The Courts for Boiling and Baking

Ezekiel is taken through the side entrance into the priests' holy chambers facing north, where a place at the far western end is pointed out. The guide explains that this is where priests boil the guilt and sin offerings and bake the grain offering so that these holy things are not carried into the outer court in a way that would transmit holiness improperly. Sacred food preparation is therefore confined to a proper holy zone.

T¹⁹hen the man brought me through the entrance at the side of the gate into the holy chambers facing north, which belonged to the priests, and he showed me a place there at the far western end ²⁰and said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people.”

The guide then leads Ezekiel to the four corners of the outer court, where four enclosed courts of equal size stand with masonry rows and ovens built along the walls. These are the kitchens where temple ministers cook the sacrifices offered by the people. Even the processing of sacrificial food is ordered spatially within the sanctuary complex.

²¹Then he brought me into the outer court and led me around to its four corners, and I saw a separate court in each of its corners. ²²In the four corners of the outer court there were enclosed courts, each forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. Each of the four corner areas had the same dimensions. ²³Around the inside of each of the four courts was a row of masonry with ovens built at the base of the walls on all sides. ²⁴And he said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple will cook the sacrifices offered by the people.”