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41 Then I followed the man whose appearance was like bronze to the outer nave of the temple; he took measurements of the pillars. Each was 10½ feet wide on each side.

Now Ezekiel is at the outer porch or nave of the actual temple structure. He watches as the man measures the holy place and then proceeds deeper into the recesses of the most holy place. Ezekiel cannot enter these areas because he is not one of the “sons of Zadok” (40:46).

The entrance was 17½ feet wide. The walls on both sides of the entrance were 8¾ feet wide. He measured the outer nave of the temple and discovered it was 70 feet long and 35 feet wide. Then he went inside by himself and took measurements of the columns of the entrance to the inner sanctuary. Each column was 3½ feet wide, the entrance was 10½ feet wide, and the [walls on each side of it were][a] 12¼ feet long. Then the man took measurements of the inner sanctuary, which was 35 feet long and wide.

The Man: This inner sanctuary is the most holy place in all the temple.

Then he walked over to the temple wall and took its measurements and the measurements of each chamber surrounding the temple. The wall of the temple was 10½ feet thick, and each side chamber was 7 feet wide. 6-7 The side chambers were built in 3 stories (one right on top of the other), and there were 30 chambers on each level. The chambers on the second story were wider than those on the first, and the chambers on the third story were wider than the second’s. To keep the second and third stories from overhanging the temple’s sacred space, the wall separating the temple’s inner chamber and the side chambers widened from top to bottom. One entered the third story by climbing stairs through the first and second stories. I noticed the temple floor was higher than the rest of the complex. This raised foundation was also the foundation of the side chambers, and it was 10½ feet thick. The wall on the outside of the side chambers was 8¾ feet thick. The open area between the temple’s side chambers 10 and the priests’ chambers circumscribed the temple, 35 feet around. 11 In that open space were two entrances to the temple’s side chambers. One of the entrances was on the north side, and the other one was on the south side. The open area was exactly 8¾ feet wide all around the temple.

12 On the west end of the complex there was a structure that faced the temple courtyard. It was 122½ feet wide and 157½ feet long. Its walls were 8¾ feet thick. 13 Then the man measured the temple and discovered that it was 175 feet long. The courtyard of the temple plus the western structure and its walls measured 175 feet as well. 14 The eastern courtyard in front of the temple was 175 feet wide. 15 Then he measured the length of the western structure and the galleries on both sides that faced the courtyard west of the temple. It, too, was 175 feet.

The temple’s nave and outer portico[b] 16 were paneled.[c] The recessed windows were trimmed in wood. The interior walls and the space between the floor and the windows were all covered with wood. 17-18 Images of winged guardians[d] and palm trees were carved into the wood above the entrance that led to the sanctuary and also all over the walls of the inner and outer sanctuaries. The two symbols alternated palm tree, guardian, palm tree, etc. Each winged guardian was carved with only two faces: 19 the face of a man peered in the direction of the palm tree on one side, and the face of a lion gazed in the direction of the palm tree on the other side. This relief encompassed the entire temple. 20 Carvings of winged guardians and palm trees covered the wall of the sanctuary in the space between the floor and the top of the entrance.

21 The doorframes leading into the outer sanctuary were square, as were the ones leading to the inner sanctuary. 22 The altar was made of wood. It was 5¼ feet high and 3½ feet square. All of it—its base, horns, and sides—was made of wood.

The Man (to Ezekiel): This is the table that sits before the Eternal.

23 The outer nave and the inner holy place each had a double door. 24 Each door was made of two panels hinged together.[e] 25 On the doors of the outer sanctuary were carvings of winged guardians and palm trees—the exact same images that were on the walls. A wooden roof hung over the front of the outside portico. 26 On both side walls of the portico were windows that had carvings of palm trees. There were roofs over all the side chambers of the temple.

Footnotes

  1. 41:3 Hebrew manuscripts read, “width of the threshold was.”
  2. 41:15 Hebrew manuscripts read, “and the porticoes of the court.”
  3. 41:16 Hebrew manuscripts read, “the thresholds.”
  4. 41:17-18 Hebrew, cherubim
  5. 41:24 Each had two portions that opened: either they were swinging doors allowing for a double opening divided in the middle or they were bi-fold doors that could be opened half way or completely creating a larger passageway.

41 Then the man brought me to the main hall(A) and measured the jambs; the width of the jambs was six cubits[a] on each side.[b] The entrance was ten cubits[c] wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were five cubits[d] wide. He also measured the main hall; it was forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.[e](B)

Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance; each was two cubits[f] wide. The entrance was six cubits wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were seven cubits[g] wide. And he measured the length of the inner sanctuary; it was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits across the end of the main hall.(C) He said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.(D)

Then he measured the wall of the temple; it was six cubits thick, and each side room around the temple was four cubits[h] wide. The side rooms were on three levels, one above another, thirty(E) on each level. There were ledges all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports were not inserted into the wall of the temple.(F) The side rooms all around the temple were wider at each successive level. The structure surrounding the temple was built in ascending stages, so that the rooms widened as one went upward. A stairway(G) went up from the lowest floor to the top floor through the middle floor.

I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the length of the rod, six long cubits. The outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits thick. The open area between the side rooms of the temple 10 and the priests’ rooms was twenty cubits wide all around the temple. 11 There were entrances to the side rooms from the open area, one on the north and another on the south; and the base adjoining the open area was five cubits wide all around.

12 The building facing the temple courtyard on the west side was seventy cubits[i] wide. The wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.[j]

13 Then he measured the temple; it was a hundred cubits[k] long, and the temple courtyard and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long. 14 The width of the temple courtyard on the east, including the front of the temple, was a hundred cubits.(H)

15 Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleries(I) on each side; it was a hundred cubits.

The main hall, the inner sanctuary and the portico facing the court, 16 as well as the thresholds and the narrow windows(J) and galleries around the three of them—everything beyond and including the threshold was covered with wood. The floor, the wall up to the windows, and the windows were covered.(K) 17 In the space above the outside of the entrance to the inner sanctuary and on the walls at regular intervals all around the inner and outer sanctuary 18 were carved(L) cherubim(M) and palm trees.(N) Palm trees alternated with cherubim. Each cherub had two faces:(O) 19 the face of a human being toward the palm tree on one side and the face of a lion toward the palm tree on the other. They were carved all around the whole temple.(P) 20 From the floor to the area above the entrance, cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall of the main hall.

21 The main hall(Q) had a rectangular doorframe, and the one at the front of the Most Holy Place was similar. 22 There was a wooden altar(R) three cubits[l] high and two cubits square[m]; its corners, its base[n] and its sides were of wood. The man said to me, “This is the table(S) that is before the Lord.” 23 Both the main hall(T) and the Most Holy Place had double doors.(U) 24 Each door had two leaves—two hinged leaves(V) for each door. 25 And on the doors of the main hall were carved cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls, and there was a wooden overhang on the front of the portico. 26 On the sidewalls of the portico were narrow windows with palm trees carved on each side. The side rooms of the temple also had overhangs.(W)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 41:1 That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters; also in verses 3, 5 and 8
  2. Ezekiel 41:1 One Hebrew manuscript and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts side, the width of the tent
  3. Ezekiel 41:2 That is, about 18 feet or about 5.3 meters
  4. Ezekiel 41:2 That is, about 8 3/4 feet or about 2.7 meters; also in verses 9, 11 and 12
  5. Ezekiel 41:2 That is, about 70 feet long and 35 feet wide or about 21 meters long and 11 meters wide
  6. Ezekiel 41:3 That is, about 3 1/2 feet or about 1.1 meters; also in verse 22
  7. Ezekiel 41:3 That is, about 12 feet or about 3.7 meters
  8. Ezekiel 41:5 That is, about 7 feet or about 2.1 meters
  9. Ezekiel 41:12 That is, about 123 feet or about 37 meters
  10. Ezekiel 41:12 That is, about 158 feet or about 48 meters
  11. Ezekiel 41:13 That is, about 175 feet or about 53 meters; also in verses 14 and 15
  12. Ezekiel 41:22 That is, about 5 1/4 feet or about 1.5 meters
  13. Ezekiel 41:22 Septuagint; Hebrew long
  14. Ezekiel 41:22 Septuagint; Hebrew length