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Ezekiel 41

KJV · Chapter 41/48

1Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.

2And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits.

3Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits.

4So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place.

5After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side.

6And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house.

7And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.

8I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.

9The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within.

10And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side.

11And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.

12Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.

13So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long;

14Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits.

15And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court;

16The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered;

17To that above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure.

18And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces;

19So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about.

20From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple.

21The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other.

22The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the Lord.

23And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.

24And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door.

25And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without.

26And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The vision continues with the detailed measurement of the inner temple, including the Most Holy Place, the side chambers, and the decorations of carved cherubim and palm trees on the walls.

Explanation

The decorations of cherubim alternating with palm trees (v.18-20) directly recall the original decorations of Solomon's temple described in 1 Kings 6, creating visual and theological continuity between the ancient temple and this restored temple of the vision. The presence of the 'Most Holy Place' (v.4), the most sacred space where only the high priest entered once a year, confirms that this structure maintains the same hierarchy of increasing holiness found in the traditional Israelite temple. The meticulous precision of the description, chamber by chamber, conveys the message that God's presence demands care, order, and reverence — nothing is left to chance when it comes to the meeting between the holy and the human.

Fun facts

  • The combination of cherubim and palm trees in the temple's decorations may symbolize both divine protection (cherubim guarded the entrance to Eden in Genesis 3:24) and restored fertility and life (palm trees), uniting two central themes of Ezekiel's hope.
  • The 'wooden table' mentioned before the sanctuary (v.22) is identified by scholars as the altar of incense, an element present in both the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezekiel 41:1The guide takes Ezekiel into the temple itself, measuring the posts of the entrance — the mention of the “tent” ties this visionary building to the ancient wilderness tabernacle.
  2. Ezekiel 41:2Measures the entrance and the dimensions of the first inner space, the “holy place” — the main area where the priests carried out most of their service.
  3. Ezekiel 41:3The guide goes deeper still, measuring the passage to the second inner space, more restricted than the one before it.
  4. Ezekiel 41:4“The most holy place” is the name given to the innermost room of the temple — the most restricted space of all, where in the historical temple only the high priest entered, and only once a year.
  5. Ezekiel 41:5Measures the thickness of the temple’s outer wall and the width of the side chambers surrounding the building on every side, like a second layer of rooms around it.
  6. Ezekiel 41:6These side chambers formed three stories, with thirty-three rooms in all, attached to the outer wall without weakening the temple’s main structure.
  7. Ezekiel 41:7The temple grew wider as it rose, allowing for larger chambers on the upper floors; a spiral staircase connected the different levels.
  8. Ezekiel 41:8Measures the height of the base of the side chambers, using the same unit of measure defined at the very start of the vision, in chapter 40.
  9. Ezekiel 41:9Measures the thickness of the outer wall of these chambers and the empty space left between them and the temple, a walkway running around the main building.
  10. Ezekiel 41:10Measures the width of this walkway between the side chambers and the rest of the inner court.
  11. Ezekiel 41:11The side chambers had entrances facing north and south, opening onto the empty walkway that circled the temple.
  12. Ezekiel 41:12Describes a separate building to the west of the temple, across an open area called the “separate place” — probably a protective space at the back of the complex.
  13. Ezekiel 41:13Measures the total length of the temple together with this separate area and the building at the back, adding up to a hundred cubits in all.
  14. Ezekiel 41:14Measures the width of the temple’s east-facing front, also a hundred cubits, keeping the same square proportion used throughout the complex.
  15. Ezekiel 41:15Measures the length of the building behind the separate area, including its galleries, closing out the general measurements of this western part of the temple.
  16. Ezekiel 41:16Describes the interior finish: thresholds, narrow windows, and wood paneling from the floor up to the windows, covering the whole structure.
  17. Ezekiel 41:17Reinforces that absolutely everything — inside and out, floor to ceiling — had been carefully measured, underscoring the meticulous character of the whole vision.
  18. Ezekiel 41:18Walls decorated with alternating cherubim and palm trees repeat a garden image, the same elements linked to Eden elsewhere in the book, suggesting this future temple is also a kind of recovered paradise.
  19. Ezekiel 41:19Details the decoration: each cherub had two faces, a man’s facing one way and a lion’s facing the other, alternating with the carved palm trees.
  20. Ezekiel 41:20The same decoration of cherubim and palm trees covered the walls from the floor up above the entrance, throughout the temple.
  21. Ezekiel 41:21Describes the temple’s square doorposts, noting that the front of the most holy place followed the same visual pattern as the rest of the building.
  22. Ezekiel 41:22Describes a wooden altar called “the table that is before the Lord” — likely the altar of incense, given a place of honor inside the temple.
  23. Ezekiel 41:23Notes that both the temple and the most holy place had their own doors, reinforcing the division between the space’s different levels of holiness.
  24. Ezekiel 41:24Details the structure of the doors: each had two hinged leaves, which allowed the entrance to be opened and closed.
  25. Ezekiel 41:25The temple doors were also decorated with cherubim and palm trees, in the same pattern as the walls, along with a thick wooden beam at the entrance of the porch.
  26. Ezekiel 41:26Closes the chapter with more detail on narrow windows and decorative palm trees in the porch and side chambers, repeating the aesthetic pattern of the whole temple.

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