Ezekiel 42:16

“He measured the east side, &c.] He began with that, being at the east gate: the building was foursquare, and so was the wall about it, and had each four equilateral sides, which were separately measured; here the east side, from the two angles of it, the north and south points: with the measuring reed; which consisted of six cubits, and which cubits were larger than the common sort by a hand’s breadth; so that a measuring reed measured three yards and a half: and the whole measure of the east side were five hundred reeds: which make one thousand seven hundred and fifty yards: with the measuring reed round about; not round about the building, since only one side, as yet, was measured; but…”

“five hundred reeds--the Septuagint substitutes "cubits" for "reeds," to escape the immense compass assigned to the whole, namely, a square of five hundred rods or three thousand cubits (two feet each; Eze 40:5), in all a square of one and one-seventh miles, that is, more than all ancient Jerusalem; also, there is much space thus left unappropriated. FAIRBAIRN rightly supports English Version, which agrees with the Hebrew. The vast extent is another feature marking the ideal character of the temple. It symbolizes the great enlargement of the kingdom of God, when Jehovah-Messiah shall reign at Jerusalem, and from thence to the ends of the earth (Isa 2:2-4; Jer 3:17; Rom 11:12, Rom 11:15).”

“The Precincts. The temple and its courts were surrounded by an area of exact dimensions 3,000 cubits (1,500 yards) square. See Plan IV. Ezekiel 42:15 The inner house - The temple and its courts, all that lay within the “wall on the outside of the house Ezekiel 40:5; the gate” is the eastern gate of the outer court. Measured it round about - The precincts, into which he had brought the seer through the eastern gate of the outer court. return to 'Top of Page'”

“42:16-20 Having finished his tour of the inner courtyard, Ezekiel was shown the overall dimensions of the area. The whole complex was square, which denoted holiness and differentiated it from the less regular design of Solomon’s Temple and the Tabernacle before it, in which only the Most Holy Place was square. • The description of the Temple finished where it began, with a mention of a wall all around it (see 40:5); Ezekiel reminds us again that the purpose of that wall was to separate what was holy from what was common.”

“side: Heb. wind the measuring reed: Estimating the reed at 10+ feet, 500 reeds will be nearly equal to a mile; so that from this statement we find the temple, with its outbuildings, was built on a square, nearly an English mile on each side, and four miles in circumference. This not only far exceeds the size of Solomon's temple, or that after the captivity, which was only 500 cubits, or a furlong, on each side, and exactly half a mile in circuit; but is nearly equal to the whole extent of Jerusalem itself, which, when greatest, was but 33 furlongs in circumference, somewhat less than 4+ miles. This seems clearly to intimate, that the vision cannot be explained of any temple that has hitherto…”