Then brought he me into the outward court and, lo, there were
chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty
chambers were upon the pavement. And the pavement by the side of the
gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement.
Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate
unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits
eastward and northward. And the gate of the outward court that
looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the
breadth thereof. And the little chambers thereof were three on this
side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches
thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length
thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were
after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they
went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before
them. And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate
toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to
gate an hundred cubits. After that he brought me toward the south:
and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts
thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. And
there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like
those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and
twenty cubits. And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the
arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this
side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. And there
was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from
gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits (verses 17-27.)
The man with the measuring line now leads the prophet into the outer
court itself. He had passed through the East gate and has now the vision
of the outer court. Here again he beholds chambers. The word used for
chamber is a different word from the one used in verses 7, 10, 12, 13,
16, 21, 29, 33 and 36. The chambers of the outer court are no longer
guard-rooms. The word used here is found in 1 Sam. ix:22, which was not
a small chamber by any means, inasmuch as thirty persons could be
accommodated. The word is used later for the chambers in which the
priests kept the tithes and offerings. Such chambers were in the temple
of Solomon. In the millennial temple they probably will serve the same
purpose. Then we read of a pavement made for the court round about. It
is a pavement of stones (see 2 Kings xvi:17; 2 Chron. vii:3; Esther
i:6--the same Hebrew word is used in these passages). This pavement,
probably in the form of a mosaic arrangement, covers the entire outer
court and of the chambers were thirty upon the pavement. Where are these
chambers located? Are they together or scattered over the entire outer
court? We believe they will be located alongside of each gateway, two on
the side of the East gate, two at the North gate and two at the South
gate. This seems to be the correct location, for the prophet in having
stepped through the gateway into the outer court sees these chambers
first, so that they must have been at the entrance gate. The measurement
follows and the North gate and South gate are described. They compare in
every way to the East gate, each having its seven steps, its little
chambers (guard-chambers) its posts and palm trees.