Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.

EZEKIEL 46:1KJV
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Ezekiel 46:1 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 46:1 mean?

Ezekiel 46:1 gives a schedule for a particular gate in the temple Ezekiel saw in a vision. The gate’s opening marks the Sabbath and the day of the new moon as distinct from the six working days.

The Lord GOD is the speaker, giving Ezekiel instructions about the inner court, the enclosed area closer to the temple building. The east-facing gate provided a place from which people could worship, as the following verses describe.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 46:1

  • “working” — מַעֲשֶׂה (maʿaseh): The word refers to work or activity. Here it describes the ordinary working days in contrast with the named occasions when the gate opens.
  • “moon” — חֹדֶשׁ (chodesh): This word can mean a new moon or a month. In this verse it points to the day marking the beginning of a month.

Why Ezekiel 46:1 matters

  • The rule concerns a specific entrance, not every temple gate. Ezekiel names “the gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east.”
  • Opening the gate did not mean everyone entered the inner court. In verses 2–3, the prince enters by the gate’s porch, while the people worship at the gate’s entrance.
  • The new moon could bring an opening apart from the weekly Sabbath. The verse names each occasion separately.

Where else these words appear

“inner” Hebrew H6442 · used in 29 verses

  • 1 Kings 6:27 And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
  • Ezekiel 8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
  • Ezekiel 41:15 And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court;

“east” Hebrew H6921 · used in 64 verses

  • Genesis 41:6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
  • Ezekiel 40:32 And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures.
  • Ezekiel 48:3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.

“shut” Hebrew H5462 · used in 87 verses

  • Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
  • 1 Samuel 1:6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
  • Job 11:10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?

“sabbath” Hebrew H7676 · used in 89 verses

  • Exodus 16:23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
  • Leviticus 26:35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
  • Nehemiah 13:21 Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.