Ezekiel 46:1

“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘The gate of the inner court that faces east must be kept shut during the six days of work, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Lord Yahweh issues a direct command to the prophet Ezekiel regarding the operational rules for the inner court gate. The directive specifies a fixed schedule for the east-facing gate of the sanctuary courtyard.

The words — שַׁעַר (Sha'ar) denotes the physical gate, while פְּנִימִית (penimit) specifies its location within the inner courtyard. Together they establish the precise architectural boundary subject to the divine timetable.

The thread — The east-facing gate motif appears in Ezekiel 44:1 as a permanently shut entrance, while the Sabbath and New Moon worship cycle echoes Isaiah 66:23. The six-day work period directly parallels the labor command in Exodus 20:9.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize a divinely mandated separation between ordinary labor and holy observance. It demands strict adherence to a fixed schedule where the east gate remains closed on workdays and opens only for Sabbath and New Moon gatherings.

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

Thus saith the Lord God; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.

Cross-references

Isaiah 66:23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.
Ezekiel 44:1 The man then brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary that faced east, but it was shut.
Exodus 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Ezekiel 8:16 So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.
Ezekiel 45:17 And it shall be the prince’s part to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—for all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.
Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
Ezekiel 46:6 On the day of the New Moon he shall offer a young, unblemished bull, six lambs, and a ram without blemish.
Luke 13:14 But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
Hebrews 4:9 There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God.