Yechezkel 40:31

31 And the ulam vestibules thereof were facing the khatzer hachatzonah (the outer courtyard); and timorim were upon the jambs thereof; and the going up to it had ma’alot shmoneh (eight steps, stairs).

Yechezkel 40:31 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 40:31

And the arches thereof were toward the outward court
And so not within the gate of the inward court, but on the outside of it, towards the outward court, at the front of the gate as you went in: and palm trees were upon the posts thereof;
of the gate, or of these arches or porticos; signifying that none should enter here but righteous persons; this is the gate of the righteous, ( Psalms 118:19 Psalms 118:20 ) ( Isaiah 26:2 ) , (See Gill on Ezekiel 40:16); and the going up to it had eight steps;
one more than the ascent to the outward gates; some say eight more, and make these to be fifteen, answerable to the fifteen steps by which the Levites went up from the court of the women to the court of Israel ^F14, and sung upon them the fifteen songs of degrees, mentioned in the Psalms: but here are only eight; and denote the gradual progress of believers in faith and holiness; and that the nearer they come to the holy of holies, the greater their proficiency should be, and more advances made in the knowledge of divine things.

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 Misna Succa, c. 5. sect. 4. Lipman. Tzurath Beth Hamikdash, sect. 24.

Yechezkel 40:31 In-Context

29 And the ta’im thereof, and the jambs thereof, and the ulam vestibule thereof, according to these measures; and there were chalonot in it and in the ulam vestibule thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits wide.

30 And the ulam vestibules round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits wide.

31 And the ulam vestibules thereof were facing the khatzer hachatzonah (the outer courtyard); and timorim were upon the jambs thereof; and the going up to it had ma’alot shmoneh (eight steps, stairs).

32 And he [the angelic being] brought me into the khatzer hapenimi toward the east; and he measured the sha’ar according to these measures.

33 And the ta’im thereof, and the jambs thereof, and the ulam vestibule thereof, were according to these measures; and there were chalonot therein and in the ulam vestibule thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits wide.