Ezekiel 42:15 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ezekiel 42:15
Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about.
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
forth
וְהוֹצִיאַ֙נִי֙ve.ho.tzi.'A.ni
H3318
to go (causatively · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
toward
דֶּ֣רֶךְDe.rekh
H1870
a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular construct
gate
הַשַּׁ֔עַרha.Sha.'ar
H8179
an opening · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
prospect
פָּנָ֖יוpa.Nav
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
toward
דֶּ֣רֶךְDe.rekh
H1870
a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular construct
east
הַקָּדִ֑יםha.ka.Dim
H6921
the fore or front part · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
measured
וּמְדָד֖וֹu.me.da.Do
H4058
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
about
סָבִ֥יבsa.Viv
H5439
(as noun) a circle · noun, common both genders 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 43:1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
Ezekiel 40:6-16 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…
Ezekiel 41:2-5 And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: a…
Ezekiel 41:15 And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side an…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 42:15–end
We have attended the measuring of this mystical temple and are now to see how far the holy ground on which we tread extends; and that also is here measured, and found to take in a great compass. Observe, 1. What the dimensions of it were. It extended each way 500 reeds (Eze 42:16-19), each reed above three yards and a half, so that it reached every way about an English measured mile, which, the ground lying square, was above four miles round. Thus large were the suburbs (as I may call them) of this mystical temple, signifying the great extent of the church in gospel-times, when all nations should be discipled and the kingdoms of the world made Christ's kingdoms. Room should be made in God's…
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 Luk 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.
Adam Clarke on Ezekiel 42:14
They shall lay their garments wherein they minister - The priests were not permitted to wear their roles in the outer court. These vestments were to be used only when they ministered; and when they had done, they were to deposit them in one of the chambers mentioned in the thirteenth verse.
John Gill on Ezekiel 42:15
Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house,.... The holy place, and the holy of holies, with all the courts and chambers belonging to them; even the whole building within the compass of the outermost wall, and all that pertained unto it; the chambers last mentioned, as well as the rest, the dimensions of, which are given in this and the two preceding chapters:
he brought me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east: not to the east gate of the outward wall, but to the east gate which led into the outward court; the gate he was first brought unto, and which was first measured, Ezekiel 40:6, and measured it round about; not the east gate, nor the outward wall that…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 15 onwards) When he had finished measuring the interior dimensions of the house, he led me along the way of the gate that faced east, and he measured it all around. (He measured the likeness of the house all around in order.) He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was 500 rods long by the measuring rod all around. (He also measured the north side, south side, and west side.) And he measured against the north wind, five hundred cubits, measuring with a cubit in circumference. And he measured against the south wind, five hundred cubits, measuring with a cubit in circumference. And he measured against the west wind, five hundred cubits, measuring with a cubit. He measured on all four sides, the wall surrounding it, with a length of five hundred cubits and a width of five hundred cubits, dividing between the sanctuary and the common area. It should be known that after the East and North wind, the South and West wind has a reversed order among the Seventy. For they first set the West, that is the sea; and then the South, whereas among the Hebrews the South wind is first, and then the West. And what the Scripture now says: 'And when he had finished measuring the interior of the house, he led me through the gate that faces toward the East, and showed me all that has been mentioned, both inside and out, and the inner parts of the temple, that is, the Most Holy Place, properly belong to the building of the temple and the inner temple.' Now it follows: He led me through the gate, which looked towards the Eastern road, and measured it all around, like the likeness of a house. By this it is shown that it is not the house itself, but the likeness of the house that is seen: for now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known (I Cor. XIII). Therefore, even Moses in the tabernacle, and Solomon in the building, made not the true tent of the temple, but the likeness and figure of it: that by these things which are lesser and earthly, we may understand those things which are heavenly, and in the spiritual building. But the man who had brought the prophet, went not into the outer courtyard, but through the gate which looked towards the eastern way, first measuring against the eastern wind, that is, the eastern quarter, five hundred reeds round about; second, towards the north; thirdly,…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Extent of the Holy Domain around the Temple
Eze 42:15. And when he had finished the measurements of the inner house, he brought me out by the way of the gate, which is directed toward the east, and measured there round about. Eze 42:16. He measured the eastern side with the measuring rod five hundred rods by the measuring rod round about; Eze 42:17. He measured the northern side five hundred rods by the measuring rod round about; Eze 42:18. The southern side he measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod; Eze 42:19. He turned round to the western side, measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod. Eze 42:20. To the four winds he measured it. It had a wall round about; the length was f…
The priests would store the sacred offerings and eat the most holy offerings in these rooms. The clothes that the priests wore while ministering in the Lord’s presence would be stored there, and the priests would put on other clothes because these clothes were holy. All of these regulations represent a significant increase in the care taken to separate the holy from the profane, as compared to the similar laws in Leviticus (cp. Lev 6).
Rashi on Ezekiel 42:15
and he measured it round about the entire outer perimeter of the Temple Mount.
