Ezekiel 40:43

And within were hooks, a hand broad, fastened round about,.... These, very probably, were fastened on the posts of the gate, near which were the washing room for the sacrifices, Ezekiel 40:38, on

And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering. Hooks - cooking apparatus for cooking the flesh of the sacrifices that fell to the priests.

Within the house, porch, or whatever the place be called where these tables stood. Hooks; learned conjectures here, as in many other places, perplex more than explain. Hooks, on which the slaughtered sacrifice might be hanged. while they prepared it further, were needful, and the word imports such iron hooks. It is probable that there might be two hooks of iron fastened to or wrought out, where the plate was so broad, and therefore called hooks in the plural. Fastened to walls, no doubt, near these tables. Upon the tables was the flesh of the offering; they were careful to keep the holy flesh from lying any where that might look like common ground. It is like that the sacrifice was fastened to these hooks, and rested on these stone tables, while the priests cut them into their pieces.

Ezekiel 40:43 And within [were] hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables [was] the flesh of the offering.Ver. 43. And within were hooks.] Where hung the beasts when they were flayed, and afterwards the priests’ and offerers’ portions, till after the sacrifice they were shared out.

(43) Hooks.—This is a word of doubtful meaning, found elsewhere only in Psalms 68:13, where it is translated pots. It certainly designates something “within” the porch, and therefore could not have been anything attached to the tables which were “without.” Our translators, following the ancient Chaldee paraphrast, have probably given the true sense, hooks, upon which the flesh of the victims was hung after it had been prepared upon the tables.

43. within were hooks] The word rendered hooks occurs in the sense of cattlepens (Psalms 68:14), a meaning precluded here by the dimension, a handbreadth. Such hooks fitted up “within,” i.e. in the porch, might be used for hanging the carcases upon in order to flay them (Targ.). The meaning “hooks” is not certain. LXX. assumes that the stone tables are still referred to and points differently, reading lip or border for “hooks:” “and they shall have a border of hewn stone inwards round about of a span broad.” Cf. Ezekiel 43:13; Ezekiel 43:17. flesh of the offering] Except in a clause of Eze 20:28 (wanting in LXX.) the word “offering” is not used by Ezek. The present clause seems to say little. LXX. reads: “and over the tables above (they shall have) coverings, to protect them from the wet and from the heat”—which has a suspicious resemblance to Isaiah 4:6. The Ezekiel 40:38-43 are no doubt in some disorder. They suggest several questions not easily settled. Upon the whole it is improbable that slaughtering took place at more than one gate. The word “northwards” indeed (Ezekiel 40:40) seems decisive of this point. Either the N. gate is intended, or the N. side of the E. gate, no other gate having a N. side. There are several things in favour of the N. gate: (1) In Ezekiel 40:35-37 the prophet was at the N. inner gate, and no intimation is given that he was transported to another gate in Ezekiel 40:38. (2) In the Law slaughtering is ordered to be performed on the N. side of the altar in the case of the burnt, sin and trespass offerings (Leviticus 1:11; Leviticus 4:24; Leviticus 4:29; Leviticus 4:33; Leviticus 6:25; Leviticus 7:2; Leviticus 14:13); no injunction is given in the case of the peace-offering (Ezekiel 3:2; Ezekiel 3:8; Ezekiel 3:13). It is probable that the prophet’s legislation and that of the Levitical books will be in harmony. (3) In ch. Ezekiel 8:5 the “altar-gate” is certainly the N. gate. (4) The E. gate, both inner and outer, was to be kept shut except on sabbaths and new moons (Ezekiel 46:1), or on other occasions when the prince wished to offer a freewill offering (Ezekiel 46:12). In favour of the E. gate there is the supposed meaning of Eze 40:40; but the rendering, “on the N. of one going up to the entry,” is hardly tenable (Ezekiel 40:40). Ew. indeed for “gates” Ezekiel 40:38 would read “east gate”—a purely arbitrary amendment. And altogether unhappy is his proposal to read for without (michuçah), Ezekiel 40:40, “runnel” (meruçah)—the verb to “run” being never used of the running of water or fluids.

Hooks - The alternative renderings given in the margin indicate the doubtfulness of the translation of the original word. The form is dual, and indicates that it is some object usually found in pairs.

38-43. The description of these chambers of sacrifice must always remain obscure.