Commentary for Ezekiel 43:14
וּמֵחֵ֨יק הָאָ֜רֶץ עַד־הָעֲזָרָ֤ה הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה֙ שְׁתַּ֣יִם אַמּ֔וֹת וְרֹ֖חַב אַמָּ֣ה אֶחָ֑ת וּמֵהֳעֲזָרָ֨ה הַקְּטַנָּ֜ה עַד־הָעֲזָרָ֤ה הַגְּדוֹלָה֙ אַרְבַּ֣ע אַמּ֔וֹת וְרֹ֖חַב הָאַמָּֽה׃
And from the bottom upon the ground to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit.
Rashi on Ezekiel
And from the base on the ground [Heb. וּמֵחֵיק הָאָרֶץ. From the “yesod,” from the floor of the earth.
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Rashi on Ezekiel
to the lower ledge [Heb. הָעֲזָרָה, lit. court.] Until the top of the first frame.
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Rashi on Ezekiel
two cubits It was not the same in the [Second] Temple, for there, we learned (Zeb. 54a): “They bring a frame of 32 [cubits] by 32 [cubits], whose height is a cubit,” whereas here its height is two cubits.
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Rashi on Ezekiel
and the breadth one cubit when one places the second frame upon it. The second frame was thirty by thirty, the result being that it [the bottom, 32 by 32 cubit frame] had a recess around it a cubit wide which was the base. Jonathan renders: עֲזָרָה as מסְתַּמְתָא, a word for floor, [and it was called so] because one would fill the frame with smooth stones, pitch, lime, and molten lead, mix it and pour it out and smooth it out on top, and behold, it would be a kind of floor.
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Rashi on Ezekiel
and from the smaller ledge to the greater ledge four cubits From the top of the lower frame until the top of the frame that was upon it was a height of four cubits.
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Rashi on Ezekiel
and the breadth, one cubit This is the amount of the recess of the circuit. It went up four cubits and went in one cubit. [In the second Temple, it went up five cubits and went in one.] And this is the “circuit.” The lower one is called smaller because it is only two [cubits] high, whereas the upper one is four.
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