46:21 Then he brought me out to the outer court and led me past the four corners of the court, and I noticed 6 that in every corner of the court there was a court. 46:22 In the four corners of the court were small 7 courts, 70 feet 8 in length and 52½ feet 9 in width; the four were all the same size. 46:23 There was a row of masonry around each of the four courts, and places for boiling offerings were made under the rows all around. 46:24 Then he said to me, “These are the houses for boiling, where the ministers of the temple boil the sacrifices of the people.”
1 sn The word is literally “its fat,” but sometimes it describes “fatty ashes” (TEV “the greasy ashes”). The fat would run down and mix with the ashes, and this had to be collected and removed.
2 sn This was the larger bowl used in tossing the blood at the side of the altar.
3 tn The text has “to all its vessels.” This is the lamed (ל) of inclusion according to Gesenius, meaning “all its utensils” (GKC 458 §143.e).
4 tn Heb “its horns were from it,” meaning from the same piece.
5 sn The “testimony” is the Decalogue (Exod 24:12; 31:18; Deut 4:13; 9:9; 1 Kgs 8:9); the word identifies it as the witness or affirmation of God’s commandments belonging to his covenant with Israel. It expressed God’s will and man’s duty. In other cultures important documents were put at the feet of the gods in the temples.
6 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
7 tc The meaning of the Hebrew term is unclear. The LXX and Syriac render “small.”
8 tn Heb “forty cubits” (i.e., 21 meters).
9 tn Heb “thirty cubits” (i.e., 15.75 meters).