ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף יחזקאל 40:17

“And He brought me into the outer courtyard.”¹⁴Yechezkel 40:17. Until this point, the prophet was walking around the Temple Mount to see the cells on the outside of the gate. At this point, he entered the courtyard.

This balcony surrounded the entire outer courtyard, as stated in ch. 42.¹⁵Ibid. 42:3. The chambers that were near the cells (which will be explained in sec. 71) were positioned opposite the balcony, in the northwest and the southwest sides of the complex. Since the prophet mentions that the balcony began at the eastern gate,¹⁶See ibid. 40:18. it can be concluded that the balcony ran along these 3 sides at least. This can also be inferred from the phrase, “all around.” This is also reflected in the commentary of Rabbeinu Shemayah cited below. It is logical to assume that the balcony also encompassed the west side.

The verse relates,²⁰Yechezkel 40:17. “There were thirty chambers on the balcony.” In contrast, the Second Beis HaMikdash did not have a balcony with chambers on top of its walls. It is possible to say, however, that there was something similar, as the mishnah in Tractate Middos describes:²¹Middos 2:5. “Originally, [the walls of] the courtyard were even. Afterwards, they built a balcony around them so that the women could observe from above and the men from below. Thus, they would not be intermingled.”