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Email: <lelgee@voicenet.com>Copyright © L. L. Griffith, 1971, 1996. ISBN 0-929554-01-9. This document may be reproduced in whole or in part provided that this copyright notice is reproduced on each copy made.
Ezekiel is a priest resident among the captives taken to the city of Babylon, in ancient Iraq. He was taken away from his homeland sometime very shortly after Daniel had been taken to Babylon. His home was somewhere among the Jewish community by the river Chebar, 1:1.
At that place in the city of Babylon the presence of the LORD takes hold of Ezekiel. He explains the happening this way:
1 In the five and twentieth 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 smitten - on the very same day - the hand of the LORD was upon me and brought me there.
Nebuchadnezzar had taken these captives away in 597 B.C. Jerusalem was destroyed in the year ending 586 B.C. The year 597 B.C. less 25 years is 572 B.C. The year 586 B.C. less 14 years is 572 B.C. This date is in the month Nisan (once called Abib). On the tenth day the Passover lamb was selected. It is the great sabbath of rest before the Passover. According to the law the Jews were required to "afflict themselves" for sins committed. From afflicting himself on this precise date, Ezekiel is touched by the hand of the LORD and removed to Jerusalem.
2 In the visions of GOD brought He me into the land of Israel and set me upon a very high mountain on which was a structure like a city on the south.
This mountain is not further identified except as the site of the smitten city. Modern Jerusalem is not known for the superior height of her mountains. Although archaeologists have excavated the city extensively the debris of past centuries still covers the terrain. In the vision the terrain is changed, and the site apparently cleared of debris. The height of this particular mountain is not stated, questioned, nor elaborated upon by the prophet.
There is no certainty that the mountain is indeed a mountain peak or if it is a very high mountain range. However, the 500 cubit square dimension of the structure on the south of the mountain implies that the southern end of the mountain has a relatively smooth and level surface. It has a delimited area for the site which is presently measured out. The true dimension is proved later, when the blocks of "the city" are developed within its wall. For this reason it may be deduced that "the city" is on the southern-most table land of the high mountain's range. (In place of on the south the LXX has apenanti, "before me.")
The structure which Ezekiel is shown is likened to (the structure of) a city. He does not say it is a city, but the size of the structure along with its design is grand enough to be compared to a city. Even modern Jerusalem is not a large city.
Other prophets allude to the "last days" in reference to the physical characteristics of Jerusalem's mountains. In the "last days" major physical changes will take place in the earth, and in the land around Jerusalem because of very severe earthquakes and shakings.
This very high mountain is not within the structure like a city. The structure like a city is wholly on the top of the mountain. Two of the present hills round about Jerusalem are Ophel, the eastern hill; and Zion, the Western Hill. The hill called Zion is occupied by the Dormition Church and a cemetery. Scopus lies to the north of Olivet. On the east is Mt. Moriah where the supposed site of Herod's temple is occupied by the Dome of the Rock and a mosque. The hill of Moriah (ridge or mount) is the largest, but not highest, of the present existing elevations.
Ezekiel speaks of the future dwelling place of God on the earth. This is the temporal dwelling place of the Mt. Zion which is to come "from above." This is the chosen place for the throne of the LORD. This is the place of the soles of His feet during the righteous rule of Messiah/Jesus Christ (and for his "holy ones" when he comes again). Make no mistake about this point! The earth is the eternal dwelling place for mankind. Here the LORD's "peculiar people" will live with Him for the age in the "heavenly places" of Mt. Zion and within a "new Jerusalem."
The extent and manner in which the mountain ranges to the east is given in Ezekiel 47. But for now, Ezekiel is set down upon the top of the very high mountain.
3 And he brought me there and behold, a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, having a reddish gold color. Angels are usually described as wearing a garment of white. The man's appearance in lustrous coppery tone is explained no further. He guides Ezekiel throughout the vision.
Perhaps the man wears the garment of a surveyor or carpenter, since he is carrying the tools associated with their occupation. The line will be used for measuring circumferences and distances too great for the use of a measuring rod. The tools and the work of a surveyor are both needed prior to any site construction.
Here the man stands in "the gate," preparing to measure it. But first he warns the prophet regarding what he will see, and what then he must do.
Whenever the word "behold" appears, pay attention! (Greek: asteismos). The word is an asterism - a signal word which is used to call attention to a particular passage of text. See also in verse 4, 5, and 24.
4 And the man said unto me: 'Son of man, behold with thine eyes and hear with thine ears and set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee; for to the intent that I might show unto thee art thou brought here. Declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.'
The question has risen. Why must Ezekiel declare the plan of the structure like a city to Israel when the people living in the dispersion among the nations could not possibly live in the land, and had no immediate hope of returning to the site of Jerusalem to rebuild any of its structures? Indeed, thirty-five years are yet to pass before Cyrus, the Persian king, will issue the Edict of Return.
In Babylon Daniel speaks (in Chapter Nine) to the point of why Jerusalem was desolated; and cites Jeremiah for his understanding. Jeremiah reveals (25:12-38) what would occur and when the whole matter will be resolved. Prior to this vision Ezekiel had been told by the LORD, and the people told too, that "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked except that the wicked turn from his way and live." But even under the new covenant, "Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." The apostle Paul writes in the Letter to the Romans at 11:26-29, (citing Isaiah 59:20-21, LXX), "and so all Israel shall be saved as it is written: 'There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is My covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins.'"
Pay attention to what those three verses do tell us...
5 And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits [long] by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
The Hebrew word, sabib-sabib, translated as round about, wherever it is found in Ezekiel's Hebrew text does not mean a circle! The misuse of this one word - by the Christadelphian writer whom Robert Roberts refers to in Christendom Astray - contributes to a gross distortion of the appearance of the structure of the sanctuary's inner wall which surrounds the temple's inner court and "the house" inside that court.
This Hebrew word, sabib-sabib, is found over 30 times in the text of Chapters 40 through 48 as round about. It means, simply, all around, everywhere the prophet looked! See a concordance for the full list of the locations of this word. The word circle is found only in the book of Job.
The measuring rod specified is of great cubits; each cubit being a cubit and an handbreadth. The rod itself is six ordinary cubits plus six handbreadths long. The man also carries the line for greater distance measuring. The length of the rod's measure is confirmed in Chapter 41:8.
Although the man measures two dimensions of the wall; height and width, he does not now measure nor state the length of the wall. (A similar oversight occurs later in regard to the altar.)
This city-like structure is the sanctuary of the house of the LORD. A bulwark surrounds it. The wall "building" appears to be the bulwark of the "city." The length of the building's circuit is not given here; probably because none of the things inside have yet been measured. The man proceeds to measure each component of the sanctuary in orderly fashion.
Now our attention is directed to the gate where the man stands.
There are only three gatehouses in the entire wall of the holy "city." Three others are located at the inner court; making a total of six altogether. The number may be determined by noting Ezekiel's position as each gatehouse is described.
Emphasis is placed upon the similarity of the construction of each gate. Whether their design varies significantly from the patterns which David received from the LORD cannot easily be determined.
Undoubtedly the misuse of the temple and its courts in times past was the cause for its repeated destruction. Conditions for the reinstitution of the future temple and its service is stated in Chapter 43:9. "Let the children of Israel put away their fornication and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever." These two problems of the flesh must be resolved prior to the LORD's return to His house, for the restoration consists of more than just buildings, walls and gates.
The construction of each gatehouse is important to a perfect understanding of the vision as shown to Ezekiel. The entire Fortieth Chapter contains the description of all six gatehouses, but with use variations according to the location of each gate. Were it not for these exceptions the descriptions would be somewhat tedious in detail. These gatehouses provide access to all the courts of the house of the LORD. The man will -- later in the vision -- emphasize to Ezekiel the importance of all the gatehouses when relating the ordinances and the laws of the house specific to each gate.
6 Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, [which was] one reed broad; and the other threshold [of the gate, which was] one reed broad.
This is the first gatehouse to be measured. The careful description of the two primary thresholds at once indicates that the gate pattern is not, architecturally speaking, that of a simple gate.
This gate is six cubits higher and six cubits inward from the outside of the wall "building." The approach goes up the steps through the wall and onto the first threshold of six cubits in width. On a flat plane the site would show as three lines lying north to south and each six cubits apart; and of yet unspecified lengths.
These steps face the east and meet the entrance threshold. The steps are in the structure of the wall, approaching the first threshold of this gatehouse. The wall before it "frames" the "city." We should expect the entrance to Zion to be more elaborate than any ordinary city's gates.
Verse seven reinforces the suggestion that existence of more than ordinary features does not indicate any plan of a simple gate. At the outside of this "gate" are seven steps. See Appendix, The Steps of 40:6, 22, 26.
Two main threshold areas were accounted for in the preceding verses; the threshold and the other threshold. Another threshold area is now revealed. This threshold area is located by the sides of the porch of the gate. These thresholds lie along the sides of the gatehouse, and provide access to courts beyond.
7 And [every] little chamber [was] one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers [were] five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within [was] one reed.
The word (adverb) translated as "within" here, (Hebrew: m'habeth), is also translated as "inside" and "inward;" but only in verses seven and nine. It should be read as, "of the house." The subjects of the man's measuring is the portico of gates, exits by the sides of the house. There are two sides; one looking north, one looking south.
The rooms in the gatehouse have a distance of five cubits between them. The rooms themselves are six cubits square.
8 He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed.
This is the measure of the main porch of the gatehouse. Every porch - the openings from the house on each side of the gatehouse and the main porches - are the same width. They are above all the thresholds.
It must be emphasized that while Ezekiel is being shown the future site of the house of the LORD, he is presently seeing just the first gatehouse building of all the structures inside the wall. To Ezekiel the entire site would look like a walled city. He would see a ground surface, appropriately terraced and marked out with lines and stakes, showing the positions of other buildings within the site.
9 Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate [was] inward.
The man has measured the length of the main porch of the gatehouse. This porch, at the west end of the gatehouse, has three ingresses. One faces the south way; one faces the north path to the gatehouse. Each entry of the portico is indicated by the positioning of its posts.
The central section of this portico faces the inner court. The glory of the LORD will enter via this gatehouse, from the east. Afterward, the eastern end is sealed. Thereafter this gatehouse is reserved for use by "the prince" as a dining chamber on holy days.
After the sealing (when "the door was shut," Matthew 25:10, 31-34), there remains only two gates available to the people for entrance into the house of the LORD: the one on the north side and another one on the south side of the structure like a city.
To a Hebrew priest, a Levite in 572 B.C., the vision probably presents no major problems from the design viewpoint. The plan is familiar, things unstated in the verses before us would be assumed according to the plan of the first temple. Later, Cyrus will permit the captives to return from Babylon in order to rebuild the temple, as the second temple was actually rebuilt following that return. This design was probably consulted then. But all matters pertaining to the design of the LORD's sanctuary as shown in this vision are by no means yet resolved. Of this resolution the Jewish people should be much more cognizant than any one from the nations...
At this stage of the vision, all that Ezekiel has witnessed has been the careful measures of all the thresholds and all the porches of the gatehouse. The measures of the interior spaces of the gatehouse follow. The external measure of the east gate cannot yet be calculated until the length of the primary threshold is stated.
See Diagram B, The Basic Gatehouse Design for orientation.
The porch area already measured - excluding the width of the wall - now shows a slender rectangle of six cubits in width. It contains 1) a threshold, 2) little-chambers, 3) space "between" them, and 4) the "other threshold" width. This is the composition of but one side "porch" of the gatehouse. The size of the interior of the gatehouse -- the passage way -- must still be puzzled out from the total number of the gatehouse subcomponents.
The problem of text translation into English is one thing to deal with. Another problem concerns the manner of interpretation of the Hebrew text. Conflicting opinions from the traditions established by Rashi and Kimchi flavor the interpretation of the Hebrew text, while translations into Greek, Latin and other languages naturally cause some stumbling at the reading. Our tongues are still confused as a result of the tower building in Shinar. This adds to the conflict of ideas between the Hebrew interpreters.
Rashi's scribes, incidentally, are responsible for the marginal insertion of "reed" in the place of "cubit" for the (500) lengths of measure for the wall. Only by careful proofing of Ezekiel's text is the error revealed.
However, the man did warn Ezekiel against carelessness in seeing and in hearing the instructions in the vision, did he not? (...Somewhat like the Lord's warning to those who read Daniel's prophecy, hmm?)
Another stumbling block for the interpreters is the word post, #361. One authority, Gesenius, in HEBREW-ENGLISH LEXICON, states the problem thus: "Ayilam, plural elammim, and elamoth. An architectural term which the Septuagint, Vulgate and Targum make the same as ulam, porch; from which however it is manifestly distinguished. The elammim were carried around an edifice and are usually mentioned along with the ayilam." In other words a post is not a porch, but posts and pillars are usually associated with porches, because the span which connects any two posts creates the porch.
Posts and spans may vary in their arrangements. A single or double row of posts having connecting spans is called a colonnade. Solomon's Porch was enclosed by a colonnade of a single row of posts. The pool of Bethesda had a double row in its colonnade. Pagan temples copied the arched effect of the post and span into their colonnades, particularly Greek and Roman temples.
10 And the little chambers of the gate eastward [were] three on this side, and three on that side; they three [were] of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.
The rabbis oppose one another again. Are we talking about posts, or about porches? Are they of the same measure? Or are they of one particular measure? Cubit? Rod? From such quarrels of this nature came the saying which was repeated by the Samaritan woman whom Jesus met at Jacob's Well, "When Messiah comes he will tell us." Is there still an argument? Each side of the gatehouse resembles the other side in sight and measure.
11 And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; [and] the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.
This is the interior passageway of the entrance at the west end of the gate; 10 by 13 wide. It is the area within the perimeter of its porches on each side. It is bordered by the "other threshold" of verse six. This entrance; entry is not a door. The Hebrew word for door is deleth; see 41:23-25. The classic portico has no doors.
This gatehouse is used temporarily as an entrance into the sanctuary of the LORD's house. Immediately after the meeting for the Wedding, Matthew 8:11; 25:6-10, "the door (is) shut," and sealed per 44:2. The gatehouse is reserved thereafter for the "prince." The prophecy at 44:2 reads: "This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened and no man shall enter in by it because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it. Therefore, it shall be shut." See Luke 13:25-29, and Matthew 25:10 about when 'the door is shut.' The gatehouse is sealed at the eastern threshold. Read of Zion's days of restitution in Isaiah 59:20 through Isaiah 60.
12 The space also before the little chambers [was] one cubit [on this side], and the space [was] one cubit on that side: and the little chambers [were] six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.
The "space" is a border defining the area of the rooms of the gatehouse. It may be defined by the entablature of the posts of verse ten. Its area on each side corresponds to their measure. Since Ezekiel is observing while the man measures all he would see is the one cubit line which marks out this extension of the border.
Readers of the English text should note that the word "little-chambers" is only one word in the Hebrew text. The translation may give a misleading interpretation when the reader compares the chamber size with bigness. Each "little-chamber" is at least nine feet square.
Width of entire Gatehouse:__________ 25
Passage way of the Entry......13 cubits wide
[6 cubits + 13 cubits + 6 cubits = 25 cubits wide]
The Threshold.....6..... [ = 6 cubits ]
Room #1.....6
Between.....5
Room #2.....6
Between.....5
Room #3.....6..... [ = 28 cubits ]
The Other Threshold.....6..... [ = 6 cubits ]
Entry Posts & Porch.....10..... [ = 10 cubits ]
[6 cubits + 28 cubits + 6 cubits +10 cubits = 50 cubits long]
Length of entire Gatehouse:__________ 50
13 He measured then the gate from the roof of [one] little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth [was] five and twenty cubits, door against door.
This roof is not defined in the text. Here it is most probable that "the roof" means the back or the rear side of each file of little-chambers. And, the openings alongside are opposite from one another; i.e., the openings run parallel to one another. There is no mention anywhere in the vision concerning any actual roof for the gatehouse, or even of any roof for the entire sanctuary of the house. Other prophecy mentions that the Cloud will act as a canopy to over-shadow and to protect the site from the weather elements of the heavens.
Diagram B, The Basic Gatehouse Design shows these openings beside the little chambers of the gate building. All components of the gatehouse are now accounted for. Examine Diagram B carefully. The gatehouse is 25 cubits wide, including the passageway of the gatehouse which is 13 cubits wide - from the steps straightway through the porch's entrance - leading to the outer courtyard.
There is a open width between each of the three rooms. A like arrangement is located on each side of the gatehouse. Their openings are "the gates" of the gate. Each of the two areas measure six cubits wide by a total of 28 cubits long. A threshold of six cubits wide is joined to each area's end, adding another 12 cubits, for a total length of 50. The entire passage way of the "house" measures ten by thirteen cubits wide through the midst, (6 + 13 + 6) for a total of 25 cubits in width.
The gatehouse's interior passage way is surrounded by rooms and porches on each side; by porch thresholds all around and by a larger entry porch to the west. As stated before the gatehouse is not an ordinary gate. The little-chambers in the double files of posts are the main distinguishing feature.
There is some wonder concerning the function of the little-chambers, here and in the other gatehouses of the sanctuary. There have been some wild conjectures made by non-Hebrews who were unfamiliar with (or unconvinced by) Bible texts that describe Solomon's construction of the first temple.
The Hebrew word for "little-chambers" is taim. This word is found only in this chapter in Ezekiel; in 1 Kings 14:28 and in 2 Chronicles 12:11, parallel texts. The word taim is related to the Greek tameion of New Testament use. There the word is used by Jesus and by the writers who transcribed his words. See the Greek text of Matthew 6:6; 24:26; Luke 12:3, 24. The word appears to be transliterated from Hebrew into Greek. It appears with a slightly different vowel spelling in the LXX.
The LXX uses the word tamian to describe the office of the treasurer, Somnas, (Greek for Shebna), in Isaiah 22:15. The word taim is used to describe the place where Solomon's golden shields were stored. See the references to 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles above. The taim are, quite apparently, the storerooms where all the shields of the 300 men of the king's bodyguard were placed for safekeeping. The shields were removed from the taim, and were carried by the same guard when the king entered into the house of the LORD on ceremonial occasions. Access to the shields was permitted only to the king's footmen and then only by the captain of the guard who had the charge for the care of the golden shields. Is it then presumptuous to suggest that one of the gatehouses may serve as a place of the treasury's store rooms when this temple is in "the last days" rebuilt to the LORD?
In Chapter 44 there is a remarkable admonition concerning the ordinances and laws of the house of the LORD, an admonition which particularly bears upon the entrances and the exits of the sanctuary.
When used as an entry to store chambers, each gatehouse would require suitable personnel to enforce these laws of the house. The gatehouse might also be referred to as a guardhouse for the sanctuary of the LORD's house.
14 He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate.
Here again, the reader must take care to understand what is stated in the original text for it is related to the prior mentioned text problems. What does "made" indicate? Does Ezekiel see his guide as "he made posts"? Not likely. This verb is asah; to make or to do (an action). [The identity of the act has been dropped from the text; the act of measuring. This dropping is an ellipsis.] Ezekiel watches as the man makes or does a measurement of posts for a distance of sixty cubits. The reason that he does the measure it seems, is in order to define a small court which encloses the gatehouse. The posts are the elements which mark the boundary of the court which goes around the gatehouse, elements of the colonnade.
It would be a single file - unless it houses a promenade. Should this be the case the file would be double. In any event the "posts" extend "even unto the post of the court," a measure of sixty cubits. The direction of the measure is likewise in question. Consider this problem: Where is it reasonable to expect to find "the post of the court which surrounds the gate"? At a position 60 cubits overhead, or rather better, 60 cubits beyond the porch of the gatehouse? In order to accomplish what is stated, "He made even unto the court," the measure must be made in a horizontal direction.
Because, courts are open spaces, usually rectangular or square, enclosed by a delimiter which is a boundary of some sort. Here the delimiter is identified as the "post."
This is the interpretation that we make, that the man did a measure of certain posts for a distance of 60 cubits which reached to a specific destination: "the post of the court which surrounds the gate." Consequently this east gatehouse is set in its own court yard. The porches of the gatehouse open toward its own small surrounding court.
In Bible context, a court is also a place where judicial procedures are held "in the gates."
The total area which the man has measured so far is approximately 145 cubits in length and 50 cubits in width. This block is parallel with "the wall." The angel has measured a specific block at the site of the smitten city. The block shows one gatehouse and a courtyard "around" it. It contains the outer east gate to the city's frame.
See Appendix, The Post of the Court.
15 And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate [were] fifty cubits.
The word for entrance here is ithron, which is another unusual translation. It means strength, and probably refers to the entire building's mass of length. Face to face, it is 50 cubits. The entire building is 25 cubits wide. The dimensions, approximated in feet, is somewhere between 75-100 feet long and somewhere between 37-50 feet wide, excluding its adjoining courtyard.
Following verses describe the decorative work which ties together the little-chambers, their pillars inside and the porches around the chambers, but no measures are given.
16 And [there were] narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows [were] round about inward: and upon [each] post [were] palm trees.
A most unique feature of the gatehouse is the use of the design showing "narrow" windows. The double colonnade that forms the little-chambers is perforated with this pattern. Note that this verse reads arches (for elammim) rather than porches. This is one of the places of which Gesenius speaks, relating the ayilam to the elammim. Most English texts use the word in verses 16-36.
The "narrow" windows are probably small apertures in the flat wall surface of the rooms and in the entablature of the posts that mark out these rooms; latticed in Eastern style. This design is familiar to the Eastern eye. The Church of the Crusades shows one example of the design. There is/was a building in Tunisia on the island of Djerba that has another similar design. A synagog known as El Ghriba, it is believed to have been founded in 586 B.C., after Nebuchadnezzar had burned Jerusalem and its temple. See Appendix, Synagog at Djerba.
The "palm tree" refers to the umbellate design of the capital on each post of the colonnade. The "arches" are formed by the connective spans of the entablature above the capital. The porch "between" is given an arched canopy effect. An entablature that supports a series of platforms is called an entablement. We will see/recognize this arrangement later on.
1 Kings 6:4 states that Solomon made windows of narrow lights for the first house of the LORD. A like design is revealed from 1 Kings 7:2-5 for the house, made with the cedar of Lebanon. Both passages suggest that there were nine apertures, having three rows by three ranks, in each of the windows of the house he built. In Ezekiel's vision the narrow windows are visible in the little-chambers, in the porches, and inside the gatehouse. This same arrangement of "narrow" windows is described in verses 22, 25, 29, 33, and 36, as part of the gatehouse's structural detail.
Other narrow windows, noted in 41:16-26, belong to the house of the temple structure, not to these gatehouses. There is some correspondence with the text in 1 Kings 7:2-5. All window descriptions appear to be quite similar to the pattern which was given in vision to King David by the LORD. The similarities between David's pattern and Ezekiel's pattern ought to be expected, and any differences remarkable. The man who guides Ezekiel throughout the vision calls his attention to some apparent differences. He also explains why they are to be so, in the new laws and ordinances which he presents with the vision.
The site of the frame like a city -- so far as measured out -- shows a wall, with the east gatehouse and its small surrounding court immediately within the measured block.
17 Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, [there were] chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers [were] upon the pavement.
Ezekiel is now introduced to another component block of the site. It is a court beyond the east gatehouse. From that court he can see chambers and a pavement made for the surrounding court.
A caution concerning the English text of the King James Authorized Version: Because of the translation problems, never assume that the English text is evenly or well translated from the Hebrew. The king's translators did not have concordances and lexicons as are readily available to the Bible reader today; nor were they to the Hebrew language born and bred; furthermore they all had their own religious bias.
Verse fourteen described the "court round about the gate." Now Ezekiel tells us about the court outside. He states that there are 30 chambers going around this court, which is paved. The pavement takes his attention, rather than the court itself or the chambers.
18 And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates [was] the lower pavement.
"The gates" here refers to the portals along the sides of the gatehouse, which is a distance of 40 cubits, excluding the main portico at the west end. Each opening "between" that has an "arch" and a "threshold" is a gate of the building. This building is a house of gates; a gatehouse; therefore, one should not confuse any part of the gatehouse for the whole of the structure. Altogether there are ten openings from the passage way of "the gate within."
The "lower" pavement is therefore 40 cubits long beside the gatehouse. The surrounding court - of the pavement he now observes - wraps around the gatehouse on each side. Thus the pavement which has the 30 chambers upon it is also the outer court's pavement.
This lower pavement, it seems, is built upon the foundation of "the structure like" a city. Josephus speaks of this part of Solomon's temple. He says that the foundations of the temple were very deeply laid with immense stones. The reason for use of such hugh stones was because of the weight that would be carried by all the buildings erected upon this foundation. Such stones as these are visible at the Western Wall in Jerusalem today. The Jews consider that the place of these stones is holy ground, (and rightly so, we suppose).
This is the site of the future sanctuary of the LORD which is to be elevated high above the new Jerusalem and all the surrounding terrain by the earth's quaking and shaking in the "last days."
Unger, in BIBLE DICTIONARY, explains that a minimum area of 200 by 400 cubits was needed just for the temple's site. The hilltop was made level and the foundations reinforced on each side. The measure he gives would not include, according to Ezekiel's vision, the chambers on the lower pavement.
Ezekiel is now standing on the lower pavement in the court outside the east gate.
19 Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward.
On the surface this verse presents a puzzle. If the man measures from the face of the lower gatehouse toward the face of the of the inner court, how can he possibly be measuring eastward and northward? However, if Ezekiel is carefully observing as he was instructed to do, what does he actually see? He first sees the man lay the line westward "from the forefront of the lower gate" for one hundred cubits "unto the forefront of the inner court without." He then retrieves the line as he walks eastward; and then lays a line of 100 cubits to the north.
From the center point of the main porch of the lower gatehouse the measure is 100 cubits west by 100 cubits north. He has measured a section of the Outer Court and another block of the "structure like" a city. This section comprises the northeast quarter of the Outer Court between the gatehouses, and the Inner Court (where the temple is located). See Diagram D, The Court Between the Gates.
The just use and good conduct in the sanctuary of the LORD's house is of primary importance in observing His word. After all, the nation had promised to obey the LORD: "And all the people answered together, and said, 'All that the LORD has spoken we will do,'" Exodus 19:8. They had promised to see and to hear His words, one time before. So good judgment is required of them still. This is brought into focus in later chapters of the vision, after all the prominent sections on the site are measured. In these chapters laws and ordinances are given in regard to future conduct. These are given apparently to rectify the errors previously committed in the temple precincts by the priests, the princes and the people. These laws are given in form that amends the earlier law of the LORD as ministered by His servant, Moses.
This emendation was prophesied by Isaiah, who said concerning another one who is also called My Servant: "The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness sake; he will magnify the Law and make it honorable." So saying, Isaiah indicated that the Law given by Moses was not in itself complete, neither was it able be honored by any ordinary man. The Law's penalty for the breaking of even one ordinance of the Law was death; Moses himself was unable to be a sinless man.
The Law's emendations cannot be carried out until the "structure like a city" is built, because the vision demands a literal building for which the new laws (as described by Ezekiel) are enacted. As a matter of record the Jewish nation had not faithfully kept the Law, neither was its leaders willing to honor the Law even at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, or even later at the time of Stephen's death.
At the present day the nation is unable to keep the Law as it was originally written, for there is neither priest nor temple in Jerusalem, Israel; nor is there yet any indication that the nation may be permitted by the surrounding nations to have either a priest or the temple.
But Israel's Temple Mount Faithful religious group for several decades has been preparing for an expected priesthood and for a rebuilding of the temple... This is a "sign" to watch...
"In my Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place, I will come again to receive you to myself. So that where I am you may also be.
...and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
- John 14:2, 23
