Yoma 16b — the Talmud in English

Ten cubits

the middle ten cubits of the altar were

opposite

the ten cubits of

the entrance of the Sanctuary.

Eleven cubits

from it—

to the north

of the entrance of the Sanctuary.

And eleven cubits—

to the south

of the entrance of the Sanctuary.

It follows

that the middle of the

altar was aligned opposite

the entrance of the

Sanctuary, and

the entire altar was aligned opposite the entire width of

its walls

of the Sanctuary.

The width of the Sanctuary was twenty cubits, and each of its walls was six cubits wide, and together they were thirty-two, like the width of the altar.

And the Gemara is astonished:

And if it enters your mind

according to your statement, that the tanna of tractate

Middot—

it is Rabbi Yehuda,

then raise a difficulty:

An altar in the middle of the courtyard—

can you find it

How could this be found, according to the tanna of tractate Middot!?

And we learned

in tractate Middot [chapter 5, mishnayot 1–2]:

The entire courtyard was: one hundred eighty-seven

cubits

by a width of one hundred thirty-five

cubits.

The length,

from east to west—

one hundred eighty-seven

cubits, according to this accounting:

a.

The place where the Israelites tread—

eleven cubits.

b.

The place where the koanim tread—

eleven cubits.

c.

The altar—

thirty-two

cubits.

d.

Between the Hall and the altar—

twenty-two.

e.

And the Sanctuary—

one hundred cubits.

f.

And eleven cubits—

behind the House of the Curtain.

In total, one hundred eighty-seven cubits in length.

And in width,

from south to north—

one hundred thirty-five

according to this accounting: [see illustration at the end of the book]

a.

The ramp and the altar—

sixty-two.

b.

From the altar to the rings—

eight cubits.

c.

The place of the rings—

twenty-four.

d.

From the rings to the tables—

four.

e.

From the tables to the dwarf pillars—

four.

f.

From the dwarf pillars to the wall of the courtyard—

eight cubits.

And in total, one hundred ten cubits.

g. The place of the tables themselves is four cubits.

And in total, one hundred fourteen cubits.

h.

And the remainder

[one hundred thirty-five cubits less one hundred fourteen, which are twenty-one cubits]—was divided equally between the two places:

Between the ramp and the wall—

ten and a half cubits.

And the place of the dwarf pillars—

ten and a half cubits.

The dwarf pillars were columns into which iron hooks were fixed, and upon them they hung the slaughtered sacrifices for the purpose of flaying. [see illustration at the end of the book]

And if it enters your mind

that the tanna of

Middot is Rabbi Yehuda—

an altar in the middle of the courtyard, can you find it?

But according to the calculation appearing in this Mishna,

behold, most of the altar—

is situated in the south!

For the ten and a half cubits between the ramp and the southern wall of the courtyard, plus the thirty-two cubits of the ramp, plus the thirty-two cubits of the altar, are seventy-two and a half cubits.

And the line bisecting the courtyard between north and south is at the sixty-seventh and a half cubit.

It follows that most of the altar, according to the Mishna in Middot, is located in the south of the courtyard.