‏ Ezekiel 40

Summary for Ezek 40:1-4: 40:1–48:35  ^a The final section of Ezekiel focuses on the new Temple (40:1–47:12  ^b; see thematic note for Temple Architecture as Theology at end of chapter; thematic note for Temple Legislation as Theology at end of chapter) and on reallotment of the land (47:13–48:35  ^c; see thematic note for Israel’s Geography as Theology at end of chapter). The Temple at the center of the land was the capstone of God’s program of restoring and sanctifying his people so that he could once again dwell in their midst (see 37:28  ^d). This Temple, which Ezekiel saw in a vision, was never actually constructed.
Summary for Ezek 40:1-42:20: 40:1–46:24  ^e The prophet’s tour of the new Temple proceeded from the outside of the Temple into its center. From the inside, he then returned outwards, ending up at the kitchens in the corners of the outer courtyard (46:19-24  ^f).
40:2  ^g a very high mountain: Revelations from God often took place on mountaintops in the Old Testament. Moses received God’s law and the design for the Tabernacle at Mount Sinai (Exod 19–40  ^h), and he viewed the Promised Land that he would never enter from Pisgah Peak (Deut 34:1-4  ⁱ). Similarly, on this mountaintop Ezekiel met with God and saw the wonderful future that God had prepared for his people, even though he would not live to experience it.
40:3  ^j a man whose face shone like bronze: An angelic guide would host Ezekiel’s tour of the Temple. The bronze color is reminiscent of the heavenly creatures described in the opening vision (see 1:7  ^k). Unlike the guide for his previous visionary tour of the earthly Temple in chs 8–11  ^l, this guide was armed only with a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod, implements of construction rather than destruction. Measurement is a key theme in the chapters that follow, enabling the prophet to highlight the importance of certain parts of the Temple by making them larger and more precisely determined than other parts.
Summary for Ezek 40:5-16: 40:5-16  ^m The exact architectural details of the Temple are difficult to translate, but the overall impression of these gates was unmistakable. They were fortress-like constructions, designed to keep out unauthorized intruders. The eastern gateway is described first since it was the most important. It lay on the sacred east–west axis of the Temple along which the entire construction was oriented, and it was the gate through which the glory of the Lord would finally return (43:1-5  ⁿ). 40:5  ^o a wall completely surrounding the Temple area: Walls regulate and define space, marking an “inside” and an “outside.” This wall was substantial; its function was to separate the “profane” area outside the Temple from the holy area inside so that this crucial distinction would never again be blurred (see 22:26  ^p).
40:7  ^q Six guard alcoves lined the inside of the gates, three on each side, confirming their defensive significance. These gates were similar in layout to those excavated at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer, but substantially larger in size.
40:16  ^r The carved palm trees recall the rich fertility of the Garden of Eden (see also 1 Kgs 6:29  ^s).
Summary for Ezek 40:17-19: 40:17-19  ^t The outer courtyard provided a buffer zone around the holy things in the inner courtyard, and thirty rooms were built around the walls. The purpose of these rooms is not stated, nor are their dimensions precisely given, which heightens the contrast between the relatively less significant outer area of the Temple and the crucially important central holy space. These rooms were most likely to be used by the Levites for a variety of activities.
Summary for Ezek 40:20-27: 40:20-27  ^u The gateway on the north and the south gateway are described in similar terms, though in less detail than the east gateway. They were also a formidable defensive barrier against the intrusion of any defilement. There is no west gateway to the outer or the inner court because the area behind the Temple proper was blocked off to prevent access from the rear.
40:22  ^v The steps that led up to each gate heightened the sense of their inaccessibility. The inner, more sacred areas of the Temple were significantly higher in elevation than the outer parts, which provided another dimension of separation.
Summary for Ezek 40:28-34: 40:28-34  ^w The inner courtyard was separated from the outer courtyard by another series of substantial gateways, similar in scale and function to the gateways of the outer courtyard. These gateways had entry rooms facing outward toward the outer courtyard, rather than inward as at the outer gates.
Summary for Ezek 40:35-37: 40:35-37  ^x There is no mention of a wall around the inner courtyard, perhaps because it was elevated from the outer court by another eight steps, perhaps a total of eight feet. If there were no wall around the inner court, there would be a free-standing archway that provided a clear view of activities in the inner area without any likelihood of accidental trespass into the realm of the sacred. Alternatively, reference to a wall around the inner court may simply have been omitted.
Summary for Ezek 40:38-43: 40:38-43  ^y The sacrificial animals were slaughtered and prepared in rooms beside the gateways into the inner courtyard. This detail highlights the primary function of this new Temple as a place of sacrifice. The animals had to be washed and cut into pieces before they could be offered on the altar.

• This new Temple in Ezekiel’s vision was radically focused on sacrifices that atoned for sin. By contrast, the Temple in Jerusalem was both a center for sacrifice and a house for prayer (see 1 Kgs 8:27-30  ^z, 52-53  ^aa; Isa 56:6-8  ^ab; Matt 21:13  ^ac).
40:43  ^ad The hooks might be used to store the knives and implements mentioned in 40:42  ^ae.
40:46  ^af The Lord at last rewarded the loyalty of Zadok (see 44:15  ^ag) by decreeing that his descendants were the only ones permitted to approach the Lord to minister to him. Access to God in this Temple was restricted to those whom the Lord had chosen and who were fit to enter the holy space.
40:47  ^ah The themes of sacrifice and restricted access coalesce in the summary of the dimensions of the inner courtyard. It was a perfect square, the shape of holy spaces throughout the Old Testament (see Exod 26:1-35  ^ai; 1 Kgs 6:20  ^aj), 175 feet on each side. Meanwhile, at its center stood the altar of sacrifice, the only piece of furniture located in that space. Holy sacrifices had to be offered without threat of defilement to ensure the continuing presence of the Lord once he returned to fill the Temple with his glory.
Summary for Ezek 40:48-41:3: 40:48–41:3  ^ak The Temple was at the protected center of the Temple complex, adjacent to the inner court. It was located at the highest point of the complex, a further ten steps up from the inner court, which was itself eight steps above the outer court. Like Solomon’s Temple before it, this Temple was made up of three areas: the entry room, the sanctuary, and the Most Holy Place.
40:49  ^al Outside the entry room were square (see 41:21  ^am) columns of unspecified function, just as in Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 7:15-22  ^an).

Thematic note: Temple Architecture as Theology
The Temple plan given in Ezekiel 40–43  ^ao does not seem physically buildable, nor was it intended to be. The details given in the plan are not sufficient to guide construction, as can be seen from the varying diagrams created by scholars. The materials to be used are not specified, as they were in great detail for the Tabernacle (Exod 25:10–40:33  ^ap). Neither is there evidence that any attempt was made later to build the Second Temple according to this plan. Thus, Ezekiel’s plan for the Temple is evidently not a blueprint for future construction.
Instead, Ezekiel’s Temple vision is a theological statement in the form of an architectural plan. The vision’s message is intended to shame Ezekiel’s generation for their past and motivate them to be faithful in the future (Ezek 43:10-12  ^aq). The vision describes a new world in which boundaries between the holy and the unholy are established and standards are raised, so that God may return to his Temple to dwell among his people once again (see 10:3-4  ^ar, 18  ^as; 11:22-23  ^at). Access to the realm of the holy is considerably restricted. Those who were faithful in the past are granted renewed access, while those who had been unfaithful are marginalized. There is a deepened interest in the sacrifices of atonement and purification for the people.
This grand, new Temple points to Jesus Christ, in whom God’s glory is revealed. His body was a temple that was to be torn down and then built back up in three days (John 2:19  ^au). In Jesus, the light of God’s holiness shone out clearly in the darkness, and the darkness was not able to extinguish it (John 1:5  ^av). His body was the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice that purified the people (Heb 10:12  ^aw). Those who are in Christ now have the privilege of access through him to the heavenly Most Holy Place in the new Jerusalem. Its doors stand permanently open to those who have washed their robes and made them clean in the blood of the Lamb (see Rev 21  ^ax; 22:14  ^ay).
Since we have been united to Christ and have become part of his body, the new temple, how can we live any longer as we once did? The Holy Spirit dwells in us, and our bodies no longer belong to ourselves but to him as parts of his new temple (1 Cor 6:15-20  ^az). A holy life is the mark of God’s children (1 Pet 1:13-16  ^ba).


Passages for Further Study
Exod 25:10–40:33  ^bb; Lev 10:9-11  ^bc; Ezek 22:26  ^bd; 40:1–43:27  ^be; John 2:19  ^bf; 1 Cor 6:15-20  ^bg; Heb 9:22–10:19  ^bh; 1 Pet 1:13-16  ^bi; Rev 21:1-27  ^bj

Thematic note: Temple Legislation as Theology
The rabbis of Judaism spent a great deal of time seeking to harmonize the laws of Ezekiel 44–48  ^bk with the laws of the Torah. They were unsuccessful because the legislation in these chapters was no more intended to match that of Moses than the vision of the Temple building (Ezek 40–43  ^bl) was designed to match the design of the Tabernacle or the Temple of Solomon. The description of the Temple regulations conveys a theological message of change, as did the earlier description of the Temple’s architecture.
These regulations highlighted the need for proper separation between the Temple and the palace. The sacrificial rituals would become more numerous and more focused on purification. Holy offerings would once again be made by holy people to the holy God. These practices were completely devoted to the separation of the holy from the unholy and to the cleansing of God’s people. Since defilement of the Temple and idolatrous worship had driven the Lord out of his house (Ezek 8–11  ^bm), an entirely new situation was necessary if God was to dwell once more among his people. Thus, the function of this legislation was to convict the prophet’s hearers of their past abuses that had broken down the wall of separation between the holy and the unholy and to reassure them that God would restore his people’s worship to its proper state.
This legislation also puts the prince, the king descended from David, in a proper place of submission to the Lord. This element finds fulfillment with the coming of Christ. Jesus came as a servant King who delighted to do the Father’s will (Matt 4:1-11  ^bn; 20:25-28  ^bo). He offered the perfect purification offering, cleansed the heavenly sanctuary once for all time (Heb 9:11-12  ^bp, 23  ^bq), and ensured that God could dwell in the midst of his people forever. His blood cleanses us of all sin and enables sinners to boldly enter the heavenly Most Holy Place without fear of rejection or reprisal.


Passages for Further Study
Isa 56:7  ^br; Ezek 8:1–11:25  ^bs; 40:1–43:27  ^bt; 44:1–46:18  ^bu

Thematic note: Israel’s Geography as Theology
The division of the land in Ezekiel 47:13–48:35  ^bv combines spiritual ideals with a practical message that reinforces themes from earlier sections of the vision (Ezek 40–46  ^bw). The prophet Ezekiel saw a future with strong links to the past, for the land of Israel was still the special land that had been promised to the patriarchs.
The map in this vision does not resemble the earlier tribal patchwork established in Joshua’s time. In Ezekiel’s vision, each tribe would receive an equal portion of the land, arranged in east-to-west strips that oriented the whole land on the same axis as the Temple at its center. These strips of land bear no connection to the actual geographic features of the land—they are not intended to be understood physically. The point seems to be that the old tribal jealousies and hatreds will be gone, as each tribe is on exactly the same footing as the others.
The monarchy is not abolished in this vision, but it is transformed. The defiled city that was destroyed in the earlier chapters of Ezekiel gives way to a new holy city of unity and harmony for the tribes. A life-giving river does its work of restoration, bringing the blessing that flows from God’s Temple to bear on every aspect of the people’s lives.
The whole vision of Ezekiel 40–48  ^bx encourages the prophet’s hearers to repent of their past sins, to be faithful in the often-difficult present, and to hope for a brighter future through God’s power and grace. The closing chapters of the book of Revelation present this vision as fulfilled in Christ (Rev 21–22  ^by). Jesus inaugurated the spiritual reality that Ezekiel described—a heavenly city “designed and built by God” (Heb 11:10  ^bz).


Passages for Further Study
Ezek 40:1–46:24  ^ca; 47:13–48:35  ^cb; Rev 22:1-2  ^cc

‏ Ezekiel 41

Summary for Ezek 41:1-2: 41:1-2  ^cd The Temple walls were 10½ feet thick, but here the gates could be replaced by a doorway because only the priests would have access to the surrounding inner court. The sanctuary was the most important space in the new Temple, so it is described in the most detail and with the most precise measurements.
Summary for Ezek 41:3-4: 41:3-4  ^ce The inner room was the Most Holy Place, the only square space within the Temple. It was reached by passing through three openings of decreasing width—access was increasingly restricted as one approached God. The entrance to the entry room was 24½ feet wide (40:48  ^cf), and the doorway into the sanctuary was 17½ feet wide (41:2  ^cg), but the entrance to the Most Holy Place was only 10½ feet wide. Ezekiel did not enter the Most Holy Place, but waited outside while the angel went in alone and measured it.
Summary for Ezek 41:5-26: 41:5-26  ^ch Around the Temple building were ninety side rooms on three levels. To the rear was a large building of unspecified purpose that might have protected the back of the Temple from unauthorized access. No one was permitted to approach God’s presence from behind. The side rooms might have been designed to store priestly clothing and equipment.
Summary for Ezek 41:15-20: 41:15-20  ^ci The Temple building was all paneled with wood and decorated with palm trees and cherubim. The cherubim were like those described in Ezekiel’s earlier visions of judgment (see 1:5-12  ^cj; 10:2-14  ^ck). But where those real-life cherubim had four faces, the carved two-dimensional models are depicted with only two faces—that of a lion, the highest of the wild animals, and a human, the pinnacle of the created order. Cherubim also adorned Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 6:32  ^cl); they were traditional symbols of judgment that complemented the palm trees, traditional symbols of blessing.
41:22  ^cm The only piece of furniture was an altar made of wood, the table that stands in the Lord’s presence. This is presumably where the bread of the presence was daily laid out by the priests before the Lord (Exod 25:30  ^cn). The description of this table as an altar highlights the focus on sacrifice in Ezekiel’s Temple.

‏ Ezekiel 42

42:1  ^co Having reached the center of the Temple complex, Ezekiel began traveling outward again.
Summary for Ezek 42:3-12: 42:3-12  ^cp The rooms for the priests at the sides of the building to the rear of the sanctuary were three levels high so that the priests could enter at the top from the inner court (42:12  ^cq) and emerge at the bottom in the outer court (42:9  ^cr). These rooms were boundary spaces for activities that the priests had to perform on the way into and out of the inner court.
Summary for Ezek 42:13-14: 42:13-14  ^cs The priests would store the sacred offerings and eat the most holy offerings in these rooms. The clothes that the priests wore while ministering in the Lord’s presence would be stored there, and the priests would put on other clothes because these clothes were holy. All of these regulations represent a significant increase in the care taken to separate the holy from the profane, as compared to the similar laws in Leviticus (cp. Lev 6  ^ct).
Summary for Ezek 42:16-20: 42:16-20  ^cu Having finished his tour of the inner courtyard, Ezekiel was shown the overall dimensions of the area. The whole complex was square, which denoted holiness and differentiated it from the less regular design of Solomon’s Temple and the Tabernacle before it, in which only the Most Holy Place was square.

• The description of the Temple finished where it began, with a mention of a wall all around it (see 40:5  ^cv); Ezekiel reminds us again that the purpose of that wall was to separate what was holy from what was common.

‏ Ezekiel 43

Summary for Ezek 43:1-4: 43:1-4  ^cw The sacred spaces described in the previous chapter were of no value as long as they were empty (cp. 37:7-8  ^cx). To be effective, the Temple must be occupied by the glory of the God of Israel, which had departed from it in ch 10  ^cy. Now the glory would return from the same direction in which it had left, the east. Unlike its slow, almost reluctant, departure, its return would be sudden, accompanied by the terrifying roar of rushing waters (see 1:24  ^cz; Rev 1:15  ^da). As always, the prophet fell face down on the ground in response to this glory.
Summary for Ezek 43:5-7: 43:5-7a  ^db The Spirit then carried Ezekiel into the inner courtyard so that he could hear the Lord declare that the restored Temple was the palace in which his throne and his footstool were located, and that he would live ... forever among the people of Israel. The identification of the Temple as God’s dwelling and the seat of his sovereignty was not new (see, e.g., 1 Sam 4:4  ^dc). The Temple would now be God’s throne forever; never again would the sins of his people drive him away from his sanctuary.
Summary for Ezek 43:7-9: 43:7b-9  ^dd If God were to remain with his people, standards would have to be raised and regulations enforced that would guard against the repetition of past abuses. Israel and their kings would not defile God’s holy name by their spiritual adultery with other gods or with relics of their kings who had died—memorial markers to dead kings—within the grounds of the Temple of the living God. There was no place for honoring human kings in the palace of the divine King. In the future, the proper hierarchy would be reestablished by removing the residence of the earthly ruler to a greater distance from the spiritual center of the land (see 45:7  ^de). Putting the earthly ruler in his proper place was a necessary precondition for God’s dwelling perpetually in his rightful place.
Summary for Ezek 43:10-11: 43:10-11  ^df At this point, the prophet was given the rationale for the whole Temple vision. He was not the first person to receive the blueprint for a sanctuary from God (see Exod 25–40  ^dg). This vision was not intended to spark a building project at some time in the future when God would return his people to their land, but to convey a message to the people of Ezekiel’s generation. As they would study its plan, Ezekiel’s hearers should be convicted of their sins and be ashamed of what they have done. The conviction of sin should be induced as they studied its entrances and exits, its decrees and laws, and the overall plan.
43:12  ^dh Absolute holiness on Israel’s part was required if a holy God were to dwell in their midst forever.
Summary for Ezek 43:13-16: 43:13-16  ^di The holiness of the Temple area would be maintained by keeping sinners out and by the sacrificial system. The importance of this aspect of Temple life is made clear by the detailed description of the altar of the inner court, which was located at the center of the entire Temple complex. The altar shown to Ezekiel was almost three times as long and wide as the altar in front of the Tabernacle (see Exod 27:1-8  ^dj).
43:17  ^dk This altar was approached by steps going up the east side. This reversal of the normal ancient Near Eastern practice of having the steps approach from the west was possibly to avoid any hint of sun worship (see 8:16  ^dl).
Summary for Ezek 43:18-21: 43:18-21  ^dm The new altar had to be consecrated before it was used.

• On the first day, the blood of a young bull was to be applied to the extremities of the altar, the horns and corners, as a sin offering. The body of the sin offering was then burnt outside the sacred area, as with the Tabernacle (cp. Lev 4:11-12  ^dn).
43:25  ^do The procedure for the second day was repeated for seven more days to complete the eight-day purification cycle. A similar procedure was followed when Solomon’s Temple was consecrated (2 Chr 7:8-9  ^dp).
Summary for Ezek 43:26-27: 43:26-27  ^dq These sin offerings properly set the Temple apart for holy use, so that the priests could once again sacrifice ... the burnt offerings and peace offerings of the people. These offerings were necessary if the Lord were to accept his people.