Ezekiel
Ezekiel 23:20
"She lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses," (Ezekiel 23:20 NASB1995).
The "she" is in reference to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 23:4; 11). The Israelites were acting like harlots, chasing after the gods of other nations (Ezekiel 23:3; 11-23).
"Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys", the flesh is in reference to the sexual organ of a man, which in donkeys, is especially large. The phrase is used to express: "the eagerness of the people of the Jews after idolatry," (Gill).
"the issue of the horses" is a reference to "the seminal issue. The horse was made by the Egyptians the hieroglyphic for a lustful person," (Fausset & Brown).
Ezekiel 31
"In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes, ‘Whom are you like in your greatness? ‘Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon With beautiful branches and forest shade, And very high, And its top was among the clouds. 'The waters made it grow, the deep made it high. With its rivers it continually extended all around its planting place, And sent out its channels to all the trees of the field. ‘Therefore its height was loftier than all the trees of the field And its boughs became many and its branches long Because of many waters as it spread them out. ‘All the birds of the heavens nested in its boughs, And under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth, And all great nations lived under its shade. ‘So it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; For its roots extended to many waters. ‘The cedars in God’s garden could not match it; The cypresses could not compare with its boughs, And the plane trees could not match its branches. No tree in God’s garden could compare with it in its beauty. ‘I made it beautiful with the multitude of its branches, And all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God, were jealous of it. ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Because it is high in stature and has set its top among the clouds, and its heart is haughty in its loftiness, therefore I will give it into the hand of a despot of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. According to its wickedness I have driven it away. Alien tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; on the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have gone down from its shade and left it. On its ruin all the birds of the heavens will dwell, and all the beasts of the field will be on its fallen branches so that all the trees by the waters may not be exalted in their stature, nor set their top among the clouds, nor their well-watered mighty ones stand erect in their height. For they have all been given over to death, to the earth beneath, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit.” ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day when it went down to Sheol I caused lamentations; I closed the deep over it and held back its rivers. And its many waters were stopped up, and I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away on account of it. I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall when I made it go down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit; and all the well-watered trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, were comforted in the earth beneath. They also went down with it to Sheol to those who were slain by the sword; and those who were its strength lived under its shade among the nations. “To which among the trees of Eden are you thus equal in glory and greatness? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath; you will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who were slain by the sword. So is Pharaoh and all his hordes!”’ declares the Lord God," (Ezekiel 31 NASB1995).
The passage begins with the Lord sending Ezkiel to the Pharoah with a message. The message comes to both humble and warn Egypt of their impending doom. The Lord starts this message with: "Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon With beautiful branches and forest shade, And very high," (Ezekiel 31:3 NASB1995). There are two popular interpretations of this chapter and this verse is what starts this discussion. The word for "Assyria" or "אַשּׁ֜וּר" (i.e. ashur), could be translated as either the obvious, Assyria, or perhaps a sort of large tree. This interpretation is less likely as every other usage in the Old Testament is Assyria, but it is not impossible due to Hebrew's large semantic range. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges states: "It is evident that the Assyrian has nothing to do here; any comparison of Egypt to Assyria is without motive. Besides Ezekiel 31:3 is repeated in Ezekiel 31:10, and spoken of Egypt (cf. Ezekiel 31:18). The word “asshur” here is the name of a tree, either the same as teasshur (ch. Ezekiel 27:6), or this form should be read. Render: Behold a stately cedar in Lebanon (lit. a teasshur of a cedar); or, behold a sherbin, a cedar in Lebanon—the more general “cedar” being added after the species," (Cambridge). Commentators who take the traditional reading, Assyria, assert the passage is just highly poetic.
The rest of the passage describes Assyria or, perhaps a cedar, being very popular in Lebanon. It provides shade (Ezekiel 31:3) it was beautiful (Ezekiel 31:7), and with many branches (Ezekiel 31:8). This tree is great, even said to be greater than those in Eden (Ezekiel 31:9). This may mean that Assyria was influential, wealthy, and had many subjects, or if taken literally, it means that this cedar was just extremely praised. We then get to the point of this message: "Therefore I will give it into the hand of a despot of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. According to its wickedness I have driven it away. Alien tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; on the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have gone down from its shade and left it," (Ezekiel 31:11-12 NASB1995). This either references the extinction of the cedar, or more likely, the destruction of Assyria. The idea, permitting with either interpretation, is that like Assyria or the cedar, Egypt too will suffer calamity: “To which among the trees of Eden are you thus equal in glory and greatness? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath; you will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who were slain by the sword. So is Pharaoh and all his hordes!”’ declares the Lord God," (Ezekiel 31:18 NASB1995).
Ezekiel 40:7
"The guardroom was one rod long and one rod wide; and there were five cubits between the guardrooms. And the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate facing inward was one rod," (Ezekiel 40:7 NASB1995).
One rod, according to The Pulpit Commentary and Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, is 6 cubits. A cubit is the measurement of the elbow-to-wrist, approximately 18in or 44cm. Thus, one rod is about 108in or 264cm.