Ezekiel 43:13-17

The Altar

43:13 “And these are the measurements of the altar: ¹  Its base ²  is 1¾ feet ³  high, ⁴  and 1¾ feet ⁵  wide, and its border nine inches ⁶  on its edge. This is to be the height ⁷  of the altar. 43:14 From the base of the ground to the lower edge is 3½ feet, ⁸  and the width 1¾ feet; ⁹  and from the smaller ledge to the larger edge, 7 feet, ¹⁰  and the width 1¾ feet; 43:15 and the altar hearth, 7 feet, and from the altar hearth four horns projecting upward. 43:16 Now the altar hearth ¹¹  is a perfect square, 21 feet ¹²  long and 21 feet wide. 43:17 The ledge is 24½ feet ¹³  long and 24½ feet wide on four sides; the border around it is 10½ inches, ¹⁴  and its surrounding base 1¾ feet. ¹⁵  Its steps face east.”

[43:13]  ¹ 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]  ² tn The Hebrew term normally means “bosom.” Here it refers to a hollow in the ground.

[43:13]  ³ tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).

[43:13]  ⁴ tn The word “high” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[43:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).

[43:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “one span.” A span was three handbreadths, or about nine inches (i.e., 22.5 cm).

[43:13]  ⁷ tc Heb “bulge, protuberance, mound.” The translation follows the LXX.

[43:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “two cubits” (i.e., 1.05 meters).

[43:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm; the phrase occurs again later in this verse).

[43:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “four cubits” (i.e., 2.1 meters; the phrase also occurs in the next verse).

[43:16]  ¹¹ tn The precise Hebrew word used here to refer to an “altar hearth” occurs only here in the OT.

[43:16]  ¹² tn Heb “twelve cubits” (i.e., 6.3 meters; the phrase occurs twice in this verse).

[43:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “fourteen”; the word “cubits” is not in the Hebrew text but is understood from the context; the phrase occurs again later in this verse. Fourteen cubits is about 7.35 meters.

[43:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “half a cubit” (i.e., 26.25 cm).

[43:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “one cubit” (i.e., 52.5 cm).