Ezekiel 43:17
The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all around. The steps of the altar shall face east.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The "stairs" mentioned here, facing east, are a significant departure from the Mosaic Law's prohibition against steps for the altar. This detail signals a transition, pointing away from the old system of sacrificial laws and towards a new way of approaching God, where one faces Him directly rather than turning their back to the rising sun, a symbol of pagan worship.
This passage dives into the detailed measurements of the altar's uppermost ledge and its access point. Following a vision of God's returning glory and the establishment of a new sacrificial system, Ezekiel is instructed on the precise dimensions and features of the altar, emphasizing its square shape and eastward-facing ascent. This specific orientation deliberately contrasts with sun worship, directing worshipers toward God's presence within the temple.
This verse lays out specific measurements for the altar's 'settle' and border. Why such detailed instructions?
The vision in Ezekiel isn't just about size; it's about divine order. The altar's dimensions—14 cubits square for the 'settle,' with a half-cubit border and a one-cubit base—emphasize that God's presence and His ways are marked by precision.
This contrasts with the often haphazard or purely functional structures of human design. Here, every measurement serves a purpose:
These aren't arbitrary numbers; they speak to a holiness that is carefully constructed and maintained.
The altar's steps are explicitly directed eastward. What profound truth is communicated by this orientation?
The placement of the stairs facing east is a powerful statement against the idolatry common in the ancient Near East. Many surrounding nations worshipped the rising sun, turning their faces eastward in prayer and devotion.
By directing the altar's ascent eastward, Ezekiel’s vision ensures that those approaching God would have their backs to the rising sun. Their faces would turn west, toward the dwelling place of God's glory within the temple.
This orientation signifies a radical reorientation of worship: from the created (the sun) to the Creator (God Himself). It’s a call to turn away from false worship and to fix our gaze on the true God.
Ezekiel's detailed vision of a new temple and its altar, described here with precise measurements and features like eastward-facing stairs, was given during the Babylonian exile. This wasn't a blueprint for the Second Temple built by returning exiles, which lacked some of these features, but a prophetic vision pointing to a future, ideal temple and worship, possibly fulfilled in Christ and the new covenant community.
c. 597 BC
First Deportation of Jerusalem
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon deports King Jehoiachin and many Jewish leaders and skilled workers to Babylon, marking the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
c. 587/586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Nebuchadnezzar's forces destroy Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple, with a further deportation of Judeans to Babylon.
c. 593-571 BC— this verse
Ezekiel's Prophetic Ministry in Babylon
Ezekiel, a priest taken in the first deportation, receives visions and prophecies while in exile, ministering to the exiles and speaking judgment and hope.
c. 539 BC
Persian Conquest of Babylon
Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers Babylon, eventually allowing exiled peoples, including the Jews, to return to their homelands.
This passage prohibits steps for the altar, emphasizing a gradual ascent and a specific construction method. Ezekiel's vision of stairs facing east directly contrasts this, hinting at a new covenant order where direct access to God is provided.
2 Chronicles 4:1This verse describes Solomon's large bronze altar, sharing dimensions (like the 12-cubit base) that resonate with Ezekiel's vision of a grand, permanent altar. It shows the tradition of impressive altar structures in Israel's history.
Leviticus 1:11This Levitical law details where sacrifices should be made – on the north side of the altar. Ezekiel's focus on the altar's orientation and the direction of its ascent (eastward) provides a detailed blueprint for its sacred function in a restored worship context.
Revelation 21:22This New Testament vision describes a New Jerusalem with no temple, as the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. While Ezekiel details a physical structure, Revelation points to the ultimate spiritual fulfillment of God's presence, where no such physical altar is needed.
clarkeEzekiel 43:17: "And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east."
And the settle - The ledge on which the priests walked round the altar, see Ezekiel 43:14 . By these settles or ledges the altar was narrowed towards the top. "The ascent shall look toward the east;" this ascent was an inclined plane. But these settles…
pooleEzekiel 43:17: "And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east."
The settle; so called now, since the uppermost carrieth the name of altar, proper to itself. Fourteen cubits, as said in the former verse: nor can it be otherwise, since it is one cubit on each side broader than the altar, which was twelve cubits squar…
The "stairs" mentioned here, facing east, are a significant departure from the Mosaic Law's prohibition against steps for the altar. This detail signals a transition, pointing away from the old system of sacrificial laws and towards a new way of approaching God, where one faces Him directly rather than turning their back to the rising sun, a symbol of pagan worship.
This passage dives into the detailed measurements of the altar's uppermost ledge and its access point. Following a vision of God's returning glory and the establishment of a new sacrificial system, Ezekiel is instructed on the precise dimensions and features of the altar, emphasizing its square shape and eastward-facing ascent. This specific orientation deliberately contrasts with sun worship, directing worshipers toward God's presence within the temple.
This passage dives into the detailed measurements of the altar's uppermost ledge and its access point. Following a vision of God's returning glory and the establishment of a new sacrificial system, Ezekiel is instructed on the precise dimensions and features of the altar, emphasizing its square shape and eastward-facing ascent. This specific orientation deliberately contrasts with sun worship, directing worshipers toward God's presence within the temple.
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c. 516 BC
Dedication of the Second Temple
The Second Temple is completed and dedicated in Jerusalem, built by the returning exiles, though it is smaller and less ornate than Solomon's.
"The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all around. The steps of the altar shall face east.”" — The "stairs" mentioned here, facing east, are a significant departure from the Mosaic Law's prohibition against steps for the altar. This detail signals a transition, pointing away from the old syste…
