Bible Dictionaries
Gallery

Holman Bible Dictionary

An architectural feature of the Temple annex (Ezekiel 41:15-16 ) and two buildings near the Temple (Ezekiel 42:3 ,Ezekiel 42:3,42:5 ). The English “gallery” is an ambiguous term referring to a number of features: a corridor (REB); a roofed walkway or colonade; an outdoor balcony or terrace. The meaning of the underlying Hebrew word is contested. Some suggest the meaning was passage way on the basis of similarities with Akkadian. Others suggest the term means slope or embankment. In this case the Temple measurements in Ezekiel 41:15-16 would refer to the base of the elevated inner court. English translators understand either a reference to interior corridors of the

Temple annex or columned porches (contrast Ezekiel 42:6 ). The two buildings in Ezekiel 42:1 were apparently constructed “stairstep” style with each floor smaller than the one beneath it. Here the gallery is perhaps the terrace formed by the flat roof of the floor below. Others have suggested the Hebrew refers to underlying rock formations that protruded into the structure.