13 And he saith unto me, `The north chambers, the south chambers, that `are' at the front of the separate place, they `are' holy chambers, where the priests (who `are' near to Jehovah) eat the most holy things, there they place the most holy things, and the present, and the sin-offering, and the guilt-offering, for the place `is' holy.
`Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin-offering in the holy place, for it `is' most holy -- and it He hath given to you to take away the iniquity of the company, to make atonement for them before Jehovah?
`Every male among the priests doth eat it; in the holy place it is eaten -- it `is' most holy;
This is thine of the most holy things, from the fire: all their offering, to all their present, and to all their sin-offering, and to all their guilt-offering, which they give back to Me, is most holy to thee, and to thy sons; in the holy of holies thou dost eat it; every male doth eat it; holy it is to thee.
`And he hath slaughtered the lamb in the place where he slaughtereth the sin-offering and the burnt-offering, in the holy place; for like the sin-offering the guilt-offering is to the priest; it `is' most holy.
`And the ram of the consecration thou dost take, and hast boiled its flesh in the holy place;
`Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, This `is' a law of the sin-offering: in the place where the burnt-offering is slaughtered is the sin-offering slaughtered before Jehovah; it `is' most holy. `The priest who is making atonement with it doth eat it, in the holy place it is eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting;
and it hath been to Aaron, and to his sons, and they have eaten it in the holy place, for it `is' most holy to him, from the fire-offerings of Jehovah -- a statute age-during.'
and ye have eaten it in the holy place, for it `is' thy portion, and the portion of thy sons, from the fire-offerings of Jehovah; for so I have been commanded. `And the breast of the wave-offering, and the leg of the heave-offering, ye do eat in a clean place, thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee; for thy portion and the portion of thy sons they have been given, out of the sacrifices of peace-offerings of the sons of Israel;
and the remnant of the present `is' for Aaron and for his sons, most holy, of the fire-offerings of Jehovah.
In the breadth of the wall of the court eastward, unto the front of the separate place, and unto the front of the building, `are' chambers.
and he maketh for him a great chamber, and there they were formerly putting the present, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithe of the corn, the new wine, and the oil -- the commanded thing of the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers -- and the heave-offering of the priests.
and thou, and thy sons with thee, do keep your priesthood, for everything of the altar, and within the vail, and ye have served; a service of gift I make your priesthood; and the stranger who is coming near is put to death.'
a memorial to the sons of Israel, so that a stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron doth not draw near to make a perfume before Jehovah, and is not as Korah, and as his company, -- as Jehovah hath spoken by the hand of Moses to him.
`For Zebulun -- Eliab son of Helon. `For the sons of Joseph -- for Ephraim: Elishama son of Ammihud: for Manasseh -- Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
`Bread of his God -- of the most holy things, and of the holy things -- he doth eat;
`And this `is' a law of the present: sons of Aaron have brought it near before Jehovah unto the front of the altar, and `one' hath lifted up of it with his hand from the flour of the present, and from its oil, and all the frankincense which `is' on the present, and hath made perfume on the altar, sweet fragrance -- its memorial to Jehovah. `And the remnant of it do Aaron and his sons eat; `with' unleavened things it is eaten, in the holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting they do eat it. It is not baken `with' any thing fermented, their portion I have given it, out of My fire-offerings; it `is' most holy, like the sin-offering, and like the guilt-offering.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezekiel 42
Commentary on Ezekiel 42 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 42
Eze 42:1-20. Chambers of the Priests: Measurements of the Temple.
2. Before the length of an hundred cubits—that is, before "the separate place," which was that length (Eze 41:13). He had before spoken of chambers for the officiating priests on the north and south gates of the inner court (Eze 40:44-46). He now returns to take a more exact view of them.
5. shorter—that is, the building became narrower as it rose in height. The chambers were many: so "in My Father's house are many mansions" (Joh 14:2); and besides these there was much "room" still left (compare Lu 14:22). The chambers, though private, were near the temple. Prayer in our chambers is to prepare us for public devotions, and to help us in improving them.
16. five hundred reeds—the Septuagint substitutes "cubits" for "reeds," to escape the immense compass assigned to the whole, namely, a square of five hundred rods or three thousand cubits (two feet each; Eze 40:5), in all a square of one and one-seventh miles, that is, more than all ancient Jerusalem; also, there is much space thus left unappropriated. Fairbairn rightly supports English Version, which agrees with the Hebrew. The vast extent is another feature marking the ideal character of the temple. It symbolizes the great enlargement of the kingdom of God, when Jehovah-Messiah shall reign at Jerusalem, and from thence to the ends of the earth (Isa 2:2-4; Jer 3:17; Ro 11:12, 15).
20. wall … separation between … sanctuary and … profane—No longer shall the wall of partition be to separate the Jew and the Gentile (Eph 2:14), but to separate the sacred from the profane. The lowness of it renders it unfit for the purpose of defense (the object of the wall, Re 21:12). But its square form (as in the city, Re 21:16) is the emblem of the kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb 12:28), resting on prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ being the chief corner-stone.