Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people.
EZEKIEL 46:20KJVWhat does Ezekiel 46:20 mean?
Ezekiel 46:20 explains that there is a special place in the temple where the priests are to cook the offerings for sin and guilt, as well as bake the grain offering, so that these holy things are not taken out into the outer court where ordinary people are, which would make them holy too. This instruction is about keeping a clear boundary between what is set apart for God and what is common.
In this verse, a guide (likely an angel) is speaking to Ezekiel during his vision of the future temple. The guide points out a designated area for the priests to prepare offerings—specifically, the sin offering, the guilt offering, and the grain offering. The reason given is to prevent these offerings, which are considered holy, from being brought into the outer court and causing the people there to become consecrated in a way that is not intended.
The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 46:20
- "boil" (בָּשַׁל, bashal): This word means to cook by boiling, and it is used here to describe how the priests are to prepare certain offerings. The detail shows that the preparation of offerings was a practical, hands-on task.
- "bake" (אָפָה, aphah): This word means to bake, referring to the grain offering. The verse shows that not all offerings were treated the same way—some were boiled, others baked, depending on their type.
- "utter" (חִיץ, chiytz): This word refers to the outer or external court of the temple. The instruction is about keeping the holy things within the inner, more sacred areas, highlighting the separation between holy and common spaces.
- "sanctify" (קָדַשׁ, qadash): This word means to make holy or set apart. The concern is that if the offerings were taken out, the people in the outer court would be made holy in a way that was not appropriate or intended.
Why Ezekiel 46:20 matters
- This verse clarifies that holiness in the temple was carefully managed, and not everything or everyone was meant to be set apart in the same way. It shows the seriousness with which boundaries between holy and common were kept.
- Ezekiel 46:20 helps explain the practical side of temple worship, showing that the priests had specific duties and spaces for their work, not just rituals but also cooking and baking.
- The verse connects to the wider passage by showing how the temple vision in Ezekiel is about order, separation, and respect for what is dedicated to God. It highlights the importance of proper procedures in worship.