Then he brought me into the outer court: The connector Then (literally “And”) introduces the next event. There is no way of knowing whether Ezekiel’s guide “led” (Contemporary English Version) him, that is, Ezekiel just walked behind the man, following him, or whether he “took” (Good News Translation) him in some other way, for example, carried him, or moved his position instantaneously, as can happen in a dream. It is best if translators use a general term for brought that can cover all the possibilities (for example, “caused to go”). When Ezekiel and the man left the east gatehouse, they entered the outer court, that is, the open space inside the outer wall of the Temple. It is called the outer court, because in the center of this courtyard was a wall that surrounded another courtyard, which was “the inner court” (see verse 32).

And behold, there were chambers and a pavement, round about the court: For behold see Ezek 40.3. The Hebrew word for chambers refers to “rooms” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version), but they were probably open toward the inside of the courtyard rather than having four walls and a door. They may have been more like a partitioned veranda, or a series of covered shelters. Each room was probably about 25 meters (84 feet) by 12.5 meters (42 feet). Translators will need to use an appropriate term for rooms of that size, especially if their language has different words for rooms of different sizes. In any case, the dimensions should not be included. The pavement was an open area on which flat stones or rocks were laid to make a hard floor. The stones may have been set in mud or clay to stop them from moving. New Century Version renders pavement as “pavement of stones,” while New Jerusalem Bible and Christian Community Bible say “paved terrace.” Other possible models are “floor of flat stones” and “paved walkway.” The rooms and walkway were round about the court, that is, around the perimeter of the courtyard, against the inside of the Temple’s outer wall. Revised Standard Version has omitted a Hebrew verb here from its translation, even though it has not changed the meaning. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh includes it by saying “There were chambers there, and there was a pavement laid out all around the court” (similarly New International Version, New King James Version ). The Hebrew text makes it clear that the walkway had a well-made, solid floor of stones, and was not simply a dirt floor. Translators will do well to make this clear in their translations.

Thirty chambers fronted on the pavement: There were thirty chambers, probably eight on each of the eastern, northern and southern walls and six on the western wall. However, some scholars think there were none on the western wall, so that there were ten on each of the other walls. There is no way to be certain. These rooms fronted on the pavement, that is, the rooms were next to the walls, and the paved walkway was in front of the rooms. However, if there were no front walls on the rooms, the walkway was visible right back to the wall of the whole complex. As the next verse shows, the inside edge of the walkway was even with the inner end of the outer courtyard’s gatehouses all around.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .