1 Kings 6
6
Building the Temple
1Solomon began to build the temple for the Lord in the four hundred eightieth year#Ac 13:20 after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month.#6:1 April–May#1Kg 6:37; 2Ch 3:1–2; Ezr 3:8 2The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord#Ezr 5:11 was ninety feet#6:2 Lit 60 cubits long, thirty feet#6:2 Lit 20 cubits, also in vv. 3,16,20 wide, and forty-five feet#6:2 Lit 30 cubits high.#2Ch 3:3; Ezk 41:1 3The portico in front of the temple sanctuary was thirty feet long extending across the temple’s width, and fifteen feet deep#6:3 Lit 10 cubits wide in front of the temple.#2Ch 3:4; Ezk 40:49 4He also made windows with beveled frames#6:4 Hb obscure for the temple.#Ezk 41:16
5He then built a chambered structure#6:5 Lit built the temple of chamber along the temple wall, encircling the walls of the temple, that is, the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary.#1Kg 6:16,19–21 And he made side chambers#6:5 Lit made ribs or sides all around.#Jr 35:2; Ezk 41:5–6 6The lowest chamber was 7½ feet#6:6 Lit five cubits, also in vv. 10,24 wide, the middle was 9 feet#6:6 Lit six cubits wide, and the third was 10½ feet#6:6 Lit seven cubits wide. He also provided offset ledges for the temple all around the outside so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. 7The temple’s construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.#1Kg 5:17
8The door for the lowest#6:8 LXX, Tg; MT reads middle side chamber was on the right side of the temple. They#6:8 = People went up a stairway#6:8 Hb obscure to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third. 9When he finished building the temple,#1Kg 6:1,14,38 he paneled it with boards and planks of cedar. 10He built the chambers along the entire temple, joined to the temple with cedar beams;#1Kg 5:6,8,10 each story was 7½ feet high.
11The word of the Lord came to Solomon:#1Kg 3:5,11–15; 9:2 12“As for this temple you are building — if you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep all my commands by walking in them,#1Kg 11:10 I will fulfill my promise to you, which I made to your father David.#2Sm 7:12–16; 1Kg 9:5 13I will dwell among the Israelites and not abandon my people Israel.”#Lv 26:11; Jos 1:5–6; Heb 13:5
14When Solomon finished building the temple,#6:11–14 LXX omits these vv.#1Kg 6:1,38 15he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards.#1Kg 5:8,10; 7:7; Ezk 41:16 16Then he lined thirty feet of the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the surface of the ceiling,#6:16 LXX; MT omits of the ceiling; 1Kg 6:15 and he built the interior as an inner sanctuary, the most holy place.#Ex 26:33–34; 1Kg 8:6; Heb 9:3 17The temple, that is, the sanctuary in front of the most holy place,#6:17 Lit front of me; Hb obscure was sixty feet#6:17 Lit 40 cubits long. 18The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds#1Kg 7:24 and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar;#1Kg 5:8,10 not a stone could be seen.
19He prepared the inner sanctuary#Ezk 41:3–4 inside the temple to put the ark of the Lord’s covenant#Dt 10:16; Jos 3:11 there. 20The interior of the sanctuary was thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty feet high; he overlaid it with pure gold.#2Ch 3:8–9 He also overlaid the cedar altar. 21Next, Solomon overlaid the interior of the temple with pure gold, and he hung#6:21 Lit he caused to pass across gold chains#2Ch 3:14; Mt 27:51 across the front of the inner sanctuary#2Ch 3:16 and overlaid it with gold. 22So he added the gold overlay to the entire temple until everything was completely finished, including the entire altar#1Kg 7:48; Heb 9:3–4 that belongs to the inner sanctuary.
23In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim#Ex 25:18–22; 2Ch 3:10–13 15 feet#6:23 Lit 10 cubits, also in vv. 24,25,26 high out of olive wood. 24One wing of the first cherub was 7½ feet long, and the other wing was 7½ feet long. The wingspan was 15 feet from tip to tip. 25The second cherub also was 15 feet; both cherubim had the same size and shape. 26The first cherub’s height was 15 feet and so was the second cherub’s. 27Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one’s wing touched one wall while the second cherub’s wing touched the other#6:27 Lit the second wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing.#2Ch 5:8 28He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29He carved all the surrounding temple walls with carved engravings — cherubim,#Ezk 41:18,25 palm trees, and flower blossoms — in the inner and outer sanctuaries. 30He overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and the outer sanctuaries.
31For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made olive wood doors.#Ezk 41:23 The pillars of the doorposts were five-sided.#6:31 Hb obscure 32The two doors were made of olive wood. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold, hammering gold over the cherubim and palm trees. 33In the same way, he made four-sided#6:33 Hb obscure olive wood doorposts for the sanctuary entrance. 34The two doors#Ezk 41:23–25 were made of cypress wood; the first door had two folding sides, and the second door had two folding panels. 35He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold applied evenly over the carving. 36He built the inner courtyard#2Ch 4:9; Jr 36:10 with three rows of dressed stone#1Kg 7:12; Ezr 6:4 and a row of trimmed cedar beams.
37The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year in the month of Ziv. 38In his eleventh year in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month,#6:38 = October–November the temple was completed in every detail and according to every specification.#1Kg 6:1,14 So he built it in seven years.#1Kg 7:1
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
1 Kings 6
6
Solomon Builds the Temple
1It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv,#6:1 Hebrew It was in the month of Ziv, which is the second month. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of April and May. during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the Lord. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.
2The Temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.#6:2 Hebrew 60 cubits [27.6 meters] long, 20 cubits [9.2 meters] wide, and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] high. 3The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet#6:3a Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters]; also in 6:16, 20. wide, running across the entire width of the Temple. It projected outward 15 feet#6:3b Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters]. from the front of the Temple. 4Solomon also made narrow recessed windows throughout the Temple.
5He built a complex of rooms against the outer walls of the Temple, all the way around the sides and rear of the building. 6The complex was three stories high, the bottom floor being 7-1/2 feet wide, the second floor 9 feet wide, and the top floor 10-1/2 feet wide.#6:6 Hebrew the bottom floor being 5 cubits [2.3 meters] wide, the second floor 6 cubits [2.8 meters] wide, and the top floor 7 cubits [3.2 meters] wide. The rooms were connected to the walls of the Temple by beams resting on ledges built out from the wall. So the beams were not inserted into the walls themselves.
7The stones used in the construction of the Temple were finished at the quarry, so there was no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site.
8The entrance to the bottom floor#6:8 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads middle floor. was on the south side of the Temple. There were winding stairs going up to the second floor, and another flight of stairs between the second and third floors. 9After completing the Temple structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of cedar beams and planks. 10As already stated, he built a complex of rooms along the sides of the building, attached to the Temple walls by cedar timbers. Each story of the complex was 7-1/2 feet#6:10 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters]. high.
11Then the Lord gave this message to Solomon: 12“Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. 13I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel.”
The Temple’s Interior
14So Solomon finished building the Temple. 15The entire inside, from floor to ceiling, was paneled with wood. He paneled the walls and ceilings with cedar, and he used planks of cypress for the floors. 16He partitioned off an inner sanctuary—the Most Holy Place—at the far end of the Temple. It was 30 feet deep and was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling. 17The main room of the Temple, outside the Most Holy Place, was 60 feet#6:17 Hebrew 40 cubits [18.4 meters]. long. 18Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers.
19He prepared the inner sanctuary at the far end of the Temple, where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant would be placed. 20This inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside with solid gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar.#6:20 Or overlaid the altar with cedar. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 21Then Solomon overlaid the rest of the Temple’s interior with solid gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance#6:21 Or to draw curtains across. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. to the Most Holy Place. 22So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place.
23He made two cherubim of wild olive#6:23a Or pine; Hebrew reads oil tree; also in 6:31, 33. wood, each 15 feet#6:23b Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters]; also in 6:24, 26. tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary. 24The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7-1/2 feet#6:24 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters]. long. 25The two cherubim were identical in shape and size; 26each was 15 feet tall. 27He placed them side by side in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, while their inner wings touched at the center of the room. 28He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.
29He decorated all the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold.
31For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made double doors of wild olive wood with five-sided doorposts.#6:31 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 32These double doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors, including the decorations of cherubim and palm trees, were overlaid with gold.
33Then he made four-sided doorposts of wild olive wood for the entrance to the Temple. 34There were two folding doors of cypress wood, and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself. 35These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers—all overlaid evenly with gold.
36The walls of the inner courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone.
37The foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid in midspring, in the month of Ziv,#6:37 Hebrew was laid in the month of Ziv. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of April and May. during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. 38The entire building was completed in every detail by midautumn, in the month of Bul,#6:38 Hebrew by the month of Bul, which is the eighth month. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of October and November. during the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple.
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