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Ezekiel 42:5

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 42:5 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Now the upper chambers were shorter; for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower and the middlemost, in the building.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Now the upper chambers were shorter; for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower and the middlemost, in the building.
Ezekiel 42:5 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 42

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
2Before the length of a hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits.
3Over against the twenty [cubits] which belonged to the inner court, and over against the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gallery against gallery in the third story.
4And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits` breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors were toward the north.
5Now the upper chambers were shorter; for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower and the middlemost, in the building.
6For they were in three stories, and they had not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore [the uppermost] was straitened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground.
7And the wall that was without by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court before the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits.
8For the length of the chambers that were in the outer court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were a hundred cubits.
← Ezekiel 42:4Ezekiel 42:6 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Now the upper chambers were shorter, &c.] The chambers were in three stories, as in the following verse, one above another; the middlemost were shorter than the lowermost, and the upper shorter than either; just the reverse of the chambers in (<264107>Ezekiel 41:7), they were not so high from the floor to the ceiling, nor so broad from side to side. The reason follows: for the galleries were higher than these; or, “ate out of these”f737, “than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building”; the meaning is, that the galleries or balconies in the middlemost and upper chambers were taken, out of them, and so made them lesser than the lower ones, and the upper ones lesser than either; or…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“shorter--that is, the building became narrower as it rose in height. The chambers were many: so "in My Father's house are many mansions" (Joh 14:2); and besides these there was much "room" still left (compare Luk 14:22). The chambers, though private, were near the temple. Prayer in our chambers is to prepare us for public devotions, and to help us in improving them.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Render: “And the upper chambers were” shortened, for galleries took off from them, from “the lower” and from “the middle-most, chambers, of the building.” The building rose in terraces, as was usual in Babylonian architecture, and so each of the two upper stories receded from the one below it. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Shorter - At first view it should seem to refer to the length, but indeed it refers to the height of the chambers, of which the lowest chamber was highest, the second lower pitched than the first, yet of greater height than the uppermost between the floor and ceiling. Ezekiel 42:6”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“were higher than these: or, did eat of these, Eze 41:7 than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building: or, and the building consisted of the lower and the middlemost. Eze 42:6 Ezekiel 42:6”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification