Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the
north: and he brought me into the cells that was over against the
separate place, and which was before the building toward the north.
Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north door, and the
breadth was fifty cubits. Over against the twenty cubits which
pertained to the inner court, and over against the pavement which
pertained to the outer court, was gallery against gallery in three
stories. And before the cells was a walk of ten cubits breadth
inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors toward the north. Now
the upper cells were shorter: for the galleries were higher than
these, than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building. For
they were in three stories, but had not pillars as the pillars of
the courts: therefore the building was straitened more than the
lowest and the middlemost from the ground. And the wall that was
without over against the cells, toward the outer court on the
forepart of the cells, the length thereof was fifty cubits: For the
length of the cells that were in the outer court was fifty cubits:
and, lo, before the temple were an hundred cubits. And from under
these cells was the entry on the east side, as one goeth into them
from the outer court. The cells were in the thickness of the wall of
the court toward the east, over against the separate place, and over
against the building. And the way before them was like the
appearance of the cells which were toward the north, as long as
they, and as broad as they: and all their goings out were both
according to their fashions, and according to their doors. And
according to the doors of the cells, that were toward the south was
a door in the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall
toward the east, as one entereth into them (verses 1-12).
Once more the man leads forth the prophet. The Holy part and the Most
Holy had been measured and described and now he leaves the innermost
part and is led again into the outer court. He goes on towards the North
and faces a cell-building over against the separate place. This separate
place is the hinder building described in chapter xli:12. There are
three such cell-buildings, one on the North and the other on the South;
that is, facing the two sides of the hinder building in the separate
place. The third cell-building is at the East-gate. The entrance to
these cell buildings is from the outer court. The measurement given
presents considerable difficulty which we do not attempt to solve. Each
of these buildings has three stories and before each is a walk of ten
cubits. We also learn that the upper story of cells is shorter than the
first and second stories; this corresponds in architecture to the side
buildings described in chapter xli:5-11. How many cells or chambers are
in each of these buildings is not stated.