Ezekiel 40:13 Kommentar

The waters of the sanctuary which this prophet saw in vision (Eze 47:1) are a proper representation of this prophecy. Hitherto the waters have been sometimes but to the ankles, in other places to the knees, or to the loins, but now the waters have risen, and have become "a river which cannot be passed over." Here is one continued vision, beginning at this chapter, to the end of the book, which is justly looked upon to be one of the most difficult portions of scripture in all the book of God. The Jews will not allow any to read it till they are thirty years old, and tell those who do read it that, though they cannot understand every thing in it, "when Elias comes he will explain it." Many commentators, both ancient and modern, have owned themselves at a loss what to make of it and what use to make of it. But because it is hard to be understood we must not therefore throw it by, but humbly search concerning it, get as far as we can into it and as much as we can out of it, and, when we despair of satisfaction in every difficulty we meet with, bless God that our salvation does not depend upon it, but that things necessary are plain enough, and wait till God shall reveal even this unto us. These chapters are the more to be regarded because the last two chapters of the Revelation seem to have a plain allusion to them, as Rev 20:1-15 has to the foregoing prophecy of Gog and Magog. Here is the vision of a glorious temple (in this chapter and ch. 41 and 42), of God's taking possession of it (ch. 43), orders concerning the priests that are to minister in this temple (ch. 44), the division of the land, what portion should be allotted for the sanctuary, what for the city, and what for the prince, both in his government of the people and his worship of God (ch. 45), and further instructions for him and the people, ch. 46. After the vision of the holy waters we have the borders of the holy land, and the portions assigned to the tribes, and the dimensions and gates of the holy city, ch. 47, 48. Some make this to represent what had been during the flourishing state of the Jewish church, how glorious Solomon's temple was in its best days, that the captives might see what they had lost by sin and might be the more humbled. But that seems not probable. The general scope of it I take to be, 1. To assure the captives that they should not only return to their own land, and be settled there, which had been often promised in the foregoing chapters, but that they should have, and therefore should be encouraged to build, another temple, which God would own, and where he would meet them and bless them, that the ordinances of worship should be revived, and the sacred priesthood should there attend; and, though they should not have a king to live in such splendour as formerly, yet they should have a prince or ruler (who is often spoken of in this vision), who should countenance the worship of God among them and should himself be an example of diligent attendance upon it, and that prince, priests, and people, should have a very comfortable settlement and subsistence in their own land. 2. To direct them to look further than all this, and to expect the coming of the Messiah, who had before been prophesied of under the name of David because he was the man that projected the building of the temple and that should set up a spiritual temple, even the gospel-church, the glory of which should far exceed that of Solomon's temple, and which should continue to the end of time. The dimensions of these visionary buildings being so large (the new temple more spacious than all the old Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem of greater extent than all the land of Canaan) plainly intimates, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, that these things cannot be literally, but must spiritually, understood. At the gospel-temple, erected by Christ and his apostles, was so closely connected with the second material temple, was erected so carefully just at the time when that fell into decay, that it might be ready to receive its glories when it resigned them, that it was proper enough that they should both be referred to in one and the same vision. Under the type and figure of a temple and altar, priests and sacrifices, is foreshown the spiritual worship that should be performed in gospel times, more agreeable to the nature both of God and man, and that perfected at last in the kingdom of glory, in which perhaps these visions will have their full accomplishment, and some think in some happy and glorious state of the gospel-church on this side heaven, in the latter days. In this chapter we have, I. A general account of this vision of the temple and city (Eze 40:1-4). II. A particular account of it entered upon; and a description given, 1. Of the outside wall (Eze 40:5). 2. Of the east gate (Eze 40:6-19). 3. Of the north gate (Eze 40:20-23). 4. Of the south gate (Eze 40:24-31) and the chambers and other appurtenances belonging to these gates. 5. Of the inner court, both towards the east and towards the south (Eze 40:32-38). 6. Of the tables (Eze 40:39-43). 7. Of the lodgings for the singers and the priests (Eze 40:44-47). 8. Of the porch of the house (Eze 40:48, Eze 40:49).

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 40 This and the eight following chapters contain a vision of a city and temple herein described, and are thought to be the most difficult part of the whole Bible. The Jews forbid the reading of it till a man is arrived to thirty years of age; and then he must expect to meet with things in it he does not understand, and which must be left until Elijah comes to explain them. Many Christian commentators have omitted the exposition of these chapters; and all acknowledge the difficulties in them. Something however may be got out of them, relating to the Gospel, and Gospel church state, which I am fully persuaded is intended by the city and temple; for that no material building can be designed is clear from this one observation; that not only the whole land of Israel would not be capable of having such a city as is here described built upon it, but even all Europe would not be sufficient; nor the whole world, according to the account of the dimensions which some give of it. The circumference of the city is said to be about eighteen thousand measures, Eze 48:35; but what they are is not certain. Luther makes them to be thirty six thousand German miles; and a German mile being three of ours, the circuit of this city must be above a hundred thousand English miles; and this is sufficient to set aside all hypotheses of a material building, either of city or temple, the one being in proportion to the other. The Jews dream of a third temple to be built, by their vainly expected Messiah; but nothing is more clear than that the true Messiah was to come into the second temple, and by that give it a greater glory than the former ever had; as is evident from Hag 2:6 and, according to Malachi, he was to come suddenly into his temple, which could be no other than the then present one, Mal 3:1, and into which Jesus came, and where he often appeared and taught, as well as entered into it with power and authority, as the Lord and proprietor of it; by which he appeared to be the true Messiah, as by many other characters; see Luk 2:22. There are some who think that Solomon's temple, as it was before it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and as it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel, is here described; and that partly to let the Jews know what a glory to their nation they lost by their sins; and partly that they might have a complete pattern for the rebuilding of it, as well as to comfort them under its present ruins; but there is no agreement between them. This temple was to be built at a distance from the city, several miles; according to some ten, others twenty, and by the best account twenty seven miles; see Eze 45:1, whereas Solomon's temple, and that built by Zerubbabel, were in the city of Jerusalem: nor from either of these flowed waters, which rose up to a river, on the bank of which were many trees for food and medicine, and whose waters were healing, and quickened wherever they came, as from this, Eze 47:1, nor do we ever read of the east gate of these temples always shut, as this, Eze 44:2, and besides, both these temples were profaned and destroyed; whereas this shall never be, but God will dwell in it forever, Eze 43:7, neither place, structure, nor worship, agree. Nor is this city here the same with the New Jerusalem John had a vision of; for though he borrows some of his expressions to describe it from hence; and in some things there is an appearance of agreement, as of the river of water of life, and the tree of life on both sides of the river, Rev 22:1, yet the description agrees not, either with respect to its gates, or its compass; and though there was no temple in that John saw, as there was none in this, it being without the city; yet here is a temple in this vision, and the greatest part of it is taken up in the description of it. It remains that this must be understood mystically and figuratively of the Gospel church, which is often spoken of as a city and temple, Heb 12:22 and which began to have its accomplishment in the first times of the Gospel, immediately after the death and resurrection of Christ; when his disciples had a commission to preach the Gospel to all nations; and who accordingly did, even before the destruction of Jerusalem, and of the material temple, so that Gospel churches were planted in all parts of the world; and especially this was the case, when the Roman empire, called the whole world, became Christian: though the further and greater accomplishment of this vision will be in the latter day; when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea; when Jews and Gentiles will be converted, and Gospel churches be set up everywhere; so that the Gospel church state, or kingdom of Christ, signified by the great mountain in Dan 2:35, and by this large city here, will fill the whole earth: and the rather this may be thought to be the design of this vision to represent it, as it follows the prophecies of the Jews' settlement in their own land; and of the destruction of Gog, or the Turk, attempting to dispossess them; of which in chapters 37-39. In this chapter are first an account of the vision in general, the time, manner, and place of it, Eze 40:1, a description of the person, the builder and owner of the house; and by whom the prophet is shown each of the parts and dimensions of it, whom he calls to him for that purpose, Eze 40:3, and then a particular account is given, which begins with the outward wall around the house, Eze 40:5, then the east gate, with its posts, porch, and chambers, and the outward court with its chambers, Eze 40:6, then the gate of the outward court to the north, with its chambers, and the gate of the inner court over against that, Eze 40:20, then the gate to the south, with its posts, arches, and chambers, Eze 40:24, then the inner court to the east, its gate, chambers, and arches, Eze 40:32, then the north gate, with its posts, chambers, and arches, Eze 40:35, in the porch of which are the tables, on which the sacrifices are slain, Eze 40:39, after which are described the chambers for the singers and the priests, Eze 40:44, then the inner court and altar in it; and the chapter is concluded with the dimensions of the porch of the house, Eze 40:48.

He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another,.... That is, the whole porch, from the extreme part of the roof of one of the little chambers on the north side, to the extreme part of the roof of another of the little chambers on the south; of the roof of these chambers, and the spiritual meaning of it; see Gill on Eze 40:7, the breadth was five and twenty cubits; reckoning six cubits to one chamber on one side, and six to one chamber on the other side, which make twelve; and a cubit and a half to each back wall of the chambers on the north and south; or two cubits to the spaces before the chambers, and a cubit and a half to each of the caves of the chambers, which either way make fifteen cubits; and ten cubits the breadth of the gate; in all five and twenty cubits; or fourteen yards and three inches: door against door; not the door of the outward gate against the door of the inward gate; nor the door of one of the little chambers at the east, to the door of another at the west, running lengthways, and so affording a sight quite through the temple; but the door of one of them on the north side over against the door of another on the south, they answering exactly to each other; which still more confirms the similarity and equality of Gospel churches; See Gill on Eze 40:7.

(Verse 5 and following) And behold, there was a wall surrounding the house on all sides, and in the hand of the man was a measuring reed of six cubits and a handbreadth, and he measured the width of the building with the reed, one reed wide, and the height with the reed, one reed high. And he came to the gate that faced the eastern road, and he went up its steps, and he measured the threshold of the gate with the reed, one reed wide, that is, one reed wide, and the vestibule one reed long, and one reed wide, and between the vestibules five cubits, and the threshold of the gate next to the entrance of the gate inside, one reed wide. And the vestibule of the gate was eight cubits, and the front of it two cubits: but the gate itself was inward. And the chambers of the gate towards the east, three on this side, and three on that side; they measured one against another: and the fronts of the gate on both sides were of one measure. And he measured the length of the porch of the gate, ten cubits: and the breadth of the gate, thirteen cubits. And there was also a space before the chambers, one cubit on this side, and one cubit on that side: and the chambers six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. And he measured the gate from the roof of the chamber to its roof, a width of twenty-five cubits, door against door. Seventy: And behold, a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits and a handbreadth. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed. Then he went inside the gateway which faced toward the east, went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the gateway, which was one reed wide, and the other threshold was one reed wide. Each gate chamber was one reed long and one reed wide; between the gate chambers were five cubits. The threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside gate was one reed. And three equal in width for the stem, and equal in length for the stem, and one gate next to the gate of eight cubits, and one of two cubits, and one gate on the inside, and three gates on each side, and one measurement: one measurement for the gate on both sides. The width of the entrance of the gate was ten cubits, and the width of the gate was thirteen cubits, and one cubit was equivalent to the sight of one finger, and the end of one cubit on both sides, and three cubits here, and three cubits there. And the gate was measured from wall to wall, a width of twenty-five cubits. This gate is opposite the gate.» When I was a boy in Rome, and was being educated in the liberal arts, I used to go with others of the same age and purpose, on Sundays, to visit the tombs of the apostles and martyrs; and I would often enter the crypts, which are dug deep in the earth, and on both sides of those who enter, the bodies of the buried are held in the walls, and everything is so dark that almost the prophetic saying is fulfilled: 'Let the living descend into hell' (Psalm 55:16): and rarely is light admitted from above to temper the horror of the darkness, so that you would think it is not a window, but a hole of light descending: and again, one approaches slowly, and in the blind night that Virgilian phrase is set forth (Aeneid, Book II): Everywhere horror seizes the souls, and the very silence terrifies. Let this statement be for me, so that the wise reader may understand the sentiment I have concerning the explanation of the temple of God in Ezekiel, about which it is written: Clouds and darkness are under His feet (Ps. 96:2). And again: Darkness is His hiding place (Ps. 18:12): Hence Moses also entered into a cloud and darkness, so that he could contemplate the mysteries of the Lord, which the people, being far away and remaining below, could not see (Exod. 24 and 34). After forty days, the common people were unable to see the face of Moses because it was glorified, or as it is written in Hebrew, Moses had horns on his face. Similarly, while reading the description of the mystical temple (which the Jews believe should be built literally upon the coming of their own Christ, whom we believe to be the Antichrist, but we refer to the Church of Christ, which we see being built daily in his saints), whenever the eye of the heart opens, it happens to me that I think I see and possess the bridegroom and joyfully say: 'I have found him whom my soul loves; I will hold him, and not let him go.' (Song of Solomon 3:4). Then again, the divine word deserts me, the bridegroom flees from my hands, and my eyes are blinded by darkness, so that I am compelled to say: 'O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!' How inscrutable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! (Rom. 11:33) And what is written elsewhere: The judgments of the Lord are a great abyss. (Ps. 36:7) And: Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice. (Ps. 129:1) And that of Elisha, who followed with his eyes his master being taken up, saying: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen! (2 Kings 2:12) Therefore, it must be simply confessed that the temple of the blessed Ezekiel, which all ages have been silent about, I do not wish to discuss rashly, but to demonstrate the conjecture of my mind to the readers with faith and fear of God; so that if I should offer in the tabernacle of God the skins of goats and hairs, by which the thorns and thistles of sins may be protected, and rains and storms may be kept out: let another, who is rich, according to the quality of his merits, offer iron, or bronze, or silver, and gold and precious stones, and not despise our offerings, because they are lesser, but rejoice in his own wealth. For if the lower parts are not present, the upper parts cannot exist. And in order for the greater things to be praised, they increase in comparison to the smaller things. Let us therefore see what Ezekiel, upon entering the building of the city facing south, first saw and then heard: 'And behold,' he says, 'there was a wall on the outside surrounding the house on all sides.' Regarding the wall, which Aquila and Theodotion interpreted as 'περίβολον', Symmachus and the Seventy translated it as 'περίβολος'. Therefore, the wall, or 'περίβολος', surrounded the house, that is, the temple of the Lord on all sides, and it had a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, who not only held a geometric string and a mason's trowel, but also held a measuring rod in his hand, the measurement of which is not explicitly stated, but is now given as six cubits and a palm, which is more accurately called 'παλαιστή' in Greek and is the sixth part of a cubit. Moreover, the word 'spithamen' is used to mean 'palm,' as some use 'palm' to distinguish it. Furthermore, they are accustomed to call a wrestler a 'palm'. Therefore, with a measuring rod, he measured the width and height of the wall, and both, that is, the width and height, were six cubits and one palm. And since there were many gates, he did not want to enter through the other gates, but through the one that faced the eastern region. And because the place was not level, and the wall went around, and the house of God itself was built on higher ground, therefore he entered, or rather, ascended through steps. These are referred to as 'LXX seven' alone, when in Hebrew and in other translations we read only the word 'steps' without a number. Having entered the gate, he immediately measured the threshold of the gate, which the Greeks call LXX θεὸς: for which it is written in Hebrew Seph. And I think the diligent and studious reader should be reminded: if, however, he is led by the knowledge of the Scriptures and not by the empty declamations of orators, so that he knows nearly all the Hebrew words and names, which have been greatly corrupted by age in the Greek and Latin translations, distorted by the fault of the scribes, and while they are written about in their uncorrected form, made even more uncorrected, having turned into Sarmatian instead of Hebrew, nay of no nation at all, since they have ceased to be Hebrew and have not yet begun to be foreign. The LXX also translated the word aelam (αἰλὰμ) as itself, which Symmachus interpreted as anteliminare in the following passages. There were two bedchambers, or cubicles, and παραστάδαs which were five cubits long, and another threshold of the gate next to the vestibule on the inside with a single reed. The third vestibule of the gate also had eight cubits, and in front of it, or on its borders, two cubits. In order to prevent anyone from confusing this vestibule with the previous one, he added: This vestibule is the inner vestibule of the gate, for which the LXX translated first, second, and third vestibule. But the chambers, that is, the bedrooms, which were built after the Eastern gate in the vestibules, faced the Eastern road. And so that we may know how many chambers there were, it is joined, three on this side and three on that: namely, facing North and South, and facing the Eastern road: and the measurements of the fronts were the same on both sides. Also, the measurement of the width of the gate threshold was taken, and it was found to be ten cubits, and in length thirteen cubits, and the ends of the chambers were narrowed down to one cubit, or as Symmachus translated, "παραστάδων", and each front had one cubit. But the chambers, or παραστάδες, and as the LXX have rendered it θεηλὰθ, had on each side six cubits. And he measured the door of the chamber, or παραστάδος, from the roof of the one chamber to the roof of the other, and it was twenty-five cubits wide. So there was only space from the door to the door, or from the gate to the gate. This we have briefly spoken to suggest more the divine presence than to explain, desiring to outline the picture according to the obscure and almost unseen letter. Furthermore, we will set down a few things that we can suspect narrowly and with doubts. The Apostle Paul, desiring the Ephesians to understand more sacred things, prays that they may be filled with the wisdom and love of the Lord, so that rooted and founded, they may be able to know and comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and the profound riches of Him. And he speaks to them: Therefore, you are by no means strangers but fellow citizens of the saints and domestics of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself as the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure grows together to form a holy temple in the Lord. In Him, you also are built together to be a dwelling place of God in the Holy Spirit. Peter the Apostle also speaks in almost the same words, because of the same spirit, in his Epistle: For if you have believed that the Lord is good, approaching him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men but chosen, and honorable before God, and be yourselves built up as living stones into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2, 3-5). From this it is clear that the Lord and Savior, who is the true architect, tests the stones that can be placed in the foundations of the temple, both in the middle and in the higher places, and whether they are of a less solid strength in the wall and whether they can be placed outside the temple in the circuit of the enclosure. For it is not of little strength or of minimal firmness to support the stones placed on top. Hence the Apostle writes to the believers: Bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). And in another place it is written: we should not take on a burden that we cannot bear. But the reed of measurement, which had six cubits and one palm, signifies our conversation with God, which is contained in the six days in which the world was made, and signifies the reason for each work, so that one thing belongs to the work, another to the mind. Hence, the width is equal to the height: the width refers to the works, as we said; the height refers to the soul, which hastens to lofty things. But let it suffice to have warned once: to know me by name, and to be called by a neutral gender, but for the sake of simplicity and ease of understanding, and the common usage, to use the masculine gender. For our concern is not to avoid grammatical errors, but to explain the obscurity of the Holy Scripture with whatever words. Therefore, a man enters, whose name is East, through the Eastern gate, to enlighten those whom he finds in the first part of the entrance hall, whether in the entrance itself: not through one, but through several steps, whose number is kept silent, so that the difficulty of ascent may be apparent, and for whatever number of steps you propose, you may know that it is less than the doubt that is left behind. I consider this to be the gate, of which it is sung in the Psalms: This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter through it (Ps. 118:20). And the threshold of the gate is measured, so that we may know that all the knowledge of God is open. This threshold is said to be one reed in width, and it is silent about height and length. For it is both the way and the entrance, and through it one must proceed to the inner parts (although in this place the Septuagint unnecessarily speaks of length, or, as is contained in most manuscripts, height); but the chambers, that is, the bedrooms and alcoves, have individual reeds in both length and width, but there are five cubits between each chamber, so that the inner chambers have the full measure of a reed, that is, six cubits and one palm, as the works and calculations agree. Those things which are external, that is, between chamber and chamber, are five cubits; for the secrets of Christ have not yet been penetrated, and they cannot say: The king has brought me into his chamber (Song of Songs 1:3). And elsewhere: All the glory of the king's daughter is within (Psalm 44:14). But while the disciples were staying at home with Christ, they could not hear his mysteries, and they desired to go outside to hear the word of God; and therefore a measurement of five cubits is placed in them, so that they may be taught to refer everything to the five senses. The threshold of the other gate, as it is contained in the Septuagint, of the second vestibule and third, is of the same size as one reed. After this vestibule, that is, the threshold of the gate, eight cubits are placed at the entrance, so that the inner parts of the vestibule do not hold a number of seven, but of eight, which pertain to the sacrament of the resurrection and the Lord's Day. And in front, he says, of the same vestibule, there were two cubits, which pertain either to both Testaments, or to the letter and the spirit, or to the mystery of the pair of tongs, which is included in Isaiah about the altar of coal, and is brought to cleanse the lips of the prophet. And so that we may know what this vestibule is, which is terminated by eight and two cubits, he explains it more clearly: The vestibule of the gate was inside, through which we came to the temple of God. There were also chambers and rooms which were on the way to the eastern gate, for which the Septuagint write 'Elau', there were three on one side and three on the other, each measuring one, that is, a reed which had six cubits and one palm, as mentioned above: And one reed for length, and one reed for width, and between the chambers five cubits. Therefore, we should not think that there are only two bedchambers, but rather six on each side, to indicate the number six, which is also shown in the water pots of the Gospel (John 2), in which water was turned into wine, and the Jewish water is daily turned into wine, which gladdens the heart of man, and becomes sweeter with the blood of Christ. He also measured the width of the threshold of the ten-cubit gate, which is a perfect number and is contained either in the Decalogue or in the sacraments of the four Gospels. Whoever begins with one, reaches four in such a way as to fill the number ten. Its length was thirteen cubits: for which the width is again placed at seventy, which seems to me to have been corrupted by the carelessness of scribes. For the Scripture would not have said the width in one place and again the width of ten or thirteen cubits. However, it can be understood as the gate of the threshold, in which the number of the Old and New Testament is consecrated, or the Lord himself, who says: I am the gate (John 10:9); or certainly all the saints through whom we enter into the knowledge of God, to whom the Apostle Paul spoke: My mouth is open to you, Corinthians; and: Enlarge yourselves also (2 Corinthians 6:11). But thirteen cubits after the number eighteen, they contain the sacrament of the books of Moses, which are also shown in the five loaves (Matthew 14), and in the Samaritan woman of the Gospel (John 4), who is accused of having had five husbands, and the sixth one she thought she had, she did not have: and yet the number eight, and the number five, is completed by one cubit, that is, the fourteenth ((or thirteenth)): because in Christ all things are recapitulated. It is said: 'And one cubit at each end: for the old and new Testaments together make up one measurement of Christ, and one cubit contains the height of the ark of Noah, which is thirty cubits. However, the rooms, as the Septuagint has it, either as 'thau' or 'thee', changing and altering the names in each place as they wished, were six cubits on either side, which is called 'here and there', and they did not have a span or additional measure placed on top, which would have signified the present life leading to future blessedness, but only six cubits.' And it is measured from the roof of the chamber to the roof or wall of it, and it is found to be twenty-five cubits in width; which number, though multiplied four times, still relates to sense. For if you arrange five cubits against it five times, you will produce the number twenty-five, which is between the roof of the chambers and the roof; and yet both, when placed opposite each other, have a doorway facing the doorway. Let these things not seem frivolous to the reader, although they may displease even myself who speak, feeling like I am knocking on a closed door; but they are to be read with permission: otherwise, I could simply confess my ignorance and remove every desire of the students. For just as we are far from perfect knowledge, we consider a minor fault at least somewhat lighter than saying absolutely nothing.

And he measured the gate from the roof of one chamber to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits. We have often said already that the gate can signify faith, and through that same faith our Lord and Redeemer himself, the Mediator of God and men, Jesus Christ, because through the faith that is in him the entrance to life lies open. But we also not undeservedly take sacred Scripture, which opens for us that same faith into the understanding of our Redeemer, as the gate, because when it is known as it ought to be, we enter into understanding invisible things. If therefore in this place, as we have said before, the gate is understood as Scripture, we must ask what is signified by the roof of the bedchamber, what by the roof of the gate. But the bedchamber has a roof, because the mind of lovers is hidden, and the fervor of love is still in secret. The gate also has a roof, because all of Scripture indeed was written for our sake, but not all of it is understood by us. For many things in it are written so openly that they feed the little ones; but certain things are veiled with more obscure meanings, so that they may exercise the strong, inasmuch as things understood with effort are more pleasing. Some things, however, are so closed in it that while we do not understand them, recognizing the weakness of our blindness, we advance more toward humility than toward understanding. For there are certain things that speak so of heavenly matters that they lie open only to those supernal citizens remaining in their homeland, and are not yet revealed to us who are pilgrims. For if someone journeying to an unknown city should hear many things about it along the way, some things indeed he gathers by reason, but other things, because he does not yet see them, he in no way knows; but the citizens themselves who are in that city both see what is left unsaid about it and understand what is said about it. We therefore are still on the way; we hear many things about that heavenly homeland; some we already understand through spirit and reason, but certain things not understood we venerate. Whence also it is written concerning that same sacred Scripture: Stretching out the heaven like a skin, who covers its upper parts in the waters. For heaven is stretched out like a skin, because through the mouths of mortals Sacred Scripture is unfolded to us in expositions. But there are waters in heaven, namely the higher multitudes, that is, the hosts of angels, in whom the upper parts of that same heaven are covered, because those things which are higher and more obscure in sacred Scripture lie open only to angelic spirits, and remain as yet unknown to us. Therefore the bridal chamber has a roof, because the neighbor does not yet know how much he is loved by his neighbor. The gate also, that is, sacred Scripture, has a roof, because we cannot yet penetrate with our understanding all the things we hear concerning heavenly matters. It remains therefore that in those things which we understand, we should walk in daily progress of charity. And although our neighbors do not see in us how much they are loved by us, and although we humbly venerate in sacred Scripture those things which we do not yet understand, nevertheless in those things which we have attained by understanding, we ought to be enlarged through good works. Hence it is also said: "And he measured the gate from the roof of one chamber to the roof of the other, a width of twenty-five cubits." For we are endowed with five senses of the flesh, namely sight, taste, smell, hearing, and touch. This same number five, multiplied by itself, rises to twenty-five. Moreover, we cannot perform anything outwardly from the heavenly commandments without these five bodily senses. For the mind as judge presides inwardly over these its functions, and recognizes what it can do outwardly in justice or mercy, as if these functions were reporting and serving it. When therefore the mind is filled with fear of the Almighty Lord, it is necessary that our five senses serve us as subordinate functions in good works. When through them we begin to do something mercifully, mercy itself opens wider daily, and expands as a kind of bosom of good work. Therefore the five senses are multiplied in themselves, when what is done through them in good work is multiplied daily through progress. Hence the width is said to be twenty-five cubits, because fear, stinginess, and sloth are narrowness. For whoever fears to give bread to the needy lest he himself lack it, is still in the narrowness of fear. Whoever does not extend a garment to one who is cold, because he desires to have it for himself alone, is still constrained by the narrowness of his own stinginess. Whoever does not do good because he grows lazy through lukewarmness of spirit, his very torpor is narrowness for him. But to look upon the needy, to hear their prayer, to bestow alms, to provide defense, and not to fear the enmities of any adversary for the sake of defending that poor person—this is great breadth of mind. Let therefore that width which lies between the chamber and the gate be measured at twenty-five cubits, because in the operation of the external senses it is proved and known what generosity of goodness is held within. For what you have already learned from Sacred Scripture and how much you silently love your neighbor, you show in the breadth of good work. Let the width between the chamber and the gate be twenty-five cubits, because between charity and knowledge good work is the witness. If perhaps this should be lacking, it is certainly established that you have neither known God nor loved your neighbor; that is, you have neither the gate of sacred eloquence nor the chamber of love. And it should be noted that it is said to have been measured from the roof of the chamber to the roof of the gate. For through those things which are covered from us in sacred Scripture, our humility is proven, because whatever we do not understand in it, we ought not proudly to criticize but humbly to venerate. Hence it is also written of the Lord: His eyelids question the sons of men. For his eyelids are judgments which close something to us and open something. By opening they question us whether we are not exalted by understanding. By closing they question us whether we do not despise what we are unable to understand. Moreover, through those things which we do not speak to our neighbors concerning our charity, we are more truly proven in the sight of God. For in the mouth of some charity is feigned, but in the hearts of others it is true. And often concerning charity what is not is displayed, and what is is not demonstrated. Therefore good work speaks our love toward our neighbor more than the tongue, so that in the good work itself our neighbor may see himself loved. And when we cannot accomplish as much as we wish, let the hidden things of our love suffice for almighty God. Therefore let there be great width from the roof of the chamber to the roof of the gate, so that from the hidden things of our charity on account of our neighbor up to the humility of knowledge and on account of God, insofar as we understand and are able, we may always do good works. The gate itself can also be understood as the entrance to the heavenly kingdom. Now the chamber has a roof, and the gate also has a roof, because both how great our charity is toward God and neighbor is not known, and when we shall be led from this world to the rest of eternal life is unknown. For our Creator willed the day of our death to be unknown to us, so that, while it is always unknown, it may always be believed to be near; and each person may be all the more fervent in action, the more uncertain he is about his calling. Hence also a width of twenty-five cubits extends from the chamber to the gate, because through the charity which we have once conceived toward God and neighbor, we ought to work manifoldly and unceasingly in every way we can until we enter the kingdom. Therefore from the roof of the chamber to the roof of the gate there is great width, because from the grace by which we begin to love God, up to that very love which opens for us the entrance to the heavenly kingdom, we ought to expand ourselves in the great performance of good works: to suffer adversities patiently, to bestow good things willingly, to love even those whom we suffer, to give away what we have, not to covet what we do not have, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to consider their goods as our own, to weep over their evils as if they were our own. In such a mind, therefore, there is great width, in which there is no narrowness of hatreds. This width we have indeed conceived from love of God and neighbor, and we have learned it through the sacred commandments. For we understand those twenty-five cubits of width not unfittingly, if we wish to examine them according to sacred Scripture. For he had said that the chambers were measured at six cubits, and on the sixth day man was created; on that day also the Lord is described as having completed His works. Hence the number six is customarily used to signify perfection. And because we have learned every good work through the four books of the holy Gospel, if we multiply six by four, we arrive at twenty-four. To this a unit is added, because there is One through whom all do good works. Therefore this width ought to be expressed as twenty-five cubits, because every good work is known, as we said, through the four books of the holy Gospel, and is completed in the knowledge and confession of the one God.

And door against door. In this place, "contra" (against/opposite) is not placed in opposition to adversity, but to rectitude. For a door is opposite a door when one arrives by a straight path from the outer entrance to the inner one. In the knowledge of almighty God, our first door is faith, while the second is the vision of Him, to which we arrive by walking through faith. For in this life we enter through the former, so that we may afterward be led to the latter. Therefore a door is opposite a door, because through the entrance of faith the entrance to the vision of God is opened. But if anyone wishes to understand both of these doors as pertaining to this life, neither does this conflict with a sound understanding. For often we wish to consider the invisible nature of almighty God, but we are by no means able to do so; and the soul, wearied by these very difficulties, returns to itself, and makes for itself steps of ascent from itself, so that it may first consider itself, if it is able, and then investigate, as far as it can, that nature which is above it. But if our mind has been scattered among carnal images, it is by no means able to consider either itself or the nature of the soul, because by however many thoughts it is led, it is blinded as if by that many obstacles. The first step, therefore, is for the soul to gather itself to itself; the second is to see what it is like when gathered; the third is to rise above itself and subject itself by directing its attention to the contemplation of the invisible Creator. But it can by no means gather itself to itself unless it has first learned to banish from the eyes of the mind the phantasms of earthly and heavenly images, to reject and trample underfoot whatever from sight, whatever from hearing, whatever from smell, whatever from touch and bodily taste presents itself to its thought, so that it may seek itself within as it is without these things. For when it thinks about these things, it turns over within itself, as it were, certain shadows of bodies. All things must therefore be driven away by the hand of discernment from the eyes of the mind, so that the soul may consider itself as it was created under God and above the body, so that, vivified by what is above, it may vivify the lower realm which it administers. The soul has been infused into the body in such a way that it is not divided into parts according to the parts of the limbs. For if any part of the body is struck in any place, the whole soul feels pain. In a wondrous manner, while presiding over the limbs with one and the same vivification, though it is not diverse in its nature, it nevertheless performs diverse functions through the body. For it is the soul that sees through the eyes, hears through the ears, smells through the nostrils, tastes through the mouth, touches through all the limbs, and by touching distinguishes smooth from rough. And although it performs such diverse operations through the senses, it arranges these not as diverse things but by that one reason in which it was created. Therefore, when the soul thinks about itself without images of the body, it has already entered the first door. But from this door it stretches toward another, so that it may contemplate something of the nature of almighty God. The soul in the body is the life of the flesh; but God, who vivifies all things, is the life of souls. If, therefore, the vivified life is of such magnitude that it cannot be comprehended, who can comprehend with the intellect how great is the majesty of the vivifying life? But to consider and discern this very thing is already in some measure to enter, because from its own estimation the soul gathers what it may perceive concerning the uncircumscribed Spirit, who incomprehensibly governs those things which he incomprehensibly created. For our Creator presides over His creation in a manner far beyond comparison, and He makes certain things to exist, yet not to live; certain things indeed to exist and live, yet not to be able to discern anything about life; and certain things to exist, live, and discern. And He who is one works all things, but is not divided in all things. For He is truly supreme, and never unlike Himself. But the soul, although by nature it is not different from itself, nevertheless is different through thought. For in that very moment and instant when it thinks about sight, it forgets to think about hearing; and in that moment and instant when it thinks about hearing or taste, it cannot think about smell or touch, because through attention and forgetfulness it always becomes unlike itself, so that now it holds this in thought, now that. But Almighty God, because He is not unlike Himself, sees by the same power by which He hears all things, creates by the same power by which He judges what is created. Therefore His seeing is at the same time to administer all things, and His administering is to behold. Nor does He help the just by one thought and condemn the unjust by another, but by one and the same force of His singular nature, always unchanging in Himself, He disposes dissimilar things. But why should we marvel at this concerning the power of the Creator, when we behold traces of His power even in creatures? For the nature of clay and wax is different. But the ray of the sun is not different, and yet although it is not different, what it works in clay and wax is different, because by one and the same heat of its fire it hardens clay and melts wax. But perhaps this is in the nature of the clay or wax, not in the substance of the sun itself, which seems to work different effects in different natures. But Almighty God has it in Himself to dispose changeable things without change, to do different things without diversity in Himself, to form dissimilar things without alternation of thoughts. Therefore God, who is never unlike Himself, works dissimilar things in a manner far dissimilar, He who both is everywhere and is wholly everywhere. For He says: Heaven is my throne, and earth is the footstool of my feet. And of Him it is written: Who measures heaven with a span, and encloses the earth in His fist. From which matter it is necessary to consider that He who presides over heaven as His seat is both above and within. And He who encloses heaven in His palm and the earth in His fist is also outside, above, and below. Therefore, to indicate that Almighty God is interior and superior to all things, He declared that heaven itself is His seat. But to show that He surrounds all things, He asserts that He measures heaven with His palm and encloses the earth in His fist. He Himself therefore is interior and exterior, He Himself is lower and higher: higher by ruling, lower by bearing; interior by filling, exterior by surrounding. And He is so within that He is also without; He so surrounds that He penetrates; He so presides that He bears; He so bears that He presides. Therefore, when the soul, lifted up to itself, understands its own measure, and recognizes that it transcends all corporeal things, and stretches from its own understanding toward the understanding of its Author, what else does it behold now but the door which is opposite the door? Whence the Prophet also says to the Author of all: Your knowledge has become wonderful from me, because however much the soul may strive, it cannot suffice to penetrate itself perfectly, how much less the magnitude of Him who was able to create the soul as well? And when he labored in understanding the knowledge of God, growing weary and failing he added: It is strengthened, and I shall not be able to reach it. But when we strive and stretch forward, desiring to perceive something of the invisible nature, we grow weary, are beaten back, are repelled; and if we cannot penetrate the interior things, nevertheless from the outer door we already see the inner door. For the very labor of contemplation is a door, because it shows something of what is within, even if there is not yet the power of entering.

THE REMAINING CHAPTERS, THE FORTIETH THROUGH FORTY-EIGHTH, GIVE AN IDEAL PICTURE OF THE RESTORED JEWISH TEMPLE. (Eze. 40:1-49) beginning of the year--the ecclesiastical year, the first month of which was Nisan. the city . . . thither--Jerusalem, the center to which all the prophet's thoughts tended.