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H1146 · Hebrew · Old Testament
בִּנְיָן
Binyan
Noun, masculine
building, structure

Definition

Binyan refers to a building or edifice, particularly in the context of large-scale construction. Like binyah (H1140), it derives from banah (H1129), "to build." The word emphasizes the completed structure rather than the process of construction. It appears in Ezekiel's detailed temple vision.

Usage & Theological Significance

Ezekiel's eschatological temple vision employs binyan to describe the structures surrounding the sanctuary. The precision of these architectural descriptions — measurements, walls, chambers — communicates that God's restored dwelling is not vague or mystical but concrete and ordered. For the exiles in Babylon who had lost the temple, these detailed building descriptions were a promise: God would build again. The New Testament extends this imagery to the church as a "building" (oikodomē) growing into a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:21).

Key Bible Verses

Ezekiel 40:5 And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and in the man's hand was a measuring reed. He measured the building [binyan]: one reed thick and one reed high.
Ezekiel 42:10 In the thickness of the wall of the court, toward the south, facing the yard and facing the building [binyan], there were chambers.

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External Resources

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