“Now there was a wall
All around the outside
Of the temple area.
The length
Of the measuring reed
In the man’s hand
Was six long cubits.
Each cubit
Was a cubit
Plus a handbreadth
In length.
He measured
The thickness
Of the wall,
One reed.
He measured
The height
Of the wall.
One reed.”
Almost like Moses in Exodus, Ezekiel’s vision of the future described what the new Temple should look like. Surprisingly, it was much like the old Temple. There was no indication that the Second Temple was built like this vision of Ezekiel indicated. First, this bronze man was going to measure the wall around the Temple. He took his measuring reed that was 6 long cubits. The long cubit was 4 inches longer or the width of a hand longer than the regular cubit that was about a foot and a half long. When this bronze man measured the thickness and the height of the wall, they were symmetrical, exactly the same, one reed or 6 long cubits, somewhere between about 10 feet high and 10 feet wide, a massive construction.