The Prophet Ezekiel

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- Kapitel 40 -

(Zechariah 2:1–5)

In the twenty-fifth year of our transmigration, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck, on this very day, the hand of the Lord was placed upon me, and he brought me to that place.(a)

In the visions of God, he brought me into the land of Israel, and he released me on an exceedingly high mountain, on which there was something like the edifice of a city, verging toward the south.

And he led me into that place. And behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a linen rope in his hand, and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing at the gate.

And the same man said to me: “Son of man, look with your eyes, and listen with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I will reveal to you. For you have been brought to this place, so that these things may be revealed to you. Announce all that you see to the house of Israel.”

The East Gate

And behold, there was a wall outside of the house, encircling it all around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring reed of six cubits and a palm. And he measured the width of the edifice with one reed; likewise, the height with one reed.(b)

And he went to the gate which looked toward the east, and he ascended by its steps. And he measured the width of the threshold of the gate as one reed, that is, one threshold was one reed in width.

And a chamber was one reed in length and one reed in width. And between the chambers, there were five cubits.

And the threshold of the gate, next to the inner vestibule of the gate, was one reed.(c)

And he measured the vestibule of the gate as eight cubits, and its front as two cubits. But the vestibule of the gate was inside.

Moreover, the chambers of the gate, toward the way of the east, were three from one side to the other. The three were of one measure, and the fronts were of one measure, on both sides.

And he measured the width of the threshold of the gate as ten cubits, and the length of the gate as thirteen cubits.

And before the chambers, the border was one cubit. And on both sides, the border was one cubit. But the chambers were six cubits, from one side to the other.

And he measured the gate, from the roof of one chamber to the roof of another, twenty-five cubits in width, from door to door.

And he found the fronts to be sixty cubits. And at the front, there was a court for the gate on every side all around.

And before the face of the gate, which extended even to the face of the vestibule of the gate of the interior, there were fifty cubits.

And there were slanting windows in the chambers and at their fronts, which were within the gate on every side all around. And similarly, there were also windows in the vestibules all around the interior, and there were images of palm trees before the fronts.

The Outer Court

And he led me away to the outer court, and behold, there were storerooms and a layer of pavement stones throughout the court. Thirty storerooms encircled the pavement.(d)

And the pavement in front of the gates, along the length of the gates, was lower.

And he measured the width, from the face of the lower gate to the front of the outer part of the inner court, to be one hundred cubits, to the east and to the north.

The North Gate

Likewise, he measured the gate of the outer court, which looked to the way of the north, to be as much in length as in width.

And its chambers were three from one side to the other. And its front and its vestibule, in accord with the measure of the former gate, were fifty cubits in its length and twenty-five cubits in width.

Now its windows, and the vestibule, and the engravings were in accord with the measure of the gate which looked to the east. And its ascent was by seven steps, and a vestibule was before it.

And the gate of the inner court was opposite the gate of the north, and that of the east. And he measured from gate to gate as one hundred cubits.

The South Gate

And he led me to the way of the south, and behold, there was a gate which looked toward the south. And he measured its front and its vestibule to be the same as the measures above.

And its windows and the vestibule all around were like the other windows: fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width.

And there were seven steps to ascend to it, and a vestibule before its doors. And there were engraved palm trees, one on each side, at its front.

And there was a gate at the inner court, on the way to the south. And he measured from one gate to another, on the way to the south, to be one hundred cubits.

The Gates of the Inner Court

And he led me into the inner court, to the south gate. And he measured the gate to be in accord with the measures above.

Its chamber, and its front, and its vestibule had the same measures. And its windows and its vestibule all around were fifty cubits in length, and twenty-five cubits in width.

And the vestibule all around was twenty-five cubits in length, and five cubits in width.

And its vestibule was toward the outer court, and its palm trees were at the front. And there were eight steps to ascend to it.

And he led me into the inner court, along the way of the east. And he measured the gate to be in accord with the measures above.

Its chamber, and its front, and its vestibule were as above. And its windows and its vestibules all around were fifty cubits in length, and twenty-five cubits in width.

And it had a vestibule, that is, at the outer court. And the engraved palm trees at its front were on one side and the other. And its ascent was by eight steps.

And he led me to the gate which looked toward the north. And he measured it to be in accord with the measures above.

Its chamber, and its front, and its vestibule, and its windows all around were fifty cubits in length, and twenty-five cubits in width.

And its vestibule looked toward the outer court. And an engraving of palm trees at its front was on one side and the other. And its ascent was by eight steps.

Eight Tables for Sacrifices

And at each one of the storerooms, there was a door at the front of the gates. There, they washed the holocaust.

And at the vestibule of the gate, there were two tables on one side, and two tables on the other side, so that the holocaust, and the offering for sin, and the offering for transgression could be immolated upon them.

And at the outer side, which ascends to the door of the gate that goes toward the north, there were two tables. And at the other side, before the vestibule of the gate, there were two tables.

Four tables were on one side, and four tables were on the other side; along the sides of the gate, there were eight tables, upon which they immolated.

Now the four tables for the holocausts were constructed of square stones: one and a half cubit in length, and one and a half cubits in width, and one cubit in height. Upon these, they placed the vessels, in which the holocaust and the victim were immolated.

And their edges were one palm in width, turned inward all around. And the flesh of the oblation was on the tables.

Chambers for Ministry

And outside the interior gate, there were storerooms for the cantors, in the inner court, which was beside the gate that looks toward the north. And their face was opposite the way to the south; one was beside the east gate, which looked toward the way of the north.

And he said to me: “This is the storeroom that looks toward the south; it shall be for the priests who keep watch for the protection of the temple.

Moreover, the storeroom that looks toward the north will be for the priests who keep watch over the ministry of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, those among the sons of Levi who may draw near to the Lord, so that they may minister to him.”

The Inner Court

And he measured the court to be one hundred cubits in length, and one hundred cubits in width, with four equal sides. And the altar was before the face of the temple.

And he led me into the vestibule of the temple. And he measured the vestibule to be five cubits on one side, and five cubits on the other side. And the width of the gate was three cubits on one side, and three cubits on the other side.

Now the length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width was eleven cubits, and there were eight steps to ascend to it. And there were pillars at the front, one on this side and another on that side.

Fußnoten

(a)40:1 The beginning of the year would be either Tishri (in the autumn), for the civil calendar year, or Nisan (in the spring), for the sacred calendar year. The tenth of the month of Tishri is Yom Kippur, a significant event in the Jewish religious calendar.(Conte)

(b)40:5 In other words, the length of each cubit was the usual cubit with one palm width added, also called the royal cubit.(Conte)

(c)40:8 A reed is six cubits, and each cubit is the royal cubit, which is longer by one palm width than the usual cubit.(Conte)

(d)40:17 There were chambers:Gazophylacia, so called, because the priests and Levites kept in them the stores and vessels that belonged to the temple.(Challoner)

(Zechariah 2:1–5)

In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck, in the same day, the LORD’s hand was on me, and he brought me there.

In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was something like the frame of a city to the south.

He brought me there; and, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax in his hand and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

The man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I will show you; for you have been brought here so that I may show them to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”

The East Gate

Behold, there was a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed six cubits(a) long, of a cubit and a hand width each. So he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

Then he came to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate, one reed wide; and the other threshold, one reed wide.

Every lodge was one reed long and one reed wide. Between the lodges was five cubits. The threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.

He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.

Then he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.

The side rooms of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side. The three of them were of one measure. The posts had one measure on this side and on that side.

He measured the width of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits;

and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the side rooms, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

He measured the gate from the roof of the one side room to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits, door against door.

He also made posts, sixty cubits; and the court reached to the posts, around the gate.

From the forefront of the gate at the entrance to the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.

There were closed windows to the side rooms, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches. Windows were around inward. Palm trees were on each post.

The Outer Court

Then he brought me into the outer court. Behold, there were rooms and a pavement made for the court all around. Thirty rooms were on the pavement.

The pavement was by the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates, even the lower pavement.

Then he measured the width from the forefront of the lower gate to the forefront of the inner court outside, one hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north.

The North Gate

He measured the length and width of the gate of the outer court which faces toward the north.

The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side. Its posts and its arches were the same as the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits.

Its windows, its arches, and its palm trees were the same as the measure of the gate which faces toward the east. They went up to it by seven steps. Its arches were before them.

There was a gate to the inner court facing the other gate, on the north and on the east. He measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate.

The South Gate

He led me toward the south; and behold, there was a gate toward the south. He measured its posts and its arches according to these measurements.

There were windows in it and in its arches all around, like the other windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the width twenty-five cubits.

There were seven steps to go up to it, and its arches were before them. It had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, on its posts.

There was a gate to the inner court toward the south. He measured one hundred cubits from gate to gate toward the south.

The Gates of the Inner Court

Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. He measured the south gate according to these measurements;

with its lodges, its posts, and its arches, according to these measurements. There were windows in it and in its arches all around. It was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits wide.

There were arches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.

Its arches were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts. The ascent to it had eight steps.

He brought me into the inner court toward the east. He measured the gate according to these measurements;

with its lodges, its posts, and its arches, according to these measurements. There were windows in it and in its arches all around. It was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits wide.

Its arches were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts on this side and on that side. The ascent to it had eight steps.

He brought me to the north gate, and he measured it according to these measurements—

its lodges, its posts, and its arches. There were windows in it all around. The length was fifty cubits and the width twenty-five cubits.

Its posts were toward the outer court. Palm trees were on its posts on this side and on that side. The ascent to it had eight steps.

Eight Tables for Sacrifices

A room with its door was by the posts at the gates. They washed the burnt offering there.

In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to kill the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.

On the one side outside, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables.

Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate: eight tables, on which they killed the sacrifices.

There were four cut stone tables for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high. They laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice on them.

The hooks, a hand width long, were fastened within all around. The meat of the offering was on the tables.

Chambers for Ministry

Outside of the inner gate were rooms for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate. They faced toward the south. One at the side of the east gate faced toward the north.

He said to me, “This room, which faces toward the south, is for the priests who perform the duty of the house.

The room which faces toward the north is for the priests who perform the duty of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to the LORD to minister to him.”

The Inner Court

He measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, square. The altar was before the house.

Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side. The width of the gate was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side.

The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the width eleven cubits, even by the steps by which they went up to it. There were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.

Fußnoten

(a)40:5 A normal cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. A handbreadth is about 4.3 inches or 11 centimeters, so the long cubit described here would be about 22.3 inches or 57 centimeters long. Thus, a 6 long cubit measuring reed would have been about 3 yards 26.6 inches or about 3.42 meters long.