Chambers for the Temple

1Then he led me out to the outer court, toward the north, and brought me to the chamber which was opposite the courtyard and opposite the building on the north. 2Its length was 175 feet on the north side, and its width 87� feet. 3Opposite the 35 feet that belonged to the inner court, and opposite the pavement which belonged to the outer court, gallery faced gallery in the three stories. 4In front of the chambers was a walkway on the inner side, 17� feet wide at a distance of 1� feet, and their entrances were on the north. 5Now the upper chambers were narrower, because the galleries took more space from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building. 6For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and upper ones. 7As for the outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court facing the chambers, it was 87� feet long. 8For the chambers on the outer court were 87� feet long, while those facing the temple were 175 feet long. 9Below these chambers was a passage on the east side as one enters from the outer court.

10At the beginning of the wall of the court toward the south, facing the courtyard and the building, were chambers 11with a passage in front of them. They looked like the chambers on the north. Of the same length and width, and all their exits according to their arrangements and entrances 12were the chambers which were toward the south. There was an opening at the head of the passage, the passage in front of the corresponding wall toward the east when one enters.

13Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers which face the courtyard are holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will place the most holy offerings – the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, because the place is holy. 14When the priests enter, then they will not go out from the sanctuary to the outer court without taking off their garments in which they minister, for these are holy; they will put on other garments, then they will go near the places where the people are.”

15Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple, he led me out by the gate which faces east and measured all around. 16He measured the east side with the measuring stick as 875 feet by the measuring stick. 17He measured the north side as 875 feet by the measuring stick. 18He measured the south side as 875 feet by the measuring stick. 19He turned to the west side and measured 875 feet by the measuring stick. 20He measured it on all four sides. It had a wall around it, 875 feet long and 875 feet wide, to separate the holy and common places.