The width of the entryway was ten cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on this side and five cubits on the other side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.
Parallel translations
- WEB The width of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured its length, forty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits.
- KJV And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits.
- BSB The width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. He also measured the length of the outer sanctuary to be forty cubits, and the width to be twenty cubits.
- NASB The width of the entrance was ten cubits and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. He also measured the length of the sanctuary, forty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits.
- NLT The doorway was 17-1/2 feet wide, and the walls on each side of it were 8-3/4 feet long. The sanctuary itself was 70 feet long and 35 feet wide.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The entrance and the main hall of the temple are measured, forty cubits long and twenty wide. The Holy Place is given exact proportions, marking it as sacred space.
Overview
The dimensions of the temple's nave match the pattern of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:17), signaling continuity with God's established worship. The precise measurements affirm that this is God's true house, not human imagination. As the place where priests served before God, it anticipates Christ's mediating work that brings worshipers into God's presence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 1 Kgs 6:17In front of the temple sanctuary was forty cubits.
- 1 Kgs 6:2The house which king Solomon built for Yahweh had a length of sixty cubits, and its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits.
- 2 Chr 3:3Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of God’s house. The length by cubits after the first measure was sixty cubits, and the width twenty cubits.
- 2 Chr 29:7Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.
- 2 Chr 3:7He also overlaid the house, the beams, the thresholds, its walls, and its doors with gold; and engraved cherubim on the walls.
- John 10:7Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door.
- Exod 36:37He made a screen for the door of the tent, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer;
- John 10:9I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.
- Exod 26:36“You shall make a screen for the door of the Tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer.
- 1 Kgs 6:31–35For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made doors of olive wood. The lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall.
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 41:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.