Ezekiel 41:6 - Exposition

The side chambers were t hree, one over another, and thirty in order ; literally, side chamber over side chamber , three and thirty times ; which means that they were ranged in three stories of thirty each; in this, again, agreeing, as to number and position, with the chambers in Solomon's temple (see Josephus, 'Ant.,' 8.3. 2). It is not needful to alter the text, as Bottcher, Hitzig, Havernick, and Ewald propose to do, in order to make it read, with the LXX ; "chamber against chamber, thirty and (this) three times," on the ground that אֵל and not עַל is the preposition, because in Ezekiel אֵל often stands for עַל ( Ezekiel 18:6 ; Ezekiel 31:12 ; Ezekiel 40:2 ). How the chambers were arranged along the three sides is not stated; but most likely there were twelve threes on each of the longer sides, the north and the south, and six threes on the shorter or western side. Like the chambers in Solomon's temple ( 1 Kings 6:6 ). those in Ezekiel's were not fastened to "the wall of the house," i.e. of the temple proper; the only question is whether they were built against the temple wall, as Kliefoth, Keil, Smend, and Schroder suppose, or, as Ewald and Dr. Currey seem to think, against another wall, five cubits thick (verse 9), which ran parallel to the temple wall, and which, having been built expressly for the support of the side chambers, might properly enough be said to be "of the house," i.e. belonging to it. In the former case the chambers would doubtless be fastened to the temple wall by means of "ledges," "holds," "rebates," as in the temple of Solomon: in the latter case, as Ewald translates, there would be "a light passage between the wall of the house and the side chambers around."

See drawing, Ezekiel's Temple

Legend to Ezekiel's Temple

A , porch of temple.

B, holy place, 20 x 40 cubits.

C, holy of holies, 20 x 20 cubits.

E, wall of house, 6 cubits.

F, side chambers, 4 cubits.

G, wall of chambers, 5 cubits.

H, light passage, 5 cubits (in other plans, this light passage runs in front of the chambers).

p, q, r, s, temple area, 100 cubits square.

s, s, s, free space, 20 cubits broad.

a, altar of incense in the holy place.

d, d, doors of side chambers.