And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it,.... Or, "before it" p; the gate proceeding right on from it; of the length of the measuring line, or reed; see Ezekiel 40:5; though some render it, "before him" q; before the Lord, under whose direction and powerful providence the work went on; so the city gates and walls of the New Jerusalem are said to be measured with a reed, Revelation 21:15;
upon the hill Gareb; which signifies a "scab", so called, as is supposed, from scabby and leprous persons sent here to dwell, which was a "lazaretto" for them. Lightfoot, following Lyra, takes it to be the same with Mount Calvary: it was on the north side of the city, bending to the west; and, if the same with Calvary, it was on the west side. The Targum renders it,
"the hill which was near to Gareb:''
and shall compass about to Goath; so called perhaps from the difficulty of its ascent, it being a laborious work to go up to it, enough to make a man breathe. Lyra takes it to be Golgotha, which is not very likely; it seems to be at some distance from the former; since from that there was a round about, a compass fetched to this: it is supposed to lie on the west side of the city, towards the south. The Targum renders it the calves' pool, or the round pool; it is thought by some more likely to be the hill Josephus r speaks of, that hung over the valley of Siloam.
p נגדו "ante ipsam", Tigurine version, Gataker q "Coram eo", Pagninus, Montanus; "coram ipso", Calvin. r De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 12. sect. 2.