Ezekiel 1:4

1:4 As I watched, I noticed ¹  a windstorm ²  coming from the north – an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, ³  such that bright light ⁴  rimmed it and came from ⁵  it like glowing amber ⁶  from the middle of a fire.

Ezekiel 1:28

1:28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. ⁷  This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw ⁸  it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.

Ezekiel 43:13

The Altar

43:13 “And these are the measurements of the altar: ⁹  Its base ¹⁰  is 1¾ feet ¹¹  high, ¹²  and 1¾ feet ¹³  wide, and its border nine inches ¹⁴  on its edge. This is to be the height ¹⁵  of the altar.

Ezekiel 45:1

The Lord’s Portion of the Land

45:1 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance, you will offer an allotment ¹⁶  to the Lord, a holy portion from the land; the length will be eight and a quarter miles ¹⁷  and the width three and one-third miles. ¹⁸  This entire area will be holy. ¹⁹ 

[1:4]  ¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

[1:4]  ² sn Storms are often associated with appearances of God (see Nah 1:3; Ps 18:12). In some passages, the “storm” (סְעָרָה, sÿ’arah) may be a whirlwind (Job 38:1, 2 Kgs 2:1).

[1:4]  ³ tn Heb “fire taking hold of itself,” perhaps repeatedly. The phrase occurs elsewhere only in Exod 9:24 in association with a hailstorm. The LXX interprets the phrase as fire flashing like lightning, but it is possibly a self-sustaining blaze of divine origin. The LXX also reverses the order of the descriptors, i.e., “light went around it and fire flashed like lightning within it.”

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Or “radiance.” The term also occurs in 1:27b.

[1:4]  ⁵ tc Or “was in it”; cf. LXX ἐν τῷ μέσῳ αὐτοῦ (en tw mesw autou, “in its midst”).

[1:4]  ⁶ tn The LXX translates חַשְׁמַל (khashmal) with the word ἤλεκτρον (hlektron, “electrum”; so NAB), an alloy of silver and gold, perhaps envisioning a comparison to the glow of molten metal.

[1:28]  ⁷ sn Reference to the glowing substance and the brilliant light and storm phenomena in vv. 27-28a echoes in reverse order the occurrence of these phenomena in v. 4.

[1:28]  ⁸ tn The vision closes with the repetition of the verb “I saw” from the beginning of the vision in 1:4.

[43:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “the measurements of the altar by cubits, the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth.” The measuring units here and in the remainder of this section are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard feet and inches, with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes. On the altar see Ezek 40:47.

[43:13]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term normally means “bosom.” Here it refers to a hollow in the ground.

[43:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).

[43:13]  ¹⁶ tn The word “high” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[43:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).

[43:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “one span.” A span was three handbreadths, or about nine inches (i.e., 22.5 cm).

[43:13]  ¹⁹ tc Heb “bulge, protuberance, mound.” The translation follows the LXX.

[45:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a contribution.”

[45:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers). The measuring units here are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard miles (one mile = 5,280 feet), with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.

[45:1]  ²¹ tc The LXX reads “twenty thousand cubits.”

[45:1]  ²² tn Heb “holy it is in all its territory round about.”