17 And he bringeth me in unto the outer court, and lo, chambers and a pavement made for the court all round about -- thirty chambers on the pavement --
And he bringeth me forth unto the outer court, the way northward, and he bringeth me in unto the chamber that `is' over-against the separate place, and that `is' over-against the building at the north.
and the court that is without the sanctuary leave out, and thou mayest not measure it, because it was given to the nations, and the holy city they shall tread down forty-two months;
for their station `is' at the side of the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of Jehovah, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the cleansing of every holy thing, and the work of the service of the house of God,
And Hezekiah saith to prepare chambers in the house of Jehovah, and they prepare,
`And of the five and twenty thousand of length, and of the ten thousand of breadth, there is to the Levites, ministrants of the house, for them -- for a possession -- twenty chambers.
And he bringeth me out unto the outer court, and causeth me to pass over unto the four corners of the court, and lo, a court in a corner of the court, a court in a corner of the corner.
And he causeth to cease the horses that the kings of Judah have given to the sun from the entering in of the house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech the eunuch, that `is' in the suburbs, and the chariots of the sun he hath burnt with fire.
And the chamber and its opening `is' by the posts of the gates, there they purge the burnt-offering.
And the side-chambers `are' side-chamber by side-chamber, three and thirty times; and they are entering into the wall -- which the house hath for the side-chambers all round about -- to be taken hold of, and they are not taken hold of by the wall of the house.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 40
Commentary on Ezekiel 40 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 40
The waters of the sanctuary which this prophet saw in vision (ch. 47:1) are a proper representation of this prophecy. Hitherto the waters have been sometimes but to the ankles, in other places to the knees, or to the loins, but now the waters have risen, and have become "a river which cannot be passed over.' Here is one continued vision, beginning at this chapter, to the end of the book, which is justly looked upon to be one of the most difficult portions of scripture in all the book of God. The Jews will not allow any to read it till they are thirty years old, and tell those who do read it that, though they cannot understand every thing in it, "when Elias comes he will explain it.' Many commentators, both ancient and modern, have owned themselves at a loss what to make of it and what use to make of it. But because it is hard to be understood we must not therefore throw it by, but humbly search concerning it, get as far as we can into it and as much as we can out of it, and, when we despair of satisfaction in every difficulty we meet with, bless God that our salvation does not depend upon it, but that things necessary are plain enough, and wait till God shall reveal even this unto us. These chapters are the more to be regarded because the last two chapters of the Revelation seem to have a plain allusion to them, as Rev. 20 has to the foregoing prophecy of Gog and Magog. Here is the vision of a glorious temple (in this chapter and ch. 41 and 42), of God's taking possession of it (ch. 43), orders concerning the priests that are to minister in this temple (ch. 44), the division of the land, what portion should be allotted for the sanctuary, what for the city, and what for the prince, both in his government of the people and his worship of God (ch. 45), and further instructions for him and the people, ch. 46. After the vision of the holy waters we have the borders of the holy land, and the portions assigned to the tribes, and the dimensions and gates of the holy city, ch. 47, 48. Some make this to represent what had been during the flourishing state of the Jewish church, how glorious Solomon's temple was in its best days, that the captives might see what they had lost by sin and might be the more humbled. But that seems not probable. The general scope of it I take to be,
In this chapter we have,
Eze 40:1-4
Here is,
Eze 40:5-26
The measuring-reed which was in the hand of the surveyor-general was mentioned before, v. 3. Here we are told (v. 5) what was the exact length of it, which must be observed, because the house was measured by it. It was six cubits long, reckoning, not by the common cubit, but the cubit of the sanctuary, the sacred cubit, by which it was fit that this holy house should be measured, and that was a hand-breadth (that it, four inches) longer than the common cubit: the common cubit was eighteen inches, this twenty-two, see ch. 43:13. Yet some of the critics contend that this measuring-reed was but six common cubits in length, and one handbreadth added to the whole. The former seems more probable. Here is an account,
Eze 40:27-38
In these verses we have a delineation of the inner court. The survey of the outer court ended with the south side of it. This of the inner court begins with the south side (v. 27), proceeds to the east (v. 32), and so to the north (v. 35); for here is no gate either of the outer or inner court towards the west. It should seem that in Solomon's temple there were gates westward, for we find porters towards the west, 1 Chr. 9:24; 26:8. But Josephus says that in the second temple there was no gate on the west side. Observe,
Eze 40:39-49
In these verses we have an account,