Ezekiel 41

1–2

(Chapter 41, Verse 1 and following) 'And he brought me into the temple, and measured the fronts, six cubits in width here and six cubits in width there, the width of the tabernacle. And the width of the gate was ten cubits, and the sides (or shoulders) of the gate were five cubits here and five cubits there. And he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.' After many mysteries and various entrances, and the peculiarities of each place, at last finally a man comes, whose string of masons and measuring rod was in his hand, and he brings Ezekiel the prophet into the temple, and he measured the front of the temple: for which atelam, the Septuagint; and aelim Theodotius; and around Symmachus translated. And on both sides the width of the tabernacle was six cubits, containing the mystery of all creatures: for in six days the world was finished. Through the knowledge of these and the causes and conditions and the order of creation, we enter into the temple of God, and through the order and stability of created things we come to know the Creator. But the width of the gate of the temple was ten cubits, which is a sacred and perfect number, and in which, on the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, there is fasting and propitiation. But on the tenth day of the first month, which is called Nisan, the lamb is taken for sacrifice and preparation for the Passover. Therefore, in the seventh month, the tithes are offered in the storehouses of God, or, as the Scripture has accustomed to call them, the wine presses. Hence the Apostle says: Be ye enlarged also (2 Corinthians 6); so that after entering the temple through the ten cubit gates, on both sides of the gate itself, the sides, or as it is properly said in Hebrew, the shoulders are measured, which are always referred to as works. And Issachar desired good (Gen. XLIX), resting among the clergy, seeing the rest, because it is good, and the land, because it is fertile, he put his shoulder to work, and he became a man of agriculture. And in the vestment of the high priest, the ephod with the breastplate is fastened, so that the works of reason are joined, and the man can say: I have understood from your commandments (Ps. CXVIII, 104). The gatekeepers on both sides of the gate had five porches, so that through earthly and divine senses, about which we have often written their differences, we may enter the inner sanctuary of the temple, which was measured by that man, who was the prophet's guide, with a length of forty cubits, and a width of twenty cubits, or rather, the gate's length and width: because he had spoken only of the width and shoulders above. But that the number which is next to eight hundred forty makes is no doubt. Hence it is commanded in Ecclesiastes: Give portions to seven, and also to eight (Eccl. XI, 2). I am aware that there is frequent debate about the mystery of this number, whether it is because through tribulations and distresses of this world we enter into the sanctuary of the Lord: therefore the length of the gate had forty cubits, which number is always associated with labor. And so, Moses and Elijah did not eat bread or drink water for forty days (Deut. 9, 3 Kings 19, Deut. 29). And for forty years, the people of Israel are troubled and tested in the wilderness and enter the promised land through many struggles. And the Lord and Savior, according to the weakness of the assumed body, is tested for forty days in the wilderness, so that after the victory, angels approach and minister to him (Matt. 4). But when we can say in the midst of tribulations and distress, the words of the Apostle: In all things we are troubled, but not crushed (2 Cor. 4, 8), and the prophetic words: In tribulation, you have enlarged me (Psalm 4, 1), then the widest entrance is opened to us, which has a width of twenty cubits, so that having overcome the struggles and earthly things, which themselves represent duality, we may enter the inner sanctuary of the temple and hear the Lord commanding his disciples: Have confidence, I have overcome the world (John 16, 34).

Commentary on Ezekiel

3–4

(Vers. 3, 4.) \"And he entered inside (or into the inner court) and measured the front (or threshold) of the gate to be two cubits, and the gate to be six (or ten) cubits, and the width of the gate to be seven cubits (or, the width of the gate from one shoulder to the other being seven cubits on each side). And he measured its (or the doors') length to be twenty cubits and its width to be twenty cubits in front of the temple. And he said to me: This is the Holy of Holies.\ « Let us make progress, for greater progress always opens up for us. After entering the temple, we once again enter inside, or as the Septuagint translated, the inner courtyard, in whose front, or Ael, for which Symmachus, around the gate, Theodotus Aelam, Hebrew Ul (), Aquila door, we interpret the front, there were two cubits. So, according to the higher meaning, we enter by the dual number to that place where the Holy of Holies is located. » And the gate itself was six cubits, through which we entered and obtained eternal rest, which is demonstrated in the number seven. For this reason, the Seventy translated it, and the width of the gate was seven cubits on this side and seven cubits on that side, in Hebrew and other editions only seven cubits were placed in the width of the gate. However, what follows: And its length was measured, or as the Seventy translated it, the doors were twenty cubits, for which in most codices forty are contained according to the Seventy, it also signifies a width of twenty cubits in front of the face of the temple, that which before the face of the temple and its entrance, the measure of past labor and struggle always comes to us. For just as the number two possesses a double relationship in individual numbers, so do the decades have the same relationship. And consider this: entering inward through the gateway of two cubits in width, and having six cubits in depth, and seven cubits in width on each side, and twenty cubits in length, and the same in the very doors of the temple, let it be taught by the prophet what that place is, or by what name it is called. For he said to me: This is the Holy of Holies. But if, as Scripture calls it, it is before the temple, or before the Holy of Holies, how great a blessedness must we think there is in the innermost parts of the temple! Concerning which the prophet speaks: This is labor in my sight, until I enter into the sanctuary of God, and understand their last things (Ps. 77:16-17). But this should also be noted, that in the description of the tabernacle it is said 'Holy of Holies' in the plural number; but here 'Holy of Holies' in the singular number, so that after the holy things we come to the holy: just as after many songs we come to the Song of Songs, which is the song of all songs, and in singing it, we are joined in the embrace of the Bridegroom.

Commentary on Ezekiel

5–7

(Vers. 5 seqq.) And the wall of the house was measured six cubits, and the width of each side was four cubits all around the house. The sides were side by side, thirty-three on each side, and there were projections that entered through the wall of the house on the sides all around, in order to contain them and not touch the wall of the temple. And there was a ascending courtyard: going up through a spiral staircase and leading to the upper room of the temple in a circular path. Therefore, the temple was broader in the higher parts, and thus one ascended from the lower parts to the higher in the middle, and from the middle to the narrow, and to Thrael. However, what is placed in the Septuagint, 'And from the middle to the narrow,' that is, to the three balconies, and to Thrael, is not found in Hebrew. For Thrael also (which I do not know what it signifies; since it is not found in Hebrew) is read by those of Urani (), which both we and others have translated, and I have seen, so that the order of the testimony may be followed.

Commentary on Ezekiel

8–12

(Versed. 8 seqq.) 'And I saw in the house a height all around, with foundations of reed measuring six cubits, and the width along the outer wall of the side chamber, five cubits. And the inner part of the house and the space between the storehouses, twenty cubits wide all around the house. And there were doors in the side chambers toward the outer court, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south. And the width of the place for worship, five cubits all around.' And the building, which was separate and facing the road towards the sea, was seventy cubits wide. The wall of the building was five cubits wide all around, and its length was ninety cubits. After he reached the Holy of Holies, of which we spoke earlier, that venerable man measured the wall of the Holy of Holies. It had a height of six cubits because of the structure of the world and all visible creation, which was created in six days, and a width of one side of four cubits, not on one side only, but all around. But the width of the house, measured around, was four cubits, to represent the four elements from which all things are composed, especially human bodies. Against these, the holy ones fight and subject themselves to the power of the soul, so that they may deserve to enter the inner regions and know the secrets of the Lord. The sides of the house, which were around it and were separated from the walls of the temple by a space of four cubits, were joined together. So that one side touched another side, and it had a length not of thirty-three cubits, but of sixty-six, that is, sixty-six. In the book of Leviticus, it is said that after one week in the birth of a male child, the mother and the child must wait for thirty-three days in order to undergo purification (Lev. XII). However, if the child is female, the waiting period is doubled to sixty-six days. And because, in order to enter the holy of holies, we need not only the first birth, but also the second, to be born in the flesh and be reborn in the spirit: therefore, the number is not sixty-six, but twice thirty and three, so that both births are owed to God the creator and his mercy, and the two sides of the house that support the structure of the temple are enclosed by a double wall. And what follows according to the Hebrew: 'And there were certain heights that would go out through the wall of the house on the sides all around, to contain, and not touch the wall of the temple,' signifies this: that holy men, amidst the multitude of believers, burst forth through the wall of the temple, through all the sides all around, and uphold the foundations of the Church, and yet do not touch the wall of the temple: content with having seen only, and from afar, worship the indescribable mysteries. Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. (1 Corinthians 13:12-13) But through the circular and spiral ascent we reach the upper room of the temple, which, among all shapes, is also approved by philosophers of this age as the most beautiful: for both the sky, the sun, the moon, and the other stars, and the earth, in human bodies as well, the eyes are like other stars, and the shape of the head, which is the receptacle of all the senses, and the rounded fingers, and women, and arms, exhibit this roundness. Moreover, I think that the upper room of the temple, which we ascend from the lower to the higher, is the same one that Elijah and Elisha had, as mentioned in the book of Kings, and also Tabitha had it in the Acts of the Apostles, which means 'the gazelle' in Greek, and our damsel who had reached the highest through good works (3 Kings 17; 4 Kings 4; Acts 9; Acts 10). But the Apostle Peter, on whom the Lord established the foundations of the Church, surpasses the upper room and comes to the roof, which is more significantly called 'dorma' in Greek, that is, the solarium of the roof, and he came to know the mysteries of the Church, previously unknown to the world. The Savior also made the Pasch in the upper room, and in a large and wide upper room, and after all impurity had been cleansed and the bed prepared, and the spiritual feast prepared, where he delivered the mystery of his body and blood to his disciples, and left to us the eternal celebration of the immaculate Lamb. And he added: And from the middle to the saddest, that is, the third upper room and Thrael, it seems to me that it should be marked with a note. For why do we need to discuss doubtful and unwritten things when we should devote ourselves to the books held by the Hebrews? It follows: 'And I saw in the house a height encompassed by sides, measured by a reed, a space of six cubits; and a width by the outer wall of the side of five cubits; and between the treasuries' (which Symmachus calls 'exedrae') 'a width of twenty cubits around the house.' By these measurements it is shown that we are deserving of ascending not only into the Holy of Holies, but also into their upper room, and that we should always remember that through the six days of our earthly condition, and through the five senses, and through the twenty cubits of width, we ascend to the upper room of the temple, leaving behind earthly humility and the sense of the letter, and we pass over to the summit of the Church, and rejoice in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.' And the entrance, he says, of the side toward the north (Jer. 1:14), from which evil spreads over all the earth, and which the Lord promises to drive away from us, saying: 'And I will drive away from you him who is from the north' (Joel 2:20). And it is a beautiful place for prayer at the entrance opposite the north, so that, according to the Apostle, we may pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5), and say with Jeremiah: 'Let not the apple of my eye be silent' (Lam. 2:18), whether we desire to avoid present evils or give thanks for the past. For as long as we are in the tent of this body, we groan and say: Wretched me, who will set me free from this body of death? (Rom. VII, 24). But there was also a door to the South, which had a place of prayer nearby according to the Hebrew custom, and it extended five cubits around. For after the cold of the North, we pass through the heat of the South, and yet we still seek a place for prayer, in the door of the North, in order to escape dangers; in the South, to give thanks for the past and to have a secure possession of victory. But five cubits, and in this place they indicate divine senses, through which we ascend from earthly things to higher things. And the building, he says, which was separated and turned toward the road facing the sea, was seventy cubits wide: so that after labors and dangers, and the waves and shipwrecks of this world, and seventy years, of which Jeremiah, Daniel, and Zechariah write (Jer. 25 and 29; Dan. 9, Zech. 9); but also the legitimate sabbath of seven decades we may attain: so that we may have eternal rest, and through the width of five cubits we may come to a length of ninety cubits: in which age Sarah gave birth to a son according to the promise, who, at the age of ninety, that is, at the end of nine decades, was born to Abraham, who was one hundred years old (Gen. 21), that is, having the mystery of ten decades. The following Scripture will show what the number signifies.

Commentary on Ezekiel

13–22

(Verses 13 and following) And the house was measured in length a hundred cubits. And the separate building, and its walls, were also a hundred cubits in length. The width before the face of the house, and that which was separate against the East, was a hundred cubits. And the length of the building over against the face thereof, which was separated at the back, was also a hundred cubits. And there were chambers exceeding in height on either side a hundred cubits; and the inner temple, and the porches of the court. Doorways and slanted windows were set outward, in a perimeter on three sides against the threshold of each, and a wooden floor went all the way around. And the earth was up to the windows: and the windows were closed. Above the doors, and up to the inner house; and on the outside, through every wall on the inside; and on the outside, to the measurement. And cherubs and palm trees were carved: and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub: and each cherub had two faces: the face of a man next to the palm tree on one side, and the face of a lion next to the palm tree on the other side; carved throughout the whole house on the inside. From the ground up to the upper gates, there were carved cherubim and palm trees on the wall of the temple. The threshold was square. The sanctuary faced the shape of the wooden altar, its height being three cubits. Its length was two cubits. Its corners, length, and walls were all made of wood. Seventy: It measured against the length of the house, one hundred cubits. And the remaining and separating walls, in the length of one hundred cubits. And the width against the face of the temple, and the remaining opposite one hundred cubits. And he measured the length of the separating wall facing the back of the house, and the remaining width of one hundred cubits. And the temple and the corners, and the outer Aelam covered with wood, and three windows made like a net, for light to shine through, that one could look through them. And the house and the adjacent structures, all covered with wood around. And the floor, and from the floor to the windows. And the windows were opened threefold, so that one could look through them: both into the inner and outer house, and through every wall around inside and outside the measurement, and carved cherubim, and palm trees between cherub and cherub. Two faces of cherub: the face of a man towards the palm tree on one side, and the face of a lion towards the palm tree on the other side: the entire wall was carved all around from the floor to the rafters with cherubim and carved palm trees. And the sanctuary and the temple were opened on four corners towards the face of the saints: a vision as if the appearance of a wooden altar: its height being three cubits, and its length two cubits: and its width two cubits: and it had horns, and its bases and walls were wooden.» The word 'contra', which the LXX translated at the beginning of the testimony, where it is written: 'And he measured against the house', is not found in Hebrew, and therefore it must be marked with an obelus, in order for it to be correct and true, and he measured the house with a length of one hundred cubits, and so on. The Holy of Holies and the inner sanctuary are described, which is said to have a perfect number of ten decades, after ninety cubits, with three sides having one hundred cubits each: so that we may serve the Lord with our mind, speech, and deeds, remembering that Apostolic example in which it is said: 'That we may know the breadth, and length, and depth, and height' (Ephesians 3:18). But what is said in Hebrew, the separate structure and its walls, the Septuagint translates as separating and not clinging to the walls of the temple, but having their own nearby walls. The temple itself, as well as its corners and the porch or entrance hall (propylon), were covered with wood, a symbol of wisdom, as the Scripture records the tree of life being located in paradise (Gen. II). The windows were made in the form of a net, similar to lattice screens, so that they were not covered with stone or glass, but with wooden lattices woven with twists and turns. In Hebrew, they have diagonal windows, which were only present in three parts of the temple: on the right, on the left, and at the back, that is, to the South, North, and West. The eastern part, however, did not have windows because the entrance itself let in bright light from within, and all the interior of the temple was filled with the light of the doors, so that someone could look inside through each window and opening. And not only were the exterior areas covered with wood, but there was such an abundance of wood all around that the floor and everything up to the windows were connected with wood. The windows were opened in three ways according to the Seventy, so that when they were opened, a triple understanding of God's temple would be revealed, according to what is said elsewhere: 'But you, write down these things in three ways' (Prov. 22:20). And through them, both the interior and the exterior are seen: so that we may know the invisible things that are within, and the visible things that are without; so that one thing may show the mind, another the flesh, another the spiritual understanding, and another the simple historical account; and through all the surrounding walls, internally and externally, their measurements were consistent. For nothing is done in the temple of God without reason and measure, especially in the holy of holies made by God. The Cherubim were also carved, no doubt in wood, extending from the floor to the windows, and the carvings were so finely made that they appeared not sculpted, but applied. Cherubim are interpreted as a multitude of knowledge. Therefore, within the innermost part of the temple, after the multitude of knowledge, there are carvings and palm trees, in which the sign of victory is, as the Apostle says: But I press on to the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God, in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). Which palms were between the Cherub and the Cherub, so that one Cherub was surrounded on both sides by two palms: which Cherub did not, as we read at the beginning of this prophet, have four faces, namely, of a man, a lion, a calf, and an eagle; but only two, that is, of a man and a lion, of which the first pertains to reason, and the second to fury, which is more significantly called θυμὸς in Greek. By fury, however, we mean not that which is close to disturbance and vice, but that which consolidates the softness of the mind and makes the soul of the combatant stronger. For in the beginning, we are subject to concupiscence, which pertains to the earthly works; and some are carnal, others are spiritual, of which the ultimate is attributed to eagles. But when we enter the innermost sanctuary, and possess the inner parts of the temple, we have no need for anything else except reason and strength, of which one pertains to perception and prudence, the other to the perseverance of the soul. Therefore, every wall around the temple, from the floor to the ceiling, had Cherubim and palms skillfully carved: after which the sanctuary and the temple were opened from the four corners opposite the faces of the holy ones. First, we have a multitude of knowledge, through which we achieve victory over the enemy, and then a sanctuary and temple are opened to us, which has four angles, and a very strong position, and which is inclined in no direction. For it has the nature of a square measure, so that it may stand on a stable base, and it possesses, in a mystical number that is clear to the wise reader, four elements from which all things consist, solid and everlasting. And they looked at everything opposite the face of the sanctuary: before which was the sanctuary, or in which was the image of the wooden altar three cubits high, and two cubits long, and two cubits wide, which together make seven cubits. This altar had horns; and both its bases and its walls, that is, its sides, were made of wood, in which the holy Scriptures mysteries, human speech cannot explain: how the altar, in which the fire was to be kindled, namely the incense offering, should suffer nothing from the fire, but, so to speak, becomes more pure through the fire. For just as the works of the saints, of which the Apostle writes, 'The work of each will be made manifest; for the Day will disclose it' (1 Corinthians 3:13), do not perish, but are made even more pure through fire, so too the wood of the altar, which is from the trees of paradise, is not consumed by nearby fire, but is made even more pure. It is not surprising to believe this about the sanctuary and the inner parts of the temple and the altar of incense, since even linen, which is a type of flax, or something with a similar appearance to linen, is found to be cleaner the more it is burned. Forgive, reader, the difficulty, and grant pardon to the impoverished understanding. For through slanted and net-like windows, which are always closed, we can barely allow our eye to enter into the inner chamber of our heart, so that all that we see, we see in shadow and in image, and with the Apostle, we cry out: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways (Rom. XI, 13)! And: Who has known the mind of God (Isaiah XL, 13), except the one who is the angel of great counsel, and who has the power to reveal worthy mysteries? And in Rome, they call the projections on the walls of dining rooms 'solaria,' or 'Meniana' from the one who first invented them, which some Greeks call 'exōstras.'

Commentary on Ezekiel

23–26

(Vers. 23 seqq.) And he spoke to me: This is the table before the Lord, and there were two doors in the temple and in the sanctuary, and in the two doors on each side there were two little doors that folded into each other. For there were two doors on each side of the doors, and on the doors of the temple there were carved cherubim and palm tree sculptures, just as they were also engraved on the walls. Therefore, the wood in the front of the vestibule was thicker: on top of which there were slanting windows, and the appearance of palm trees on both sides of the shoulders of the vestibule, according to the width of the house and the thickness of the walls. In this place, the Septuagint edition differs greatly from the Hebrew truth. Therefore, I will only mention that they have translated 'σπουδαῖα' as 'crassioribus lignis', which means necessary or worthy of attention, and 'absconditas' as 'oblique fenestras' or hidden windows. And at the end of the testimony, they have measured the 'laquearia superliminaris' or vestibule, as well as the 'conjuncta' or joined sides of the house, which they have called 'ἐζυγωμένα', and for which we can translate as equal weight. Therefore, that man who had brought the prophet into the hidden part of the temple and had shown him, among other things, the wooden altar which had both corners and horns according to the Septuagint, and wooden walls, said to him: This altar that you see, it is the table in front of the Lord, which burns in the likeness of a ruby and is not consumed; of which the holy one speaks to God: You have prepared a table before me, against those who trouble me (Ps. 22:5). There were also two doors in the temple and in the sanctuary itself, through which the sacraments of both instruments are revealed, and in the two doors on each side there were two little doors, which folded into each other: so that in history you may have spiritual understanding, and in the tropology the truth of history, both of which need each other, and if one is lacking, knowledge is incomplete. But what follows, 'There were two doors on each side of the doors,' is clear according to the letter. For in the larger dining rooms, it is customary for two to adhere and join together: so that the larger entrance is not closed or opened by two large doors, but by four smaller ones. In these doorways of the temple, or the holy of holies, there were carved Cherubs, of which we have mentioned above, and sculptures of palm trees, so that after a multitude of knowledge, victory would be provided to those entering. These sculptures of palm trees were also on all the walls of the temple. And the reasons why the Cherubim were carved on the doors themselves and the images of palm trees were depicted. Also, why the wood on the outer gate vestibule was thicker: so that they would have strength and could receive the carved work. Furthermore, according to spiritual understanding, the doors are more firm and carved, so that they possess both strength and beauty, so that no one like Uzziah can break into the Holy of Holies and claim priesthood for himself (2 Chronicles 26). Moreover, the gates which were windows were oblique, or concealed, so that the very light which was provided from within did not have perfect knowledge, nor clear light and open to all: but for the most part it was concealed. For now we see in an enigma (I Cor. XIII, 12); and we do not yet know as we ought to know: but when that which is perfect has come, then that which was in part, will be destroyed. And there was a likeness of palms here and there. In the interior of the Temple and in the Holy of Holies, he did not place the right hand and the left, so that he would not seem to say anything negative about things that are great and mysterious; but rather on this side and on that side, according to what is written in the Gospel: 'If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also' (Matthew 5:39). Could he not have said, 'and the left'? But when the right is struck, the other right is offered, because in a holy man, both the right and the left are perfect. And in the corners of the vestibule on the sides of the house, and the width of the walls: for which seventy were carried to the vaults of Aelus, that is, the porch, and the sides of the house, of equal weight or measure: through which it is covertly shown that the doorposts of the vestibule (for these seem to signify the corners) and the sides of the house, and the width of the walls, are all full of reason and measure, and that nothing is found in the temple of the Lord that is without order and wisdom.

Commentary on Ezekiel