Ezekiel 41:9 - Exposition

The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chambers on the outside , is next mentioned as having been five cubits , i.e. the same as the breadth of the wall of the porch ( Ezekiel 40:48 ), but one cubit thinner than that of the temple ( Ezekiel 41:5 ). The clause which follows is obscure. By that which was left , the Authorized and Revised Versions understand the place of the side chambers that were within —or, that belonged to the house (Revised Version)—without intending to assert that the whole space left, which was five cubits ( Ezekiel 41:11 ), was occupied by the side chambers, which were only four cubits broad ( Ezekiel 41:5 ). Accepting these measurements, Kliefoth and Keil regard the free space as a walk of five cubits broad on the outside of the side chambers. Ewald, and Dr. Currey, in the 'Speaker's Commentary,' place the five cubits between the temple wall and the side chambers.