Bible Encyclopedia: Partition

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

PARTITION, THE MIDDLE WALL OF

par-tish'-un, par-tish'-un (to mesotoichon tou phragmou (Ephesians 2:14)):

1. The Barrier in the Temple

What Paul here asserts is that Christ is our peace, the peace of both Jewish and Gentile believers. He has made them both to be one in Himself, and has broken down the middle wall of partition which divided them from one another. Then the apostle regards Jew and Gentile as two, who by a fresh act of creation in Christ are made into one new man. In the former of these similes he refers to an actual wall in the temple at Jerusalem, beyond which no one was allowed to pass unless he were a Jew, the balustrade or barrier which marked the limit up to which a Gentile might advance but no farther. Curiously, this middle wall of partition had a great deal to do with Paul's arrest and imprisonment, for the multitude of the Jews became infuriated, not merely because of their general hostility to him as an apostle of Christ and a preacher of the gospel for the world, but specially because it was erroneously supposed that he had brought Trophimus the Ephesian past this barrier into the temple (Acts 21:29), and that he had in this manner profaned the temple (Acts 24:6), or, as it is put in Acts 21:28, he had `brought Greeks into the temple and polluted this holy place.' In the assault which they thereupon made on Paul they violently seized and dragged him out of the temple-dragged him outside the balustrade. The Levites at once shut the gates, to prevent the possibility of any further profanation, and Paul would have been torn in pieces, had not the Roman commander and his soldiers forcibly prevented.

2. Herod's Temple; Its Divisions; the Courts:

In building the temple Herod the Great had enclosed a large area to form the various courts. The temple itself consisted of the two divisions, the Holy Place, entered by the priests every day, and the Holy of Holies into which the high priest entered alone once every year. Immediately outside the temple there was the Court of the Priests, and in it was placed the great altar of burnt offering. Outside of this again was the Court of the Sons of Israel, and beyond this the Court of the Women. The site of the temple itself and the space occupied by the various courts already mentioned formed a raised plateau or platform. "From it you descended at various points down 5 steps and through gates in a lofty wall, to find yourself overlooking another large court-the outer court to which Gentiles, who desired to see something of the glories of the temple and to offer gifts and sacrifices to the God of the Jews, were freely admitted. Farther in than this court they were forbidden, on pain of death, to go. The actual boundary line was not the high wall with its gates, but a low stone barrier about 5 ft. in height, which ran round at the bottom of 14 more steps" (J. Armitage Robinson, D.D., Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, 59; see also Edersheim, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services as They Were at the Time of Jesus Christ, 46).

The middle wall of partition was called Coregh, and was built of marble beautifully ornamented.

3. The Court of the Gentiles:

The Court of the Gentiles formed the lowest and the outermost enclosure of all the courts of the sanctuary. It was paved with the finest variegated marble. Its name signified that it was open to all, Jews or Gentiles alike. It was very large, and is said by Jewish tradition to have formed a square of 750 ft. It was in this court that the oxen and sheep and the doves for the sacrifices were sold as in a market. It was in this court too that there were the tables of the money-changers, which Christ Himself overthrew when He drove out the sheep and oxen and them that bought and sold in His Father's house. The multitudes assembling in this court must have been very great, especially on occasions such as the Passover and Pentecost and at the other great feasts, and the din of voices must oftentimes have been most disturbing. As already seen, beyond this court no Gentile might go.

See TEMPLE.

In the year 1871, while excavations were being made on the site of the temple by the Palestine Exploration Fund, M. Clermont-Ganneau discovered one of the pillars which Josephus describes as having been erected upon the very barrier or middle wall of partition, to which Paul refers. This pillar is now preserved in the Museum at Constantinople and is inscribed with a Greek inscription in capital or uncial letters, which is translated as follows:

NO MAN OF ANOTHER NATION

TO ENTER WITHIN THE FENCE AND

ENCLOSURE ROUND THE TEMPLE,

AND WHOEVER IS CAUGHT WILL

HAVE HIMSELF TO BLAME THAT

HIS DEATH ENSUES

While Paul was writing the Epistle to the Ephesians at Rome, this barrier in the temple at Jerusalem was still standing, yet the chained prisoner of Jesus Christ was not afraid to write that Christ had broken down the middle wall of partition, and had thus admitted Gentiles who were far off, strangers and foreigners, to all the privileges of access to God in ancient times possessed by Israel alone; that separation between Jew and Gentile was done away with forever in Christ.

4. The Throwing Down of the Barrier:

If Paul wrote the Epistle to the Ephesians in 60 or 61 A.D., then the actual barrier of stone remained in its position in the Court of the Gentiles not more than some 10 years, for it was thrown down in the burning of the temple by the Roman army. And out of those ruins a fragment has been excavated in our own day, containing the very inscription threatening death to the Gentileintruder, and reminding us that it is only in Christ Jesus that we now draw nigh unto God, and that we are thus one body in Christ, one new man. Christ has broken down the middle wall of partition, for He, in His own person, is our peace.

John Rutherfurd

Greek

5418. phragmos -- a fencing in, a fence
... in, a fence. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: phragmos Phonetic
Spelling: (frag-mos') Short Definition: a hedge, fence, partition Definition: a ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5418.htm - 6k

3320. mesotoichon -- a middle wall
... wall. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: mesotoichon Phonetic Spelling:
(mes-ot'-oy-khon) Short Definition: a middle wall, partition wall Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3320.htm - 6k

1266. diamerizo -- to distribute, to divide
... cloven, divided. From dia and merizo; to partition thoroughly (literally in
distribution, figuratively in dissension) -- cloven, divide, part. see GREEK dia. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1266.htm - 7k

5424. phren -- midriff, heart, mind, thought
... Probably from an obsolete phrao (to rein in or curb; compare phrasso); the midrif
(as a partition of the body), ie (figuratively and by implication, of sympathy ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5424.htm - 7k

2255. hemisus -- half
... Neuter of a derivative from an inseparable prefix akin to hama (through the idea
of partition involved in connection) and meaning semi-; (as noun) half -- half ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2255.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

914. badal -- to be divided, separate
... Usage came over (1), dismissed (1), divide (1), excluded (2), made a separation
(1), made...distinction (1), make a distinction (3), partition (1), selected (1 ...
/hebrew/914.htm - 6k

5674. abar -- to pass over, through, or by, pass on
... fail, gender, get over, (make) go (away, beyond, by, forth, his way, in, on, over,
through), have away (more), lay, meddle, overrun, make partition, (cause to ...
/hebrew/5674.htm - 6k

Library

Again, the Science of Definition, of Division, and of Partition...
... Book 2 Chapter 53. Again, the science of definition, of division, and of
partition� 53. Again, the science of definition, of division ...
/.../augustine/on christian doctrine in four books/chapter 53 again the science.htm

Second Tractate. On the Essence of the Soul (2).
... There are, we hold, things primarily apt to partition, tending by sheer nature towards
separate existence: they are things in which no part is identical either ...
/.../plotinus/the six enneads/second tractate on the essence.htm

First Tractate.
... But there is a difference: The Intellectual-Principle is for ever repugnant
to distinction and to partition. Soul, there without ...
//christianbookshelf.org/plotinus/the six enneads/first tractate 4.htm

Ephesians ii. 11, 12
... For He is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall
of partition, having abolished in His flesh the enmity.". ...
/.../homily v ephesians ii 11.htm

A Description of the Temple.
... When you go through these [first] cloisters, unto the second [court of the] temple,
there was a partition made of stone all round, whose height was three cubits ...
/.../chapter 5 a description of 2.htm

Sermon.
... Thus saith the Lord by the prophet, "It is sin has separated between me and you:"
Sin hath made a partition wall between God and us, and God hath sent his Son ...
/.../penn/a sermon preached at the quakers meeting house/sermon.htm

The Training of the Twelve
... During His earthly ministry Christ began to break down the partition wall between
Jew and Gentile, and to preach salvation to all mankind. ...
/.../white/the acts of the apostles/lesson 2 the training of.htm

Practical Observations.
... Had a Samaritan put his foot inside of that "wall of partition," he would have been
whirled away in a fury of rage and stoned to death in the twinkling of an ...
/.../johnson/the new testament commentary vol iii john/practical observations 8.htm

The Science of Definition is not False, Though it May be Applied ...
... Again, the science of definition, of division, and of partition, although it is
frequently applied to falsities, is not itself false, nor framed by man's device ...
/.../augustine/on christian doctrine in four books /chapter 35 the science of.htm

Barriers Broken Down
... No effort was made to help souls in darkness. The partition wall which Jewish pride
had erected, shut even the disciples from sympathy with the heathen world. ...
/.../white/the desire of ages/chapter 43 barriers broken down.htm

ATS Bible Dictionary

Partition

Ephesians 2:14. See the various courts under TEMPLE.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) That which divides or separates; that by which different things, or distinct parts of the same thing, are separated; separating boundary; dividing line or space; specifically, an interior wall dividing one part or apartment of a house, an enclosure, or the like, from another; as, a brick partition; lath and plaster partitions.

2. (n.) The act of parting or dividing; the state of being parted; separation; division; distribution; as, the partition of a kingdom.

3. (n.) A part divided off by walls; an apartment; a compartment.

4. (n.) The severance of common or undivided interests, particularly in real estate. It may be effected by consent of parties, or by compulsion of law.

5. (n.) A score.

6. (v. t.) To divide into parts or shares; to divide and distribute; as, to partition an estate among various heirs.

7. (v. t.) To divide into distinct parts by lines, walls, etc.; as, to partition a house.

Thesaurus

Partition (4 Occurrences)
... or space; specifically, an interior wall dividing one part or apartment of a house,
an enclosure, or the like, from another; as, a brick partition; lath and ...
/p/partition.htm - 14k

Wall (227 Occurrences)
...PARTITION, THE MIDDLE WALL OF. ... He has made them both to be one in Himself, and has
broken down the middle wall of partition which divided them from one another. ...
/w/wall.htm - 49k

Middle (169 Occurrences)
...PARTITION, THE MIDDLE WALL OF. ... He has made them both to be one in Himself, and has
broken down the middle wall of partition which divided them from one another. ...
/m/middle.htm - 45k

Trophimus (3 Occurrences)
... On this slender basis "they supposed" that Paul had brought Trophimus past the barrier
or middle wall of partition (Ephesians 2:14; see PARTITION), beyond ...
/t/trophimus.htm - 15k

Divide (71 Occurrences)
... 2. (vt) To cause to be separate; to keep apart by a partition, or by an imaginary
line or limit; as, a wall divides two houses; a stream divides the towns. ...
/d/divide.htm - 31k

Partly (7 Occurrences)

/p/partly.htm - 8k

Empire (8 Occurrences)
... (6) From Diocletian until Partition. ... In 364 it was again divided, Valentinian
receiving the West and Valens the East. (7) Final Partition. ...
/e/empire.htm - 80k

Vail (44 Occurrences)
... the most holy (2 Chronicles 3:14). In the temple a partition wall separated
these two places. In it were two folding-doors, which ...
/v/vail.htm - 22k

Veil (67 Occurrences)
... the most holy (2 Chronicles 3:14). In the temple a partition wall separated
these two places. In it were two folding-doors, which ...
/v/veil.htm - 35k

Kemuel (3 Occurrences)
... (1.) The third son of Nahor (Genesis 22:21). (2.) Son of Shiphtan, appointed on
behalf of the tribe of Ephraim to partition the land of Canaan (Numbers 34:24). ...
/k/kemuel.htm - 8k

Bible Concordance

Partition (4 Occurrences)

Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition,
(WEB KJV ASV WBS)

Exodus 26:33 And thou hast put the vail under the hooks, and hast brought in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony; and the vail hath made a separation for you between the holy and the holy of holies.
(See NAS)

Joshua 13:6 all the inhabitants of the hill-country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians; I will dispossess them from before the children of Israel. Only, partition it by lot to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.
(DBY)

1 Kings 6:21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.
(KJV WBS)

Subtopics

Partition

Related Terms

Wall (227 Occurrences)

Middle (169 Occurrences)

Trophimus (3 Occurrences)

Divide (71 Occurrences)

Partly (7 Occurrences)

Empire (8 Occurrences)

Vail (44 Occurrences)

Veil (67 Occurrences)

Kemuel (3 Occurrences)