasters, projecting columns, which may have been door jambs, were decorated with palm trees; cf. 1 Kings 6.29, 32, 35; 7.36.
40.17–19 The outer court was lined with thirty chambers; cf. Jer 35.2–4; Neh 13.4–14 for such rooms, which could have been used for meeting or storage.
40.20–27 The north and south gates, which are fundamentally similar to the east gate. The steps reflect multiple elevations.
40.28–37 Three gates (south, east, north) leading from the outer to the inner courtyards, which involved an elevation of eight stairs, were used exclusively by priests. These inner gates are similar to the outer gates, though with a reversal in the order of vestibule and recesses.
40.38–43 Chambers, located in one of the inside gates (probably the north one since it has just been described), were to be used for preparation of animals for sacrifices–washing and slaughter. On burnt, sin, and guilt offerings, see Lev 1; 4–7.
40.44–46 Rooms for the priests: the north chamber for Zadokites, who alone could perform the altar sacrifice (cf. 44.15), the south for priests of lesser status. Singers, levitical singers (1 Chr 16).
40.44 East gate, better “south gate,” based on the north–south orientation of the gates and the Septuagint.
40.47 The inner court was a square, with the altar (43.13–17) near the temple itself; cf. 1 Kings 8.64; 2 Kings 16.14.
40.48–41.4 Ten steps lead up to the temple’s entrance—into the vestibule. The three rooms, the vestibule (35 feet long by 21 feet wide), the nave (71 by 25), and the inner room (35 by 35), are arranged on a linear axis. Cf. the dimensions of the Solomonic temple (1 Kings 6), from which Ezekiel’s temple differs in important ways. Though the man entered the inner room, Ezekiel did not. Silence throughout their tour is broken when the man announces the most holy place.
40.49 Pillars, similar to the placement of Solomon’s pillars, but without names; cf. 1 Kings 7.15–22.
EZEKIEL 41
1Then he brought me to the nave, and measured the pilasters; on each side six cubits was the width of the pilasters.a 2The width of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sidewalls of the entrance were five cubits on either side. He measured the length of the nave, forty cubits, and its width, twenty
cubits. 3Then he went into the inner room and measured the pilasters of the entrance, two cubits; and the width of the entrance, six cubits; and the sidewallsb of the entrance, seven cubits. 4He measured the depth of the room, twenty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits, beyond the nave. And he said to me, This is the most holy place.
5Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick; and the width of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the temple. 6The side chambers were in three stories, one over another, thirty in each story. There were offsetsc all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that they should not be supported by the wall of the temple. 7The passagewayd of the side chambers widened from story to story; for the structure was supplied with a stairway all around the temple. For this reason the structure became wider from story to story. One ascended from the bottom story to the uppermost story by way of the middle one. 8I saw also that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed of six long cubits. 9The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits; and the free space between the side chambers of the temple 10and the chambers of the court was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side. 11The side chambers opened onto the area left free, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south; and the width of the part that was left free was five cubits all around.