outer altar. Rabbi Judah maintained that the outer altar was wider than Rabbi Jose thought it was, whereas Rabbi Jose maintained that the outer altar was taller than Rabbi Judah thought it was. Rabbi Jose said that one should read literally the words of , "five cubits long, and five cubits broad." But Rabbi Judah noted that uses the word "square" (, ravua), just as uses the word "square" (, ravua). Rabbi Judah argued that just as in , the dimension was measured from the center (so that the dimension described only one quadrant of the total), so the dimensions of should be measured from the center (and thus, according to Rabbi Judah, the altar was 10 cubits on each side.) The Gemara explained that we know that this is how to understand because says, "And the hearth shall be 12 cubits long by 12 cubits broad, square," and continues, "to the four sides thereof," teaching that the measurement was taken from the middle (interpreting "to" as intimating that from a particular point, there were 12 cubits in all directions, hence from the center). Rabbi Jose, however, reasoned that a common use of the word "square" applied to the height of the altar. Rabbi Judah said that one should read literally the words of , "And the height thereof shall be three cubits." But Rabbi Jose noted that uses the word "square" (, ravua), just as uses the word "square" (, ravua, referring to the inner altar). Rabbi Jose argued that just as in the altar's height was twice its length, so too in , the height was to be read as twice its length (and thus the altar was 10 cubits high). Rabbi Judah questioned Rabbi Jose's conclusion, for if priests stood on the altar to perform the service 10 cubits above the ground, the people would see them from outside the courtyard. Rabbi Jose replied to Rabbi Judah that states, "And the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the Tabernacle and by the altar round about," teaching that just as the Tabernacle was 10 cubits high, so was the altar 10 cubits high; and says, "The hangings for the one side were fifteen cubits" (teaching that the walls of the courtyard were 15 cubits high). The Gemara explained that according to Rabbi Jose's reading, the