What Does Ezekiel 40:12 Mean?
The border before the chambers was one forearm on this side and one forearm on that side, and the chambers were six forearms on this side and six forearms on that side.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.THE KEY
The “space” is a measured boundary, so even the margin before each chamber belongs to the design.
THE MEANING
The arrangement is exact: one cubit of space lies before the chambers on either side, and the chambers measure six cubits on either side. The margin and the enclosed rooms are both counted, making the in-between space part of the structure. The verse makes the space around what is held visible too: it has its own measure.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Only what is enclosed has meaning; the space around it is leftover. Here the margin is measured alongside the chamber, making the in-between part of the arrangement.
THE ROOT
גְּבוּל
gevul
GROWS FROM
גבל
g-b-l
To bound, mark off, or set a limit.
The Hebrew גְּבוּל (gevul) means a boundary, border, or allotted territory. Its root also forms a verb for actively setting bounds, linking the measured margin here to the act of marking an edge.
ALSO GROWS
gevul: Boundary, border, or territory.
גְּבוּל
This is the word rendered “space” in the verse: the cubit is a measured boundary before the chambers, not merely unoccupied air.
higbaltā: You set bounds.
הִגְבַּלְתָּ
Exodus 19:12 uses this verb from the same root for actively marking a limit, showing how the margin here can be understood as an assigned edge.
THE PATTERN
The spaces around sacred structures are deliberately measured, so the boundary belongs to the design.
And you shall mark a border all around the people, saying, Guard yourselves, do not go up into the mount or touch its edge. Whoever touches the mount shall surely die.The lowest chamber was five forearms broad, and the middle was six forearms broad, and the third was seven forearms broad; for outside in the wall of the house he made ledges that jut out round about, so that the beams would not grip the walls of the house.And the city lies four-cornered, and its length is as great as its width. And he measures the city with the reed, twelve thousand stades. Its length and width and height are equal.THE THREAD
And you shall mark a border all around the people, saying, Guard yourselves, do not go up into the mount or touch its edge. Whoever touches the mount shall surely die.The Hebrew verb הִגְבַּלְתָּ (higbaltā), “you set bounds,” comes from גבל, the same root family as גְּבוּל (gevul), the word rendered “space” here. The connection reveals the one-cubit interval as an intentionally marked edge, given its own measure in the design.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us