Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 40:28
And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;
28 37. The inner court and its gateways
The measurement of the outer court was finished at the S. gate. Opposite to this was the S. gate of the inner court at a distance of 100 cubits ( Eze 40:27), and the measurement of the inner court naturally begins with the S. gate. The gates of the inner court were similar in all respects to those of the outer court, except that in the former the “porch” lay at the outer end of the gateway, looking into the outer court ( Eze 40:31 ; Eze 40:34 ; Eze 40:37).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He brought me from the south gate of the outer court through the porch, and over the one hundred cubit pavement to the south gate of the inner court, which is he described by its harmony with the other gates, which were before measured, and to them are you referred, lest we needlessly repeat the same things.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28-37. The inner court and itsgates.
according to thesemeasuresnamely, the measures of the outer gate. The figure andproportions of the inner answered to the outer.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate,…. Having done with the outer court, east, north, and south, the prophet is brought into the inner court by the south gate, which was nearest to enter by. No mention is made of a western gate, there was one in Solomon’s temple; for there were porters appointed westward by David, and fixed by Solomon, 1Ch 9:24, but Josephus l says, in the second temple the western part had no gate, but a continued wall; for those that came out of the captivity, as Kimchi on Eze 40:5 observes, built it (as much as they could) according to the form of what they saw in Ezekiel’s temple, which shall be in time to come.
And he measured the south gate according to these measures; the gate which led into the inner court; for the south gate, which led to the outward court, he had measured before, Eze 40:21.
l De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 5. sect. 2. Vid. Lipman, Tzurath Beth Hamikdash, sect. 12.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Gates of the Inner Court
(Vid., Plate I B and Plate II II). – Eze 40:28. And he brought me into the inner court through the south gate, and measured the south gate according to the same measures; Eze 40:29. And its guard-rooms, and its pillars, and its wall-projections, according to the same measures; and there were windows in it and in its wall-projections round about: fifty cubits was the length, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. Eze 40:30. And wall-projections were round about, the length five and twenty cubits, and the breadth five cubits. Eze 40:31. And its wall-projections were toward the outer court; and there were palms on its pillars, and eight steps its ascendings. Eze 40:32. And he led me into the inner court toward the east, and measured the gate according to the same measures; Eze 40:33. And its guard-rooms, and its pillars, and its wall-projections, according to the same measures; and there were windows in it and its wall-projections round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. Eze 40:34. And its wall-projections were toward the outer court; and there were palms on its pillars on this side and on that side, and eight steps its ascent. Eze 40:35. And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to the same measures; Eze 40:36. Its guard-rooms, its pillars, and its wall-projections; and there were windows in it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. Eze 40:37. And its pillars stood toward the outer court; and palms were upon its pillars on this side and on that; and its ascent was eight steps. – In Eze 40:27 the measuring man had measured the distance from the south gate of the outer court to the south gate of the inner court, which stood opposite to it. He then took the prophet through the latter (Eze 40:28) into the inner court, and measured it as he went through, and found the same measurements as he had found in the gates of the outer court. This was also the case with the measurements of the guard-rooms, pillars, and wall-projections, and with the position of the windows, and the length and breadth of the whole of the gate-building (Eze 40:29); from which it follows, as a matter of course, that this gate resembled the outer gate in construction, constituent parts, and dimensions. This also applied to both the east gate and north gate, the description of which in Eze 40:32-37 corresponds exactly to that of the south gate, with the exception of slight variations of expression. It is true that the porch is not mentioned in the case of either of these gates; but it is evident that this was not wanting, and is simply passed over in the description, as we may see from Eze 40:39, where the tables for the sacrifices are described as being in the porch ( ). There are only two points of difference mentioned in Eze 40:31, Eze 40:34, and Eze 40:37, by which these inner gates were distinguished from the outer. In the first place, that the flights of steps to the entrances to these gates had eight steps according to the closing words of the verses just cited, whereas those of the outer gates had only seven (cf. Eze 40:22 and Eze 40:26); whilst the expression also varies. being constantly used here instead of (Eze 40:26). , from , the ascending, are literally ascents, i.e., places of mounting, for a flight of steps or staircase. , the plural of , the ascent (not a singular, as Hitzig supposes), has the same meaning.
The second difference, which we find in the first clause of the verses mentioned, as of a more important character. It is contained in the words, “and its (the projecting portions of the inner side-walls of the gateway) were directed toward the outer court” ( and indicating the direction). The interpretation of this somewhat obscure statement is facilitated by the fact that in Eze 40:37 stands in the place of (Eze 40:31 and Eze 40:34). are the two lofty gate-pillars by the porch of the gate, which formed the termination of the gate-building towards the inner court in the case of the outer gates. If, then, in the case of the inner gates, these pillars stood toward the outer court, the arrangement of these gates must have taken the reverse direction to that of the outer gates; so that a person entering the gate would not go from the flight of steps across the threshold to the guard-rooms, and then across the second threshold to the porch, but would first of all enter the porch by the pillars in front, and then go across the threshold to the guard-rooms, and, lastly, proceed across the second threshold, and so enter the inner court. But if this gate-building, when looked at from without, commenced with the porch-pillars and the front porch, this porch at any rate must have been situated outside the dividing wall of the two courts, that is to say, must have been within the limits of the outer court. And further, if the , or wall-projections between the guard-rooms and by the thresholds, were also directed toward the outer court, the whole of the gate-building must have been built within the limits of that court. This is affirmed by the first clauses of Eze 40:31, Eze 40:34, and Eze 40:37, which have been so greatly misunderstood; and there is no necessity to alter in Eze 40:37 into , in accordance with Eze 40:31 and Eze 40:34. For what is stated in Eze 40:31 and Eze 40:34 concerning the position or direction of the , also applies to the ; and they are probably mentioned in Eze 40:37 because of the intention to describe still further in Eze 40:38 what stood near the . Kliefoth very properly finds it incomprehensible, “that not a few of the commentators have been able, in spite of these definite statements in Eze 40:13, Eze 40:34, and Eze 40:37, to adopt the conclusion that the gate-buildings of the inner gates were situated within the inner court, just as the gate-buildings of the outer gates were situated within the outer court. As the inner court measured only a hundred cubits square, if the inner gates had stood within the inner court, the north and south gates of the inner court would have met in the middle, and the porch of the east gate of the inner court would have stood close against the porches of the other two gates. It was self-evident that the gate-buildings of the inner gates stood within the more spacious outer court, like those of the outer gates. Nevertheless, the reason why the situation of the inner gates is so expressly mentioned in the text is evidently, that this made the position of the inner gates the reverse of that of the outer gates. In the case of the outer gates, the first threshold was in the surrounding wall of the outer court, and the steps stood in front of the wall; and thus the gate-building stretched into the outer court. In that of the inner gates, on the contrary the second threshold lay between the surrounding walls of the inner court, and the gate-building stretched thence into the outer court, and its steps stood in front of the porch of the gate. Moreover, in the case of the east gates, for example, the porch of the outer gate stood toward the west, and the porch of the inner gate toward the east, so that the two porches stood opposite to each other in the outer court, as described in Eze 40:23 and Eze 40:27.”
In Eze 40:30 further particulars respecting the are given, which are apparently unsuitable; and for this reason the verse has been omitted by the lxx, while J. D. Michaelis, Bttcher, Ewald, Hitzig, and Maurer, regard it as an untenable gloss. Hvernick has defended its genuineness; but inasmuch as he regards as synonymous with , he has explained it in a most marvellous and decidedly erroneous manner, as Kliefoth has already proved. The expression , and the length and breadth of the here given, both appear strange. Neither of the length of the twenty-five cubits nor the breadth of the five cubits seems to tally with the other measures of the gate-building. So much may be regarded as certain, that the twenty-five cubits’ length and the five cubits’ breadth of the cannot be in addition to the total length of the gate-building, namely fifty cubits, or its total breadth of twenty-five cubits, but must be included in them. For the were simply separate portions of the side-enclosure of the gateway, since this enclosure of fifty cubits long consisted of wall-projections ( ), three open guard-rooms, and a porch with pillars. The open space of the guard-rooms was 3 x 6 = 18 cubits, and the porch was six cubits broad in the clear (Eze 40:7 and Eze 40:8), and the pillars two cubits thick. If we deduct these 18 + 6 + 2 = 26 cubits from the fifty cubits of the entire length, there remain twenty-four cubits for the walls by the side of the thresholds and between the guard-rooms, namely, 2 x 5 = 10 cubits for the walls between the three guard-rooms, 2 x 6 = 12 cubits for the walls of the threshold, and 2 cubits for the walls of the porch; in all, therefore, twenty-four cubits for the ; so that only one cubit is wanting to give us the measurement stated, viz., twenty-five cubits. We obtain this missing cubit if we assume that the front of the wall-projections by the guard-rooms and thresholds was a handbreadth and a half, or six inches wider than the thickness of the walls, that is to say, that it projected three inches on each side in the form of a moulding. – The breadth of the in question, namely five cubits, was the thickness of their wall-work, however, or the dimension of the intervening wall from the inside to the outside on either side of the gateway. That the intervening walls should be of such a thickness will not appear strange, if we consider that the surrounding wall of the court was six cubits thick, with a height of only six cubits (Eze 40:5). And even the striking expression becomes intelligible if we take into consideration the fact that the projecting walls bounded not only the entrance to the gate, and the passage through it on the two sides, but also the inner spaces of the gate-building (the guard-rooms and porch) on all sides, and, together with the gates, enclosed the gateway on every side. Consequently Eze 40:30 not only as a suitable meaning, but furnishes a definite measurement of no little value for the completion of the picture of the gate-buildings. The fact that this definite measure was not given in connection with the gates of the outer court, but was only supplemented in the case of the south gate of the inner court, cannot furnish any ground for suspecting its genuineness, as several particulars are supplemented in the same manner in this description. Thus, for example, the number of steps in front of the outer gates is first given in Eze 40:22, where the north gate is described. Still less is there to surprise us in the fact that these particulars are not repeated in the case of the following gates, in which some writers have also discovered a ground for suspecting the genuineness of the verse.
From the south gate the measuring man led the prophet (Eze 40:32) into the inner court toward the east, to measure for him the inner east gate, the description of which (Eze 40:33 and Eze 40:34) corresponds exactly to that of the south gate. Lastly, he led him (Eze 40:35) to the inner north gate for the same purpose; and this is also found to correspond to those previously mentioned, and is described in the same manner. The difficulty which Hitzig finds in in Eze 40:32, and which drives him into various conjectures, with the assistance of the lxx, vanishes, if instead of taking along with as a further definition of the latter, we connect it with as an indication of the direction taken: he led me into the inner court, the way (or direction) toward the east, and measured the gate (situated there). The words, when taken in this sense, do not warrant the conclusion that he had gone out at the south gate again. – in Eze 40:35 is an Aramaic form for in Eze 40:32 and Eze 40:28.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
C. The Inner Court and Its Gateways 40:2847
TRANSLATION
(28) Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures; (29) and the lodges thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and the arches thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad. (30) And there were arches round about, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits broad. (31) And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the ascent to it had eight steps. (32) And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures; (33) and the lodges thereof and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad. (34) And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps. (35) And he brought me to the north gate: and he measured it according to these measures; (36) the lodges thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof: and there were windows therein round about; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits. (37) And the posts thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps. (38) And a chamber with the door thereof was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the burnt offering. (39) And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt-offering and the sin-offering and the trespass-offering. (40) And on the one side without, 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. (41) Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate: eight tables where upon they slew the sacrifices. (42) And there were four tables for the burnt-offering, of hewn stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereupon they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt-offering and the sacrifice. (43) And the hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened within round about; and upon the tables was the flesh of the oblation. (44) And without the inner gate were chambers for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the north. (45) And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house; (46) and the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to the LORD to minister unto Him. (47) And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house.
COMMENTS
1. Although no mention is made of it, one must assume that a wall surrounded the inner court.
2. One entered the inner court through three gateways which were of similar construction to the gates leading to the outer courtyard except in two respects: (1) The vestibule of these interior gateways was on the front rather than the back side as one approached from without; and (2) eight steps led up to the inner court (Eze. 40:31; Eze. 40:34; Eze. 40:37).
3. Inside the north gateway was a special chamber where the burnt offerings were to be washed (Eze. 40:38). The intestines and legs of the burnt offering had to be washed before being brought to the altar (Lev. 1:9).
4. Eight tables on which sacrifices were slaughtered were situated in the northern gateway.[504] Four were within the porch or vestibule (Eze. 40:39), and four beyond the porch and within the gateway (Eze. 40:40-41).
[504] Fisch (SBB, pp. 27576) thinks Eze. 40:41 refers to eight additional tables for a total of sixteen sacrificial tables.
5. Four smaller tables of hewn stone were also found in the north gateway. These tables held the sacrificial instruments, i.e., knives and receptacles for collecting the blood (Eze. 40:42).
6. Within the north gateway slabs or hooks were fixed to pillars to allow the animal carcasses to be suspended while being flayed. The sacrificial meat once cut from the carcass was placed on tables previously mentioned (Eze. 40:43).
7. On the north and south sides of the inner court were the chambers of the sharim, singers. Choirs of Levites provided musical accompaniment during sacrificial ceremonies (Eze. 40:44). The interpreting angel explains that in this future Temple these chambers would be occupied by the descendants of Zadok. Zadok was high priest in the days of Solomon. He was a descendant of Phinehas the son of Aaron to whom God had given the covenant of an everlasting priesthood (Num. 25:13). Those priests who ministered within the house (i.e., offering incense) occupied one of the priestly chambers (Eze. 40:45); those who served at the altar of sacrifice in the courtyard, lived together in another chamber (Eze. 40:46).
8. The inner courtyard was a square of one hundred cubits (Eze. 40:47).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(28) Brought me to the inner court.The preposition should be translated into, being the same with that in Eze. 40:32. The prophet having entered the inner court by the south gate, this is first described (Eze. 40:28-31). This and the other gates of this court are essentially the same, and require the same changes of translation as in the case of the outer gates. The same plan will serve for both, remembering that it must be reversed, the porches of one set of gates facing the porches of the other set; of course the steps led to the porches of the inner gates instead of to the opposite end. The few points of difference between them will be noted as they occur.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
MEASUREMENTS OF THE INNER COURT WITH ITS GATES, ARRANGEMENTS FOR SACRIFICES, AND CELLS FOR PRIESTS, Eze 40:28-49.
28-37. “The construction and measurements correspond with those of the gates in the outer court, with only two points of difference; namely, that it possessed a flight of eight steps instead of seven, and that the arches or wall projections were toward the outer court. The difference in the number of steps was doubtless of symbolic significance, and pointed not only to the higher sanctity in general which attached to the inner court, but to the truth that, as one approached the dwelling place of Jehovah, an increasing measure and degree of holiness were demanded. The seven steps of the outer door, added to the eight steps of this, amount to fifteen, with which correspond the number of the pilgrim psalms (Psalms 120-134), which are supposed to have been sung one upon each step by the choir of Levites as they ascended first into the outer and then into the inner court.” Plumptre.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Inner Court – the Court of the Priests .
It is extraordinary to me that given that the difference between priest and laity has been cancelled by the new covenant, so that all God’s people are royal priests ( 1Pe 2:5 ; 1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10), some would argue on the basis of this vision (and belief in a millennium) that the difference is once again to be introduced by God in Israel. This is especially strange in the light of Isa 62:6.
For the truth is that this vision of the inner court spoke directly to Ezekiel’s time. Then the difference between priest and laity was still maintained, and the way to God was still shown to be difficult because He was substantially unapproachable by man because of His awful holiness. At the root of this vision of the heavenly temple established by God on earth is the fact that His people had to be made aware of this extreme holiness, for it was a lesson that they had still not learned. That was why they had become idolatrous. But the detail of the heavenly temple demonstrated quite clearly that He dwelt in unapproachable light and was so holy that the way into His presence was heavily restricted and protected from those who were unworthy. And all must come through the shedding of blood and through a carefully revealed ritual.
But once this temple was transferred to Heaven, and Jesus was made High Priest (Heb 9:24), and the one sacrifice for all had been offered (Heb 9:28), the way into His presence was opened up for all His people and they had direct access into His presence (Heb 10:19; Rev 7:9). Christ’s priesthood would then replace the earthly priesthood, for He would take their place by entering into a more glorious and unchanging priesthood (Heb 7:11-12; Heb 7:24), and His people too would become ‘royal priests’ (1Pe 5:9) with access into the presence of God. Thus the significance of the temple was transformed and there was no way in which it could go backwards to the picture described here.
But this does not mean that we can enter the presence of God lightly. The blood has been shed, the price has been paid, and it is with reverence and awe that we must ensure that we are cleansed in that blood before we approach Him (1Jn 1:5-10). We too must remember that God is holy.
Having recognised this principle let us go back to the lessons that this heavenly temple on earth has to teach us.
The Measurement of the South Gate of the Inner Court.
‘Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate, and he measured the south gate in accordance with this measurement, and its side rooms, and its posts, and its colonnades, in accordance with these measurements. It was fifty cubits long and twenty five cubits broad. And there were colonnades round about, twenty five cubits long and five cubits broad. And its colonnades were toward the outer court, and palm trees were on its posts, and the ascent to it had eight steps.’
The descriptions of the gates of the inner court are abbreviated because they were much like the East gate of the outer court. Note again that the measurements are in multiples of five. This is covenant territory. And the palm trees, symbols of creation and fruitfulness, are prominent. The fact that there are such gates indicates that the inner court was also surrounded by a wall. The vestibule faces outwards towards the outer court.
There were eight steps up to the inner court, one more than for the outer court. This is probably in order to stress that entry becomes more difficult, and the way harder, the nearer men approach to God. Having climbed the seven steps of divine perfection there is yet one more step to go. It reveals an increasing degree of holiness. The inner court was barred to all but priests, those especially set apart and prepared to deal with holy things. God was too holy to be approached lightly or by any not especially chosen and prepared.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Inner Court with its Gates, Cells, and Sacrificial Tables
v. 28. And He brought me to the inner court by the south gate, v. 29. and the little chambers thereof, v. 30. And the arches round about, v. 31. And the arches thereof were toward the utter court, v. 32. And He brought me, v. 33. And the little chambers thereof and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were according to these measures; and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long and five and twenty cubits broad, v. 34. And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof on this side and on that side; and the going up to it had eight steps, v. 35. And He brought me to the north gate and measured it according to these measures: v. 36. the little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about; the length was fifty cubits and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
v. 37. And the posts thereof, v. 38. And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, v. 39. And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side and two tables on that side to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin-offering and the trespass-offering, v. 40. And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, v. 41. Four tables were on this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate, v. 42. And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, v. 43. And within were hooks, v. 44. And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, v. 45. And He said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house, v. 46. And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar, v. 47. So He measured the court, an hundred cubits long and an hundred cubits broad, four-square, and the altar, v. 48. And He brought me to the porch of the house, v. 49. The length of the porch was twenty cubits and the breadth eleven cubits; and He brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 40:28-31
28Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate; and he measured the south gate according to those same measurements. 29Its guardrooms also, its side pillars and its porches were according to those same measurements. And the gate and its porches had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 30There were porches all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. 31Its porches were toward the outer court; and palm tree ornaments were on its side pillars, and its stairway had eight steps.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
he brought: As the outward court inclosed the inner, the prophet was led from the south gate of the outward court to the south gate of the inner, which was opposite it, and so into the inner court itself.
according: Eze 40:32, Eze 40:35
Reciprocal: Exo 27:9 – the court 2Ki 21:5 – in the two courts Eze 8:16 – the inner Eze 40:23 – the gate of Eze 40:24 – and he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 40:28. Ezekiel and the “man” are still at the south side and the prophet is witnessing the measuring of the gate from the viewpoint of the inner court. According to these measures means he used Lhe same standard that he did in the other places.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 40:28-37. From the south gate of the outer court he crosses to another court gateway (reached by a flight of steps) which leads to another courtthe south gateway of the inner court, which, like that of the outer court, had also guard-rooms on either side; and on the east and north side of the inner court were gateways precisely similar.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
The inner court 40:28-47
This section includes descriptions of the three inner gate complexes, the rooms and implements used for preparing sacrifices, the rooms for the singers and priests, and the inner court itself.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The inner gate complexes 40:28-37
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Ezekiel discovered that the south inner gate complex was the same as the outer gate complexes. All the vestibules of the three gate complexes totaled 25 cubits (41 feet 8 inches) across and each of them was five cubits deep (rather than eight, 8 feet 4 inches rather than 13 feet 4 inches, Eze 40:9). Also there were windows or niches on all four sides and eight steps leading up to it from the outer court (cf. Eze 40:22). However the vestibule of this gate complex, as well as the other inner gate complexes, was facing the outer court.