Ezekiel 42:1 Jewish Thought: The Third Beit HaMikdash

“He brought me to the chamber¹The term לשכה, “chamber,” sometimes appears in the singular and sometimes in the plural, for the two chambers themselves consisted of many smaller chambers. that was opposite the edifice,”²Yechezkel 42:1. i.e., the Sanctuary, “and opposite the structure,” i.e., the cells, “on the north.” These chambers did not exist in the Second Beis HaMikdash. It is possible that to parallel them, they built the Chamber of the Hearth and the four chambers that it contained. Nevertheless, the Chamber of the Hearth was situated in a different place, and was not opposite the Sanctuary. Nor was it on both sides of the Courtyard, only on the north, as stated in Tractates Tamid³See Tamid 3:3. and Middos.⁴See Middos 1:6.

The place where these chambers were built is called, “the Outer Courtyard,” as it is written:⁵Yechezkel 42:1. “And he led me out to the Outer Courtyard in the direction leading north, and he brought me into the chamber.”