Three, one over another, and thirty in order - i. e., there were three stories, and each story was divided into thirty chambers.

The wall which was of the house for the side chambers - Not the wall of the temple but another wall Ezekiel 41:9 parallel to it, which might be said to be "of the house," i. e., belonging to it. The side-chambers of Solomon's Temple were built against the temple-wall, but in Ezekiel's vision the desire to keep the temple still more separate and holy led to a fresh arrangement, namely, that another wall should be built at such a distance from the temple-wall as to allow of chambers being built against it, facing the temple-wall, and opening into a passage or corridor (F), separating them from the temple itself.

That they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house - that they might have hold but not have hold on the wall of the house, i. e., entirely separating the chambers from the temple-wall proper.

The side chambers were three - We find by Joseph. Antiq. 8:3, 2, that round Solomon's temple were chambers three stories high, each story consisting of thirty chambers. It is supposed that twelve were placed to the north of the temple, twelve to the south, and six to the east.

Entered into the wall - The beams were admitted into the outer wall, but they rested on projections of the inner wall.

And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order,.... There were three stories of them, and thirty in every storey, in all ninety; there were such chambers round about Solomon's temple, and so many stories of them, though their number is not expressed, 1 Kings 6:5, but Josephus (z) says they were thirty, and one above another, three stories of them, as here. Some think twelve were on the north side, twelve on the south, and six on the west; or fifteen on the north, and fifteen on the south. The Misnic doctors (a) say there were thirty eight in the second temple, fifteen on the north side, fifteen on the south, and eight on the west. The Targum is,

"the chambers were chamber over chamber thirty three, eleven in a row;''

and so some (b) understand it, that they were in all but thirty three, eleven in the first storey, as many in the second, and the same number in the third; and place them four in the north, four in the south, and three in the west, so Starckius; but the first account seems best. This denotes the number of churches in Gospel times, especially in the latter day; when there will be large conversions, and room enough for all the converts: and as there are many mansions in heaven for all the saints; so there will be room enough in the New Jerusalem, the more perfect state of the church on earth, to hold the whole palm bearing company, whose number no man can number; and all the nations of them that are saved, who will walk in the light of it, Revelation 7:9,

and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house; the beams of the floors of those side chambers rested indeed upon the wall of the house which was built for them; but were not inserted into it, or laid in it, as we see in some buildings; but there were projections or buttresses in the wall, or what are called narrowed rests, 1 Kings 6:6 or rebatements of the breadth of a cubit, on which they were laid and rested; and so it was in the upper stories, as in the lowermost; there being an abatement of a cubit in the thickness of the wall in each storey, as in the following verse. This shows the firmness of this spiritual building resting upon such a wall and such buttresses as God himself is to it; See Gill on Ezekiel 41:5.

(z) Antiqu. l. 8. c. 3. sect. 2.((a) Misn. Middot, c. 4. sect. 3.((b) Lipman. Tzurath Beth Hamikdash, sect. 69. fol. 10. 1.

And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house.

41:6 They might - That the beams of the chambers might have good and firm resting - hold. Had not hold - The ends of the beams were not thrust into the main body of the wall of the temple.

one...: Heb. side chamber over side chamber

thirty...: or, three and thirty times, or, foot

have hold: Heb. be holden

6. might . hold, but . not hold in . wall of the house-1Ki 6:6 tells us there were rests made in the walls of the temple for supports to the side chambers; but the temple walls did not thereby become part of this side building; they stood separate from it. "They entered," namely, the beams of the chambers, which were three-storied and thirty in consecutive order, entered into the wall, that is, were made to lean on rests projecting from the wall.

41:1-26 After the prophet had observed the courts, he was brought to the temple. If we attend to instructions in the plainer parts of religion, and profit by them, we shall be led further into an acquaintance with the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.