40:1 tenth of the month. The time of the year is described as the “beginning of the year,” similar to an Akkadian equivalent. The present vision is thus dated to the tenth day of Nisan/Aviv in the “twenty-fifth year of [the] exile,” or Apr. 28, 573 BC. In the Israelite calendar, this was the beginning of Passover activities. The lamb was to be chosen on this day and slaughtered on the 14th day of the month.

40:3 a linen cord. May be similar to the “measuring line,” which was used to measure the city in Zec 2:1. Thus, it appears that it was used for extremely long distances. measuring rod. Used to measure short distances. Some have argued that the stele of Ur-Nammu of the Sumerian city of Ur shows a similar representation.

40:5 temple. While ch. 39 ended with the description of the Lord’s victory against Gog and its hordes who invaded the land of Israel, ch. 40 begins with the description of the new temple for the Lord. This sequence is significant. It follows a similar pattern found in ancient Near Eastern literature. The Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish first describes how the patron god of Babylon defeated the forces of chaos symbolized by Tiamat. From her body Marduk creates the heaven and earth, and then the council of the gods decides to create humans to serve the gods. The latter action is followed almost immediately by the construction of Marduk’s temple, Esagila, as a suitable place for him to reside in his city of Babylon. Similarly, in the Ugaritic literature, the god Baal earns the right to his own temple on Mount Zaphon (i.e., Mount in the North) by his victory over the forces of decay and chaos symbolized by the god Mot, whose very name means “death.” This vision of Ezekiel’s can be best understood when compared to the accounts of temples and temple building in the ancient world as well as against the account in the book of Kings. six long cubits. The normal cubit (six handbreadths) has been estimated at 18 inches (45 centimeters), and the long cubit (seven handbreadths) here at about 21 inches (53 centimeters). The rod mentioned by Ezekiel was about six long cubits, or 11 feet (3.2 meters) long.

40:6–16 The size and design of the gateway shows its great importance in the temple complex. The jambs were decorated with palm fronds, presumably similar to those in Solomon’s temple (1Ki 6:29–36). These types of fortified installations were built for military, not religious, purposes. Later in Ezekiel we are told that the gates were to be manned by the Levites, who guarded the sacred places in the temple. The overall design of the gatehouse is typical of a number of preexilic Palestinian city gates from Megiddo, Hazor and Gezer. While these gates are typical of city gates, they are much more extensive than would be usually found with temples. See notes on Job 5:4; 29:7; Pr 8:3; 31:23.

This structure was clearly a “guardhouse.” According to vv. 13, 15 it measured 50 cubits (88 feet or 27 meters) by 25 cubits (44 feet or 13 meters). It compares to the guardrooms of Solomon’s temple (1Ki 14:28), although their size is not mentioned. Of nearly 20 Iron Age gate systems excavated in Israel, this would be larger than most. The gates at Dan, Megiddo and Lachish are 80–100 feet (24.4–30.5 meters) wide (compared to the 44 feet or 13 meters of this gate). But those gates are larger than most, and the average gate runs closer to the width of the gate described here. The depth of this gate, however, is on the large size (88 feet or 27 meters). One of the deepest excavated gates is at Lachish; it is nearly 82 feet (25 meters). The descriptions and measurements of the chambers are comparable to Iron Age gates.

40:6 east gate. The gate through which Yahweh’s glory would make its entry (43:1–4). Similarly, God’s glory had left the temple through the same gate (10:19). Since temples tended to be oriented toward the east, this would be the most important gate.

40:17–19 With the addition of information from 42:6, the outer court had a group of rooms that may have been used by worshipers as eating and meeting places during the periods of religious events. The rooms were pillared porticos. The size of the rooms is not given. The area did contain a raised pavement of about 100 cubits (about 175 feet or 53 meters). The Hebrew term for “pavement” is a rare word. In Est 1:6 the term represents a mosaic floor inlaid with precious stones.

40:20–27 The north and south gates have the same features as those of the east gate: recesses, jambs, niches, a vestibule and palm decorations. The measurements of the three gates are also identical. See note on vv. 6–16.

40:26 palm tree decorations. They were not only artistically beautiful but also reminiscent of Solomon’s temple (1Ki 6:29–36). These types of decorations were common in Iron Age Palestine, particularly in connection with temple facades.

40:28–37 The inner court gates were mirror images of the outer gates (see note on vv. 6–16). The inner courtyard backed up to the wall on the western side, with a structure between the wall and the back of the temple. That is why there were no western gates.

40:39 burnt offerings. See Lev 1 and notes. sin offerings. See Lev 4 and notes. guilt offerings. See Lev 5:14–19 and notes.

40:43 double-pronged hooks. These hooks on the walls have traditionally been interpreted as being used to hang utensils. A more recent interpretation argues that they were niches or ledges for the storage of the utensils, much like what is described in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Temple Scroll, 30:13).

40:47 The inner court was a perfect square, 100 cubits (about 175 feet or 53 meters) on each side. This is about 2/3 acre (1/4 hectare). Since the temple, as sacred space, was considered the center of order in the cosmos, symmetry and proportions were important. See the articles “Temples and Sacred Space,” “Sacred Space.”

40:49 portico. See note on 1Ki 6:3.

41:5–11 Ezekiel describes here the auxiliary structures of the temple. There are a number of technical architectural expressions discussed in this section, many of which have uncertain meanings. Much of the description, however, is reminiscent of that found in 1Ki 6:5–8 concerning Solomon’s temple. Although Ezekiel sketches the auxiliary structures around the temple, he does not describe their function, nor does the author of 1 Kings. Similar single and multistoried rooms from Egyptian religious centers imply that they were used as storehouses for temple treasures. Temples built by Merneptah and Rameses II (thirteenth century BC) had storage spaces three to four times larger than the temple itself. This was also common in Mesopotamia.

41:13–14 Both Solomon’s temple and the temple of Ezekiel consisted of three rooms. The dimensions of the holy room and the great hall in both temples are identical.

41:15 the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple. The identification and function of this building are primarily determined by understanding the obscure Hebrew term used for “galleries” or “ledges.” These galleries appeared on the outside of the structure. They either came in threes or were three levels. They could be seen from both the inner and outer courts. Some have concluded that these functioned as galleries or walkways (or both).

41:16 narrow windows. They were probably set high in the walls above the level of the annex rooms, similar to Solomon’s temple (1Ki 6:29–35).

41:17–20 The palm and cherub imagery is clearly reminiscent of Solomon’s temple (1Ki 6:29–36). However, these cherubim have only a human and a lion head, unlike the four faces of the cherubim in Solomon’s temple (Eze 10:14). These were no longer freestanding structures, but were carved into the walls, which is most likely why there were fewer heads. The figures are flanked by the palm imagery, a common motif on ivories and other art forms. The same imagery is seen on ivory carvings from Arslan Tash in first millennium BC Syria and from a scene painted on storage jars from Iron Age Kuntillet Ajrud in Palestine.

42:13 priests’ rooms. Though little is known of the priests’ rooms in Solomon’s temple, they were well known in Babylonia. In the Babylonian temple complex this was a room in which the priestly vestments and the costly garments of the statues of deities were stored. These vestments were highly valued because of the gold and silver objects used to decorate the garments. Goldsmiths received official permission to enter into these rooms in order to work on the vestments of the priests and the divine images.

43:3 Kebar River. See note on 1:1.

43:4 The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east. In ancient Near Eastern rituals and texts, the gates are important in association with the entry of the god into the temple. In a Neo-Assyrian building ritual for opening a new gate in a building, first the new gate is to be purified before the gods can enter the building. The importance of the gate as a place of the god’s entry into the temple is expressed as well in Anatolian and Syrian iconography.

43:7 this is . . . the place for the soles of my feet. In the passageway from the portico to the entrance hall of the tenth-century BC ‘Ain Dara temple in northern Syria, a pair of enormous bare footprints is carved in the floor, followed by a single footprint beyond. Another single footprint is carved on the threshold between the entrance hall and the next hall. If these dimensions were translated into height, the individual would be over 60 feet (18 meters) tall. These footprints undoubtedly represent the deity to whom the temple was dedicated, probably Baal Hadad, striding into his abode, walking toward the throne room. Ezekiel’s reference to the soles of Yahweh’s feet resembles this ancient Near Eastern tradition of deities entering their temples and leaving the trace of their passage as footprints in the temple floor. funeral offerings for their kings. The terminology here refers to a pagan cult of the dead, similar to that of Lev 26:30 (see NIV text note there). Ezekiel probably had in mind a veneration of the spirits of Israel’s royal ancestors, much like a cult of the royal dead at Ugarit. Whether the kings were considered deified at either place is not clear.

43:8 threshold . . . doorposts. The statement here in v. 8 corresponds with the description of Solomon’s temple in 1 Kings. The original temple was built as one element of the entire Solomonic palace complex. Only a wall separated the temple and palace, and they bordered “threshold to threshold, and doorpost to doorpost.”

43:13–17 Although the technical vocabulary for the altar is similar to that found in Akkadian, the altar of Ezekiel is most similar to that of Solomon’s temple (1Ki 2:28; 2Ch 4:1). The length of the sides is similar in both cases, while the horns were a common motif in altars in the Levant. Though the altar is large, it is not as large as Solomon’s and is comparable to those archaeology has uncovered.

43:19 family of Zadok. Zadok was the representative of Aaron’s line who served as high priest during the reigns of David and Solomon. In the postexilic community the sons of Zadok had the altar duties reserved for them, while the Levites had less significant duties than before. The Zadokites held the high priesthood until the time of the Greek ruler Antiochus IV (175–164 BC). In fact, some have supposed that the Dead Sea Scrolls community may have been formed in response to the end of the Zadokite priesthood.

43:24 sprinkle salt on them. The reference here is to a “covenant of salt” (see note on Lev 2:13). The preservative qualities of salt made it a symbol of the permanence of the covenant relationship. Thus, the addition of salt was a reminder of God’s covenant.

43:25, 26 seven days. In the ancient Near East generally and in Israel particularly, seven-day installation and dedication services are common.

44:1–2 the outer gate . . . facing east . . . is to remain shut. The Sacred Gate of the city of Babylon was the gate through which the procession of Marduk (the primary god of the city) and other deities passed and returned again. Like the east gate described by Ezekiel, the Sacred Gate was apparently opened for God to pass through and was shut at all other times.

44:3 prince. In this context he is a religious figure who is responsible for eating his sacrificial meals before the Lord in the sacred (east) gate. Earlier in Ezekiel the term was used for the role of a Davidic figure (e.g., 34:24, 37:25). Here he has no royal or political role to play, only a role inside the temple precincts. He has no access through the east gate that is reserved for divine use; he only has an act to perform there. It is clear that he is not serving a priestly function, for he is not allowed to actually step inside the inner court. portico of the gateway. The prince was able to enter the gate structure through the portico (or vestibule) of the gateway, meaning that he had already come into the courtyard through another gate and entered the eastern gateway from the inside. He stood by the post of the gate, which enabled him to see the cultic activity of the priests.

44:8 others in charge. Foreigners had been recruited for temple service, probably as temple guards, perhaps since the time of Manasseh and Amon. Neo-Babylonian and Phoenician records appear to affirm the probability of the installation of foreigners in this type of temple service.

44:14 guard the temple. Implies guarding not just the gates of the temple but the entire temple complex. They were also responsible for caring for the temple and its grounds, and they supervised activities on the temple grounds. See note on 1Ch 9:17.

44:17 wear linen clothes . . . not wear any woolen garment. The reason for the prohibition of wool appears to be a practical one. Wool was more likely to cause one to sweat. Since all bodily excretions caused defilement, steps needed to be taken to prevent their occurrence in the temple complex. This appears also to be the case in Egypt, where, according to Herodotus and the Roman writer Lucian, linen was also used in the material for priestly garments. Herodotus adds that the Egyptian priests consistently washed their linen garments.

44:19 sacred rooms. See note on 42:13.

44:20 must not shave their heads. Shaving the head bald or letting the hair grow very long was most likely forbidden because of the pagan customs associating it with Canaanite cults of the dead. The taboo has its inspiration from Lev 21:5.

44:21 No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner court. This prohibition has its parallel in Lev 10:9. Though pagan cultic intoxication was well known, e.g., from the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish, it is most likely that the prohibition was to make sure that the priest had control of his faculties (see note on Isa 28:7).

44:22 The explicit prohibition concerning the priest and marriage comes from Lev 21:7, 13–15 (see note on Lev 21:7). It appears from Lev 21:15 that the concern was for the dilution of the purity of the priestly line, although Ezekiel does not mention the reason for the prohibition.

44:29–30 Although these verses provide the physical sustenance for the priests, there is more. The priests were actually invited to eat Yahweh’s food. For more information, see Nu 18:8–19 and notes. They were also authorized to eat the herem, i.e., every irredeemable devoted thing. These items were evidently those designated for any use, except that which was prescribed for the cult.

45:1 sacred district. Land reserved for use by the God of the temple area. Ezekiel portrays the land as a gift that was returned to the divine benefactor. As early as the early fourth millennium BC, the city of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia had sacred districts in the center of its town. In ancient Mesopotamia, the sacred districts were separated by retaining walls for the structure or a large citadel wall surrounded the entire sacred precinct. Access to sacred precincts was limited and strict standards were maintained regarding who could enter on what occasions. This is a continuation of the sacred compass idea that was established in Israel when the tabernacle was set up in the wilderness period (see notes on Nu 18:1, 3; the also the articles “Temples and Sacred Space,” “Sacred Space”).

45:2–6 The larger consecrated area was about 8 miles (13 kilometers) long and 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) wide, an area of over 50 square miles (130 square kilometers). This could be compared to the approximately 620 square miles (1,600 square kilometers) of the entire district of Yehud (what had included Judah) under Persian rule. One half of this area (the center of the area) was reserved for the priests and sanctuary. One other area, 8 miles (13 kilometers) by 3 miles (5 kilometers), was reserved for the city, which was most likely Jerusalem, although the name is not given. If this design were superimposed on the land of Israel, it would encompass a large central segment of the tribal allotment of Judah. The territorial scheme shows the relative importance of the officials of the state, depending upon their placement near the center, where there was the closest access to God.

45:7 prince. See note on 44:3.

45:10 accurate scales. In an economy that did not have standardized weights and measures, traders were often tempted to cheat by falsifying the balances and measurements, often by using improper weights and false bottoms and other ways to alter the sizes of vessels. The two-armed balance scales were used to weigh out goods in Israel. ephah. A dry standard used for measuring grain; it equaled about 3/5 bushel (22 liters). bath. A liquid standard used for measuring oil, wine and water; it was about six gallons (22 liters). Both an ephah and a bath are one tenth of a homer (v. 11).

45:17 prince. Here the prince is seen in a royal role. Typically in the ancient Near East the king was the one who provided the sacrifices for the festival rituals. This can be observed in Biblical texts as well as in the nations surrounding Israel. At the large public festivals, the general population often played the role of audience while the leaders of the people (court and temple) took center stage. The pageantry could be grandiose and the largesse of the king was made evident.

45:18–20 The ritual described here has all the earmarks of a purification ceremony to dedicate the new sanctuary. These were typically seven-day affairs that assured that the holy place and holy objects were ready for use. It marked the beginning of the operation of the sanctuary.

45:21–25 In Ezekiel’s formulation, Passover takes on a different look than the traditional observance established in Ex 11–12. Originally Passover was established as a family-oriented festival in which the head of the household served a priestly role and the home served as the location of the festivities. The related Festival of Unleavened Bread had gradually merged with Passover, as is indicated here as well. In the Passover celebrations carried out by Hezekiah (2Ch 30) and Josiah (2Ch 35), there was a more national and centralized aspect to the observance, but that is even more the case here in Ezekiel.

46:1 the day of the New Moon. Keyed to their use of a lunar calendar, ancient Israel marked the first day of the month, with its “new moon” phase, as a festival day (every 29–30 days). Like the Sabbath, all work was to cease (Am 8:5), and sacrifices were to be made (Nu 28:11–15). In the monarchy period, the king became a prominent figure in these celebrations. The festival continued to be observed in the postexilic period as well (Ezr 3:5; Ne 10:33). New moon festivals were also prominent in Mesopotamia from late in the third millennium BC to the Neo-Babylonian period in the middle of the first millennium BC. The cult of the moon was widespread throughout the ancient Near East, and moon deities figured prominently in mythological texts. Although the Israelites were forbidden to worship any heavenly bodies (including the lunar cult: e.g., Dt 23:5; Jer 8:2), they were allowed to celebrate the first of the month with trumpets and burnt offerings.

46:2 prince is to enter. See note on 44:3.

46:3 On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people . . . are to worship. This is one of the few explicit references in the OT to worship on the Sabbath. It is usually only spoken of in terms of prohibited activities. Many of Israel’s festivals featured “holy convocations” but such are never mandated for the Sabbath. Here it is also interesting to note that the temple is the focal point for this Sabbath worship. Temples served as gathering places when public sacred rituals were being performed (at events designated as holy convocations). One must be careful not to associate too closely our worship in church on Sunday with Israel’s acts of worship at the temple on the Sabbath. The differences are both profuse and profound. For example, a church is where God’s people (“the church”) gather for corporate worship. The temple hosted worship activities, but it was not generally large enough to hold many people. People performed their rituals and left. A temple was the actual residence of the deity and was therefore sacred space, whereas a church is simply a place that is sacred when God’s people, in whom the presence of Christ dwells, are present.

46:9 The instruction to enter and exit by opposite gates appears to simply regulate the congestion on occasions of great crowds in the temple and to ensure the orderly flow of people. The temple area is to represent the epitome of orderliness, including even the traffic pattern. Anything that is uncontrolled or reflects confusion has no place.

46:19–24 A good number of temples in the ancient Near East were attached to kitchens. These have been found at Ur, Tell Asmar, and Terqa in Mesopotamia, and at Karnak in Egypt. Many of the kitchen complexes were larger than the temple it serviced. 2Ch 35:11–13 implies the existence of kitchens associated with Solomon’s temple.

47:1 water coming out . . . of the temple. The association between ancient Near Eastern temples and spring waters is well attested. In fact, some temples in Mesopotamia, Egypt and in the Ugaritic Baal Cycle were considered founded upon springs (likened to the primeval waters), sometimes flowing from the building itself. Thus, the symbolic cosmic mountain (temple) stood upon the symbolic primeval waters (spring). See note on v. 2.

47:2 trickling. The Hebrew verb is related to the noun pak, which means “vase.” The initial source of water is quite limited, as if water was pouring from a narrow gullet of a jar or a vase. This detail is important. It shows that Ezekiel was probably inspired by a common decoration found in numerous ancient Near Eastern temples: the motif of the flowing vase. For example, in northern Syria, on the site of eighteenth-century BC Mari, a statue of a goddess with a flowing vase was discovered. Closer in time, divine guardian figures of the temple of Nabu are each portrayed as holding vases with water coming forth.

47:9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh. The reference to the original Hebrew is essential here in order to correctly understand Ezekiel’s description of the miraculous torrent that will produce an ecological renewal of the Dead Sea and the entire desert region south of Jerusalem. In designating the water the Hebrew uses the dual (nahalayim) “two rivers,” or “two streams.” Here again one recognizes the ancient Near Eastern background of Ezekiel’s vision. In iconographic representations of gods with a flowing vase, one often finds two rivers flowing from the vase that the divinities hold in their hands. In Mesopotamia the two streams are supposed to represent the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. In Ishtar’s temple in Uruk, dating from the fourteenth century BC, there is an entire wall made out of colored bricks that represent a series of gods and goddesses holding a vase with rivers represented as spirals flowing and encompassing the entire temple. In Mari in one of the palace halls a color painting was found with several details that make it particularly pertinent for a comparison with Ezekiel. In the upper register, the goddess Ishtar hands over to King Zimri-Lim a measuring rod and a cord, symbolizing the king’s activity in rebuilding temples. In the lower register, two goddesses hold a flowing vase in their hands from which streams flow with fish swimming up and down the streams. Several elements found on this eighteenth-century BC painting appear in Ezekiel: a linen cord and a measuring rod (40:3), flowing streams abounding with fish (47:9–10) and a symbol of vegetation (either a palm tree or an ear of corn), corresponding to the trees that grow along the flowing streams in Ezekiel (47:12).

47:12 Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail . . . Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. The combining of flowing streams with a tree of healing appears in a seventh-century BC Sumerian-Akkadian incantation from Ashurbanipal’s library. By reciting this short text the incantation priest would attempt to heal a sick man who appealed to him for help. As is well known, Gilgamesh sets out in his quest for immortality to the place where Utnapishtim lives, “at the mouth [source] of two rivers.” There he obtains the plant of immortality, allowing “the old man to grow young (again)” (Gilgamesh Epic, 11.195–96). In both Ezekiel and in Akkadian literature, the tree of immortality, with leaves that never wither, is associated with an ideal setting of a paradise-like sanctuary.

48:1–7 Israel’s tribal allotments here in Ezekiel follow the premonarchical order of excluding the Levites and cutting the tribe of Joseph in half (Ephraim and Manasseh) in order to keep the number of allotments to 12. However, they show little concern for historical realities. As with ch. 47, the territory east of the Jordan is overlooked. Further, the east-west boundaries run in contrast to the natural physical landscape, which is defined by north-south lines. The tribal allotments are identical to one another in size and also respect the traditional genealogical relationships among the tribes, discriminating between the descendants of Jacob’s wives and his handmaidens. Judah and Benjamin, however, retain their close proximity to the sanctuary.

48:15 The city will be in the center of it. In ch. 48 Ezekiel describes the new city and the allotment of land to each tribe. Although the city is square, the length of each side is mentioned separately; the north, south, east and west sides are all 4,500 cubits (1.5 miles or 2.4 kilometers). In the Gilgamesh Epic, one finds a similar description of the dimensions of the city of Uruk. These dimensions have been interpreted as representing the Mesopotamian ideal of a well-proportioned city. The measurements given by Ezekiel and the disposition of the new city of Jerusalem surrounded with areas for houses and pasturelands, with each tribe receiving a specific “portion” of land and priests being allotted a “sacred portion” (v. 10), may also be seen as a vision of an ideal distribution of space in the new temple and the new city.

48:31 gates . . . named after the tribes of Israel. In cities of the ancient world, such as Babylon, the gates were often named after the gods. It is not unusual, however, for gates to be named for where they lead to. This was the more common practice in Israel.