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Herod's Temple - Court of the Women Chambers

Bible overview
Chambers in and around the Court of women.
Contributed by Bible Scenes
1
There were four chambers on each corner around the Court of the Women. – Slide 1
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Each were 40 cubits (21m 69ft) square. – Slide 2
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In the south-west corner was the ‘Chamber of the House of Oil’. This chamber served as a storage room for the olive oil used to light the menorah each day. Olive oil was also used in the preparation of various meal-offerings and for wine used in the libations on the mizbeach (altar). – Slide 3
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Each chamber had an open court with porticoes built along the four walls to provide protection from sun and rain. – Slide 4
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Between the ‘Chamber of the House of Oil’ and the ‘Chamber of the Nazarites’ was the south gate entrance through to the ‘Court of the Women’. – Slide 5
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In the south-east corner was the ‘Chamber of the Nazarites’. Those taking the Nazarite vow, consecrated themselves to God by refraining from cutting their hair, drinking wine and never touching a dead body. At the completion of the vows period, Nazarites were required to bring three offerings: a ewe as sin offering, a lamb as a burnt offering and a ram as peace offering. In this chamber, the Nazarite would shave his hair and throw it into the fire under the big vat that was there. In this vat, the meat from the peace offering was cooked. The cooked shank of the peace offering was given to the priests and the rest of the meat from the offering was for the Nazarite. – Slide 6
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Between the ‘Chamber of the Nazarites’ and the ‘Chamber of the Woodshed’ was the east gate entrance through to the ‘Court of the Women’. – Slide 7
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In the north-east corner was the ‘Chamber of the Woodshed’. In this chamber priest who had physical blemishes and thus were invalidated from doing other services inspected the wood to be used on the Altar. Only wood which was found to be free from worms was used upon the Altar (mizbeach). – Slide 8
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Between the ‘Chamber of the Woodshed’ and the ‘The Lepers Chamber’ was the north gate entrance through to the ‘Court of the Women’. – Slide 9
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In the north-west corner was the ‘The Lepers Chamber’. It had a mikvah, a pool of natural water in which Israelites healed of ritually impure disfigurative conditions of the human skin known in Hebrew as tzar'at, gathered with their offerings on the eighth day of their purification process. The term tzar'at is frequently translated as leprosy but it is not what we would understand today as modern leprosy today (Hansens disease). <br/>After bathing Israelites reported to a priest at the Nicanor Gate to be anointed with the blood and oil from their offerings. They were then declared clean of tzar'at. The ten healed of leprosy by Jesus were sent to report to the priest and would have performed this ritual (Matthew 8:4, Mark 1:44, Luke 5:14). – Slide 10
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Two other chambers, the entrances of which were in the Court of the Women, were the two ‘Chambers of Musical Instruments’, which served as the storehouse for the Levites. The chambers themselves were not in the Court of Women but rather were dug beneath the floor of the Court of the Israelites, but the entrances to these chambers were within the Court of Women, on either side of the steps leading up to the Nicanor Gate. The dimensions of these chambers are unknown. – Slide 11
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Slide 12