Ezekiel 42:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ezekiel 42:1
Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was before the building toward the north.
a yard (as inclosed by a fence) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
toward
הַדֶּ֖רֶךְha.De.rekh
H1870
a road (as trodden) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
north
הַצָּפ֑וֹןha.tza.Fon
H6828
properly · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
brought
וַיְבִאֵ֣נִיvay.vi.'E.ni
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
chamber
הַלִּשְׁכָּ֗הha.lish.Kah
H3957
a room in a building (whether for storage · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
place
הַגִּזְרָ֛הha.giz.Rah
H1508
the figure or person (as if cut out) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
building
הַבִּנְיָ֖ןha.bin.Yan
H1146
an edifice · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
north
הַצָּפֽוֹןha.tza.Fon
H6828
properly · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ezekiel 40:17 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…
Ezekiel 40:20 And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof.
Ezekiel 41:1 Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, whi…
Ezekiel 41:12-15 Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was fi…
Ezekiel 42:4 And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors toward the north.
Ezekiel 42:13 Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be holy chambers, where the pries…
Ezekiel 40:2-3 In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on th…
Ezekiel 40:24 After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof acco…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 42:1-14
The prophet has taken a very exact view of the temple and the buildings belonging to it, and is now brought again into the outer court, to observe the chambers that were in that square.
I. Here is a description of these chambers, which (as that which went before) seems to us very perplexed and intricate, through our unacquaintedness with the Hebrew language and the rules of architecture at that time. We shall only observe, in general, 1. That about the temple, which was the place of public worship, there were private chambers, to teach us that our attendance upon God in solemn ordinances will not excuse us from the duties of the closet. We must not only worship in the courts of God's house,…
He brought me forth into the utter court - He brought him out from the temple into the court of the priests. This, in reference to the temple, was called the outer court; but the court of the people was beyond this.
John Gill on Ezekiel 42:1
Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward the north,.... After the dimensions of the gates and courts of this building had been shown, and that of itself, the holy and most holy place, with the ornaments thereof; the prophet is brought by his guide into the outward court, which encompassed the building to the north part of it; probably he came out of the north gate of the house into it. So the Targum renders it,
"by the way of the gate which is open to the way of the north:''
and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place; or holy of holies; see Ezekiel 41:12, over against or before this, to the north of it, were a chamber or chambers; the s…
The Cell-Building in the Outer Court for Holy Use
Eze 42:1. And he brought me out into the outer court by the way toward the north, and brought me to the cell-building, which was opposite to the separate place, and opposite to the building toward the north, Eze 42:2. Before the long side of a hundred cubits, with the door toward the north, and the breadth fifty cubits, Eze 42:3. Opposite to the twenty of the inner court and opposite to the stone pavement of the outer-court; gallery against gallery was in the third storey. Eze 42:4. And before the cells a walk, ten cubits broad; to the inner a way of a hundred cubits; and their doors went to the north. Eze 42:5. And the upper cells were short…
The Church Fathers
Chapter XLII, verses 1 and following: 'And he brought me to the outer court by the way leading to the north, and he brought me to the treasury which was opposite the separated building and opposite the temple facing the north. On the face of the length of one hundred cubits of the north gate, and the breadth of fifty cubits.' In this place, the Septuagint edition differs greatly from the Hebrew truth. That which we have also put above, and in this place: He brought me into the treasury, which will be opposite the separate building, and opposite the temple facing the North, for which it is held in the LXX: And he brought me: and behold, there are five chambers from the remaining building and next to the separate building toward the North: for separate, which Aquila and Symmachus translated, the second edition of Aquila, and Theodotion placed this word itself, Gazera (), expressing it similarly in all places: and many other things which are placed in the present passage between the Hebrew and the LXX not only differ in order, but also in number, and in the interpretation of words, so that if we wished to linger on each one, and seek and explain their reason for the diversity, we would depart greatly from the proposed subject. And I had wanted to pass over in silence my present testimony of final despair and greatness, but I thought it better to say anything than to say nothing at all, adopting that Socratic principle: I know that I do not know. For it is a part of knowledge to know that you do not know. Therefore, after the prophet had carefully observed the things that were inside, the man, whose rope and reed were in his hand, led him out to the outer courtyard, along the path leading to the North, which he had already seen from above before he entered the inner chambers. But we see things differently when it comes to perfect knowledge, compared to the beginning of discipline. And it is necessary for one who has looked into the inner workings, according to the same form and measures and hidden sacraments, to also see the external things. However, he was led into the treasury, or as the Septuagint translated it, the hall, or as Theodotion, the παστοφόριον, which is turned into a chamber: which was located opposite the separate building. But what the Seventy added for the treasury, five exedras, is not found in Hebrew. The treasury was a separate building, as…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Having reached the center of the Temple complex, Ezekiel began traveling outward again.
Rashi on Ezekiel 42:1
And he took me out of the Inner Court.
to the Outer Court through the Northern Gate mentioned above (40:35): The gate of the Inner Court was opposite the gate to the north, and it was situated in the middle of the length of the Israelites’ Court, which was one hundred cubits.
and he brought me to the chamber that was opposite, etc. To one of the first chambers, or to the place of the chambers, chanbrediz in Old French, block of chambers. These are the chambers standing north of the House, separated twenty cubits from the cells, as is written above (41:10), “And between the chambers was a [space] twenty cubits wide surrounding the House.” Someone [standing in the inner court] would be unabl…
