Ezequiel 41
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
Ezequiel 41:1-4
41:1 "he brought me" Does the "he" refer to (cf. Ezek. 40:17,24,28,32,35,48) the hand of the Lord, Ezek. 40:1,2 the Lord's Spirit the angel guide, Ezek. 40:45,47; 41:2,3,4,15 In context #3 fits best. NASB, NRSV "the nave" NKJV, REB "the sanctuary" "the great hall" "central room" "the Hekal" "the shrine" "the temple" This word (BDB 228, KB 244) can refer to palace/temple of God as the great king, 2 Kgs. 18:16; 23:4; 24:13; Jer. 7:4; 24:1; Ezek. 8:16? the holy place of Solomon's temple, 1 Kgs. 6:17; 7:50, and of Ezekiel's temple, 41:1, 4, 15, 21, 23? the heavenly temple of Isaiah, Isa. 6:1 (cf. Ps. 11:4; Micah 1:2; Hab. 2:20)? the second temple built during Zerubbabel's time, Hag. 2:15,18; Zech. 6:12,13,14,15; 8:9; Mal. 3:1? 41:4 "This is the most holy place" This refers to the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant originally dwelt (cf. Exod. 26:33-34; 1 Kgs. 6:16; 8:6). This was the place of atonement, the place of YHWH's personal presence (cf. Leviticus 16). Special Topic: Chart of the Tabernacle Special Topic: Ark of the Covenant
Ezequiel 41:5-11
41:7 "the second story" NKJV, NRSV, JPSOA "the middle one" "third story" "the middle tier" "the middle part" The ADJECTIVE (BDB 1064, KB 1724) means "middle." From the context it must refer to the middle or second level (cf. Ezek. 42:5,6). The Jewish Study Bible, p. 1122, says Ezek. 41:7 is describing a spiraling staircase.
Ezequiel 41:15-20
41:16 "latticed windows" "beveled window frames" "windows with recessed frames" "the windows could be covered" "the windows were screened with latticework" This descriptive term (BDB 31, KB 36) can mean closed, barred, cf. Ezek. 41:16c framed, cf. 1 Kgs. 6:4; 7:4-5 narrow ▣ "were paneled with wood all around" This was just like Solomon's temple (cf. 1 Kgs. 6:15). 41:18 "cherubim and palm trees" These were the same decorations that were used in Solomon's temple (cf. 1 Kgs. 6:8,29; 7:29,36). There is some doubt as to the exact physical description of the Cherubim: the Ark of the Covenant had Cherubim who had one face each in Ezekiel 1 and 10 they seem to have four faces Revelation 4 records a different face for each creature Special Topic: Cherubim
Ezequiel 41:21-26
41:22 "the altar of wood" There are two possibilities for this piece of furniture because it is called both an altar (BDB 258) and a table (BDB 1020): the table of showbread (cf. Exod. 25:23-30; Lev. 24:5-9; 1 Kgs. 6:20-22; 11 Chr. 3:lff) the altar of incense which stood before the inner veil (cf. Exod. 30:1-10; 37:25-29). Special Topic: Showbread of the Presence Special Topic: Altar of Incense