Eze 41:5-26 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Ezek 41:5-26: 41:5-26 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.

a41:5-26►

b41:15-20►

c1:5-12►

d10:2-14►

e1 Kgs 6:32►

gExod 25:30►

‏ Ezekiel 41:5-26

Summary for Ezek 41:5-26: 41:5-26 ^a 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 ^b 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 ^c; 10:2-14 ^d). 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 ^e); they were traditional symbols of judgment that complemented the palm trees, traditional symbols of blessing.
41:22 ^f 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 ^g). The description of this table as an altar highlights the focus on sacrifice in Ezekiel’s Temple.