Ezekiel 40:17-19

Ezekiel 40:17-19

[17] Then brought  he me into the outward  court,  and, lo, there were chambers,  and a pavement  made  for the court  round about:  thirty  chambers  were upon the pavement.  [18] And the pavement  by the side  of the gates  over against  the length  of the gates  was the lower  pavement.  [19] Then he measured  the breadth  from the forefront  of the lower  gate  unto the forefront  of the inner  court  without,  an hundred  cubits  eastward  and northward. 

What does Ezekiel 40:17-19 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The passageway in the eastern gate complex led into a courtyard. This was the outer court that contained an inner court within it. Around the perimeter of this outer court were30 rooms. It is not clear if they were on three sides of the courtyard or four, and it is not clear what function they served. Perhaps they were meeting or storage rooms. A pavement, probably mosaic (cf. 2 Chronicles 7:3; Esther 1:6), known as the lower pavement, formed a50-cubit-wide (83feet4inch) border around the outer edge of the outer courtyard (cf. Ezekiel 40:15). Ezekiel"s guide measured the outer courtyard between the outer and inner gates, and this space was100 cubits wide (about166 feet8 inches) on the east and north sides (and evidently on the south side too).