Ezequiel 42

BLIVRE · Chapter 42/48

1Depois disto ele me fez sair para o pátio externo, para o lado norte, e me levou às câmaras que estavam de frente ao lugar vazio, e que estavam de frente ao edifício [voltado] para o norte.

2Pela frente à entrada do norte o comprimento era de cem côvados, e a largura era de cinquenta côvados.

3Em frente dos vinte [côvados] que tinha no átrio de dentro, e em frente do solado que tinha o pátio exterior, havia galerias de frente umas às outras em três andares.

4E diante das câmaras havia um corredor de dez côvados de largura, do lado de dentro, com um caminho de um côvado; e suas entradas para o norte.

5E as câmaras de cima eram mais estreitas, pois as galerias eram mais altas que as outras, [isto é] , que as de baixo, e que as do andar do meio.

6Porque elas estavam em três [andares] , porém não tinham colunas como as colunas dos pátios; por isso eram mais estreitas que as de baixo e as do meio, desde o chão.

7E o muro que estava por fora de frente às câmaras, voltado para o pátio exterior diante das câmaras, tinha cinquenta côvados de comprimento.

8Porque o comprimento das câmaras do pátio de fora era de cinquenta côvados; e eis que de frente ao templo havia cem côvados.

9E debaixo destas câmaras estava a entrada do oriente, para entrar nelas do pátio de fora.

10Na largura do muro do pátio ao oriente, diante do lugar vazio, e diante do edifício, havia câmaras.

11E o caminho que havia diante delas era semelhante ao das câmaras que estavam ao norte, conforme seu comprimento, assim como sua largura; e todas as suas saídas eram conforme suas formas e conforme suas entradas.

12E conforme as entradas das câmaras que estavam para o sul, havia [também] uma entrada no princípio do caminho, do caminho diante do muro direito para o oriente, quando se entra por elas.

13Então ele me disse: As câmaras do norte e as câmaras do sul, que estão diante do lugar vazio, elas são câmaras santas, nas quais os sacerdotes que se achegam ao SENHOR comerão as coisas mais santas; ali porão as coisas mais santas, e as ofertas de alimento, e a expiação pelo pecado e a pela culpa; pois o lugar é santo.

14Quando os sacerdotes entrarem, não sairão do lugar santo para o pátio de fora; em vez disso, ali deixarão suas vestes com que tenham ministrado, porque são santas; e se vestirão com outras vestes, e [assim] se achegarão ao que é do povo.

15E quando acabou de medir o templo interno, ele me tirou pelo caminho da porta que estava voltada para o oriente, e o mediu em redor.

16Mediu o lado oriental com a cana de medir, quinhentas canas da cana de medir em redor.

17Mediu ao lado do norte, quinhentas canas da cana de medir em redor.

18Mediu ao lado do sul, quinhentas canas da cana de medir.

19Rodeou ao lado do ocidente, [e] mediu quinhentas canas da cana de medir.

20Aos quatro lados o mediu; [e] havia um muro ao redor com quinhentas canas de comprimento, e quinhentas canas de largura, para fazer separação entre o santo e o profano.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Ezekiel sees the sacred chambers set apart for the priests, where they would store their special garments and eat the most holy offerings, and the angel finishes measuring the entire outer perimeter of the temple complex.

Explanation

The specific chambers where priests would change clothes before going out into the public court (v.14) reveal a central concern of this temple: clearly separating what is holy from what is common, preventing the holiness of the priestly garments from 'contaminating' or confusing the common people through careless contact. This careful separation between sacred and common spaces reflects a larger principle of the book: God's holiness demands structural reverence, not just an inward feeling. The final measurement of the total perimeter, forming a perfect square of five hundred rods on each side, also conveys a sense of completeness and perfect order, in direct contrast to the chaos and destruction seen at the beginning of the book.

Fun facts

  • The practice of priests changing garments before interacting with the common public has a direct parallel in Leviticus 6:10-11, showing continuity between the original Mosaic law and this vision of restoration.
  • The perfect square shape of the entire temple complex (500 rods per side) is interpreted by commentators as a symbol of geometric perfection, visually reinforcing the idea of divinely restored order.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezequiel 42:1The guide takes Ezekiel back to the outer court to see a set of chambers on the north side, near the building described in the previous chapter.
  2. Ezequiel 42:2Measures the length and width of these chambers on the north side, following the same detailed pattern used throughout the vision.
  3. Ezequiel 42:3Describes how these chambers were arranged in three stories, with galleries facing both the inner and outer courts.
  4. Ezequiel 42:4Describes the access corridors to the chambers, with specific measurements for the walkway and the entrances on the north side.
  5. Ezequiel 42:5Notes that the upper stories were narrower than the lower ones, because of how the galleries were built — a practical detail of how the building tapered as it rose.
  6. Ezequiel 42:6Explains this feature: since they had no support columns like those in the court, the upper stories had to be narrower than the ones below.
  7. Ezequiel 42:7Measures the outer wall that stood in front of these chambers, on the side facing the outer court.
  8. Ezequiel 42:8Relates the length of these chambers, fifty cubits, to the total measurement of the area facing the temple, a hundred cubits, locating this structure within the larger complex.
  9. Ezequiel 42:9Locates the entrance to these chambers on the east side, showing how they were reached from the outer court.
  10. Ezequiel 42:10Describes another set of chambers, this time on the east side of the complex, mirroring the structure already described on the north side.
  11. Ezequiel 42:11Confirms that these chambers on the east side followed exactly the same pattern of measurements and layout as the chambers on the north side.
  12. Ezequiel 42:12Describes the access to the chambers on the south side, with a specific entrance lined up with the path coming from the east side.
  13. Ezequiel 42:13The rooms set aside for priests to change clothes before returning among the people show a practical concern in the text: the garments used in the most sacred service could not mix with the common environment; they were changed before any contact with the public.
  14. Ezequiel 42:14Explains the function of these chambers: priests changed clothes there before going out to the areas used by the common people, preserving the separation between the sacred and the everyday.
  15. Ezequiel 42:15After finishing the inner measurements, the guide takes Ezekiel outside, through the east gate, to now measure the outer perimeter of the whole complex.
  16. Ezequiel 42:16Measures the east side of the whole complex, using the measuring rod, coming to five hundred reeds in length.
  17. Ezequiel 42:17Measures the north side with the same measurement, keeping the symmetry already observed throughout the temple vision.
  18. Ezequiel 42:18Measures the south side of the complex, matching the same five-hundred-reed pattern seen on the other sides.
  19. Ezequiel 42:19Measures the west side, completing the full circuit around the whole temple complex.
  20. Ezequiel 42:20The wall separating “the sanctuary and the profane place” sums up the logic of the whole temple design: increasingly restricted zones of access, from the outer court to the innermost space, physically organizing different levels of holiness.

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