Now the upper chambers were shorter] Heb. cut off, or abridged. For the higher gallery ever grew more large then that below it; and the reason seemeth to be, that the people at the solemn festivals when the multitudes were so great, upon these galleries might behold the sacrifices, and heare the service of the Temple: and the higher they were the better they might see, and therefore the higher galleries were made the larger for that purpose: and both the lower and the higher did straiten, or as the Hebrew phrase includeth, did eate up some thing of the chambers, for the more commodiousnesse to that end. were higher then these] Or, did eat of these. then the lower and then the middlemost] Or, and the building consisted of the lower and the middlemost.