יחזקאל, פרק מ׳, פסוק י״ז

The prophet's visionary journey moves deeper into the sacred complex. Stepping past the eastern gate, he enters the vast open space of the great outer courtyard surrounding the Temple, an area identified as the Women's Courtyard because it sits outside the main inner enclosure. Within this expansive area, a striking architectural feature comes into view: a series of chambers resting upon a designated paved section that lines the perimeter. Notably, these specific rooms were entirely absent from the architecture of the Second Temple [רד״ק, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The exact nature of this paved foundation presents an interesting architectural puzzle. A straightforward reading suggests it was a raised walkway on the ground level, crafted from smooth, beautiful stones like marble, upon which the chambers were directly built [אברבנאל, מלבי״ם, מצודת ציון]. However, an alternative perspective views this structure not as a ground-level floor, but as an elevated gallery or balcony. Supported by pillars and leaning against the courtyard wall, this upper level housed the chambers, much like the balcony constructed in the Women's Courtyard during the Second Temple era to separate the gathered crowds [רש״י, מצודת דוד]. Bridging these two ideas, a middle approach proposes that there were actually two distinct paved levels—one resting on the solid ground and another suspended above it on pillars [רד״ק].

Regardless of their exact elevation, thirty chambers were distributed evenly along the courtyard's perimeter. Based on the precise measurements of the space, these rooms were arranged with ten along the eastern wall—five flanking each side of the main gate—ten along the northern wall, and ten along the southern wall, altogether forming a complete ring of thirty chambers [מלבי״ם].