Arch

Arch as an architectural term appears in the English Bible only in Ezekiel's vision of the restored temple (Ezek. 40:16, 21, 22, 26, 29), where the Hebrew word ayil is variously rendered “arch,” “post,” or “pillar” depending on the translation. The precise architectural feature intended is debated, with some interpreters understanding it as a pillared porch or vestibule (“elam”) rather than a true semicircular arch in the later Roman sense.

Whether the ancient Israelites used the true voussoir arch—constructed of wedge-shaped stones—remains a matter of archaeological discussion, though examples of corbelled arches and post-and-lintel construction are well attested in Bronze and Iron Age Palestine. Ezekiel's precise measurements and descriptions in chapters 40–48 reflect either a visionary ideal or an architectural tradition whose technical vocabulary was not always preserved with perfect clarity through the transmission of the Hebrew text.