Ezekiel 42:13-14

Ezekiel 42:13-14

[13] Then said  he unto me, The north  chambers  and the south  chambers,  which are before  the separate place,  they be holy  chambers,  where the priests  that approach  shall eat  the most  there shall they lay  the most  and the meat offering,  and the sin offering,  and the trespass offering;  for the place  is holy.  [14] When the priests  enter  therein, then shall they not go out  of the holy  place into the utter  court,  but there they shall lay  their garments  wherein they minister;  for they are holy;  and shall put  on other  garments,  and shall approach  to those things which are for the people. 

What does Ezekiel 42:13-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Ezekiel"s guide informed him that the rooms to the north and south of the "separate area" were for the priests to use when they ate the sacrifices that people brought to the temple. Under the Mosaic Law, the priests obtained parts of the burnt, grain, peace, sin, and trespass (guilt) offerings ( Leviticus 6-7). In the future, priests will receive parts of the grain, sin, and trespass offerings at least. The priests would deposit the offerings in these rooms. They were also dressing rooms for the priests since they could not go from the "separate area" or the inner court into the outer court without changing their clothes. In view of this statement, there must be access into each of these two buildings from the "separate area" as well as from the outer court.
"The burden of the present account is to show that the holiness of sacred space extends beyond the concentric design of the temple complex to the form of the auxiliary structures and the conduct of humans within those structures. Again the proportions of sacred space are more important than the appearance of the buildings." [1]