Ezekiel42

Ezekiel is shown the chambers on the north and south sides of the temple, detailing their structure and dimensions. These are identified as holy chambers where priests are to eat sacred offerings and change their holy garments before entering the outer court. Finally, the entire temple complex is measured, revealing a square enclosure of five hundred reeds on each side, designed to separate the holy sanctuary from the profane.

The Northern Chambers Described

1
Then he led me into the outer courtyard - the route went north - and brought me to the [block of] rooms opposite the separated yard and opposite the building to the north. ​
2
The length of the front was 175 feet on the north side, where the door was; the width was eighty-seven-and-a-half feet.
3
It was located between the inner courtyard, which was thirty-five feet wide, and the flooring of the outer courtyard. It had galleries, one above the other, on three floors. ​
4
In front of the [block of] rooms was a walkway seventeen-and-a-half feet wide and a path twenty-one inches [wide]; their doors faced north.
5
The upper rooms were shorter, because the galleries took up some of their space, more than from the [rooms on the] lower and middle [floors] of the building.
6
For the rooms were on three floors, and they didn't have columns like those in the courtyards; therefore space was taken away from the [rooms on the] lower and middle [floors], in comparison with the ground. ​
7
The length of the wall outside, next to the rooms, toward the outer courtyard in front of the rooms, was eighty-seven-and-a-half feet.
8
For the length of the rooms toward the outer courtyard was eighty-seven-and-a-half feet, whereas [the length of] the side facing the sanctuary was 175 feet.
9
Under these rooms was the entrance to the east side, leading in from the outer courtyard.
10
In the width of the courtyard wall on the east, facing the separated yard and facing the building, there were rooms,
11
with a passageway in front of them, similar to the rooms on the north. They were the same length and width and had similarly made exits and entrances.
12
By the entrances of the rooms on the south there was an entrance at the end of the passage, the passageway right in front of the wall, toward the eastern entrances.

Purpose of the Holy Chambers

13
Then he said to me, "The north and south [blocks of] rooms in front of the separated yard are the holy rooms where the cohanim who approach ADONAI will eat the especially holy things. This is where they will put the especially holy things - the grain offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings; for the place is holy. ​
14
When the cohanim come, they will not go out of the [Especially] Holy Place into the outer courtyard; rather, they will leave [in these rooms] the clothes they use when ministering, because they are holy. They will put on other clothes and only then approach the areas permitted to the people." ​

Measurement of the Outer Boundary

15
After he had finished measuring the inner house, he brought me out by way of the gate facing east and measured the whole area. ​
16
He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was 875 feet by the measuring rod. ​
17
He measured the north side; it was 875 feet by the measuring rod.
18
He measured the south side; it was 875 feet by the measuring rod.
19
He turned to the west side and measured 875 feet with the measuring rod.
20
He measured its four sides; it had a wall around it; and it was 875 [feet] long and 875 [feet] wide. Thus a division was made between what was holy and what was common. ​

Study Notes for Ezekiel 42

Verse 1

These chambers, located in the outer court facing the Temple proper (the 'separate place'), were essential service rooms for the priests. They are described first in the north, mirroring the layout later described in the south.

Verse 3

The chambers were built in three stories and featured complex galleries. The architecture was designed to maximize the use of space between the inner court wall and the pavement of the outer court.

Verse 6

Unlike the main court structures, these chambers lacked internal supporting pillars. Consequently, the upper stories had to be narrower or 'straitened' compared to the lower floors for structural stability.

Verse 13

This verse establishes the sacred function of these rooms. They are designated 'holy chambers' for the consumption of the most sacred sacrificial portions, which only the officiating priests were permitted to eat (e.g., portions of the grain, sin, and trespass offerings).

Verse 14

This regulation emphasizes the radical separation of the holy and the profane. Priests must change out of their ministerial garments before exiting the sacred complex to ensure that the holiness of the garments is not transferred to the common people or areas.

Verse 15

Having measured the interior and functional structures of the Temple, the focus now shifts to the ultimate perimeter, defining the extent of the holy ground.

Verse 16

The measurement of five hundred reeds (a reed being six cubits, or about 10.5 feet) yields a total length of approximately 5,250 feet on each side. This describes a massive, square complex, far larger than any historical Temple in Jerusalem.

Verse 20

The ultimate purpose of this immense wall is theological: to 'make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.' This wall physically embodies the absolute holiness of God and the need for purity in His presence.

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