Hebrew word · H5835

עֲזָרָה

ha'azarah

enclosure

An enclosure or court. In Ezekiel the same word means a ledge on the altar (Ezekiel 43:14, 17, 20; 45:19). In Chronicles it means a temple court.

Appears 9 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) enclosure

1a) ledge (surrounding Ezekiel's altar)

1b) court (outer one of temple)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Chronicles 6:13

Range of meaning

An enclosure or court. In Ezekiel the same word means a ledge on the altar (Ezekiel 43:14, 17, 20; 45:19). In Chronicles it means a temple court.

Against the English

BSB says "courtyard" and KJV and WEB say "court," which are accurate. NIV and NLT say "outer court(yard)," which draws the sensible conclusion from 2 Chronicles 4:9 but states it more firmly than this verse does.

Used elsewhere in the period

Kings uses the older word chatser for court. Azarah belongs to later Hebrew, and it becomes the normal word for the temple courts in the Mishnah, the Jewish law collection of about AD 200. 2 Chronicles 4:9 distinguishes "the court of the priests" (chatser) from "the great court" (azarah).

Where it appears

2 Chronicles · 3

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:9 וְהָעֲזָרָ֖ה לָעֲזָרָ֛ה and the precinct, for the precinct

    He made the courtyard of the priests and the large court with its doors, and he overlaid the doors with bronze.

  2. 2 Chronicles 6:13 הָעֲזָרָה֒ the precinct

    Now Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high and had placed it in the middle of the courtyard. He stood on it, knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,

    Here: A later Hebrew word for a temple court. The only other use in Chronicles is 2 Chronicles 4:9, where it names the great court as distinct from the court of the priests, which suggests Solomon is out where the people gather.

Ezekiel · 6

  1. Ezekiel 43:14 הָעֲזָרָ֤ה וּמֵהֳעֲזָרָ֨ה הָעֲזָרָ֤ה the ledge, and from the ledge

    The space from the gutter on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the ledge one cubit wide. The space from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits, and the ledge one cubit wide.

  2. Ezekiel 43:17 וְהָעֲזָרָ֞ה and the ledge

    The ledge shall also be square, fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, with a rim of half a cubit and a gutter of a cubit all around it. The steps of the altar shall face east.”

  3. Ezekiel 43:20 הָעֲזָרָ֔ה the ledge

    You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and all around the rim; thus you will cleanse the altar and make atonement for it.

  4. Ezekiel 45:19 הָעֲזָרָ֖ה the ledge

    And the priest is to take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the inner court.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.