It is interesting to compare this temple with the one that Solomon built (1 Kings 6-7). There are similarities but also differences.
The walls that supported the door frames leading into the vestibule of the temple were five cubits deep on each side of the opening.524These walls protruded three cubits from the side walls of the temple on each side. The vestibule itself was 20 cubits wide and 11 cubits deep.525Two columns (pillars) stood at the top of the stairs on either side of the entrance to the vestibule (cf. 1 Kings 7:16-20).
41:1-2 Beyond the vestibule was the nave, the holy place. It had a doorway 6 cubits deep and 10 cubits wide. The projecting wall on either side of this entrance, which also formed part of the wall of the vestibule and the holy place, projected inward 5 cubits from the side walls of the main temple structure. The holy place was 40 cubits deep and 20 cubits wide.
41:3-4 Ezekiel's guide then went into the most holy place and measured the doorway leading into it from the holy place. This doorway was two cubits deep and six cubits wide. The projecting wall on either side of this entrance, which also formed part of the wall of the holy place and the most holy place, projected inward seven cubits from the side walls of the main temple structure. The most holy place was 20 cubits square.
The effect of the progressively narrower doorways, from 14 cubits (40:48) to 10 cubits (v. 2) to six cubits (v. 3), focused the worshipper's eyes on the most holy place, the center of worship, and communicated increasing restriction, controlled access.
Ezekiel's guide seldom spoke to him, but when he did he always said something important. Here he identified the most holy place (v. 4; cf. v. 22; 40:4, 45; 42:13; 43:18; 46:20, 24; 47:8). Evidently Ezekiel, who was a priest, did not enter the most holy place.
41:5-6 The wall enclosing the vestibule, holy place, and most holy place was six cubits thick. Rooms five cubits deep surrounded this wall on all sides except the east. There were three stories of these rooms, 30 rooms on each level. There was another wall on the outside of these rooms that bore their weight so the inner wall of the temple did not carry it. The purpose of these rooms was not revealed, but they may be for worship, fellowship, or storage.
41:7 The rooms on the upper floor were the largest presumably because not as much space was required for a hallway and stairs. The rooms on the second floor were not as large because more space was needed for the hallway and stairs, and the rooms on the first floor were the smallest for the same reason.
41:8 The side rooms stood on the same foundation as the rest of the temple, which was six cubits above the level of the surrounding courtyard.
41:9-10 The exterior wall of the side rooms was five cubits thick, and there was 20 cubits of open space between these walls and any other structures surrounding the temple proper.
41:11 Ezekiel saw a doorway in this exterior wall on the north and south sides that allowed access into the side rooms. There was a five-cubit-wide walkway all around the exterior wall of the temple except on the west side (cf. v. 13). This walkway was on the same level as the top of the foundation of the temple.
Another large building stood to the west of the temple proper 20 cubits from its west wall. It was 70 cubits deep and 90 cubits wide with walls five cubits thick. Its function is unknown.
41:13-14 Ezekiel's guide next measured the outside walls of the main temple structure. It was 100 cubits (166 feet) from front to back. The distance from the back of the main temple structure to the back of the building behind the temple, including an open space of 20 cubits that separated the two structures, was also 100 cubits. The inner court in front of the temple proper was also 100 cubits square.
41:15 The outside width of the building behind the temple proper measured 100 cubits, including a colonnade on each of its sides. The man also measured the temple's holy place and the vestibule and porch that faced the inner courtyard.
41:16-20 The whole interior of the temple structure, including the side rooms, was paneled with wood.526The wood was carved with alternating cherubs and palm trees. Each cherub had two faces, the face of a man and the face of a lion, one looking left and the other right (cf. 1:5-25; 10:9-17). Cherubim (the Hebrew plural of "cherub") elsewhere in Scripture guarded the holiness of God (cf. Gen. 3:22-24; Exod. 25:18-22; 26:31).
41:21-22 The doorposts between the vestibule and the holy place were square and identical. The altar in the holy place was completely wooden and was three cubits high and two cubits square. It stood before the Lord's presence there. Its function is also obscure, but it may correspond to the altar of incense or the table of showbread in Israel's earlier tabernacle and temples. If so, it has some connection with prayer or remembrance.
41:23-26 The doors leading into the holy place and the most holy place were double doors, hinged with two leaves for each door. These doors were also carved with cherubs and palm trees. The floor of the vestibule of the temple was also covered with wood. The vestibule also had latticed windows and representations of palm trees on its side walls. The temple will be beautiful.
"This building was decorated in a manner befitting its role as the symbolic earthly house of the one who is altogether lovely.'"527
