HarperCollins Study Bible
Page 313
12The building that was facing the temple yard on the west side was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its depth ninety cubits.
13Then he measured the temple, one hundred cubits deep; and the yard and the building with its walls, one hundred cubits deep; 14also the width of the east front of the temple and the yard, one hundred cubits.
15Then he measured the depth of the building facing the yard at the west, together with its galleriese on either side, one hundred cubits.
The nave of the temple and the inner room and the outerf vestibule 16were paneled,g and, all around, all three had windows with recessedh frames. Facing the threshold the temple was paneled with wood all around, from the floor up to the windows (now the windows were covered), 17to the space above the door, even to the inner room, and on the outside. And on all the walls all around in the inner room and the nave there was a pattern.i 18It was formed of cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces: 19a human face turned toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion turned toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around; 20from the floor to the area above the door, cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall.j
21The doorposts of the nave were square. In front of the holy place was something resembling 22an altar of wood, three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits wide;k its corners, its base,l and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that stands before the LORD.” 23The nave and the holy place had each a double door. 24The doors had two leaves apiece, two swinging leaves for each door. 25On the doors of the nave were carved cherubim and palm trees, such as were carved on the walls; and there was a canopy of wood in front of the vestibule outside. 26And there were recessed windows and palm trees on either side, on the sidewalls of the vestibule.m
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a Compare Gk: Heb tent
b Gk: Heb width
c Gk Compare 1 Kings 6.6: Heb they entered
d Cn: Heb it was surrounded
e Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
f Gk: Heb of the court
g Gk: Heb the thresholds
h Cn Compare Gk 1 Kings 6.4: Meaning of Heb uncertain
i Heb measures
j Cn Compare verse 25: Heb and the wall
k Gk: Heb lacks two cubits wide
l Gk: Heb length
m Cn: Heb vestibule. And the side chambers of the temple and the canopies
41.5–11 Three stories of thirty rooms each abutting the exterior walls; cf. 1 Kings 6.5–10.
41.8 Raised platform, probably an allusion to the final elevation upon which the temple was built.
41.12–15a. Concluding exterior measurements of both the temple and the building, which was similar in size to the temple, though the purpose of this latter structure is unknown; cf. 1 Chr 26.18.
41.15b–26 Interior decoration of the temple, expressed in ways different from the language and motifs typical of accounts of Ezekiel’s tour through the temple complex.
41.15b–16 Only the vestibule and nave are explicitly mentioned in the Hebrew text. They are paneled (cf. 1 Kings 6.9; 7.3, 7), but much remains obscure, esp. inv. 16, though the windows appear similar to those in the gates.
41.17–20 Some repeating patterns of cherubim (with human and lion faces) and palm trees appear on one register of the walls (cf. 1 Kings 6.29), probably as reliefs carved in wood.
41.21–22 Something resembling an altar of wood, a table typologically similar to the table for rows of bread of the Presence (Ex 25.23–30; Lev 24.7–9; 1 Kings 6.20–22).
41.23–26 There were two swinging doors per aperture; on doors, cf. v. 21a, and windows, v. 16. Canopy of wood, obscure; cf. 1 Kings 7.6.
EZEKIEL 42
The Holy Chambers and the Outer Wall
1Then he led me out into the outer court, toward the north, and he brought me to the chambers that were opposite the temple yard and opposite the building on the north. 2The length of the building that was on the north sidea wasb one hundred cubits, and the width fifty cubits. 3Across the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner court, and facing the pavement that belonged to the outer court, the chambers rosec galleryd by gallerye in three stories. 4In front of the chambers was a passage on the inner side, ten cubits wide and one hundred cubits deep,f and itsg entrances were on the north. 5Now the upper chambers were narrower, for the galleriesh took more away from them than from the lower and middle chambers in the building. 6For they were in three stories, and they had no pillars like the pillars of the outeri court; for this reason the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones. 7There was a wall outside parallel to the chambers, toward the outer court, opposite the chambers, fifty cubits long. 8For the chambers on the outer court were fifty cubits long, while those opposite the temple were one hundred cubits long. 9At the foot of these chambers ran a passage that one entered from the east in order to enter them from the outer court. 10The width of the passagej was fixed by the wall of the court.
On the southk also, opposite the vacant area and opposite the building, there were chambers 11with a passage in front of them; they were similar to the chambers on the north, of the same length and width, with the same exitsl and arrangements and doors. 12So the entrances of the chambers to the south were entered through the entrance at the head of the corresponding passage, from the east, along the matching wall.m
13Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers opposite the vacant area are the holy chambers, where the priests who approach the LORD shall eat the most holy offerings; there they shall deposit the most holy offerings—the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for the place is holy. 14When the priests enter the holy place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court without laying there the vestments in which they minister, for these are holy; they shall put on other garments before they go near to the area open to the people.”
15When he had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the gate that faces east, and measured the temple area all around. 16He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. 17Then he turned and measuredn the north side, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. 18Then he turned and measuredo the south side, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. 19Then he turned to the west side and measured, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. 20He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to make a separation between the holy and the common.
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a Gk: Heb door
b Gk: Heb before the length
c Heb lacks the chambers rose
d Meaning of Heb uncertain
e Meaning of Heb uncertain
f Gk Syr: Heb a way of one cubit
g Heb their
h Meaning of Heb uncertain
i Gk: Heb lacks outer
j Heb lacks of the passage
k Gk: Heb east
l Heb and all their exits
m Meaning of Heb uncertain
n Gk: Heb measuring reed all around. He measured
o Gk: Heb measuring reed all around. He measured
42.1–14 The Hebrew text is at many places problematic; moreover, the precise physical character and location of the buildings is difficult to determine, though they are related to the outer court (v. 1; cf. 40.17). The buildings function as temple sacristies and may be related to the tradition of the two chambers described in 40.44–46. Each was three stories high. Specific attention is devoted to passages and doors, which is consistent with the concern to limit access to the holy.
42.1 The building, a structure west of and hence behind the temple; see 41.12.
42.13 The grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering are reserved for priestly consumption
(see 44.29); cf. 40.39 for a similar list of sacrifices. Such ritually prepared food is to remain in the sacristies, a holy precinct.
42.14 Requirements for the use of ritual apparel. Priestly vestments that are worn in the temple building are not to be worn in the temple’s outer courtyard (see similarly 44.19).
42.15–20 The temple complex is a square with sides of 500 cubits each. The process of measuring parallels the description in 40.6–37; movement is from the east to the north, south, and then west.
42.20 The purpose of the wall is defined not as a defensive structure but as a boundary between the holy and the common (i.e., the sacred and the profane). On this distinction elsewhere in Ezekiel, cf. 22.26; 44.23. Given this statement about the function of the wall, the defensive character of the gates becomes even more important, since they must guard against the intrusion of the common into the holy.
EZEKIEL 43
The Divine Glory Returns to the Temple
1Then he brought me to the gate, the gate facing east. 2And there, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east; the sound was like the sound of mighty waters; and the earth shone with his glory. 3Thea vision I saw was like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, andb like the vision that I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. 4As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, 5the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
6While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me out of the temple. 7He said to me: Mortal, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will reside among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their whoring, and by the corpses of their kings at their death.c 8When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they were defiling my holy name by their abominations that they committed; therefore I have consumed them in my anger. 9Now let them put away their idolatry and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will reside among them forever.
10As for you, mortal, describe the temple to the house of Israel, and let them measure the pattern; and let them be ashamed of their iniquities. 11When they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the plan of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, and its whole form—all its ordinances and its entire plan and all its laws; and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe and follow the entire plan and all its ordinances. 12This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. This is the law of the temple.
The Altar
13These are the dimensions of the altar by cubits (the cubit being one cubit and a hand-breadth): its base shall be one cubit high,d and one cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge. This shall be the height of the altar: 14From the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a width of one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a width of one cubit; 15and the altar hearth, four cubits; and from the altar hearth projecting upward, four horns. 16The altar hearth shall be square, twelve cubits long by twelve wide. 17The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide, with a rim around it half a cubit wide, and its surrounding base, one cubit. Its steps shall face east.
18Then he said to me: Mortal, thus says the Lord GOD: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and for dashing blood against it, 19you shall give to the levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, says the Lord GOD, a bull for a sin offering. 20And you shall take some of its blood, and put it on the four horns of the altar, and on the four corners of the ledge, and upon the rim all around; thus you shall purify it and make atonement for it. 21You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area.
22On the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with the bull. 23When you have finished purifying it, you shall offer a bull without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish. 24You shall present them before the LORD, and the priests shall throw salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD. 25For seven days you shall provide daily a goat for a sin offering; also a bull and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be provided. 26Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it. 27When these days are over, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer upon the altar your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being; and I will accept you, says the Lord GOD.
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a Gk: Heb Like the vision
b Syr: Heb and the visions
c Or on their high places
d Gk: Heb lacks high
43.1–12 The glory of God returns to the temple.
43.1–2 The gate facing east, i.e., the gate from which the glory of God departed (10.19) and the gate at which Ezekiel’s visionary tour had begun (40.6). From the east. Cf. 11.23 for the last explicit reference to the eastward movement of the glory of God. The sound of mighty waters. See note on 1.24. The earth shone. Cf. 1.4, 13 for the symbolism of light.
43.3 Allusions to 8.1–11.25 and 1.1–28a, respectively. And Ezekiel’s behavior is similar—I fell upon my face (see 1.28b).
43.5 The spirit lifted me up. Cf. 3.12, 14; 8.3; 11.1, 24. The glory of the LORD filled the temple, an event analogous to the presence of God filling the tabernacle and temple, respectively (Ex 40.34–35; 1 Kings 8.10–13).
43.6 The man, the one who has been conducting Ezekiel’s visionary tour of the temple compound and who, despite God’s presence in the temple, continues to perform this role.
43.7–12 God’s new Torah. God promises never again to leave the temple (vv. 7, 9). Cf. 37.28.
43.7 Place of my throne, Jerusalem (Jer 3.16–17; 17.12). Soles of my feet. The ark of the covenant was understood to be the object upon which the feet of the deity might rest (cf. esp. 1 Chr 28.2; also Ps 132.7; Isa 60.13; Lam 2.1; and, for an entirely different conception, Isa 66.1). Their kings, perhaps a reference to royal burials near the temple (cf. 2 Kings 21.18; 21.26), or to royal steles erected in the temple area and commemorating the dead kings (the final Hebrew phrase in the Masoretic Text is ambiguous).
43.8 A specific critique of the earlier proximity of palace to temple as well as more general reference to their abominations.
43.9 A challenge and promise to the present generation.
43.10 The first portion corresponds to the charge in 40.4; let them measure…iniquities involves the people’s pragmatic and emotional response.
43.11 In distinction to 40.4, Ezekiel is charged with writing down the plans for the temple. Its exits and its entrances, the permeable portions of the boundary between the sacred and the profane.
43.12 This is the law of the temple. Law, Hebrew torah. The claim is extraordinary, since Israel already knew an authoritative book of Torah (2 Kings 22.8). The whole territory…shall be most holy, the primary theme of chs. 40–48.
43.13–27 The construction and consecration of the altar.
43.13–17 The dimensions of the altar, a stepped structure, with each ascending level smaller in area than the one before (base, 18 square cubits; lower ledge, 16; upper ledge, 14; hearth with four horns, 12).
43.13 Cubit. See note on 40.5.
43.14 From the base on the ground, lit. “from the lap of the earth.”
43.15–16 Altar hearth, a difficult term that in the Hebrew looks like “the mountain of God” (v. 15) or “the lion of God” (vv. 15–16). The latter phrase is very similar to “Ariel” in Isa 29.1–2, 7. Some have suggested that the configuration of the altar is similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat.
43.15 Archaeologists have discovered numerous stone altars with horns at the four corners of their tops. Cf. Ex 27.2; 29.12; 1 Kings 1.50–51; Am 3.14.
43.17 The altar was so high (over 20 feet) that it required steps.
43.18–27 Consecration of the altar requires one week.
43.19 Family of Zadok. Only Zadokites, not all levitical priests, may offer sacrifices on the altar. On the first day, both anointing rituals with blood (cf. Lev 16.18; Ex 29.16) and burnt offerings will take place. Sin offering. See Lev 4.1–5.13.
43.20 Purify…make atonement, both cleanse and remove any residual impurity; cf. Ex 29.36; Lev 8.15.
43.21 Outside the sacred area. See Lev 4.12, 21; 8.17.
43.22–24 The second day’s offerings.
43.24 Salt, elsewhere used only for vegetarian offerings; see Lev 2.13; Num 18.19; 2 Chr 13.5; Ezek 47.11.
43.25–27 Seven days of offerings mirrors other rituals for dedication. (Ex 29.37; Lev 8.33, 35).
43.27 Offerings of well-being, which priests and supplicants could eat; see Lev 3.1–17.
EZEKIEL 44
The Closed Gate
1Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. 2The LORD said to me: This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut. 3Only the prince, because he is a prince, may sit in it to eat food before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.