Ezekiel 40:5

And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a handbreadth), and he measured the wall to be one rod thick and one rod high.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The visionary "man" addresses Ezekiel in a temple vision, instructing him to observe and record the structure's dimensions. This occurs immediately after Ezekiel is commanded to look, hear, and report everything he sees to the house of Israel.

The words — חוֹמָה (choMah) denotes "a wall," while סָבִיב (saViv) emphasizes its continuous perimeter around the house. בְּיַד (beYad) places the measuring rod directly in the man’s hand, grounding the vision in tangible measurement.

The thread — The vision of a measured, walled sanctuary echoes the complete boundary described in Ezekiel 42:20 and the protective imagery of Isaiah 26:1. These references collectively frame the temple as a defined, sacred space set apart from the surrounding area.

Why it lands — The text demands precise observation and accurate reporting of divine architecture rather than abstract speculation. It calls the reader to value God's ordered design and to communicate it faithfully to the community.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 42:20 So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.
Isaiah 26:1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts.
Deuteronomy 3:11 (For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
Psalms 125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.
Isaiah 60:18 No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
Zechariah 2:5 For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
Revelation 21:12 The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and twelve angels at the gates.