Naravist

The Prophets · Old Testament

Ezekiel 40

Ezekiel 40: the man with the measuring reed and the temple gates

General context

In the twenty-fifth year of the captivity, on the tenth day of the month, fourteen years after the city was smitten, the hand of the Lord brings the prophet in the visions of God into the land of Israel and sets him on a very high mountain, with the frame of a city on the south. A man whose appearance is like brass stands in the gate with a line of flax and a measuring reed, and tells him to look, listen, set his heart on all he is shown and declare it to the house of Israel. A wall surrounds the house; the reed is six cubits long by the cubit and a hand breadth, and the wall measures one reed broad and one reed high. The man measures the east gate: thresholds one reed, little chambers one reed square, three on each side, an entry ten cubits broad, twenty-five cubits from roof to roof and fifty cubits from the outer face to the inner porch, with narrow windows and palm trees on the posts. In the outer court are thirty chambers on a pavement, and a hundred cubits from the lower gate to the inner court. The north and south gates match the east, fifty by twenty-five cubits, each with seven steps. The three inner gates match them and are reached by eight steps. By the north gate are eight tables for slaying sacrifices, four of hewn stone. Chambers for the singers and for priests face south and north; the north-facing one is for the sons of Zadok, keepers of the charge of the altar. The inner court is a hundred cubits square with the altar before the house. The man measures the porch of the house, twenty cubits long and eleven broad, with steps and a pillar by each post.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 40:1, Ezekiel 40:2, Ezekiel 40:3, Ezekiel 40:4, Ezekiel 40:5, Ezekiel 40:6, Ezekiel 40:7, Ezekiel 40:9, Ezekiel 40:10, Ezekiel 40:11, Ezekiel 40:13, Ezekiel 40:15, Ezekiel 40:16, Ezekiel 40:17, Ezekiel 40:19, Ezekiel 40:21, Ezekiel 40:22, Ezekiel 40:24, Ezekiel 40:31, Ezekiel 40:38, Ezekiel 40:41, Ezekiel 40:42, Ezekiel 40:43, Ezekiel 40:44, Ezekiel 40:46, Ezekiel 40:47, Ezekiel 40:48, Ezekiel 40:49

Ezekiel 40 (KJV)

1In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me thither.

2In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south.

3And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

4And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.

5And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

6Then 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 one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad.

7And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed.

8He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed.

9Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward.

10And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.

11And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.

12The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

13He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door.

14He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate.

15And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.

16And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees.

17Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement.

18And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement.

19Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward.

20And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof.

21And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

22And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.

23And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.

24After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.

25And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

26And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.

27And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits.

28And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;

29And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

30And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.

31And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps.

32And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures.

33And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

34And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.

35And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures;

36The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

37And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.

38And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.

39And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.

40And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.

41Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices.

42And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

43And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.

44And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.

45And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.

46And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the Lord to minister unto him.

47So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house.

48And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

49The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The heading gives the date two ways, "the five and twentieth year of our captivity" and "the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten", tying the vision to the report of Jerusalem's fall in 33:21. The prophet says he was brought "in the visions of God" to a very high mountain in the land of Israel; the mountain is not named. The guide is "a man" of brass-like appearance, unnamed, and his instruction is that the prophet declare what he sees to the house of Israel. The unit of measure is defined in the text: a reed of six cubits "by the cubit and an hand breadth". The building is called "the house" and its enclosure "the court"; the chapter does not say that this is any building that has existed or will exist, and reading it as a particular later structure goes beyond the text. Seven steps lead up to the north and south outer gates and eight to the inner gates. The priests "the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi" are named as those who come near to minister. The tables are described with their use, slaying the burnt, sin and trespass offerings. Some phrases, such as the "posts of threescore cubits" in verse 14 and the "arches", are given without enough context to fix their exact shape.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 40:1, Ezekiel 33:21, Ezekiel 40:2, Ezekiel 40:3, Ezekiel 40:5, Ezekiel 40:26, Ezekiel 40:34, Ezekiel 40:46, Ezekiel 40:39, Ezekiel 40:14

Literary context

The chapter opens like the book's other visions, with a date, the hand of the Lord and a journey in the spirit, and then settles into a different kind of writing: a tour narrated step by step, with the guide's measurements as the content. The command "behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears" makes seeing itself the prophet's task. The description is organised by direction and by movement inward: the outer wall, the east gate, the outer court, the north and south gates, then the inner gates, the inner court and finally the porch of the house. Repetition does structural work. The east gate is measured in full, and each later gate is said to be "according to these measures" or "after the measure of the first gate", so the reader learns the pattern once and then recognises it. Details recur like a refrain, windows, arches, palm trees on the posts, three chambers on this side and three on that. The tables for slaughter and the chambers assigned to priests interrupt the geometry with function. The chapter closes at the threshold of the house itself, leaving its interior for the next chapter.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 40:1, Ezekiel 40:4, Ezekiel 40:6, Ezekiel 40:17, Ezekiel 40:28, Ezekiel 40:21, Ezekiel 40:22, Ezekiel 40:36, Ezekiel 40:39, Ezekiel 40:45, Ezekiel 40:48

Key moments

  1. Fourteen years after the city fell (Ezekiel 40:1). The vision is dated to the twenty-fifth year of the captivity and the fourteenth after the city was smitten.
  2. The man of brass with a reed (Ezekiel 40:3). A man like brass stands in the gate with a line of flax and a measuring reed.
  3. Declare all that thou seest (Ezekiel 40:4). The man tells the prophet to look, listen and report everything to the house of Israel.
  4. The east gate measured (Ezekiel 40:6). The man goes up the stairs of the east gate and measures its thresholds.
  5. Gates of fifty by twenty-five (Ezekiel 40:21). The north gate matches the east gate, fifty cubits long and twenty-five broad.
  6. Eight tables for sacrifice (Ezekiel 40:41). Eight tables by the gate are for slaying the sacrifices, four of hewn stone.
  7. The inner court foursquare (Ezekiel 40:47). The inner court measures a hundred cubits each way with the altar before the house.

For reflection

The prophet is told to look, listen and set his heart on measurements: a reed here, five cubits there, seven steps, eight steps. What might it mean that a vision of restoration is delivered as a list of dimensions rather than a scene?

People in this chapter

Also indexed here: