Ezekiel 42:13

13 And he said to me, "The chambers of the north [and] the chambers of the south which [are] {before} the courtyard, they {are the holy chambers} in which the priests, who [are] near to Yahweh, will eat the {most holy objects}. There they shall put the {most holy objects}, and the grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering, for the place [is] holy.

Ezekiel 42:13 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 42:13

Then said he unto me
The divine Person that measured and described these chambers, and brought the prophet to take a view of them, said to him, as follows: the north chambers, and the south chambers, which are before the
separate place, they be holy chambers;
these are the two rows of chambers before described, which were southward and northward to each other, though both in the northern part of the outward court; these were for holy persons to dwell in, and for holy things to be done in, as the churches of Christ are; they consist of holy persons, men called with a holy calling, and in them the holy word of God is preached, and holy ordinances administered: where the priests that approach unto the Lord shall eat the most holy
things;
which is to be understood not of the ministers of the Gospel, for whom a proper maintenance is to be provided, and who should live of the Gospel they preach; but of all the saints, who are made priests to God by Christ; and who approach unto the Lord by him, in his name and righteousness, and by the faith of him, with true hearts, in a spiritual manner; and which is profitable to themselves, and acceptable to God; for whom spiritual provisions are made in his house: these have most holy things to eat of, the holy word of God, the law part of which is holy, just, and good; and the Gospel part is our most holy faith, which is food for faith, savoury and salutary, milk for babes, and meat for strong men; and which is found and eaten, and digested by them: also our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the most holy, and is the sum and substance of the word and ordinances, and the food of believers, the bread of life, the hidden manna, the Lamb of God, and fatted calf; whose flesh and blood are meat and drink indeed, and are eaten and fed upon by faith. There shall they lay the most holy things;
lay up the word of God in their minds and memories, and remember the love of God, his sufferings and death, and the benefits arising from them, particularly in the ordinance of the supper: and the meat offering;
the "minchah", or bread offering, made of fine flour, typical of Christ, the bread of life: and the sin, offering, and the trespass offering;
both typical of Christ, made sin for his people; and who, by one sacrifice of himself, has made atonement for it, and an end of it; (See Gill on Ezekiel 40:39), these were called the most holy things, and were laid up in the sanctuary for the priests and their families to live upon, ( Leviticus 6:17 ) : for the place is holy:
the place of these chambers holy, as the temple itself, where these most holy things and holy persons were.

Ezekiel 42:13 In-Context

11 And a walkway [was] {before them} like the appearance of the chambers which [were on] {the north}, [just] like [them in] their length, [and] so [was] their width and all their exits, and [they were built] like their arrangements and like their doorways,
12 and like the doorways of the chambers which [were on] the way of the south [was] [a] doorway at the head of the way {before} the stone wall, projecting [on] the way of the east at their coming.
13 And he said to me, "The chambers of the north [and] the chambers of the south which [are] {before} the courtyard, they {are the holy chambers} in which the priests, who [are] near to Yahweh, will eat the {most holy objects}. There they shall put the {most holy objects}, and the grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering, for the place [is] holy.
14 {When the priests enter}, then they shall not go out from the sanctuary to the outer courtyard; and there they must put their garments in which they serve because they [are] holy. They must put on other garments and [then] they may approach [the area] that [is] for the people.
15 And he completed the measurements of the inner temple, and he brought me [to] the walkway of the gate {that faces toward the east} and he measured it {all the way around}.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Literally "to the front of"
  • [b]. Literally "[are] the chambers of the holiness"
  • [c]. Literally "holy objects of the holy objects"
  • [d]. Literally "holy objects of the holy objects"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.