Ezekiel 41

Ezekiel 40–48 records the vision of a new temple that Ezekiel saw during the Babylonian exile. In Ezekiel 40, the guide measured the outer court and its gates, the inner court, and the porch; in this chapter he enters the temple building itself. The unit of length used in the Korean Bible, cheok, corresponds to the cubit, the length from the elbow to the fingertip.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 The guide measures the posts of the holy place (the outer sanctuary), which is 40 cubits long and 20 cubits wide. The guide alone goes inside and measures the inner sanctuary, which is 20 cubits long and 20 cubits wide, and says, "This is the most holy place."
• Verses 5–11 The wall of the temple is six cubits thick. On three sides are side chambers four cubits wide, thirty in all, arranged in three stories, with each story wider than the one below it. The foundation beneath the side chambers is six cubits high, and the outer wall is five cubits thick. The side chambers have doors opening onto the open space, one on the north and one on the south.
• Verses 12–15a The building behind the separate place on the west is 70 cubits wide and 90 cubits long. The length of the temple, the combined length of the separate place and the western building, and the breadth of the front each measure 100 cubits.
• Verses 15b–20 The walls of the inner sanctuary and the outer sanctuary are covered with wooden paneling, on which cherubim and palm trees are carved in alternation. Each cherub has the face of a man and the face of a young lion.
• Verses 21–22 The doorposts of the outer sanctuary are square. There is a wooden altar three cubits high and two cubits long, which the guide calls "the table that is before the LORD."
• Verses 23–26 The doors of the inner sanctuary and the outer sanctuary each have two folding leaves, and these doors are also carved with cherubim and palm trees. In front of the porch are wooden planks, and on either side are closed windows.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 41:4 "This is the most holy place" — the innermost space of the temple is identified by name.
• Ezekiel 41:18 "And it was made with cherubims and palm trees" — this verse shows the central motif of the temple's decoration.
• Ezekiel 41:22 "This is the table that is before the LORD" — this is the only temple furnishing described in the chapter.

Persons and Places

• Ezekiel: A prophet from a priestly family who recorded this vision.
• The guide: The man who appeared in chapter 40 holding a measuring reed; in this chapter he measures the temple.
• The holy place (outer sanctuary): The outer room of the temple building.
• Most Holy Place (inner sanctuary): The innermost room of the temple.
• Cherubim: Heavenly beings who appear in connection with the presence of God.

Considerations for Reading

• The holy place measuring 40 by 20 cubits, the Most Holy Place measuring 20 by 20 cubits, the three-story side chambers, and the decoration of cherubim and palm trees all parallel 1 Kings 6, which describes Solomon's temple. For this reason the chapter is often read in comparison with the Temple in Jerusalem.
• In verse 4, Ezekiel does not enter the Most Holy Place; only the guide goes in. Some interpreters see this as a literary device that emphasizes the holiness of the Most Holy Place.
• The cherubim here are described with two faces, rather than the four faces found in Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10.
• Some regard the wooden altar in verse 22 as the altar of incense, while others regard it as the table of showbread. The text calls it only "the table that is before the LORD."
• The chapter makes no mention of the ark of the covenant or the lampstand.
• Interpretations of this temple vary among traditions.
• Within dispensationalism, it is often regarded as a temple that will actually be built during the millennial kingdom.
• In the Reformed tradition and others, it is often read as a symbol of God dwelling among His people and is connected with Christ and the church, as well as with Revelation 21, which depicts a New Jerusalem without a separate temple.