The entrance of the Heichal: Its height [was] twenty amos, and its width [was] ten amos. And it had four doors, two at the inside and two at the outside, as it is stated (Ezekiel 41:23): There were two doors to the Heichal and to the Holy [of Holies]. The outer [doors] opened into the entrance to cover the thickness of [the] wall, and the inner [doors] opened into the Heichal to cover [the area] behind the doors, for the entire Heichal was plated with gold, except for [the area] behind the doors.  R’ Yehudah says: [Both sets of doors] stood within the entranceway, and they were like an isteramita insofar as they folded back on themselves: the [outer doors occupied] two and a half amos and the [inner doors occupied] two and a half amos, [leaving] half an amah [for] the doorpost on this side and half an amah [for] the doorpost on this side; as it is stated (Ezekiel 41:24): There were two doors for [each one of] the doors, two swinging doors: two for one door and two doors for the other.

The Great Gate had two minor doorways, one in the north and one in the south. The one to the south, no man ever entered through it. [The reason for] this is explained by [the prophet] Ezekiel, as it is stated (Ezekiel 44:2): Hashem said to me, ”This gate shall be closed, it shall not be opened; a man shall not come through it, because Hashem, the God of Israel, comes through it; it shall be closed.”  He took the key and opened the minor doorway and entered the cell, and from the cell [he went] to the Heichal. R’ Yehudah says: He would walk within the thickness of the [Heichal’s] wall until he is found standing between the [Heichal’s] two sets of doors; and he opened the outer [doors] from the inside and the inner [doors] from the outside.

Thirty-eight cells were there: fifteen in the north, fifteen in the south, and eight in the west. [Those] in the north and in the south: five [cells] on top of five, and five on top of them. And those in the west: three [cells] on top of three and two on top of them.  Each [cell] had three openings: one to the cell on the right, one to the cell on the left, and one to the cell above it. But [in the cell] at the northeast corner were five openings: one to the cell on the right, one to the cell above it, one to the Winding Ramp, one to the minor doorway, and one to the Heichal.

The [cells of the] bottom [level were] five [amos wide], and [with] the ledge [were] six [amos]. The [cells of the] middle [level were] six [amos wide], and [with] the ledge [were] seven [amos]. The [cells of the] top [level were] seven [amos wide]. As it is stated (I Kings 6:6): The lowest cell, five amos was its width; the middle one, six amos was its width; and the third one, seven amos was its width.

The Winding Ramp ascended from the northeast corner to the northwest corner, on which they would go up to the roofs of the cells.  He would ascend the Winding Ramp with his face to the west; he walked along the entire northern face [of the Heichal building] until he reached the west. [When] he reached the west, he turned his face to the south, he walked along the western face [of the building] until he reached the south. [When] he reached the south, he turned his face to the east; he walked along the south until he reached the entrance to the upper story [of the Heichal], for the entrance to the upper story opened to the south.  At the entrance to the upper story were two beams of cedar, on which they would ascend to the roof of the upper story. Ends of beams divided the upper story between the [area above the] Holy and the [area above the] Holy of Holies.  Hatches were open in the upper story of the cham-ber of the Holy of Holies, through which the crafts-men would be lowered in crates, so that their eyes would not feast on the [beauty of the] Holy of Holies.

The Heichal [measured] one hundred [amos] by one hundred [amos] with a height of one hundred [amos]: the Otem [was] six amos, the height of [the Heichal was] forty amos, one amah [was for the] decoration, two amos [for the] bracing, one amah [for the] ceiling, one amah [for the] pavement; and the height of the upper story [was] forty amos, one amah [was for the] decoration, two amos [for the] bracing, one amah [for the] ceiling, one amah [for the] pavement, three amos [for the] fence, and one amah [for the] “crow-chaser.” R’ Yehudah says: The “crow-chaser” was not included in the measure [of 100 amos]; rather, four amos was [the height of the] fence.

From the east to the west [it measured] one hundred amos: The wall of the Antechamber [was] five [amos] and the Antechamber [was] eleven [amos], the wall of the Heichal [was] six [amos], and its interior [was] forty amos, [the] amah traksin, twenty amos [for] the chamber of the Holy of Holies, the [western] wall of the Heichal [was] six [amos], the cell [was] six [amos], and the wall of the cell [was] five [amos].  From the north to the south [it measured] seventy amos: The [northern] wall of the Winding Ramp [was] five [amos] and the Winding Ramp [was] three [amos]; the [northern] wall of the cell [was] five [amos] and the cell [was] six [amos], the [northern] wall of the Heichal [was] six [amos] and its interior [was] twenty [amos], the [southern] wall of the Heichal [was] six [amos], the [southern] cell [was] six [amos], the [southern] wall of the cell [was] five [amos], the Place of Lowering the Water [was] three amos, and the [outer] wall [of the Place of Lowering the Water was] five amos.  The Antechamber extended beyond [the Heichal] fifteen amos to the north and fifteen amos to the south, and this was called the Chamber of the Knives, for there they would store the knives. The Heichal was narrow in the back and wide in the front, and [in this way] was similar to a lion; as is stated (Isaiah 29:1): O, Ariel ... city where David encamped. Just as a lion is narrow in the back and wide in the front, so too, the Heichal was narrow in the back and wide in the front.

The entire Courtyard was one hundred eighty-seven [amos] in length by one hundred thirty-five [amos] in width. From the east to the west [the Courtyard measured] one hundred eighty-seven [amos]; [the] area in which Yisraelim walked [measured] eleven amos, [the] area in which Kohanim walked [measured] eleven amos, the Altar [measured] thirty-two [amos], between the Antechamber and the Altar [measured] twenty-two amos; the Heichal [measured] one hundred amos, and eleven amos behind the Chamber of the Ark-cover.

From the north to the south [the Courtyard measured] one hundred thirty-five [amos]: The ramp and the Altar [measured] sixty-two [amos], from the Altar to the rings [was] eight amos; the area of the rings [measured] twenty-four [amos], from the rings to the tables [was] four [amos], from the tables to the dwarf-pillars [was] four [amos], from the dwarf-pillars to the [northern] wall of the Courtyard [was] eight amos. The remainder [was] between the ramp and the [southern] wall [of the Courtyard] and the area of the dwarf-pillars.

There were six chambers in the Courtyard, three in the north and three in the south. Those in the south: the Salt Chamber, the Parvah Chamber, the Rinsing Chamber. The Salt Chamber: there they put salt for the offering[s]. The Parvah Chamber: there they salted hides of kodashim [-offerings], and on its roof was a mikveh for the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur. The Rinsing Chamber: there they would rinse [the] innards of the kodashim [-offerings]. And from there a spiral staircase ascended to the roof of the Parvah Chamber.