The Meaning of Ezekiel 40:5 Explained

Ezekiel 40:5

KJV: And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

YLT: And lo, a wall on the outside of the house all round about, and in the hand of the man a measuring-reed, six cubits by a cubit and a handbreadth, and he measureth the breadth of the building one reed, and the height one reed.

Darby: And behold, there was a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring-reed of six cubits, each of one cubit and a hand breadth. And he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

ASV: And, behold, a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And behold a wall  on the outside  of the house  round about,  and in the man's  hand  a measuring  reed  of six  cubits  [long] by the cubit  and an hand breadth:  so he measured  the breadth  of the building,  one  reed;  and the height,  one  reed. 

What does Ezekiel 40:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The man first measured the thickness and the height of the wall around the temple complex. Measuring not only provides data but implies ownership (cf. Zechariah 2:1; Revelation 11:1; Revelation 21:15); the man measured as God"s representative. He used the six-cubit reed that was in his hand. The wall was six cubits (one rod) thick and six cubits high. Walls, of course, provided a barrier and guarded the holiness of God in Israel"s earlier tabernacle and temple complexes.
A normal cubit was the distance between the tip of a person"s middle finger and the end of his elbow, about18 inches ( Deuteronomy 3:11). A handbreadth was about three inches. A long cubit was about21inches long, the length of a normal cubit plus a handbreadth. Since each of the cubits of the man"s measuring rod was a cubit and a handbreadth, it seems that the cubits in view in these dimensions were long cubits (cf. Ezekiel 43:13). Six long cubits (one rod) equals about10 feet.

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 40

1  The time, manner, and end of the vision of the city and temple
6  The description of the east gate of the outer court
20  of the north gate
24  of the south gate
27  of the south gate of the inner court
32  of the east gate
35  and of the north gate
39  Eight tables
44  The chambers
48  The porch of the house

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 40:5 mean?

And there was a wall the outside of the temple all around and in hand was of the man a rod measuring six cubits [long] [each] [being] [a] cubit and a handbreadth And he measured - the width of the [wall] structure rod one and the height rod one
וְהִנֵּ֥ה חוֹמָ֛ה מִח֥וּץ לַבַּ֖יִת סָבִ֣יב ׀ סָבִ֑יב וּבְיַ֨ד הָאִ֜ישׁ קְנֵ֣ה הַמִּדָּ֗ה שֵׁשׁ־ אַמּ֤וֹת בָּֽאַמָּה֙ וָטֹ֔פַח וַיָּ֜מָד אֶת־ רֹ֤חַב הַבִּנְיָן֙ קָנֶ֣ה אֶחָ֔ד וְקוֹמָ֖ה קָנֶ֥ה אֶחָֽד

וְהִנֵּ֥ה  And  there  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
חוֹמָ֛ה  a  wall 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֹומָה  
Sense: wall.
מִח֥וּץ  the  outside 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חוּץ  
Sense: outside, outward, street, the outside.
לַבַּ֖יִת  of  the  temple 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
סָבִ֑יב  around 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מוּסָב 
Sense: places round about, circuit, round about adv.
וּבְיַ֨ד  and  in  hand  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
הָאִ֜ישׁ  of  the  man 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
קְנֵ֣ה  a  rod 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קָנֶה  
Sense: reed, stalk, bone, balances.
הַמִּדָּ֗ה  measuring 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִדָּה 
Sense: measure, measurement, stature, size, garment.
שֵׁשׁ־  six 
Parse: Number, feminine singular construct
Root: שֵׁשׁ  
Sense: six.
אַמּ֤וֹת  cubits  [long] 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: אַמָּה 
Sense: cubit—a measure of distance (the forearm), roughly 8 in (.
בָּֽאַמָּה֙  [each]  [being]  [a]  cubit 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַמָּה 
Sense: cubit—a measure of distance (the forearm), roughly 8 in (.
וָטֹ֔פַח  and  a  handbreadth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: טֹפַח  
Sense: span, hand breadth.
וַיָּ֜מָד  And  he  measured 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָדַד  
Sense: to measure, stretch.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
רֹ֤חַב  the  width 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹחַב  
Sense: breadth, width, expanse.
הַבִּנְיָן֙  of  the  [wall]  structure 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בִּנְיָן  
Sense: structure, building.
קָנֶ֣ה  rod 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָנֶה  
Sense: reed, stalk, bone, balances.
אֶחָ֔ד  one 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
וְקוֹמָ֖ה  and  the  height 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: קֹומָה  
Sense: height.
קָנֶ֥ה  rod 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָנֶה  
Sense: reed, stalk, bone, balances.
אֶחָֽד  one 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).