Ezekiel 40 Study Notes

40:16 Representations of the palm tree also decorated Solomon’s temple (1Kg 6:29,32,35).

40:17-27 Ezekiel’s tour proceeds to the outer court.

40:17-19 A paved surface functioned something like a border around the outside edges of the outer court. Along this pavement were thirty rooms used by the Levites (perhaps for meals) in other Israelite temples (Neh 13:4-14; Jr 35:2-4). The distance from the outer gate to the exterior of the inner court was a hundred cubits, or 175 feet. The dimensions of the northern and southern gates as well as the space between these gates to the inner court were identical to the dimensions of the east gate (vv. 17-27).

40:28-41:26 Ezekiel’s tour reaches the inner court, which is the focus of the tour.

40:28 There was no western gate for this temple because the temple occupied the western side of the compound.

40:39 A burnt offering is mentioned in early texts such as Gn 8:20; Ex 10:25; and Jb 1:5. Burnt offerings were performed at momentous occasions in Israel’s history (Jos 8:31; 1Kg 9:25). The purpose of burnt offerings was to honor God and attract his attention. Times of thankfulness (Gn 8:20) as well as times of crisis (Jdg 20:26) called for such offerings. The burnt offering may be considered the most important sacrifice since it was the most prominent sacrifice in the festivals (Nm 28-29). It was distinctive insomuch as the entire offering (apart from the skin) was offered, leaving none for the priest to eat. But even burnt offerings were inferior to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who offered himself for sin once for all (Heb 10:1-4,10). The entire sacrificial system foreshadowed the death of Christ for the sins of the world.

For inadvertent sins, some were to be purified by the sin offering (Lv 4:1-5:13) while others required a guilt offering (Lv 5:14-6:7). In distinction to the sin offering, the guilt or restitution offering was required for offenses that created a debt between humans or between a human and God, as for instance if someone had improperly handled one of God’s “holy things,” such as the implements in the temple. It is of great Christological significance that the offering of the Suffering Servant in Is 53 is described as a guilt offering (Is 53:10). This passage was interpreted to be a prophecy of the suffering of the Christ by NT writers (see Mt 8:17; Lk 22:37; Jn 12:38; Rm 10:16; 1Pt 2:22,24-25), and thus Jesus’s death is understood as a guilt offering that removed the debt we owe to God.

40:46 According to the book of Ezekiel, the Zadokites will be distinguished from the Levites in the coming age. The Zadokites were sons of Zadok, who traced his Levitical lineage to Aaron through Aaron’s son Eleazar (1Ch 6:50-53). Zadok served as a priest under David, along with Abiathar (2Sm 8:17; 15:24-29; 20:25). Zadok was appointed chief priest during Solomon’s reign because he supported Solomon as king (1Kg 1:32-35; 2:26-27,35). The Zadokites were elevated and the Levites demoted out of concern for ritual purity, a dominant subject in Ezk 40-46.

40:47 In Ezekiel’s temple, square shapes (175 feet long and 175 feet wide) are often associated with holy places. The most holy place was a perfect cube (41:4).