Ezekiel 41 Study Notes

41:3-4 While the angel previously brought Ezekiel with him into the great hall (v. 1), only the angel went into the next room and the most holy place. This corresponds to the restrictions given in the law (Lv 16; Heb 9:7).

41:6 There were three tiers or stories of thirty rooms per tier on the sides of the temple (1Kg 6:5-10), yielding a total of ninety side rooms. The rooms widened as one went upward because the walls of the lower stories were thicker for structural reasons. They may have been designated for the storage of temple equipment and temple treasures (1Kg 6:5-10; 14:26; 2Kg 14:14).

41:18-19 Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall of the outer sanctuary and into the structure of Solomon’s temple (1Kg 6:29-30). Cherubim were associated with the appearance of God in the visions of Ezk 1:4-28 and chap. 10. Unlike the cherubim in the earlier visions, the cherubim in the temple had only two faces—a human face and a lion’s face—instead of four faces. In the Genesis narrative, the cherubim served as guards of the garden (Gn 3:24). Here in the temple as well as in Ezekiel’s earlier visions, the cherubim likewise served as guards over God’s dwelling place. Palm trees may represent fruitfulness, but they also remind us of the trees in the garden of Eden.

41:22 This altar stood outside the most holy place. This table was probably for the bread of the Presence (Ex 25:30; Lv 24:5-9; 1Kg 7:48).