Ezekiel 41:5

Ezekiel 41:5-6 . He measured the wall of the house, six cubits — Three yards thick was this wall, from the ground to the first story of the side-chambers. And the breadth of every side-chamber, four cubits — Of the lowest floor; for there were three stories of these, and they differed in their breadth, as the wall of the temple, on which they rested, abated of its thickness; for the middle chambers were broader than the lowest by a cubit, and the highest as much broader than the middle. The side-chambers were three, one over another — They were three stories high; and thirty in order — As in Solomon’s temple, according to Josephus’s description, Antiq., lib. 8. cap. 3, sec. 2, where it appears, that round Solomon’s temple were chambers three stories high, each story consisting of thirty chambers. It is supposed that twelve were placed to the north, twelve to the south, and six to the east. And they entered into the wall — At five cubits height from the ground, the wall which supported these outward chambers, abated of its thickness one cubit, in consequence of which there was a rest, or a ledge, of one cubit’s breadth, on which the ends of each story were fastened: see 1 Kings 6:10 . But they had not hold in the wall of the house — They were not fastened into the main wall of the house, but rested on the outside of the wall where it became more narrow.

(5) The wall of the house, six cubits.— The thickness of the wall is the same with that of the wall of the outer court ( Ezekiel 40:5 ), about ten feet. Great massiveness is characteristic of Oriental architecture, but is carried to excess in this vision, to set forth the firmness and security of the things symbolised. Every side chamber.—Every is not in the original, and is unnecessary. He measured the range of side rooms, the word being used collectively. These (J J [Ezekiel 40:44-49]) entirely surrounded the house, except on the front or east side where the porch stood.

Verses 5-11. - The wall and side buildings . Verse 5. - The measuring commenced with the wall of the house , i.e. with the outer wall, which, beginning at the pillars (ver. 1), enclosed the temple on its south, west, and north sides. Its great thickness, six cubits, corresponded with and even surpassed the colossal proportions of architecture in the ancient East. The walls of Solomon's temple, though not mentioned in either Kings or Chronicles, could hardly have been less than four cubits thick (see 1 Kings 6:6 ), and were probably more (Schurer). Like the Solomonic ( 1 Kings 6:5-10 ), the Ezekelian temple had side chambers , which, like those of the earlier building, served as storehouses for priests' clothing, temple utensils, and temple treasures ( 1 Kings 7:51 ; 2 Kings 11:2 ; 2 Chronicles 5:1 ), and measured four cubits broad in the clear. Ezekiel 41:5

5 . The wall of the house at its base was 6 cubits thick, and the breadth (N. to S.) of the side-chambers on the basement was 4 cubits. If the rebatements in the wall of the house were the same here as in Solomon’s temple, the second story would be a cubit broader than the ground floor, and the third a cubit broader than the second ( 1 Kings 6:6 ), i. e. 4, 5 and 6 cubits. In Solomon’s temple the side-chambers were larger, measuring 5, 6 and 7 cubits. Ch. Ezekiel 41:5-11 . The side chambers or annexe to the house The text in some places is confused, but the general meaning is clear. Round about the wall of the house on three sides (N., W. and S.) were built side-chambers in three stories, thirty chambers in each story, Fig. 2, D. The chamber on the ground floor was 4 cubits wide (N. to S.), but in the second story the width was greater than in the first, and in the third story greater than in the second. The reason of this greater wideness of the upper stories was that the wall of the house on which the chambers were built diminished in thickness as it ascended. This wall was 6 cubits thick at the base ( Ezekiel 41:5 ), but it was let in at two points as it ascended. The same arrangement had place in Solomon’s temple—“on the outside he made rebatements in the wall of the house round about” ( 1 Kings 6:6 ).

The effect of this decrease in the thickness of the wall (in Solomon’s temple a cubit each time) was that the chambers in the second and third stories became so much broader. In consequence of this narrowing of the wall of the house at two points two ledges ran round the wall on three sides, and on these ledges the beams that supported the second and third stories of the side-chambers rested, without being let into the wall ( Ezekiel 41:6 ). The wall of the side-chambers was thus on one side the wall of the house; on the other side they had a wall of their own, 5 cubits thick ( Ezekiel 41:9 ). The whole structure, house and side chambers, was built upon a raised platform, 6 cubits higher than the level of the inner court ( Ezekiel 41:8 ). The buildings, however (temple and side-chambers), did not quite cover the platform: a margin of 5 cubits (“that which was left,” Ezekiel 41:9; Ezekiel 41:11 ) remained free outside the side-chambers, on two sides (N. and S.), Fig. 2, E; and from this free space the doors into the side-chambers opened, one on the N. and another on the S., Fig. 2, g ( Ezekiel 41:11 ). Further, on the walls of the inner court, N. and S., were chambers for the priests, Fig. 3, GG´, and between the temple-platform and these cells ran a passage or court of 20 cubits (“the separate place,” Ezekiel 41:12 ). This court ran round the house-platform on three sides (N. W. S.), Fig. 3, H.

The wall of the house - This was the outer wall of the temple itself. Its thickness of six cubits corresponds with the colossal proportions of the architecture of the east. Every side chamber - the side-chambers (D). These were a marked feature in Solomon's Temple, and were probably used as storehouses for the furniture and property of the temple. The arrangement of these side-chambers differed in some respects from that of Solomon's Temple, the object of Ezekiel's vision being throughout to bring all things to a more exact proportion.

Having left the holy of holies measured in the 3rd verse, now he is come to take the measures of the outer wall. The house; the temple itself, Six cubits; three yards thick was this wall from the ground to the first story of the side chambers. Every side chamber of the lowest floor; for there were three stories of these, and they differed in their breadth, as the wall of the temple on which they rested abated of its thickness; for the middle chambers were broader than the lowest by a cubit, and the highest as much broader than the middle. Round about; on the north, south, and west parts. On every side; on each side of every one of these three gates. The east gate, and buildings about that, were not faced with such facings.

5. side chamber—the singular used collectively for the plural. These chambers were appendages attached to the outside of the temple, on the west, north, and south; for on the east side, the principal entrance, there were no chambers. The narrowness of the chambers was in order that the beams could be supported without needing pillars. The plan is similar to that of the hall at Koyunjik, a large central hall, called the oracle, with smaller rooms built round it.