40 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city.1 2 In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. 3 When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway. 4 And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”
5 And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth2 in length. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed. 6 Then he went into the gateway facing east, going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep.3 7 And the side rooms, one reed long and one reed broad; and the space between the side rooms, five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the vestibule of the gate at the inner end, one reed. 8 Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, on the inside, one reed. 9 Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and its jambs, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end. 10 And there were three side rooms on either side of the east gate. The three were of the same size, and the jambs on either side were of the same size. 11 Then he measured the width of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gateway, thirteen cubits. 12 There was a barrier before the side rooms, one cubit on either side. And the side rooms were six cubits on either side. 13 Then he measured the gate from the ceiling of the one side room to the ceiling of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; the openings faced each other. 14 He measured also the vestibule, sixty cubits. And around the vestibule of the gateway was the court.4 15 From the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the inner vestibule of the gate was fifty cubits. 16 And the gateway had windows all around, narrowing inwards toward the side rooms and toward their jambs, and likewise the vestibule had windows all around inside, and on the jambs were palm trees.
17 Then he brought me into the outer court. And behold, there were chambers and a pavement, all around the court. Thirty chambers faced the pavement. 18 And the pavement ran along the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. This was the lower pavement. 19 Then he measured the distance from the inner front of the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court,5 a hundred cubits on the east side and on the north side.6
20 As for the gate that faced toward the north, belonging to the outer court, he measured its length and its breadth. 21 Its side rooms, three on either side, and its jambs and its vestibule were of the same size as those of the first gate. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits. 22 And its windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faced toward the east. And by seven steps people would go up to it, and find its vestibule before them. 23 And opposite the gate on the north, as on the east, was a gate to the inner court. And he measured from gate to gate, a hundred cubits.
24 And he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate on the south. And he measured its jambs and its vestibule; they had the same size as the others. 25 Both it and its vestibule had windows all around, like the windows of the others. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits. 26 And there were seven steps leading up to it, and its vestibule was before them, and it had palm trees on its jambs, one on either side. 27 And there was a gate on the south of the inner court. And he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.
28 Then he brought me to the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate. It was of the same size as the others. 29 Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others, and both it and its vestibule had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits. 30 And there were vestibules all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits broad. 31 Its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
32 Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gate. It was of the same size as the others. 33 Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others, and both it and its vestibule had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits. 34 Its vestibule faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its jambs, on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.
35 Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it. It had the same size as the others. 36 Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others,7 and it had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits. 37 Its vestibule8 faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its jambs, on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.
38 There was a chamber with its door in the vestibule of the gate,9 where the burnt offering was to be washed. 39 And in the vestibule of the gate were two tables on either side, on which the burnt offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering were to be slaughtered. 40 And off to the side, on the outside as one goes up to the entrance of the north gate, were two tables; and off to the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables. 41 Four tables were on either side of the gate, eight tables, on which to slaughter. 42 And there were four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high, on which the instruments were to be laid with which the burnt offerings and the sacrifices were slaughtered. 43 And hooks,10 a handbreadth long, were fastened all around within. And on the tables the flesh of the offering was to be laid.
44 On the outside of the inner gateway there were two chambers11 in the inner court, one12 at the side of the north gate facing south, the other at the side of the south13 gate facing north. 45 And he said to me, “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple, 46 and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who alone14 among the sons of Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to him.” 47 And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits broad, a square. And the altar was in front of the temple.
Section Overview
Out of all the prophet Ezekiel’s unusual actions—and his behavior at times was certainly a bit odd—few have been as incomprehensible to modern readers as the choice to spend several chapters describing a nonexistent building in excruciatingly precise detail. Some have, quite naturally, assumed that this is because Ezekiel is transmitting a blueprint for a future temple, which would require that level of engineering design. The design of the tabernacle is often cited as a similar instance (cf. Exodus 25–40). However, unlike with the tabernacle instructions, here there are fairly startling omissions that would make Ezekiel’s temple hard to construct—the lack of any height dimensions (apart from the wall surrounding the whole), for example, or of any consideration of the building materials, a key element of other ancient temple plans. Moreover, when the exiles returned to the land and rebuilt the temple in response to the decree of Cyrus, they made absolutely no attempt to incorporate any of Ezekiel’s design modifications, preferring to reconstruct the same basic plan as Solomon’s temple. Nor would it actually be possible to build a temple complex to fit Ezekiel’s design on the present temple mount in Jerusalem (if indeed that is where Ezekiel envisions his temple to be located; cf. comments on Ezekiel 48).
Other interpreters have gone in the opposite direction, seeking to find timeless truths by allegorizing the details of the building structure. Thus the church father Gregory the Great, in his homily on Ezekiel 40:6–8, identified the east gate of the temple as Jesus, the steps leading up to the gate as the merits of the virtues that lead to salvation, and the threshold of the gate as the ancestors of Jesus. He notes that the chamber inside the gate has length, which he links to longsuffering in expectation, and breadth, which symbolizes amplitude of charity.255 Much later, the Puritan William Greenhill’s commentary on verse 16 finds significance in the windows of the visionary temple. These, he believes, denote the spiritual light and joy that should be in the church of Christ. According to Greenhill, the fact that there are windows in the “little chambers” means that even the least significant churches and the least saints would not be left without light and joy, teaching and comfort.256
In reality, Ezekiel is communicating something entirely different in these chapters, describing a coherent vision that critiques the past sins of Israel and affirms a different future for God’s people as a result of the radical transformation described in chapters 34–37. The new people, in a new covenant relationship with their God, are being returned to a radically new land, in which their God will dwell with them forever. To use the language of Isaiah, what Ezekiel envisages is nothing short of new creation, though (typically) his description of that new creation is focused on the transformation of his homeland. His new Promised Land is not located “nowhere,” or even “somewhere,” but in the land of Israel, which the Lord swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.257
To express those transformative changes that the Lord is bringing about in his people, Ezekiel uses several different forms of expression, notably those related to architecture, legislation, and geography.258 While there are real points of continuity among Ezekiel’s temple, its laws, and its geographic surroundings with the preexilic situation, what are more significant in each case are the differences. These differences are what the exilic community—and subsequent readers—are intended to ponder, so that they (and we) may be convicted by them, as past sins are highlighted, and encouraged by them, as we see laid out before us the different future God has prepared for us: a holy people dwelling forever in the presence of a holy God (cf. 43:10–11).
It is particularly striking that there is virtually nothing in this vision of chapters 40–48 for the exiles (or us) to do. This is a temple-centered land and community that God is creating and that the people will receive as a free gift, one that will finally fulfill the Lord’s purposes for his people from the very beginning. Only God can accomplish such a redemption—and if God has committed himself to doing so, then nothing in all creation can prevent its completion on the day of his intervention.
This perspective gives us the tools to understand what the prophet is doing in the vision. As we approach chapters 40–42, which describes the layout of a visionary temple, moving from the outside to the center, it is important to listen to what is said and what is not said, to note what is in focus and what is left undescribed, and especially to see how the design would have convicted the original hearers of their sins (43:10–11). Meaning will be found not in allegorizing the fine details of the building or looking forward to some hypothetical future in which this temple will actually be constructed but in comparing and contrasting it with the former temple’s design.
Section Outline
IV. Oracles of Good News (33:1–48:35) . . .
D. The Renewed Temple (40:1–48:35)
1. The Formation of the Sacred Space (40:1–42:20)
a. Walls and Gates (40:1–47)
Response
The initial survey of the outer and inner courts of the temple already highlights some of the central theological concerns driving the design of Ezekiel’s temple. To begin with, access into the presence of God is not free or unrestricted. On the contrary, the walls are higher and the divisions even clearer than in the tabernacle or in Solomon’s temple. The past failures in this area must be avoided going forward. The Zadokite priests, whose faithfulness is commended in chapter 44, alone have access to the altar, where the crucial sacrificial offerings to purify land and people will be made. They also bear the ultimate responsibility for guarding the entrances and exits of the temple, overseeing the Levitical gatekeepers.
These themes are in some ways maintained and in other ways transformed with the coming of Christ, as may be seen by comparing Ezekiel’s visionary temple with John’s visionary new Jerusalem in Revelation 21–22. The contrasts are obvious: a temple-dominated land in Ezekiel 40–48 versus a city with no temple in Revelation (Rev. 21:22). Yet the similarities are equally obvious, starting with John’s being carried away by the Spirit to a very high mountain to receive his vision (cf. Rev. 21:10 with Ezek. 40:2). The key to both similarities and differences is found in the ministry of Christ and what it has accomplished. For example, the central importance of sacrifice in Ezekiel’s temple is maintained but now finds its focus in the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ on behalf of his people (cf. Matt. 20:28). Furthermore, the tight restrictions on access into God’s presence remain in the new Jerusalem: the wall is heightened and the gates are even stronger than in Ezekiel’s temple (Rev. 21:12–17). These restrictions are only for unbelievers, however; those in Christ have been given access to the very throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 21:22–25).Ezekiel 40:1–47
Ezekiel 40:48–42:20