Ezekiel 41:16

(16) The door posts.—This is the same word as in Eze_40:6-7, &c., and means thresholds. The various particulars mentioned—the thresholds, the windows, and the galleries—are all to be taken in connection with the “he measured” of Eze_41:15, and are details of the three buildings there spoken of, yet they did not all of them necessarily belong to each building.

Narrow windows.—Rather, closed windows. (See Note on Eze_40:16.)

On their three stories.—“Stories” is not in the original, and introduces a wrong idea. He measured the three buildings (Eze_41:15), and various details about their three (constructions) (Eze_41:16).

Over against the door, cieled with wood round about.—This is really a parenthesis, although scarcely intelligible as it stands. Translate, Opposite the thresholds (was) a ceiling of wood round about. The part strictly opposite the threshold was the lintel; but the expression is here broad enough to include also the sides of the doorway. The doorways in the various buildings were all ceiled with wood, and it is afterwards said that this was carved.

And from the ground.—After the parenthesic, the construction dependent upon “he measured” is resumed. As everything else was measured, so also the space between the ground and the windows; then, again, it is mentioned parenthetically that the windows were covered, viz., as in Eze_40:16, by lattices fastened so as not to be opened.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. over against the door] the threshold. It looks as if some words had fallen out of the text here. LXX. reads: and the house and the adjoining parts were wainscotted with wood round about (and the floor). The present Heb. text, even if read, and over against the threshold was a wainscotting of wood, is too short to give the necessary sense—“over against the threshold” would be rather obscure as an expression for the whole interior of the house. The words “over against the threshold” can hardly be regarded as a definition of the locality of the “galleries,” as if these were borders or gangs (dado) going round the foot of the walls (Sm.).

Eze_41:16 b seq. The ornamentation of the interior. Here also there is some obscurity: and from the floor unto the windows (and the windows were covered), 17 and unto above the door, and unto the inner house and without, and on all the walls round about in the inner (house) and the outer [were measures and], 18 there were made cherubs and palm-trees, so that, &c. The words in parenthesis “and the windows,” &c., may not be original. The phrase “and without” hardly refers to the porch, rather to the outer house or holy place; because it does not appear that cherubs were carved on the wall of the porch. The word “measures” is wanting in LXX. If genuine the term “measures” might possibly imply that the wall was panelled into compartments, and that in each of these was carved a cherub and palm. The term is used once of garments (Psa_133:2) from the meaning to spread out or cover, but could hardly be used of a casing or wainscotting of wood. Boettcher suggested “carvings,” a sense which would add nothing to the general meaning. Eze_41:20 is rather in favour of the omission of the word.

Eze_41:18-19. Only the two chief faces of the cherub were represented, that of a man and of a lion.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eze 41:16 The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows [were] covered;

Ver. 16. And the narrow windows … and the windows were covered.] Here Jerome cries out, "Oh the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" Here be windows, but narrow and covered, which shows that we see not yet, nor can see, into heavenly things but obscurely and obliquely. How little a thing doth man understand of God. {Job 26:14} The holy place was without windows, only there burned lights perpetually; but in the most holy place there was no light at all.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE EXACT INTERIOR MEASUREMENTS OF THE TEMPLE ARE GIVEN AND ITS ORNAMENTS DESCRIBED, WHICH WERE LIKE THOSE IN SOLOMON’S TEMPLE (1Ki_6:29), Eze_41:16-26.

16. The doorposts — R.V., “threshold” and “galleries.” Probably both inner and outer temples and porch were thus wainscoted with wood. It is difficult to tell what is meant by the “closed windows.” It may mean that they were protected by a latticework, or that they also were wainscoted as well as the space from the ground up to them (Eze_41:16). Toy renders, “The nave and the inner room and the porch were paneled, and all three had latticed windows round about.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

covered--being the highest windows they were "covered" from the view below. Or else "covered with lattice-work."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The door posts and the narrow windows,.... Of the inner temple or holy of holies; for this is what is last mentioned; of the door posts of it, see Eze 41:3, in the holy of holies, both in Moses's tabernacle, and Solomon's temple, were no windows; Jehovah dwelt in thick darkness, Kg1 8:12, but in this inner temple, or the more perfect state of the church on earth, there will be much light: these windows are said to be "narrow", that is, without, but broad within; and let in a great deal of light, which, though not discerned by those without, yet comfortably enjoyed by those within; and will be so great, that there will be no need of the sun or moon; Christ the Lamb will be the light of this state; and the nations of the saved and their kings will walk in the light of it, Rev 21:23,

and the galleries round about on their three stories; these seem to be the same with the side chambers, which were three storey high, and were on the three sides of the house, west, north, and south; see Eze 41:6,

over against the door, cieled with wood round about: with cedar wood, as the Targum: or, "answerable were the doors cieled with wood" (l); door, for doors; that is, the doors of these side chambers, which answered to one another, were lined with cedar wood; all which doors, door posts, windows, and galleries, were severally measured:

and from the ground up to the windows; from the bottom of the floor of the most holy place up to the windows, which were above the third storey of the side chambers, he measured also:

and the windows were covered; either by the jetting out of the side chambers, so that they could not well be seen in the courts below; or they were lattice windows with such small holes as at a distance were scarcely discernible; or were covered with curtains within; or being very narrow on the outside, though broad within, looked as if they were covered; denoting how impenetrable the glories of this state are to those that are without, Rev 22:15.

(l) "contra uniuscujusque limen, stratumque ligno per gyrum in circuitu", V. L. Capellus.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Galleries - The upper story of the side-chambers was probably built in the form of an open gallery.

Over against the door - The rows of the side-chambers extended to the front of the temple, so that they were “over against” the opening, but did not extend so far as the porch.

Cieled - Overlaid. Pillars, galleries, narrow windows were overlaid with wood 1Ki 6:15-16.

Were covered - With wood.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

About. Thus he intimates the inner temple, which was covered with boards. --- Windows. The temple was hidden so far by the chambers; or rather he measured (Calmet) "the ground and up to the windows, which were" shut up with lattices, affording light over the doors (Haydock) and apartments, fifteen cubits from the ground.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

What are here recounted were all measured by the angel, and with the same reed or measure.

The door posts: see Eze 40:48,49. It is likely he means the door posts of every gate, or porch in every court.

Windows: see Eze 40:16.

Galleries: see Eze 41:5,15.

Three stories; see Eze 40:6,7; or parts, or buildings; temple, separate place, and on the court walls.

The door; the singular for the plural number; the doors, which were

ceiled with wood, were measured; this ceiling was with choicest wood.

From the ground up to the windows; the height of these windows were taken too.

Were covered; had lids or curtains to cover them, and lattices too, say some.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Verses 16, 17 introduce several new details.

(1) That the door-posts (rather, thresholds), and the narrow (or, closed) windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, were covered with a wainscoting of wood from the ground up to the windows.

(2) That the windows, whether openings on the first floor (Kliefoth) or skylights in the roof (Hengstenberg), were "covered," which may signify, as Ewald and Plumptre think, that they were not left open, but protected by a lattice-work of bars or planks; or, as Currey suggests, that they were wainscoted as well as the space from the ground to the windows.

(3) That nothing was constructed by caprice or at random, but that all about the building proceeded by exact measurement.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

opposite the posts was a wooden board [Heb. שְּׂחִיף עֵץ.] Jonathan renders: a board of cedar wood.

opposite the posts opposite the posts of the entrance, within the interior space framed by the thickness of the entrance, which was covered with wood (not found in all editions). I found.

round about That is to say: here and there, on both sides of the interior of the entrance.

and from the floor until the windows The base of the wall was made into a wall of cedar wood boards opposite it, and it ascended upward until the windows, and the windows were also covered with it. It is thus found that the windows were also closed from the inside, as it is said (here) (40:16): “And closed windows to the house.” (sic) And all this was [done] on the inside because they would spread upon it a gold plating - for the entire inside was spread over with gold - and gold cannot be spread upon stones.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.