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EZEKIEL 43
PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS
| NASB | NKJV | NRSV | TEV | NJB |
| Vision of the Restored Temple and Land (40:1-48:35) |
Vision of the Future Temple (40:1-48:35) |
|||
| Vision of the Glory of God Filling the Temple | The Temple, The Lord's Dwelling Place | Return of the Glory of God | The Lord Returns to the Temple | The Return of Yahweh |
| 43:1-5 | 43:1-5 | 43:1-5 | 43:1-4 | 43:1-3 |
| 43:4-9 | ||||
| 43:5-9 | ||||
| 43:6-9 | 43:6-9 | 43:6-9 | ||
| 43:10-12 | 43:10-12 | 43:10-12 | 43:10-12 | 43:10-12 |
| The Altar of Sacrifice | Dimensions of the Altar | The Altar of Burnt Offering | The Altar | The Altar |
| 43:13-17 | 43:13-17 | 43:13-17 | 43:13-17 | 43:13-17 |
| The Offerings | Consecrating the Altar | The Consecration of the Altar | The Consecration of the Altar | |
| 43:18-21 | 43:18-27 | 43:18-21 | 43:18-27 | 43:18-27 |
| 43:22-27 | 43:22-27 |
READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the
Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: EZEKIEL 43:1-5
1Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing toward the east; 2and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. 3And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. 4And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east. 5And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.
43:2 "the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east" We must remember that the glory, or the presence of God, had left (cf. Ezek. 10:18-22; 11:22-24). He is returning to His temple. It is a way of affirming that the ancient covenant had been re-established (cf. Ps. 24:7-10).
▣ "His voice was like the sound of many waters" See notes at Ezek. 1:24 and Rev. 1:15; 14:2.
▣ "the earth shone with His glory" The VERB (BDB 21, KB 24, Hiphil PERFECT) is used of the Shekinah Cloud of Glory during the wilderness wandering period (cf. Exod. 13:21; 14:20). This is part of the Aaronic blessing of Num. 6:25. It involved God's face (i.e., intimate presence) to shine in/on those whom He fully accepted.
43:3 This vision of the manifested glory of YHWH is the same as in the vision that Ezekiel saw in chapters 1 and 10 (i.e., the portable throne chariot of YHWH).
| NASB, NRSV, REB | "when He came" |
| NKJV, NJB | "when I came" |
| TEV | "when God came" |
The MT has "when I came" (בבאי), but some Hebrew manuscripts (six) and the Vulgate have "when he came" (בבאו). There is much confusion in Ezekiel related to the PRONOUNS "I," "you," "He," and "they."
The UBS Text Project, p. 169, gives the MT a "C" rating (considerable doubt).
▣ "I fell on my face" See notes at Ezek. 1:28 and 3:23.
43:5 "the Spirit lifted me up and brought me" See notes at Ezek. 3:12 and 40:1.
Special Topic: Spirit in the Bible
▣ "the glory of the Lord filled the house" This was like the Shekinah cloud that came down on Mount Sinai (cf. Exodus 19:16,18,20), the Tabernacle (cf. Exodus 40:34,35), and Solomon's temple (cf. 1 Kgs. 8:10,11; 2 Chr. 5:14; 7:1-2). This is another way of showing that YHWH was present and the covenant was reestablished.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: EZEKIEL 43:6-9
6Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a man was standing beside me. 7He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their harlotry and by the corpses of their kings when they die, 8by setting their threshold by My threshold and their door post beside My door post, with only the wall between Me and them. And they have defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger. 9Now let them put away their harlotry and the corpses of their kings far from Me; and I will dwell among them forever."
43:6 "I heard one speaking to me from the house" From the next three verses we know it was YHWH Himself who had just returned from Babylon. This seems to imply that Ezekiel thought this message was for the post-exilic community. Surely YHWH does not stay in Babylon.
▣ "while a man was standing beside me" This refers to one of the angel guides (cf. Ezek. 40:3-4).
Special Topic: Apocalyptic Literature
▣ "Son of man" See full note at Ezek. 2:1.
43:7 "the place of My throne" Normally YHWH's throne is in heaven, but since the vision of chapters 1 and 10 (YHWH's portable Throne Chariot, cf. Ezek. 1:26; 10:1), the new temple is both His throne (cf. Jer. 3:17; 14:21; 17:12) and His footstool (i.e., the space between the Cherubim on the Ark, cf. 1 Chr. 28:2; Ps. 132; 7: Isa. 66:1; Lam. 2:1). Obviously this is metaphorical of power and majesty and not meant to be turned into YHWH, the eternal Spirit, actually sitting on a chair/throne! Even Ps. 45:6 probably refers to the coming Davidic descendant (i.e., Messiah, cf. 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17), not God (see Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 270-271).
Special Topic: Ark of the Covenant
▣ "the place of the soles of My feet" Although YHWH lived in heaven, His feet were between the Cherubim (i.e., Jerusalem, Mt. Moriah, cf. Exod. 25:22; Isa. 37:16) above the Ark of the Covenant in the holy of holies (cf. 1 Chr. 28:2; Ps. 99:5; 132:7; Isa. 60:13). This dedication service is very similar to Solomon's in 1 Kings 8 (cf. Isa. 66:1).
▣ "where I will dwell among the sons of Israel" The VERB (BDB 1014, KB 1496, Qal IMPERFECT) is used so often in Deuteronomy of the place God will cause His name to dwell (cf. Deut. 12:11; 14:23; 16:2,6,11; 26:2). This promise is also found in Ezek. 37:26-27. It goes back to Exod. 25:8 (YHWH gave them a detailed pattern of the tabernacle, also Exod. 25:9); 29:45-46. This same covenant language is continued when the coming Messiah is called Emmanuel (i.e., God with us) in Isa. 7:14 (cf. Matt. 1:23). This is another way of showing that the covenant has been reestablished (cf. Ezek. 16:60-63; 37:24-28).
▣ "forever" See Special Topic: Forever ('olam).
▣ "Israel will not defile My holy name" This is a recurrent issue in Ezekiel. YHWH wants His name revealed to the nations, not profaned among them (cf. Ezek. 20:9,14,22,39; 36:21,22; 39:7; 43:7,8)! Israel was meant to be a kingdom of priests, but they turned into a kingdom of idolaters! This will change; a new day is coming! The nations themselves will witness to Israel (cf. Romans 9-11)! There will be no distinction between Jew and Gentile anymore (cf. Eph. 2:11-3:13). Joel 2:28 has been realized (cf. Acts 2:14-21).
Special Topic: "The Name" of YHWH (OT)
▣ "the corpses" This term (BDB 803, KB 910) has several possible meanings.
The parallelism suggests #3.
| NASB | "when they die" |
| NKJV | "on their high places" |
| NRSV, JPSOA | "at their death" |
| TEV, NJB, Peshitta | "by burying the corpses of their dead kings" |
| REB | "with the monuments raised to dead kings" |
| LXX | "the murders of their princes in the midst of them" |
The only difference between the two options is the vowel points of the MT scholars. The Hebrew consonants are the same. The question is, "Does the context refer to idolatry (cf. Ezek. 5:11; 23:36-45) or the monuments (stele) of dead sinful kings?" The The IVP Bible Background Commentary (OT), p. 726, suggests:
"These lifeless idols" are probably not corpses but refer to a pagan cult of the dead, similar to that of Lev. 26:30. Ezekiel probably had in mind a veneration of the spirits of Israel's royal ancestors, much like a cult of the royal dead at Ugarit. Whether the kings were considered deified at either place is not clear."
43:8 "their threshold by My threshold" The IVP Bible Background Commentary (OT), p. 726, has a good explanitory note:
The statement here in verse 8 corresponds with the description of the Solomonic temple in 1 Kings 6-7. The original temple was built as one element of the entire Solomonic palace complex. Only a wall separated the temple and palace, and they bordered "threshold to threshold, and doorpost to doorpost."
▣ "abominations" See Special Topic: Abomination (OT)
▣ "So I have consumed them in My anger" See Special Topic: God Described As Human (anthropomorphism).
43:9-11 There is a series of commands.
43:9 "Now let them" Ezek. 43:9, 11 show the conditional nature of Ezekiel's covenant, as all covenants in the OT were conditional on mankind's appropriate response to God in repentance, faith, and obedience.
▣ "and I will dwell among them forever" See note at Ezek. 43:7.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: EZEKIEL 43:10-12
10"As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the plan. 11If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the house, its structure, its exits, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it in their sight, so that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes and do them. 12This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house."
43:10 This elaborate plan of the new temple was meant to
| NASB | "let them measure the plan" |
| NKJV, NRSV | "let them measure the pattern" |
| TEV | "let them study the plan" |
| NJB | "(let them draw up the plan of it)" |
| JPSOA | "let them measure its design" |
| LXX, RSV, NEB | "and its appearance and plan" |
The MT is reflected in the NKJV, NRSV. The UBS Text Project, p. 171, supports the MT over the LXX, but only with a "C" rating (considerable doubt).
43:11 Notice the parallelism between
YHWH is giving them a new temple (i.e., to build) and new procedures (i.e., to act on) to test their obedience. They failed the tabernacle test; they failed Solomon's temple test; they will fail Zerubbabel's and Herod's tests also! Only after the new covenant of chapter 36 and the restoration of chapter 37 can Israel be obedient.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: EZEKIEL 43:13-17
13"And these are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit
being a cubit and a handbreadth): the base shall be a cubit and the width a cubit, and its border on its edge round about one span; and this shall be the height of the base of the altar. 14From the base on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits and the width one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits and the width one cubit. 15The altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth shall extend upwards four horns. 16Now the altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, square in its four sides. 17The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides, the border around
it shall be half a cubit and its base shall be a cubit round about; and its steps shall face the east."
43:13 "cubit" See Special Topic: Cubit
| NASB, NKJV, NRSV, JPSOA, LXX | "height" |
| REB | "rim" |
| NJB, Peshitta | "edge" |
| JPSOA footnote, NET footnote | "bulge" |
The MT has "back" (BDB 146; it suggests "anything that is convex").
The UBS Text Project, p. 173, gives the MT a "C" rating (considerable doubt).
43:15 "and from the altar hearth shall extend upwards four horns" There are numerous references to the four horns (i.e., like cow horns) of the sacrificial altar in the OT (cf. Exod. 27:2; 29:12; 30:10; 1 Kgs. 1:50; 2:28). Even the incense altar had four horns. This was the most holy part of the sacrificial altar on which a small portion of the blood was smeared (cf. Exod. 29:12; Lev. 4:7,18,25; 9:9; Ezek. 43:20) before the rest was poured out at the base of the altar of sacrifice.
Special Topic: Altar of Sacrifice
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: EZEKIEL 43:18-21
18And He said to me, "Son of man, thus says the Lord God, 'These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it. 19You shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok, who draw near to Me to minister to Me,' declares the Lord God, 'a young bull for a sin offering. 20You shall take some of its blood and put it on its four horns and on the four corners of the ledge and on the border round about; thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. 21You shall also take the bull for the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.'"
43:18 This clearly states that the altar was for the purpose of atonement (i.e., Lev. 1:5,11; 3:2,8,13), not a memorial (cf. Ezek. 45:15, 17, 20). This is superseded by the NT book of Hebrews (esp. Heb. 9-10), which sees Jesus as the last sacrifice needed to atone for mankind's sin.
43:19 Originally, only the family of Aaron could act as priests serving the altar, but in the post-exilic period there was not enough of this family to serve so other Levitical families begn to share the task.
Special Topic: Levitical Priests
43:20 "cleanse it" This VERB (BDB 306, KB 305, Piel PERFECT with waw) is repeated in Ezek. 43:22 (twice) and the Piel INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT in Ezek. 43:23. The Piel denotes cleansing by means of a blood sacrifice (cf. Lev. 8:15; Ezek. 45:18) as does the next VERB "make atonement" (BDB 497, KB 493, Piel PERFECT with waw, cf. Ezek. 43:26; 45:20).
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: EZEKIEL 43:22-27
22"'On the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering, and they shall cleanse the altar as they cleansed it with the bull. 23When you have finished cleansing it, you shall present a young bull without blemish and a ram without blemish from the flock. 24You shall present them before the Lord, and the priests shall throw salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. 25For seven days you shall prepare daily a goat for a sin offering; also a young bull and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be prepared. 26For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it. 27When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the eighth day and onward, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you,' declares the Lord God."
43:24 "salt" Usually salt was put with the grain offerings (cf. Lev. 2:13) and here with blood offerings. Because of Ezek. 6:9 it possibly was put on all offerings. It was a symbol of the Israelite's covenant with YHWH (cf. Num. 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5).
43:25 "for seven days" This purification and dedication procedure parallels Exod. 29:35-37; Lev. 8:33-36. Holy things had to have a special initiation and also rigid procedures for maintaining their holiness. The Mosaic legislation (and also that of Ezekiel) was keen on maintaining a strict separation between the holy and the mundane, the clean and the unclean. This ritual separation reflected their theology of the world and life, the physical and spiritual
▣ "goat" Goats were not used in the Mosaic system for dedication offerings.
43:26 "so shall they consecrate it" This is literally "fill the hands" (BDB 569, KB 583, Piel PERFECT with waw; cf. Exod. 29:24).
43:27 "peace offering" This was the fellowship meal where God symbolically ate with the offerer (Leviticus 3). It was eaten in the temple setting and is a foreshadowing of the Lord's Supper.
▣ "I will accept you, declares the Lord God" This was the purpose of Ezekiel's sacrificial cultus (i.e., reunite sinful Israel with their holy God). Ezekiel sees it in terms of ancient sacrificial ritual (i.e., Leviticus 1-7).
The VERB (BDB 953, KB 1280, Qal PERFECT) is also used in Ezek. 20:40,41 of an accepted sacrifice. Because YHWH was with His people, purity, holiness, ceremonial cleanness must be maintained!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
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