The Priests’ Chambers

42 Then the man led me out by way of the north gate into the outer court.(A) He brought me to the group of chambers opposite the temple yard and opposite the building(B) to the north. Along the length of the chambers, which was 175 feet,[a](C) there was an entrance on the north; the width was 87½ feet.[b] Opposite the 35 foot space[c] belonging to the inner court and opposite the paved surface(D) belonging to the outer court, the structure rose gallery by gallery(E) in three tiers. In front of the chambers was a walkway toward the inside,(F) 17½ feet[d] wide and 175 feet long,[e] and their entrances were on the north. The upper chambers were narrower because the galleries took away more space from them than from the lower and middle stories of the building. For they were arranged in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts;(G) therefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and middle stories. A wall on the outside ran in front of the chambers, parallel to them, toward the outer court; it was 87½ feet long. For the chambers on the outer court were 87½ feet long, while those facing the great hall were 175 feet long.(H) At the base of these chambers there was an entryway on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.(I)

10 In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the south,[f] there were chambers facing the temple yard(J) and the western building, 11 with a passageway in front of them, just like the chambers that faced north.(K) Their length and width, as well as all their exits, measurements, and entrances, were identical. 12 The entrance at the beginning of the passageway, the way in front of the corresponding[g] wall as one enters on the east side, was similar to the entrances of the chambers that were on the south side.

13 Then the man said to me, “The northern and southern chambers that face the courtyard are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord will eat(L) the most holy offerings.(M) There they will deposit the most holy offerings—the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings—for the place is holy.(N) 14 Once the priests have entered, they are not to go out from the holy area to the outer court until they have removed the clothes they minister in, for these are holy.(O) They are to put on other clothes before they approach the public area.”(P)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 42:2 Lit 100 cubits, also in vv. 4,8
  2. 42:2 Lit 50 cubits, also in v. 7
  3. 42:3 Lit 20 cubits
  4. 42:4 Lit 10 cubits
  5. 42:4 LXX, Syr; MT reads wide, a way of one cubit
  6. 42:10 LXX; MT reads east
  7. 42:12 Or protective; Hb obscure

Chambers and promenades

42 Then he led me north to the outer courtyard and brought me into the set of chambers opposite the yard and the structure to the north. The length of the facade at the north entrance was one hundred fifty feet, its depth seventy-five feet. It was next to the twenty chambers that belonged to the inner courtyard and next to the pavement of the outer courtyard, and it had three courses of promenades. In front of the chambers there was a passage fifteen feet wide, and to the inside, a passage eighteen inches wide. The entrance to the chambers was on the north. The upper chambers were smaller, because the promenades took up more space from them than from the first and second stories. This was because the promenades were arranged in three levels, but they didn’t have columns like those in the courtyards. For this reason, the top story was narrower than the first and second stories. A stone wall ran parallel to the chambers facing the outer courtyard. It was seventy-five feet long, the same length, seventy-five feet, as the chambers facing the outer courtyard. Those facing the temple were one hundred fifty feet. 9-10 These chambers were entered from the outer courtyard at the end of the courtyard wall, because the entrance was at the end of the chambers at the east. South of the yard and the building, there were more chambers with a passage 11 in front of them. The design of the chambers resembled the ones to the north in length and width, as well as in all their exits. The arrangement of the entrances 12 to the chambers on the south side was identical as well. One entered from the east at the beginning of the corresponding wall.

13 Then he said to me, “The north and south chambers that face the building and the yard are the holy chambers where the priests eat the offerings that have been brought to the Lord. They are most holy. Here they will place the most holy things, the grain offering, the purification offering, and the compensation offering. The place is holy. 14 When the priests enter, they won’t go out of the sanctuary to the outer courtyard. There they will place the priestly vests that they wore when they were ministering, because these garments are also holy. They will put on other garments when they go out to the people’s area.”

Read full chapter