Original Word: קָטַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: qatar
Pronunciation: kah-TAR
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-tar')
KJV: join
NASB: enclosed
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to inclose

join

A primitive root; to inclose -- join.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
perhaps to shut in, enclose
NASB Translation
enclosed (1).

II. [קָטַר] verb dubious word; si vera lectio apparently = shut in, enclose (ᵑ7 קְטַר Syriac bind, chain); —

Qal Passive participle plural חֲצֵדוֺת קְטֻרוֺת Ezekiel 46:22 enclosed courts (compare interpretation in Levy^{NHWB, and} PS³⁵⁸⁹), but read probably קְטַגּוֺת small, ᵐ5 ᵑ6 Co Toy Berthol Krae.

קטר (√ of following; ᵑ7 קְטַר, Syriac bind, whence קִטְרָא, knot, etc.; compare Biblical Hebrew II. [קטר]).

Biblical setting

The only occurrence of קָטַר (qāṭar) appears in the temple-vision section of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 46:22). The prophet is led, in the Spirit, through a detailed tour of the future temple; every dimension is divinely specified so that “the law of the house” (Ezekiel 43:12) might be perfectly observed. Within this exact layout four “enclosed courts” occupy the extreme corners of the outer court. The term qāṭar designates these secluded, roofed, inward-facing, food-preparation areas.

Architectural and liturgical role

1. Separation for holy service
• The enclosed courts are placed outside the inner sanctum but still within the sacred precinct. Their positioning prevents sacrificial fats, blood, and smoke from crossing into the common space, yet also keeps them distinct from the altar platform (Ezekiel 46:19-20). The arrangement safeguards the principle that “nothing unclean may enter” (compare Revelation 21:27).
2. Provision for priestly ministry
• The priests “boil the guilt offering and the sin offering and bake the grain offering” there (Ezekiel 46:20). Cooked portions destined for the priests and the people are prepared without violating the sanctity of the altar itself. The enclosed courts thus function as temple kitchens, integrating worship with fellowship.
3. Orderly equality
• “The four corner courts were of the same size” (Ezekiel 46:22), echoing the symmetry found throughout the vision (Ezekiel 40:47). Uniform measurements teach that divine holiness is consistent, impartial, and without variance (James 1:17).

Symbolic significance

1. Holiness maintained through boundaries
• The very idea of an enclosure underscores the biblical pattern that holiness is preserved by marked separation (Leviticus 10:10; 2 Corinthians 6:17). Walls do not exclude worshippers; they protect them.
2. Anticipation of full fellowship
• While the enclosed courts restrict approach, they also enable a shared meal from peace offerings, a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). God limits contact only so that true communion may be secured on His terms.
3. The mundane sanctified
• Cooking, an ordinary task, is elevated to priestly service inside these courts. This reflects the wider biblical call: “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Historical perspective

Ezekiel received his vision during exile (circa 573 BC). The first temple lay in ruins, and the second had not yet been built. The prophet therefore pictures a future edifice whose perfection far surpasses anything previously known. The enclosed courts, absent from earlier temple descriptions, signal an intensified concern for ritual purity after the exile’s hard-learned lessons about covenant faithfulness.

Intertextual echoes

• Solomon’s temple had “side rooms” for priestly storage (1 Kings 6:5-6), but Ezekiel’s future temple adds designated culinary courts, expanding the theology of access.
• Numbers 28–29 links the preparation of offerings with daily devotion; Ezekiel’s qāṭar locations provide the logistics for that continual worship.
• Malachi 3:3 foresees the Lord “purifying the sons of Levi” so that offerings might again be righteous. The enclosed courts illustrate what purified ministry looks like in practice.

Ministerial implications

1. Clear boundaries in worship protect both clergy and congregation from casual irreverence.
2. Practical arrangements (kitchens, storage, scheduling) are not peripheral but essential to orderly worship. God values detail.
3. The church today, a “holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5), must likewise sanctify the commonplace—administration, hospitality, maintenance—for spiritual service.

Eschatological outlook

Ezekiel’s temple points beyond itself to the climactic dwelling of God with His people (Revelation 21:3). The enclosed courts hint at a time when purity and fellowship coexist without tension: holiness safeguarded, yet intimacy enhanced. In that coming reality, no barrier will exclude the redeemed, for Christ has made every believer both priest and participant (Revelation 1:6).

Summary

קָטַר marks an architectural feature designed to uphold holiness, enable service, and foster communal fellowship within Ezekiel’s prophetic temple. Though occurring only once, the term advances biblical themes of separation unto God, sanctified labor, and the ordered beauty of divine worship—anticipating the ultimate union of God and His people in perfect, holy communion.

קְטֻר֔וֹת קטרות ketuRot qə·ṭu·rō·wṯ qəṭurōwṯInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts