Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
In the preceding chapter the Angel measured the inner and outer court; now entering the temple, he measures it, namely the Holy Place, verse 1, and the Holy of Holies, verses 3 and 4; then in verse 5 and following, he measures the chambers, that is, the rooms attached to the temple, and their spiral staircase, the platform, the oratory, and the niches, thresholds, and windows. Finally, in verse 18, he teaches that Cherubim and palms were carved on the temple; and in verse 22, he describes the altar of incense and the doors of the temple. Mystically, in all these ornaments of the temple, the Church delineates and depicts its order, beauty, hierarchy, and Sacraments. The Greeks call the temple 'naon,' the court or vestibule 'prostasion,' as if to say 'before the temple.' So Vitruvius, book 3, chapter 1.
Furthermore, here there is an equal darkness, and the same obscurity as was in the preceding chapter. Hence St. Jerome at the beginning of chapter 42: "I had wished," he says, "out of despair and the magnitude of the subject, to pass over the present testimony in silence, but I judged it better to say something, whatever it might be, than to say nothing at all: taking up that Socratic dictum: 'I know that I do not know.' For it is a part of knowledge to know what you do not know." The same, in the same place in his preface: "Wherefore to you, my daughter Eustochium, who willingly receive our works, such as they are, I wish to declare, and briefly to advise you with the saying of the rhetorician Victorinus, that you should know the obscurity of these volumes arises from three causes: either the magnitude of the subject, or the incompetence of the teacher, or the hardness of the hearer: of which the first and second I shall openly confess in this work: the third, the sharpness of your intellect and your desire for the Scriptures easily refuses: you who, by the privilege of virginity and the continence of your way of life, possess God as — I will not say a frequent — but a constant guest."
In the preceding chapter the Angel measured the inner and outer court; now entering the temple, he measures it, namely the Holy Place, verse 1, and the Holy of Holies, verses 3 and 4, then verses 5 and following the chambers, that is the rooms adjoining the temple, and their spiral staircase, the open area, the oratory, and the galleries, thresholds and windows he measures. Finally at verse 18, he teaches that Cherubim and palms were carved on the temple; and at verse 22, he describes the altar of incense and the doors of the temple. Mystically in all these ornaments of the temple he outlines and depicts the order, beauty, hierarchy, and Sacraments of the Church. The Greeks call the temple naon, the court or vestibule prostasin, as if to say 'before the temple.' So Vitruvius, Book III, chapter 1.
Moreover here there is the same darkness and obscurity as in the preceding chapter. Whence St. Jerome at the beginning of chapter XLII: "I had wished," he says, "out of desperation and the magnitude of the subject, to pass over the present testimony in silence, but I judged it better to say something, however imperfect, than to say nothing at all, taking up that Socratic saying: 'I know that I do not know.' For it is part of knowledge to know what you do not know." The same author in the same place in his preface: "Wherefore I wish to attest to you, daughter Eustochium, who willingly accept our writings, however imperfect they may be, and I briefly remind you of that saying of the rhetorician Victorinus, that the obscurity of volumes arises from three causes: either the magnitude of the subject, or the ignorance of the teacher, or the dullness of the hearer: of which the first and second I will readily confess in this work; the third, the sharpness of your intellect and desire for the Scriptures easily refuses: for by the privilege of virginity and the continence of your diet, I will not say a frequent, but a perpetual guest, you possess God."
Vulgate Text: Ezekiel 41:1-26
1. And he brought me into the temple, and he measured the fronts, six cubits in width on this side and six cubits on that side, the width of the tabernacle. 2. And the width of the gate was ten cubits: and the sides of the gate were five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side: and he measured its length, forty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. 3. And going in within, he measured at the front of the gate two cubits: and the gate, six cubits: and the width of the gate, seven cubits. 4. And he measured its length, twenty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits, before the face of the temple; and he said to me: This is the Holy of Holies. 5. And he measured the wall of the house, six cubits: and the width of the side, four cubits on every side, all around the house. 6. And the sides, side to side, were twice thirty-three: and there were projections, which entered through the wall of the house, in the sides all around, so that they might be contained and not touch the wall of the temple. 7. And there was a platform going round, ascending upward by a spiral staircase, and it led to the upper chamber of the temple round about; therefore the temple was wider in the upper parts: and so from the lower parts one ascended to the upper through the middle. 8. And I saw in the house a height all around, the sides founded to the measure of a reed of six cubits space: 9. and a width through the wall of the side on the outside, five cubits: and there was an inner house within the sides of the house. 10. And between the treasuries, a width of twenty cubits around the house on every side, 11. and the door of the side toward prayer: one door toward the way of the north, and one door toward the way of the south: and the width of the place of prayer, five cubits all around. 12. And the building that was separated, and turned toward the way looking toward the sea, was seventy cubits in width, and the wall of the building was five cubits in width all around: and its length was ninety cubits. 13. And he measured the length of the house, one hundred cubits: and the building that was separated, and its walls, one hundred cubits in length. 14. And the width before the face of the house, and of that which was separated toward the East, one hundred cubits. 15. And he measured the length of the building opposite that which was separated at the back: the niches on each side, one hundred cubits: and the inner temple, and the vestibules of the court. 16. The thresholds and the oblique windows, and the niches all around on three sides, opposite each threshold, and paneled with wood round about in a circuit: from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were closed above the doors. 17. And up to the inner house, and on the outside through every wall all around, both within and without, according to measure. 18. And there were wrought cherubim and palms: and a palm between cherub and cherub, and each cherub had two faces. 19. The face of a man next to the palm on this side, and the face of a lion next to the palm on the other side, expressed throughout the whole house all around. 20. From the ground up to the upper part of the gate, cherubim and palms were carved on the wall of the temple. 21. The threshold was foursquare, and the face of the sanctuary, aspect facing aspect. 22. The altar of wood was three cubits in height: and its length was two cubits: and its corners, and its length, and its walls were of wood. And he spoke to me: This is the table before the Lord. 23. And there were two doors in the temple and in the sanctuary. 24. And in the two doors on each side there were two small doors, which folded one upon the other: for there were two doors on each side of the doorway. 25. And on the very doors of the temple there were carved cherubim and sculptures of palms, just as they were also expressed on the walls: wherefore also there were thicker timbers on the front of the vestibule outside. 26. Upon which were oblique windows and the likeness of palms on this side and that on the shoulders of the vestibule, according to the sides of the house and the width of the walls. Symbolically, the ancients depicted a threefold world: the first, the sublunary, consisting of the four elements and their mixtures, in which the earth, as the center and foundation, holds the lowest place, and is the habitation of men and animals; the second, the celestial, which consists of the seven spheres of the planets, the firmament, the crystalline heaven, and the primum mobile; the third, the supramundane, angelic and intellectual, which is the dwelling of blessed minds, where they enjoy God in eternal glory. These three worlds were foreshadowed by the tabernacle of Moses, and the temple of Solomon and of Ezekiel. For the sublunary was represented by the court, in which lay people dwelt, men and women of every status and rank, both pious and impious. The celestial was represented by the Holy Place: for the seven-branched candelabrum represented the seven planets. The supramundane was represented by the Holy of Holies, in which were the ark and the propitiatory, as the throne of God, with the Cherubim. For so St. Paul explains these things in Hebrews 9:4 and following. In like manner, this temple foreshadowed three kinds of people, or the threefold state of the Church. For the court represented the Christian laity; the Holy Place, men of perfection; the Holy of Holies, the Blessed reigning with God in heaven. See what was said on Exodus chapters 25 and 26. Furthermore, in Hebrew these three parts of the temple are named as follows: the first, 'ulam,' that is, the vestibule, portico, or court; the second, 'hechal,' that is, the temple or basilica; the third, 'debir,' that is, the oracle: for from the propitiatory God gave oracles. 1. AND HE BROUGHT ME (from the court) INTO THE TEMPLE, namely into the first part of the temple, which was called the basilica, the hall, and the Holy Place, because it was august and solid, because it was the front part, because it was destined for the worship of God, because it was most beautiful, because it was illustrious through God's protections and benefits. AND HE MEASURED THE FRONTS, SIX CUBITS. — By the fronts, Maldonatus understands the chambers that adhered to the temple on the outside: 'These,' he says, 'are called fronts because there were three rows of length; the second projected beyond the first, and the third beyond the second.' They had 'six cubits of width on this side, and six cubits of width on that side,' that is, both those that were on one side and those that were on the other side of the sanctuary or temple, which was the same width as the tabernacle. When it says they had six cubits of width, this is to be understood of the uppermost roof or platform. For below they had 4 cubits, as verse 5 indicates. The second story projected beyond the first by one cubit, and the third beyond the second by another cubit. Better, Vilalpando understands by the fronts the doorposts of the temple gate: for these in Hebrew are called 'elim' from 'strength,' and he called them fronts in chapter 40, verses 10 and 14. Symmachus translates 'all around,' signifying the same doorposts that fortified the gate all around on both sides. Wherefore R. Solomon rightly defines these posts as the width of the thickness of the wall of the temple, which was between the temple and the vestibule. 1. And he brought me into the temple, and he measured the fronts, six cubits in width on this side, and six cubits on that side, the width of the tabernacle. 2. And the width of the door was ten cubits: and the sides of the door, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and he measured its length at forty cubits, and its width at twenty cubits. 3. And going in within, he measured at the front of the door two cubits: and the door, six cubits: and the width of the door, seven cubits. 4. And he measured its length at twenty cubits, and its width at twenty cubits, before the face of the temple; and he said to me: This is the Holy of Holies. 5. And he measured the wall of the house at six cubits: and the width of the side at four cubits on every side, around the house. 6. And the sides, side to side, were twice thirty-three: and there were projections, which entered through the wall of the house, in the sides around about, that they might hold together, and not touch the wall of the temple. 7. And there was an open area round about, ascending upward by a spiral staircase, and it led to the upper chamber of the temple in a circuit; therefore the temple was wider in the upper parts: and so from the lower parts one ascended to the upper parts through the middle. 8. And I saw in the house a height round about, the sides founded at the measure of a reed of six cubits space: 9. and the width along the outer wall of the side five cubits: and the interior of the house was in the sides of the house. 10. And between the treasuries a width of twenty cubits around the house on every side, 11. and the door of the side for prayer: one door toward the way of the North, and one door toward the way of the South: and the width of the place for prayer, five cubits round about. 12. And the building which was separate, and turned toward the way looking toward the sea, was seventy cu- bits in width, but the wall of the building was five cubits in width round about: and its length was ninety cubits. 13. And he measured the length of the house at one hundred cubits: and the building which was separate, and its walls, were one hundred cubits in length. 14. And the width before the face of the house, and of that which was separate toward the East, was one hundred cubits. 15. And he measured the length of the building against the face of that which was separate at the back: the galleries on each side were one hundred cubits: and the inner temple, and the vestibules of the court. 16. The thresholds and the oblique windows, and the galleries round about on three sides, opposite each threshold, and paneled with wood in a circuit all around: and the ground up to the windows, and the windows were closed above the doors. 17. And up to the inner house, and on the outside through every wall round about within and without, according to measure. 18. And cherubim and palms were carved: and a palm between cherub and cherub, and each cherub had two faces. 19. The face of a man beside the palm on this side, and the face of a lion beside the palm on the other side, carved throughout the whole house round about. 20. From the ground up to the upper parts of the door, cherubim and palms were engraved on the wall of the temple. 21. The threshold was square, and the face of the sanctuary, aspect opposite aspect. 22. The height of the wooden altar was three cubits: and its length was two cubits: and its corners, and its length and its walls were of wood. And he spoke to me: This is the table before the Lord. 23. And there were two doors in the temple and in the sanctuary. 24. And in the two doors on each side there were two small doors, which folded into each other: for there were two doors on each side of the doorways. 25. And on the very doors of the temple cherubim were carved, and sculptures of palms, just as they were also expressed on the walls: for which reason the timbers were thicker on the front of the vestibule outside. 26. Upon which were oblique windows, and the likeness of palms on this side and on that side on the shoulders of the vestibule, according to the sides of the house and the width of the walls. Symbolically the ancients depicted a threefold world: the first, the sublunar, consisting of the four elements and their mixtures, in which the earth, as the center and base, holds the lowest place, and is the habitation of men and animals; the second, the celestial, which consists of the seven spheres of the planets, the firmament, the crystalline heaven, and the primum mobile; the third, the supramundane, angelic and intellectual, which is the dwelling place of blessed minds, where they enjoy the eternal age and glory of God. These three worlds were foreshadowed by the tabernacle of Moses, and the temple of Solomon and of Ezekiel. For the sublunar world was represented by the court, in which dwelt lay people, men and women of every status and rank, pious and impious. The celestial world was represented by the Holy Place: for the seven-branched candelabrum represented the seven planets. The supramundane world was represented by the Holy of Holies, in which were the ark and the mercy seat, as a throne of God, with the Cherubim. For thus St. Paul explains these things in Hebrews 9:1 and following.
Verse 1: And He Brought Me
1. AND HE BROUGHT ME (from the court) INTO THE TEMPLE — namely into the front part of the temple, which was called the basilica, hall, and Holy Place, because it was august as well as strong, because it was the front part, because it was destined for the worship of God, because it was most beautiful, because it was illustrious with the protections and benefits of God.
AND HE MEASURED THE FRONTS AT SIX CUBITS.
AND HE MEASURED THE FRONTS AT SIX CUBITS. — By 'fronts' Maldonatus understands the chambers which were attached to the temple on the outside: "These," he says, "are called fronts, because there were three extensions; of which the second projected beyond the first, the third beyond the second. And they had six cubits in width on this side, and six cubits in width on that side," that is, both those which were on one side and those which were on the other side of the sanctuary or temple, which was the same width as the tabernacle. But when he says they had six cubits in width, this must be understood of the uppermost roof or story. For at the bottom they had 4 cubits, as verse 5 indicates. And the second story projected beyond the first by one cubit, and the third beyond the second by another cubit.
Better, Vilalpando by 'fronts' understands the doorposts of the temple gate: for these are called in Hebrew elim, from strength, and he called them 'fronts' in chapter XL, 10, 14. Symmachus translates it 'in a circuit,' signifying the same doorposts, which fortified the gate round about on either side. Wherefore R. Solomon rightly defines these posts as the width of the thickness of the wall of the temple, which was between the temple and the vestibule.
For the thickness of the inner wall of the house was as great as that of all the walls of the temple, namely one reed, that is six cubits. The meaning therefore is, as if to say: The Angel measured both doorposts; the right one, and the width of each from East to West, at six cubits. "The width of the tabernacle," in Hebrew ohel, that is tabernacle, or something stretched out or extended, he calls by catachresis the lintel of the temple door, which being flat and very similar to a stretched curtain, overshadowed and protected the doorway from above, so that the meaning is that the individual posts supporting the lintel were one cubit in width, which was precisely the width of the lintel extended above, and the thickness of the wall dividing the Holy Place from the vestibule, says Vilalpando.
Furthermore the posts and columns, both for decoration and for strength, had their pilasters, that is attached piers, or half-columns.
Verse 2: The Width Of The Door Was Ten Cubits
2. THE WIDTH OF THE DOOR WAS TEN CUBITS — as if to say: The threshold of the temple door was ten cubits wide, as wide as the tabernacle of Moses had been in former times. He is silent about the height of the door, which Vilalpando conjectures from the leveling of the architraves of the court to have been twenty cubits, that is in double proportion to the other doors.
AND THE SIDES OF THE DOOR FIVE CUBITS ON THIS SIDE, AND FIVE CUBITS
AND THE SIDES OF THE DOOR FIVE CUBITS ON THIS SIDE, AND FIVE CUBITS ON THAT SIDE. — For 'sides' the Hebrew has kitphoth, that is 'shoulders,' and as the Septuagint has, epomides. So are called those parts of the wall left on the sides of the door; because just as shoulders protect the chest, so they fortified the door on either side; whence in Latin they are called the sides of the door, because they are left on either side of the door. The width of the temple therefore was 20 cubits, and the width of the door 10, whence the sides on this side and that side remain at 5 and 5 cubits: for the door opened between these sides in the middle of the Holy Place.
Furthermore that these sides of the door were in front is clear from the fact that in the same place he measured the length and width of the Holy Place, as we shall soon hear, says Vilalpando.
AND HE MEASURED ITS LENGTH AT FORTY CUBITS, AND ITS WIDTH AT TWENTY
AND HE MEASURED ITS LENGTH AT FORTY CUBITS, AND ITS WIDTH AT TWENTY CUBITS. — "Its" does not refer to the door, as St. Jerome would have it, but to the temple, namely the Holy Place. So Maldonatus, Vilalpando and others, as if to say: He measured the length of the Holy Place at 40 cubits, the width at 20, as much as was observed by Solomon: the length being indeed double the width, which is especially approved by Vitruvius, Book VI, chapter V, and other ancient architects. For thus it is said in 3 Kings 6:2-3: "And the house which king Solomon built for the Lord had sixty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and thirty cubits in height: the house," namely the whole, "had sixty cubits in length;" because the Holy of Holies had 20, the Holy Place 40, which two joined together make 60.
Furthermore the width of both the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was the same, namely 20 cubits, as was also the height of 30. These 20 cubits of the width of the Holy Place are thus calculated: the door of the Holy Place was 10 cubits, the left side 5, the right 5; join all these together, and you will have 20 cubits, which was the width of the Holy Place, or the Sanctuary.
Verse 3: AND GOING IN WITHIN, HE MEASURED AT THE FRONT OF THE DOOR TWO CUBITS.
3. AND GOING IN WITHIN, HE MEASURED AT THE FRONT OF THE DOOR TWO CUBITS. — "Within," that is into the inner part of the temple, namely into the Holy of Holies. For here he measures its door, and in the next verse the room itself. He calls the doorpost the 'front,' for this is called in Hebrew el, as I said at verse 1. There were therefore two doorposts, on this side and that, each of which was two cubits wide. Hence R. Solomon, Lyra and Maldonatus, by the front of the door understand the thickness of the door, or of the wall and partition, and they say this was two cubits. For it is certain that a wall was interposed and divided the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies: and in the wall was this door, through which the High Priest went from the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies.
And The Door
AND THE DOOR (of the Holy of Holies), SIX CUBITS: AND THE WIDTH OF THE DOOR, SEVEN CUBITS. — "Width," or as the Hebrew has it, 'shoulders,' he calls the sides of the door, or the spaces on either side from the door to the wall, as I said at verses 1 and 2. The meaning therefore is, as if to say: There were two sides of the door, namely two spaces already mentioned, namely one from the door to the southern wall, the other to the northern, each of them having seven cubits in length. For the total width of the Sanctuary was 20 cubits, as he said at verse 2. The two sides had each seven cubits, that is altogether 14, the door six. Add six to 14, you will have 20 cubits of width of the Sanctuary and of the Holy of Holies. So Theodoret, Maldonatus and Vilalpando.
Verse 4: And He Measured Its Length
4. AND HE MEASURED ITS LENGTH (of the Holy of Holies, or oracle, as follows) AT TWENTY CUBITS, AND ITS WIDTH AT TWENTY CUBITS, BEFORE THE FACE OF THE TEMPLE. — The Holy of Holies was therefore square: for its width was equal to its length, whereas the Holy Place was rectangular. For its length was double its width; for it was 40 cubits long, 20 wide. Therefore some Septuagint codices wrongly read forty here instead of twenty. Moreover in these cubits is included the thickness of the wall interposed between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. For the total length of the Sanctuary was 60 cubits, of which the Holy Place had 40, the remaining 20 the Holy of Holies. Therefore the thickness of the wall is included in these cubits; otherwise the Sanctuary would have been not 60, but 62 cubits long. So Vilalpando, who in chapter XI teaches that this oracle, or Holy of Holies, was situated in the middle area of the inner court, or court of the priests.
Before The Face Of The Temple
BEFORE THE FACE OF THE TEMPLE — that is, toward the Sanctuary. He explains which dimension he called the width of the Holy of Holies. For since it was square, it does not seem to have had a width distinct from its length: he says therefore that he calls 'width' that part which was toward the Sanctuary, or Holy Place; not because it was properly the width of the Holy of Holies distinct from its length, but because it was the width of the temple and of the Holy Place. So Maldonatus.
THIS IS THE HOLY OF HOLIES.
THIS IS THE HOLY OF HOLIES. — Hence it is clear that the Angel here literally measures the old temple of Solomon, namely the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, so that after its model the Jews returning from Babylon might build a new one.
Vilalpando renders this verse paraphrastically as follows: And he measured the width of the oracle at twenty cubits, and its length at twenty cubits: whose height also (up to the vault; for with the vault it was 30, indeed 40, as is said in 2 Chronicles 3:4, cubits) was twenty cubits. And He said to me: This is the Holy of Holies, which is called the inner house, and the adytum, as if without entrance (from the Greek alpha privative, and dyo, that is 'I enter,' as if to say an inner chamber without entrance, that is inaccessible), and the house of the soul, in which the one firm hope of Israel rests. It is also called the oracle, or response, or speaking-place of God: and finally the Holy of Holies, that is, the most holy place, set apart from what is common and ordinary, because it represents the highest heaven, where the offering of Christ the supreme priest is made.
Verse 5: AND HE MEASURED THE WALL OF THE HOUSE AT SIX CUBITS, as if to say: He
5. AND HE MEASURED THE WALL OF THE HOUSE AT SIX CUBITS, as if to say: He measured the thickness of the temple wall at six cubits. For since the height of the vestibule was 120 cubits, while the rest of the house was 30, certainly so great a height of the house required a very thick wall at the bottom.
AND THE WIDTH OF THE SIDE AT FOUR CUBITS.
AND THE WIDTH OF THE SIDE AT FOUR CUBITS. — He calls the sides or ribs the buttresses, or pilasters, or piers, which are like appendages of the walls, and like supports (commonly called pilasters) projecting from the wall, attached to it and supporting it, each of which corresponded in width and position to the individual doorposts of the courts.
Secondly and genuinely, Maldonatus by 'side,' in Hebrew tsela, understands a story, a chamber, a room. That this is so will be evident from the next verse. The width of each room adhering to the temple wall was therefore 4 cubits, understand this of the lowest rooms. For the highest had six cubits, the middle five; because the second were one cubit wider than the first or lowest; the third, or highest, one cubit wider than the second. And so the width of the highest room was the same as that of the lowest part of the wall; and of the lowest room, the same as the highest part of the wall; and of the middle room, the same as the middle of the wall. By a little, namely one cubit, the width of these rooms in Solomon's temple was greater. For the lowest were 5 wide, the middle 6, the highest 7 cubits, as Ribera teaches, Book I On the Temple, chapter XIV. Whence Vilalpando judges them to have been equally great in this temple of Ezekiel. But Ezekiel here teaches that they were smaller by a cubit; unless one should say they were four and a half cubits, so that they could be called both four and five cubits.
Verse 6: AND THE SIDES, SIDE TO SIDE, WERE TWICE THIRTY-THREE.
6. AND THE SIDES, SIDE TO SIDE, WERE TWICE THIRTY-THREE. — The Septuagint has 'of thirty-three,' namely cubits: for they came first, and so the Latin Complutensian reads. But the Roman edition, and others commonly read, thirty-three. Now first, Vilalpando gives the meaning, as if to say: The buttresses, or piers already mentioned, corresponding to each other and opposite (for this is what he calls 'side to side,' that is pier to pier, or one pier corresponding to and opposite another) were twice thirty-three, that is 66. For 'twice' the Hebrew has peamim, which signifies feet, steps, times, and other things. Our translator reads it in the dual paamaim, that is two times, that is twice.
Allegorically, these 33 pillars signify the 33 years of Christ's life; for these as it were supported the temple, that is Christ, says Vilalpando.
Secondly and genuinely, by 'sides' understand rooms, or stories, as if to say: There were twice 33 rooms, so that one row of rooms was above another; and 33 rooms were in one, for example the lower, story or level, and as many in the upper. That this is the meaning is clear first from what follows, where it is said that one ascended to these rooms by a spiral staircase, and that they did not rest on the wall, but on the projections of the wall, etc.
Secondly, because the rooms are called in Hebrew tseluoth, that is 'sides,' because they were lateral to the temple.
Thirdly, because such rooms were annexed to Solomon's temple both for decoration, and for strength and firmness, and for use, namely that the furniture of the temple might be stored in them, and that they might serve as oratories annexed to the temple, is clear from 3 Kings 6:5, and expressly from Josephus, Antiquities VIII, 2, and Jewish War VI, chapter 6. So Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter XIV, where from Josephus he shows that these rooms were accessible, and equaled the height of the lower temple, that is rose to 60 cubits. Moreover 'side to side' partly signifies the continuation of the rooms, so that they were mutually collateral, and placed opposite to others on the other side, as Ribera explains; partly subordination, that is to say some were subordinate to others, and as it were lower ones to higher ones, opposite, indeed placed beneath, and corresponding equally. To this agree the Chaldean and R. Solomon, who explain it thus: The stories were one above another, 33, eleven per row. For since there were four sides of the Sanctuary, on the eastern side there were no rooms, because the door was there: each of the other three sides had eleven rooms: and so all together there were 33. Note: these rooms, as being attached to the temple, were different from the chambers, or rooms of the priests, which were in the court. So Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapters XIV and XVII.
Thirdly, R. David and his followers translate peamim as 'feet,' and give the meaning, as if to say: The rooms were one above another 33 feet in height.
Fourthly, Vilalpando likewise translating peamim as 'feet,' translates and explains thus, as if to say: The sides, that is buttresses, two corresponding to each other, projected from the wall of the house 33 feet. But Maldonatus rightly refutes this, from the fact that Ezekiel nowhere measures this structure by feet, but always by cubits.
Fifthly, Maldonatus translates and explains thus: Chamber upon chamber thirty-three times, that is there were three chambers (that is rooms) one above another, and this thirty times; and so there were 90 chambers. But all these interpretations, just as they depart from our Translator, so also from each other they diverge and vary: for everyone here gropes and conjectures as if blind in the dark. Therefore we must stand by our translation, which the Church has approved, so that we may proceed with a firm and solid step. The second interpretation therefore is the genuine one.
And There Were Projections, Which Entered Through The Wall Of The House
AND THERE WERE PROJECTIONS, WHICH ENTERED THROUGH THE WALL OF THE HOUSE — as if to say: When the wall of the temple was being built, projections were left in it, which architects call 'corbels,' upon which the crossbeams of the cells, or rooms adhering to the temple wall, were placed, so that they might rest on them and be supported; by which it came about that the rooms did not cling to the walls of the temple, that is it was not necessary for them to take part of the wall, or to pierce it, so as to hold the beams, which it was not fitting should touch the wall of the temple, let alone rest upon it. So the Chaldean, who translates: The heads of the beams rested upon that which projected, and the beams did not penetrate through the walls of the house. Whence what are here called projections, in 3 Kings 6:5 are called beams; because they projected from the wall to support the crossbeams to be placed upon them, and therefore in Hebrew they are called migraoth, that is 'recedings,' because they were not full beams, but ends: and by the Septuagint they are called diastema, because they receded from the wall projecting outward: the Chaldean and others call them projections. So Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter XIV, Vilalpando and others.
Verse 7: AND THERE WAS AN OPEN AREA ROUND ABOUT ASCENDING UPWARD BY A SPIRAL
7. AND THERE WAS AN OPEN AREA ROUND ABOUT ASCENDING UPWARD BY A SPIRAL STAIRCASE. — He calls the round width of the spiral staircase the 'open area.' Whence the Hebrew reads, it widened itself (the chamber) and went around, as if to say: In the thickness of the wall a spiral staircase was made (this is the name given to a stair, or steps, such as we see in towers), by which one ascended from the lowest row of rooms to the middle, and from the middle to the third and highest. Solomon made a similar spiral staircase in the temple, 3 Kings 6:8. For Solomon did not want stairs placed outside the temple, lest one should ascend to the upper stories entirely from outside, and so that the open area might be left free for the sake of beauty: he therefore made a spiral staircase. But since the rooms on each side were all accessible, one doorway of the spiral staircase was sufficient for each side around. And those ascending had very frequent windows from the south, by whose light they could walk clearly and surely everywhere. So Bede, and from him Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter XV.
Moreover the spiral staircase had only as much width as the upper room projected beyond the lower, that is one cubit of six palms. The wall (as we said in chapter XL) had the width of one palm: the interior cavity was 4 palms; so one ascended to the second room, or second row of rooms. From the second room another spiral staircase projected again, by which one ascended externally to the third. We see a similar spiral staircase in Rome in Trajan's Column, which one ascends by 185 steps internally (for this column is extremely thick, like a tower) from bottom to top, in which, in place of windows, certain small slits are opened, necessary for the light of those climbing, but so small that by those who come close they can scarcely be perceived and seem to be mere cracks: they are 34 in number.
THE TEMPLE WAS WIDER IN THE UPPER PARTS.
THE TEMPLE WAS WIDER IN THE UPPER PARTS. — The Hebrew reads: because the house was wider above, that is because the second row of rooms (which he calls 'the house') was wider by one cubit than the first, and the third than the second, as I said a little before.
He gives the reason why there could be a spiral staircase by which one ascended externally from one row of rooms to another, says Maldonatus; because indeed the house was wider above than below: for this is what the spiral staircase required, turning externally and widening itself more in the upper parts.
Moreover the cause of the inequality of the stories, or rooms, was the narrowness of the area: for it was extremely narrow, says Ribera; hence the lowest were one cubit narrower than the second, and the second than the third.
AND SO FROM THE LOWER PARTS ONE ASCENDED TO THE UPPER PARTS THROUGH THE MIDDLE — that is through the middle, namely the story and row of rooms. So the Chaldean. This is what is said in 3 Kings 6:8: "And by a spiral staircase they ascended to the middle upper chamber, and from the middle to the third."
Mystically Bede explains this spiral staircase and these rooms, in his book On the Tabernacle, chapter VII, and from him Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter XXIV: Three, they say, rows of cells built around the house signify three ways of life, which are all good and pertain to the Church. The first is that of the married, the second of the continent, the third of virgins. And because each of these receives many, and therefore many riches of God's house are preserved in them, they are rightly called cells, or little houses. The first row is narrower, because married people had a lesser breadth of soul and hope, thinking that they could either by no means, or only with the greatest difficulty remain in chastity, heeding that saying of Paul, 1 Corinthians 7:9: "But if they do not contain themselves, let them marry." This breadth is greater in the continent, and greater still in virgins; therefore the second row is wider, the third wider still. The first row is 5 cubits, because it does not much abstain from the pleasures of the five senses: the second is six, because it is more perfect; for the number six signifies perfection, as we said above: the third is seven, by which number complete perfection is signified. In this we depart from Bede; since he was of the opinion that the lowest story was seven cubits, the highest five.
Secondly, Rupert in his Commentary on 3 Kings, chapter X, affirms that in these stories are signified three distinctions of living, which are signified in Ezekiel XIV, in Job, Noah, and Daniel. The first is that of the married, who through faith and patience in marriage are pleasing to God, like Job.
The second is that of Prelates, who are signified in Noah, who governed the ark in the waves. The third and highest is that of those devoted to contemplation, such as was Daniel. The first is of five cubits, in which measure is understood the exterior labor occupying the five senses of the body. The second is of six cubits, because it is engaged and labors in the work of God: and God completed His works in six days. The third has seven, because on the seventh day, that is the sabbath, rest is signified, and a sabbath-rest: for in this way of life the holy soul rests from the world, higher, and while still held in the body, through the repose of contemplation already in a way enjoys heaven. These ways of life, however we may interpret them, are attached to the temple; because they follow the Ecclesiastical norm, and pertain to the Church; but they do not cling to the walls of the temple, that is the walls are not pierced to support them, nor are they propped upon the walls: for the Church is neither burdened nor weighed down by their diversity, nor has it lost anything of its integrity or unity. Yet beams are placed in the wall, by which these stories are supported; because these ways of life rest upon the precepts and counsels of Christ, which the Church has handed down to us.
The doorway by which one entered these was in the wall of the house, not outside; because those who live thus are members of the Church, and outside the Church neither marriage pleases God, as the marriage of the saints does; nor continence, as virginity does; even if indeed these two virtues were found outside it. But it was in the right wall of the house, that is in the southern, which part of the sky is usually taken in a good sense in Scripture, because it has more light and warmth; just as the northern part is taken in a bad sense, because it is cold and dark, which signifies what holy Church believes, as the same author says, and adds: "And here the Evangelist aptly used the word, so as not to say 'He struck' or 'He wounded,' but: 'One of the soldiers opened His side with a lance,' as if it were the doorway of the middle side, through which the way to heavenly things might be opened for us. For through this doorway we have an ascent to the middle upper chamber, and from the middle to the third; because through faith and the mysteries of our Redeemer we ascend from the present life of the Church to the rest of souls after death, and again from the rest of souls at the coming of the day of judgment we shall penetrate also to the immortality of bodies, as into a third upper chamber by a higher advance."
Rupert also in chapter X, says the doorway is the side of Christ opened by the lance; because from it came blood and water, that is baptism, through which we enter the Church, and then either we remain at the lowest level, or we ascend to the middle, or to the third upper chamber, according to our will with the grace of God.
Finally this open area, ascending in a circuit by a spiral staircase, signifies that one ascends to heaven only by the tortuous way of labors and sorrows. Eucherius and Angelomus teach the same things in almost the same words in their commentary on 3 Kings chapter VI, and Vilalpando here, chapter XXI. Such a ladder and spiral staircase was the one which St. Perpetua saw in a vision, and from it she knew that she and her companions were being called through martyrdom to heaven. For she saw a golden ladder stretched from earth to heaven, interwoven with knives and swords like steps: and at the same time she saw her companion Satyrus in prison, ascending through it bravely and courageously, and standing at the top, exhorting her and her companions to follow him fearlessly by the same way. And when the vision
AND THE INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE WAS.
AND THE INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE WAS. — In Hebrew: And the interval which belonged to the house of the rooms, which were in the temple, understand, was also five cubits: that is, the space interposed between the chambers and the wall which surrounded the temple was also five cubits. In Hebrew the word is munnach, about which presently.
Verse 10: And Between The Treasuries A Width
10. AND BETWEEN THE TREASURIES A WIDTH — that is an open area, as if to say: A certain open area twenty cubits wide was between the treasuries of the courts and the aforementioned rooms adhering to the temple, which surrounded the whole house on every side, from East, South, West and North. So Vilalpando. From this passage it is clear that between the temple and the court of the priests, there was interposed a space, or open area of 20 cubits, which extended on every side around the temple, and closely surrounded it. This open area was under the sky, and there the priests prayed. Whence of it is said Joel 2:17: "Between the vestibule and the altar (namely in the open area just mentioned) the priests, the ministers of the Lord, shall weep and shall say: Spare, O Lord." And here verse 11 says there was a place for prayer, that is the oratory of the priests. This place the impious profaned, concerning whom he said in chapter VIII, verse 16: "Between the vestibule and the altar about twenty-five men had their backs against the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the East, and they were adoring the rising sun." And so between the vestibule of the temple and the enclosure, or wall of the court of the priests, this empty space lay between, namely an open area of 20 cubits. So Vilalpandus, Pineda, and others generally.
Verse 11: And The Door Of The Side
11. AND THE DOOR OF THE SIDE (that is the doors of the rooms were) FOR PRAYER — that is toward the place already mentioned; namely toward the rooms surrounding the temple, which were places designated for prayer.
AND THE WIDTH OF THE PLACE FOR PRAYER, FIVE CUBITS — as if to say: And the width of the aforementioned places, or rooms, was 5 cubits. For so much was the distance from the inner wall of the house to the outer wall of the ribs, says Vilalpando. Although Pineda, Book V On the Affairs of Solomon, chapter V, section 11, doubts whether these 5 cubits of space were designated and defined within the open area of 20 cubits mentioned in the previous verse, or further around the house itself in the interval between the two walls by which it was surrounded.
Note: For 'for prayer' the Hebrew has munnach, that is 'rest,' namely a place of rest. Whence our translator a little before rendered it 'the inner house.' So the oratory is called, and elsewhere the temple: first, because this is as it were the place in which God rests, as Isaiah says in chapter 66:1. Whence David also says in Psalm 131:14: "This is my rest forever and ever; here I will dwell, because I have chosen it." And 2 Chronicles 6:41: "Arise, O Lord, into your rest."
Secondly, because there those who pray rest in God, according to Psalm 90:1: "He who dwells in the aid of the Most High shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven." He calls it therefore 'prayer' for the place of prayer, or the oratory of the cells and rooms. Hence Christians of old called their churches proseuchas (as the Septuagint translates here), that is prayers, that is places of prayer: it is a metonymy. Furthermore the same rooms, or oratories, he soon calls in verse 12 'the separate building.'
Verse 12: AND THE BUILDING WHICH WAS SEPARATE.
12. AND THE BUILDING WHICH WAS SEPARATE. — Others understand the whole space of the temple with its chambers and other appendages, and say it is called "separate" because in it the Holy Place was divided and separated from the Holy of Holies. This therefore was 70 cubits wide, which Maldonatus calculates thus: The Holy of Holies had 20 cubits in width, the wall 6 cubits at the bottom: but there was a double wall: one southern, the other northern, making 12, which added to 20 make 32. The lower rooms had 4 cubits: but there were two rows of rooms, one on one side, the other on the other: that makes 8 cubits, which added to 32 gives 40. The outer wall of the rooms was 5 cubits wide, one on one side, the other on the other: making 50. The space left between the rooms and the wall which surrounded the Holy of Holies had five cubits on each side: making 60. The wall surrounding the Holy of Holies also had five cubits on each side: making 70. "And its length was ninety cubits;" namely, the vestibule of the Sanctuary had 11 cubits in width, chapter XL, 49; and the wall was 5 cubits wide, chapter XLI, 48: making 16. And the Sanctuary had 40 cubits in length, as is clear from verse 2: making 56. The Holy of Holies had twenty cubits in length, verse 4: making 76. The wall of the Holy of Holies toward the West was 5 cubits wide: making 81. The lowest chambers were 4 cubits: making 85; and the space left between the chambers and the other wall was 5 cubits: making 90. To which if you add 5 cubits for the wall surrounding the temple on one side, and the same on the other, you will make 100 cubits, which verses 13, 14, 15 will say was the entire circuit of the temple in a square. Thus far Maldonatus. So also Vatablus.
Secondly and better, Vilalpandus says: The building, he says, separate, or, as the Hebrew has it gizra, that is 'cut off' (the Chaldean translates 'enclosed;' the Septuagint, 'the remainder'), he calls the building of the cells, or rooms and oratories already mentioned, adhering to the temple. For this is rightly called binian, that is a building consisting of various parts connected and joined together. In Hebrew literally it reads: the building which was before the face of the separated, that is of the temple: Our translator rendered it 'separate,' because both this building of cells was separate from the temple, and the temple from the building itself. For 'separate' is a relative term of equivalence: separate is the separate of the separated. Moreover he calls the West 'the sea': for to the Jews the Mediterranean Sea is to the West. The meaning therefore is: 'and the building which was separate,' that is the building of cells which was a place of prayer, and which was built on the southern and northern side of the temple, was wide
and extended from East to West, 70 cubits.
And the wall of the building was five cubits, etc. — that is the wall of this building, which surrounded the house on every side, was 5 cubits wide, or thick; and 90 cubits long, that is tall.
Verse 13: AND HE MEASURED THE LENGTH OF THE HOUSE AT ONE HUNDRED CUBITS. AND
13. AND HE MEASURED THE LENGTH OF THE HOUSE AT ONE HUNDRED CUBITS. AND THE BUILDING WHICH WAS SEPARATE, etc., WAS ONE HUNDRED CUBITS IN LENGTH. — The word 'and' means 'that is,' say Lyra and Vilalpandus; for the house is the same as the separate building. The meaning is, as if to say: The measurements of the house, or building of cells, which the Angel had hitherto measured in parts, he now gathers into one total, and defines its length from East to West at the perfect number of one hundred cubits. For the length of the house itself, and the place of prayer, and the walls, all taken together complete a length of one hundred cubits.
I gathered these one hundred cubits in their parts at verse 12, from Maldonatus. For the measurement of this building was the same as that of the temple to which it was attached.
Verse 14: AND THE WIDTH BEFORE THE FACE OF THE HOUSE, etc., WAS ONE HUNDRED
14. AND THE WIDTH BEFORE THE FACE OF THE HOUSE, etc., WAS ONE HUNDRED CUBITS — that is a certain open area, which lay before this magnificent separate building, facing East, was 100 cubits long; and the width of this open area he defined at verse 20 as twenty cubits.
These are a few things from many: for I am eager to extricate myself and the reader from these entangled measurements and thorny symmetries, and to leave them to architects (to whom they properly belong): whoever wants more, let him consult Vilalpandus.
Note: The width is called a 'platea' (open area); for in Greek platos, whence platea is derived, means 'wide' or 'width.' Again, 'toward the East,' that is toward the inner court, which was on the eastern side, in relation to the temple.
Verse 15: And he measured the length of the building (already mentioned)
15. And he measured the length of the building (already mentioned) opposite to it ("it," that is what was placed and set opposite it): WHICH WAS SEPARATE (that is from the temple: for this is what gizra signifies, as I said) AT THE BACK. — In Hebrew achareia, that is 'behind it,' that is what was behind the eastern side, which he had measured before, as if to say in one word: He measured the eastern side, says Maldonatus.
Vilalpando explains it differently; for he thinks the Angel here measures the court which surrounded the temple, or rather the posts and vestibules by which the court was surrounded on three sides.
THE GALLERIES ON EACH SIDE WERE ONE HUNDRED CUBITS. — One asks, what are called 'galleries' (ethecae)? First, the Chaldean translates 'corners;' secondly, Maldonatus, Vatablus and others think that the chambers, or exedrae and treasuries, that is rooms, are called galleries. Hence some Rabbis think the galleries were rooms in which the priests, when they entered the Holy of Holies or came out from it, changed their vestments.
Thirdly, R. Solomon, and from him Lyra: The galleries, he says, are pillars which are inserted into the walls of great buildings, to fortify them.
But I say that 'etheca' is a Chaldaic word, from the root natac, that is 'he tore away, he broke off.' Whence a gallery is called a portico, as our translator renders it in chapter XLII, verse 5, which, supported by posts or columns, appears separated and as if torn from the wall: just as gizra a little before called the temple, because it was separate, and as if torn away from every other structure. So Vilalpandus.
Or rather, as St. Jerome says: "By galleries (ethecas), they call at Rome the upper-story balconies projecting from the walls of buildings, or maeniana, from the one who first invented them, which some of the Greeks call exosteas." For these are properly called in Hebrew ethecae, that is 'a tearing away,' that is a projecting place, and as if torn from the wall and the house. For these can be called porticos; whence in Greek they are called exotikai, that is 'exterior' or 'projecting' porticos: for which reason also a portico, because it is as if torn from the wall, is called an etheca, as our translator renders it, chapter XLII, 5.
The meaning therefore is, as if to say: He measured the length of the western portico, or rather the balcony, which faced the western back of the house, at one hundred cubits. For they were square, having the same width and length, namely one hundred cubits.
AND THE INNER TEMPLE, AND THE VESTIBULES OF THE COURT — as if to say: And so he measured the inner temple and the vestibules of the court. So Vilalpandus.
Verse 16: THE THRESHOLDS, AND THE OBLIQUE WINDOWS, AND THE GALLERIES ROUND
16. THE THRESHOLDS, AND THE OBLIQUE WINDOWS, AND THE GALLERIES ROUND ABOUT ON THREE SIDES. — He repeats what he said in the preceding chapter, to indicate that the Angel there measured everything in detail, here generally, on three sides, that is on three sides, namely to the South, North and West. For on the East, where the entrance to the Holy of Holies was, there could be neither chambers nor galleries, that is their porticos.
OPPOSITE EACH THRESHOLD — as if to say: To each individual doorpost of the house corresponded individual thresholds, or each story to its story.
AND PANELED WITH WOOD IN A CIRCUIT ALL AROUND — that is, the doorposts of the house, or pilasters, were covered with panels (cedar boards, says the Chaldean) of the rooms, around the three sides already mentioned. So Vilalpandus.
AND THE GROUND UP TO THE WINDOWS.
AND THE GROUND UP TO THE WINDOWS. — Richard of St. Victor, in his book On the Temple of Ezekiel, chapter XVII, from this concludes that the house itself was filled with earth up to the windows: but this contradicts the ornamentation of the house and the architecture. The meaning therefore is, as if to say: From the ground up to the windows, supply, the galleries were covered with panels and boards already mentioned, namely up to a height of 25 cubits. Or, more solidly, as if to say: The wall was raised up to the windows of the house, which were opened at a height of 25 cubits in the southern and northern wall. So the Septuagint, the Chaldean, the Hebrews, Vilalpandus and others.
AND THE WINDOWS WERE CLOSED — as if to say: The windows of the temple which were opened above such a wall were so concealed by it that they could not be seen from the lower pavement of the courts. Again, 'windows closed above the doors,' as if to say: And the windows, closed with a triple covering, namely with lattices, shutters and curtains, were opened above the height of the eastern door of the house.
Verse 17: And Up To The Inner House, And On The Outside Through Every Wall Round About, Within And Without, According To Measure
17. AND UP TO THE INNER HOUSE, AND ON THE OUTSIDE THROUGH EVERY WALL ROUND ABOUT, WITHIN AND WITHOUT, ACCORDING TO MEASURE — as if to say: The windows were opened, I say, in the place and manner already mentioned, through the walls of the outer house up to the wall of the inner: for in the inner (namely in the Holy of Holies, as I shall presently say) there were none, and they ran at the same height, both on the inner part of the house to the south and north, and on the outer part of the ribs and rooms. Or 'within,' that is in the inner house of the Holy of Holies; and 'without,' that is in the outer Holy Place, according to measure everything was covered with panels of the same measure, on which Cherubim and palms were carved, that is engraved, as follows. So Vilalpandus.
One asks, what were these windows like, and why are they called oblique? R. David and Isidore Clarius reply that the windows were narrower on the inside, wider on the outside.
Secondly, others commonly judge them to have been narrower on the outside, wider on the inside: hence they are called oblique, both because they were slanted, and consequently because the light entering through them was not direct, but oblique and sloping. So judge Bede, Book On the Tabernacle, chapter VII, Angelomus, Cajetan and Abulensis, on 3 Kings 6:4, Richard of St. Victor, Lyra, Vatablus, Maldonatus here, Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter XIII. But Angelomus and Abulensis affirm that they are not called oblique because they were truly oblique, like the small windows made in certain fortresses, but because, since they were wider on the inside, the lines of their sides were not parallel, but always diverged from each other, like the sides of a triangle. For so Abulensis explains, and adds: "This is done so that much light may enter through them; which would not happen if the windows were equal inside and outside. The reason for this is that the rays of the sun coming from outside intersect at the surface of the window, where the space is narrower, and then widen, and the light enters the house in the manner of an inverted pyramid. This is clear from Book I of the Common Perspective, proposition VI, and so windows are commonly made in churches and other buildings."
This opinion is proved, first, because this is what the word 'oblique' signifies; secondly, because for 'oblique,' 3 Kings 6:4, the Hebrew has scekuphim atumim, that is 'open-closed,' because indeed on the inside they were wide and open, on the outside narrow, so that they seemed almost closed. For they were not entirely closed: for then they would not have been windows. 'Closed' therefore means the same as 'narrow,' as Pagninus explains. Whence the Chaldean translates: Open on the inside, and closed on the outside; and the Septuagint translates: Latticed windows, hidden.
Thirdly, because St. Jerome teaches this in the words cited on chapter 1:16, where he calls these windows from Symmachus toxikas, because they transmitted light like an arrow. Furthermore these windows were covered over with certain transverse lattices in the manner of a net, and as if closed: for this reason they are called in Hebrew atumim, that is 'closed.' This the Septuagint clearly teaches, who in 3 Kings 6:4 translates: thyrides dediktyomenas kryptas, that is 'reticulated windows, hidden,' and likewise verse 16, thyrides diktyotai, that is 'reticulated windows,' or 'latticed.' Where St. Jerome says: "The windows were made in the manner of a net like lattices, so that they would be closed not with ordinary stone, nor with glass, but with intercut and vermiculated woodwork (for which the Hebrew has 'oblique windows'), which were on only three sides of the temple, namely on the right and on the left, and at the back. For the eastern side had no windows; because the entrance itself admitted clear light within"; all the interior of the temple was filled with the light of the doors, so that through each window and through the openings of the lattices one could look within. So Ribera and Vilalpando on chapter XL of Ezekiel, where they add that they are called 'oblique' because their angles were oblique, not right angles, as they are in a net and in transverse lattices: again they are called toxoeideis, because these openings tapered in the manner of the point of an arrow. Vilalpandus displays a clear ground-plan of them in the table after page 144.
Mystically the windows of the temple (as Bede says in chapter VII) are the doctors of the Church, who, while they teach the mysteries of faith and what must be done, through them light enters to the rest. Therefore it was said in Matthew chapter 5: "You are the light of the world." The windows are oblique according to the same author, because indeed it is necessary that whoever has perceived the light of heavenly contemplation even for a moment, should soon widen the bosom of his heart by greater discipline, and prepare himself by diligent exercise for greater things to be undertaken. They are also wider on the inside because, although a great breadth of charity ought to be seen in us externally, a greater one ought to burn within in the heart.
In the body of Christ we can interpret the windows as His wounds, which showed great charity, yet much greater was that which was within in His heart. For Christ loved God the Father immensely, both because He clearly perceived His immense beauty, dignity, love and other divine attributes; and because He discerned His immense love for Himself, by which He had raised His humanity to hypostatic union with the Word, and marvelously adorned it with all the gifts of wisdom, grace and virtue. And because He loved the Father immensely, He also loved men immensely, inasmuch as God the Father had so raised and adorned His humanity for their sake, and willed that Christ should expend all these things for their salvation, and undergo the torments and death of the cross. Therefore this immense love of Christ for God, and reflected from there to us, could not be limited by the boundaries of death and the cross. For just as He died once, so He would have wished to die and be crucified a thousand times, if the Father had commanded it: and as He died for the sake of all men, so He was prepared to die for the sake of one single man, and had the most abundant and most ready love for this: and He would have wished to hang on the cross not just three hours, but until the day of judgment, and there to be consumed with labors and sorrows, if the Father had demanded it, and this very love would have furnished Him with superabundant strength to actually endure this. Hence He thirsted for the cross and death, and for all the days by which it was delayed. This is what He says in Luke 12: "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished?" Therefore Christ had enclosed an ocean of love within His innermost being, of which He showed us only small streams through His wounds. This is the model of love which Christ proposed for us to imitate and repay: about which our Bernardinus Rossignolius learnedly and piously discourses, in the book On the Discipline of Christian Perfection, Book V, chapter XXVI.
But the windows were on three sides of the temple, that is on all sides except the Eastern, and for all conditions, because men of all conditions need the light of the Sun of Justice, which is diffused through the doctors of the Church and through spiritual men. The Eastern side, because it has a great door and is most fully bathed in the rays of the rising sun, does not need windows; because that part of the Church which is fully illuminated by God in beatitude does not need to be taught by men. Hence of it is said in Apocalypse 21: "And the city has no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb." Finally the windows were only in the court and the Holy Place, not in the Holy of Holies; for this was closed and dark on every side without windows, and this because God, that is the Angel acting in God's place, sitting in a body assumed from the air and responding from the mercy seat, did not wish to be seen by the High Priest entering the Holy of Holies. For darkness and cloud are His hiding place, whence the High Priest heard the voice of the One speaking, but discerned no appearance or form, as is said in Numbers 7:89. So teach Abulensis, on Exodus 25, Question XXII, Vilalpandus here, chapter XXXIV, and others.
Verse 18: AND CHERUBIM AND PALMS WERE CARVED: AND A PALM WAS BETWEEN CHERUB AND
18. AND CHERUBIM AND PALMS WERE CARVED: AND A PALM WAS BETWEEN CHERUB AND CHERUB — as if to say: On the walls of the temple were carved the figures of Cherubim and palms, so that alternately there succeeded the image of a Cherub and the image of a palm, and each Cherub was between two palms, and each palm between two Cherubim. The walls therefore were adorned with alternating Cherubim and palm fronds, as with garlands.
Alcazar gives the reason, Apocalypse III, 12, note 1, that the temple was erected by Solomon to God the Victor, on account of the extraordinary victories which his father David had won over his enemies by the help and guidance of God. This is clear from 1 Chronicles 26:27, and chapter 29:11, where David and his captains are said to have offered the spoils captured in war for the building of the temple, David saying: "Yours, O Lord, is the magnificence, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and to You is praise." So Philip II, King of Spain, built that august temple of St. Lawrence on account of the victory which he had obtained on the feast day of St. Lawrence and by his patronage. For Cherubim (that is winged youths), as well as palms, are symbols of victories, as can be seen in ancient sculptures and coins; and the Romans and Greeks seem to have borrowed these from Solomon and the Hebrews. For since it is established that the palm tree originates from Judea and Phoenicia (and therefore on ancient coins, where Judea is represented, a palm is added as its mark and emblem), there seems no doubt that the practice of placing the palm as a sign of victory among the pagans, and of giving the palm to the victor in contests, was derived from the example of Solomon.
Moreover that the statue of Victory was represented holding in one hand a palm branch, in the other an olive branch, this also seems to have been derived from the same temple; because in it there were frequent representations of palm and olive foliage.
Verse 18 and 19: AND THE CHERUB HAD TWO FACES: THE FACE OF A MAN BESIDE THE PALM ON
18 and 19. AND THE CHERUB HAD TWO FACES: THE FACE OF A MAN BESIDE THE PALM ON THIS SIDE, AND THE FACE OF A LION BESIDE THE PALM ON THE OTHER SIDE. — The Cherubim had four faces, as we saw in chapter I, in a freestanding statue; but engraved on a flat wall they showed only two faces, namely of a man and a lion: because the other two faces, namely of an eagle and a bull, were intercepted and hidden by the flatness of the wall itself. For this was half-relief sculpture of the Cherubim (which the French call demi-taille), in which it is necessary that many parts be hidden and not appear: because the figures are incomplete, and partly projecting, while the remaining part is absorbed into the flat surface of the wall. Since therefore the face of the eagle was in the higher part of the head, it was easy for it to remain hidden in such a carving: for the art left only that part of the face projecting or standing out; which was enough for it to be seen and recognized, with the upper part of the head left incomplete or hidden. Secondly, for the face of the lion to be seen, it was necessary for the Cherub to be figured from the side, or obliquely. Therefore by the very fact that it showed the human face and the lion's countenance, necessarily the face of the bull had to be covered, says Alcazar, Apocalypse IV, 7, note 12.
Mystically St. Jerome says: "When we have entered (he says) the Holy of Holies, and mortify our vices, we need the face of a man and of a lion, that is prudence and fortitude." Hence it is clear that the Cherubim had several faces properly so called. For they turned one toward one palm on this side, and another toward another palm on that side: therefore the face of the lion was not the mane, nor the face of the eagle the wings, nor the face of the bull the hooves, as Prado and Vilalpandus would have it. For a lion has a mane both on the chest and on the back.
THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE HOUSE ROUND ABOUT.
THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE HOUSE ROUND ABOUT. — So that in the sanctuary eight Cherubim were counted on the four walls, four in the Holy of Holies surrounding the ark, twelve in the outer house:
so that all the Cherubim of the temple were 24; to which therefore John alludes, Apocalypse 5:8, when he counts as many, that is 24 elders standing before God and the Lamb, says Vilalpandus, chapter XLV. For these elders were so called because from the beginning of time, from when the invisible seat of God was shown to men under some sensible form, they stood before the majesty of God. But about the 24 elders more must be said at Apocalypse 5.
Verse 20: From The Ground Up To The Upper Parts
20. FROM THE GROUND UP TO THE UPPER PARTS — as if to say: To whatever height the threshold or door of the eastern gate was raised, to the same extent from the ground the walls of the temple and the oracle were adorned with carved palms and Cherubim, that is to a height of twenty cubits: the Cherubim therefore were that tall, as were the palms, namely twenty cubits high. So Vilalpandus.
Verse 21: A SQUARE THRESHOLD.
21. A SQUARE THRESHOLD. — In Hebrew: And the post (understand, each one) of the temple was square. Whence R. David says: The threshold of the temple gate was square, in distinction from those who make round thresholds. The gate of the temple was therefore square, not arched. So Vilalpandus.
AND THE FACE OF THE SANCTUARY, ASPECT OPPOSITE ASPECT. — In Hebrew mare kemare, that is 'aspect like aspect,' as if to say: The face, that is the doorposts and gates of the temple, were all similar, and turned toward each other, so that they seemed to look at and regard each other with equal eyes and equal aspect. So Maldonatus. Otherwise the Chaldean and R. Solomon, as if to say: The aspect of the Holy of Holies was similar to the aspect of the glory of the Lord, which I had seen beside the river Chobar, chapter I.
Thirdly and better, Vilalpandus, as if to say: The faces of the Holy of Holies and of the Holy Place, inasmuch as they looked upon the same region of the sky, and could be seen from the same viewpoint, were entirely similar in arrangement, ornaments, incrustations, but unequal in one proportion: for the door-frame of the one on each side is said to have been made from the fourth, of the other from the fifth part of the width of the door.
Verse 22: Of The Wooden Altar
22. OF THE WOODEN ALTAR — He describes and measures here the altar of incense, which was before the door of the Holy of Holies, and says that it, that is the corner supports, and the walls, and the board or table (for this he calls its length), were made of wood, but covered with gold plates: with a golden grating added on top for the fire; and he adds that this altar was three cubits high, two cubits long and equally wide. This altar, being a square of wood, bore the form and type of the cross of Christ, says Vilalpandus.
THIS IS THE TABLE — as if to say: This altar is like a table, on which fire and incense are set before the Lord, as food most pleasing to God, or, as if to say: The Angel, turning from the altar to the table of the showbread, said: This is the table on which twelve loaves are constantly set before God and offered by the twelve tribes of Israel, by which they profess that they are nourished by God, and receive grain and bread each year. Otherwise it must be said that the Prophet here omits the table, as well as the candelabrum in the Holy Place, just as the ark with the mercy seat and Cherubim in the Holy of Holies. The reason for this is that the ark was hidden by Jeremiah. Whence in the temple of Zerubbabel there was no ark, as Josephus expressly teaches, Book VI of the Jewish War, chapter VI.
Verse 23: TWO DOORS.
23. TWO DOORS. — In Hebrew scettain delatoth, that is 'twin doors,' as if to say: Both the door of the Holy Place and of the Holy of Holies, or oracle, each was closed by two doors.
Verse 24: AND IN THE TWO DOORS, etc., THERE WERE TWO SMALL DOORS
24. AND IN THE TWO DOORS, etc., THERE WERE TWO SMALL DOORS — as if to say: In each door again there were two other folding doors. And so in each doorway there were four doors, two folding on one side, and as many on the other, such as we see today in many places. So Vilalpando and Maldonatus.
Verse 25: AND THE TIMBERS WERE THICKER.
25. AND THE TIMBERS WERE THICKER. — That is, the timbers from which the doors were made projected outward, so that Cherubim and palms might be carved on them. The Chaldean and the Hebrews translate and explain these differently, namely of a cedar beam, which they say was stretched from the wall of the temple to the wall of the vestibule, to hold together both walls, as is usually done in large buildings.
Furthermore the beams, as well as the doorposts and columns, says Vilalpandus, were adorned with notable carving of triglyphs, metopes and zoophors. Triglyphs are the heads of beams; so called because they were adorned with three channels. Metopes are the square spaces between the triglyphs. Zoophors were the heads of the Cherubim, namely of the man, eagle, lion and bull carved on the metopes; just as later the Dorians carved the heads of bulls and other animals on metopes. The word zoophoros comes from zoe, that is 'life,' and phero, as if representing and depicting the head of a living being, that is an animal. For which reason the circle of the Zodiac is called by the same name, on account of the signs distinguished by animal forms which it contains, namely these twelve, corresponding to as many months:
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.
Verse 26: Upon which (there were) windows (of which I spoke at verses 16 and
26. Upon which (there were) windows (of which I spoke at verses 16 and 17), AND THE LIKENESS OF PALMS ON THIS SIDE AND THAT ON THE SHOULDERS (in Hebrew kitphoth, that is 'sides') OF THE VESTIBULE (as if to say: On the front of the vestibule on each side there were carved capitals, in the manner of palms on the corner pilasters, as we see in the elegant frontispieces of palaces and temples: capitals, I say) ACCORDING TO THE SIDES OF THE HOUSE, AND THE WIDTH OF THE WALLS. — That is, similar to the capitals, equal and equally balanced, which surrounded the whole house and all its walls on every side. So Vilalpandus, whom I generally follow here above others (unless a pressing reason persuades otherwise, indeed compels it), because he was himself an eminent architect, and spent twenty-two years, as he himself declares, on this structure of the temple: for each person should be believed in his own art and profession.
Mystically Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter XXI, says the two doors of the temple, that is of heaven, are the good works of the twofold charity, namely of God and of neighbor. Whence the doors of the oracle in Solomon's temple were made of olive wood, which is a symbol of mercy. The palms signify that one must fight manfully, so that we may be given the palm. The square doorposts are the four cardinal virtues, or the four principal affections of the soul, which the Poet expressed:
Hence they fear and desire; they grieve and rejoice:
which must be moderated and refined in both adversity and prosperity. The Cherubim signify that the elect should strive to imitate the life of the Angels in purity and love, among whom they see they must live in heaven. The outer door is charity toward the neighbor, the inner door is charity toward God; because through the former we approach the latter. And each door has two leaves, because in charity toward God two things must be present, namely faith in the truth and purity of good action. Likewise in charity toward the neighbor two things must be present, namely good will and good work.
Before these doors there was a veil. The veil before the Holy of Holies signified that heaven was closed, and that the things within heaven were hidden from men. The veil before the Holy Place signified that those good things which God has prepared for those who through perseverance in penance and self-denial (for this was signified by the altar of holocausts and the bronze basin which was in the court before the Holy Place) pass on to the perfection of charity, and always think of future goods, and seek only those, forgetting other things, were hidden from men who had not yet experienced them.
AND THE LIKENESS OF PALMS ON THIS SIDE AND ON THAT ON THE SHOULDERS OF THE VESTIBULE. — The palm is a symbol of strength and victory, because it resists with its shoulders the weights placed upon it. Listen to Gellius, Book III, chapter VI: "Aristotle in Problem VII, and Plutarch in Symposium VII relate an amazing thing: If upon the wood of a palm tree, they say, you place great weights, and press and load it so heavily that the magnitude of the weight cannot be borne, the palm does not yield downward, nor bend below, but rises against the weight, and strives upward, and curves back: for which reason, says Plutarch, it was decided that in contests the palm should be the sign of victory: since the nature of this kind of wood is such that it does not yield to those pressing and oppressing it." Again the palm at the top
Vilalpandus adds in chapter XXVI that the gate of the Jewish temple was similar to the gate of the Roman temple called the Pantheon, built by M. Agrippa in the time of Augustus Caesar, in honor of all the gods.