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1 Kings 6

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Beginning the Temple Construction 1–10

1
And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. ​
2
And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. ​
3
And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.
4
And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.
5
And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:
6
The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.
7
And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. ​
8
The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.
9
So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.
10
And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

God's Conditional Promise 11–14

11
And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, ​
12
Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: ​
13
And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.
14
So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

Interior Finishing and the Oracle 15–35

15
And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.
16
And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. ​
17
And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.
18
And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. ​
19
And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. ​
20
And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. ​
21
So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.
22
And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
23
And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high. ​
24
And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.
25
And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.
26
The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
27
And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. ​
28
And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
29
And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. ​
30
And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.
31
And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.
32
The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.
33
So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.
34
And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
35
And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.

The Inner Court and Completion 36–38

36
And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams. ​
37
In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:
38
And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Kings 6

Verse 1

the four hundred and eightieth year — The house is dated from the Exodus, ‘after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt’, and from Solomon’s fourth year. Ziv, ‘brightness’, the month of flowers, is named only here and in v.37. Chronicles gives the day: ‘in the second day of the second month’ (2 Chr 3:2).

Verse 2

threescore cubits — Ammah, the cubit, the length of the forearm. The house is sixty cubits long, twenty broad and thirty high. Inside, the temple before the oracle is forty cubits long (v.17), the oracle itself twenty each way (v.20), and the porch twenty wide and ten deep (v.3). Ezekiel’s vision of the temple is also measured out in cubits (Ezek 40–41).

Verse 7

stone made ready — Shalem, ‘whole’, the word of the altar law: ‘Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones’ (Deut 27:6), on which no ‘iron tool’ was to be lifted (Deut 27:5). The stones were hewn and prepared beforehand by Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders (5:17–18), so that no ‘hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron’ was heard in the house.

Verse 11

the word of the LORD came to Solomon — The word comes in the middle of the account of the building, between the side chambers (vv.5–10) and the cedar walls (v.15). It stands between the dream at Gibeon (3:5) and the second appearing, which was ‘as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon’ (9:2).

Verse 12

if thou wilt walk in my statutes — The condition is the obedience David charged in 2:3–4, ‘walk in his ways, to keep his statutes’. ‘Perform’ is qum, to establish, the verb of 2:4, ‘that the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me’. In 9:3–6 the LORD repeats the terms and names the danger, ‘if ye shall at all turn from following me’.

Verse 16

the oracle, even for the most holy place — Debir, the innermost part, from the word ‘to speak’. The ark and the mercy seat were there, and the LORD said of the mercy seat, ‘there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims’ (Ex 25:22). The ‘twenty cubits’ are the full depth of the oracle (v.20).

Verse 18

no stone seen — The inner walls of stone (v.7) were covered with cedar boards (v.15), and the cedar was carved ‘with knops and open flowers’. ‘Knops’ (peqaim) are rounded ornaments, from a root meaning to burst, and ‘open flowers’ pairs tsits, a blossom, with a verb meaning to burst open. The carving is again on the doors and walls in vv.29, 32 and 35.

Verse 19

to set there the ark of the covenant — ‘Prepared’ is kun, to establish firmly. The oracle exists for the ark. When the priests brought it in, it went ‘unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims’ (8:6). In the tabernacle the ark had been placed behind the veil (Ex 40:20–21).

Verse 20

twenty cubits in length — The oracle is twenty cubits long, broad and high, a cube. The New Jerusalem is also measured so: ‘The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal’ (Rev 21:16). It is overlaid with gold, and so is the altar by it (v.22), as the altar of incense in the tabernacle was to be: ‘thou shalt overlay it with pure gold’ (Ex 30:3).

Verse 23

two cherubims of olive tree — Literally ‘trees of oil’. Each is ten cubits high (v.23), with wings of five cubits (v.24), and is overlaid with gold (v.28). The first cherubim named in Scripture guard the way to the tree of life (Gen 3:24). The LORD is the one ‘that dwellest between the cherubims’ (Isa 37:16), and here they stand over the ark.

Verse 27

their wings touched one another — Each cherub spans ten cubits, five cubits for each wing (v.24). One wing touches the wall on its side, and the other meets its fellow’s in the middle, so the two together fill the oracle’s twenty-cubit breadth. The ark stood beneath, as 8:7 says: ‘the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark’.

Verse 29

cherubims and palm trees and open flowers — The carving runs round all the walls, ‘within and without’, and is on the doors of both rooms (vv.32, 35). Ezekiel sees the same pattern in his temple: ‘a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub’ (Ezek 41:18), and it was ‘on the wall of the temple’ (41:20). ‘Carved figures’ is miqlaath, a carving.

Verse 36

the inner court — The priests’ court: ‘he made the court of the priests, and the great court’ (2 Chr 4:9). Its wall of ‘three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams’ is the same construction as the great court (7:12). ‘Hewed stone’ is gazith, dressed stone.

Verse 38

according to all the fashion of it — Mishpat, an ordinance or right way. David had passed on the plan of ‘all that he had by the spirit’ (1 Chr 28:12), saying, ‘the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern’ (28:19). The month Bul, ‘the eighth month’, is named only here. Solomon’s own house took thirteen years (7:1).