Ezekiel 41 is the forty-first chapter of the

Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

Ezekiel, and is one of the

Books of the Prophets Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (wri ...

. The

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonica ...

refers to the final section of Ezekiel, chapters 40- 48, as "the Torah of Ezekiel". This chapter continues Ezekiel's vision of a future

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

Text

The original text was written in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. This chapter is divided into 26 verses. Visionary Ezekiel Temple

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century),

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

, that is, 4Q73 (4QEzek; 50–25 BCE) with extant verses 3–6.Dead sea scrolls - Ezekiel
/ref> There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

known as the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century),

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century) and

Codex Marchalianus Codex Marchalianus designated by siglum Q is a 6th-century Greek manuscript copy of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Old Testament) known as the Septuagint. The text was written on vellum in uncial letters. Palaeographically it ...

(Q;

\mathfrak

^Q; 6th century).

The sanctuary (41:1–4)

Ezekiel is brought into the "sanctuary", or nave/main room in the temple, which length and width are the same as in Solomon's temple (), but no mention of the height. There is apparently no altar of incense, lamps, or other parts that were in the former temple ()f.

Verse 1

: ''Then he brought me into the sanctuary and measured the doorposts,'' :: ''six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side—the width of the tabernacle.'' * The vision was given on the 25th anniversary of Ezekiel's exile, "April 28, 573 BCE". * "Sanctuary" (Hebrew היכל): here "the main room of the temple", sometimes called the "holy place" (compare ) *

doesn't have "–the width of the tabernacle" (''lit''. "the tent"); it is found in Hebrew texts.

Verse 4

: ''He measured the length, twenty cubits; and the width, twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary;'' : ''and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”'' * Ezekiel did not enter the

Most Holy Place This article provides an incomplete list and broad overview of significant religious sites and places of spiritual importance throughout the world. Sites are listed alphabetically by religion. Abrahamic religions Abrahamic religions are mo ...

, because he is just a priest, not the high priest, and only the high priest can enter that room, once a year, on

the day of atonement Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on Atonement in Judaism, atonement and R ...

().

The side buildings (41:5–15a)

This part starts a series of passages providing more information for the previous short description; the original account will continue in f. The details of the ''arcades'' or side-chambers (Verses 5–7) are unclear, but seem to match the pattern of Solomon's temple ().

Verse 9

:''The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits, and so also the remaining terrace by the place of the side chambers of the temple.'' "The remaining terrace" is translated "that which was left" in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

, "the free space" in the

New Revised Standard Version The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches.Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that there was unoccupied space in

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...

which the

Kings of Judah The Kings of Judah were the monarchs who ruled over the ancient Kingdom of Judah. According to the biblical account, this kingdom was founded after the death of Saul, when the tribe of Judah elevated David to rule over it. After seven years, Davi ...

had used for horses dedicated to the sun, and that in Ezekiel's visionary temple there was to be no space which was not sacred to the Lord.Jamieson, Fausset and Brown
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
on Ezekiel 41, accessed 4 January 2020

The design inside (41:15b–26)

This section describes the interior design inside the temple; the details are obscure. In this addition, the interior of the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies is described openly unlike in the previous part.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

Jewish

Ezekiel 41 Hebrew with Parallel EnglishEzekiel 41 Hebrew with Rashi's Commentary

Christian

Ezekiel 41 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
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