17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

A. Since the height of the wall is described in the previous verse, it is clear that this verse is measuring the thickness of the wall.

B. The wall is 144 cubits thick. This would be about 72 yards in thickness.

C. Again, I do not believe we should take this a literal. The number 144 is the total of 12 multiplied by 12 (12 X 12 = 144).

D. Since 12 is the number for organized religion, we are looking at a multiple of Judaism times Christianity. This is the similar to the number 144,000 in Revelation 14:1.

E. The measure of a man means that this was a measurement which man could understand.

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Old Testament