1 Kings 6
6
1And 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 Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. 2And 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. 3And 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. 4And for the house he made windows of fixed lattice-work. 5And against the wall of the house he built stories round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made side-chambers round about: 6The nethermost story was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for on the outside he made rebatements in the wall of the house round about, that the beams should not have hold in the walls of the house. 7And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry: and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. 8The door for the middle side-chambers was in the right side of the house: and they went up by winding stairs into the middle chambers, and out of the middle into the third. 9So he built the house, and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar. 10And he built the stories against all the house, each five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
11And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, 12Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgements, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I establish my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father. 13And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. 14So Solomon built the house, and finished it.
15And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house unto the walls of the cieling, he covered them on the inside with wood: and he covered the floor of the house with boards of fir. 16And he built twenty cubits on the hinder part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor unto the walls: he even built them for it within, for an oracle, even for the most holy place. 17And the house, that is, the temple before the oracle, was forty cubits long. 18And there was cedar on the house within, carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. 19And he prepared an oracle in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 20And within the oracle was a space of twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof; and he overlaid it with pure gold: and he covered the altar with cedar. 21So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he drew chains of gold across before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. 22And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished: also the whole altar that belonged to the oracle he overlaid with gold. 23And in the oracle he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24And 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. 25And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one form. 26The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. 27And he set the cherubim within the inner house: and the wings of the cherubim were stretched forth, 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. 28And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. 29And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. 30And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. 31And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive wood: the lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall. 32So he made two doors of olive wood; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm trees. 33So also made he for the entering of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth part of the wall; 34and two doors of fir wood; the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35And he carved thereon cherubim and palm trees and open flowers: and he overlaid them with gold fitted upon the graven work. 36And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar beams. 37In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Ziv. 38And 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.
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historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Kings 6
6
The Outside of the Temple Is Completed
1Solomon's workers started building the temple during Ziv,#6.1 Ziv: The second month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-April to mid-May. the second month of the year. It had been 4 years since Solomon became king of Israel, and 480 years since the people of Israel left Egypt.
2The inside of the Lord's temple was 27 meters long, 9 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high. 3A four-and-a-half-meter porch went all the way across the front of the temple. 4The windows were narrow on the outside but wide on the inside.
5-6Along the sides and back of the temple, there were three levels of storage rooms. The rooms on the bottom level were just over two meters wide, the rooms on the middle level were over two and a half meters wide, and those on the top level were just over three meters wide. There were ledges on the outside of the temple that supported the beams of the storage rooms, so that nothing was built into the temple walls.
7Solomon did not want the noise of hammers and axes to be heard at the place where the temple was being built. So he gave orders for the workers to shape the blocks of stone at the quarry.
8The entrance to the bottom storage rooms was on the south side of the building, and stairs to the other rooms were also there. 9The roof of the temple was made out of beams and cedar boards.
The workers finished building the outside of the temple. 10Storage rooms just over two meters high were all around the temple, and they were attached to the temple by cedar beams.
11The Lord told Solomon:
12-13If you obey my commands and do what I say, I will keep the promise I made to your father David. I will live among my people Israel in this temple you are building, and I will not desert them.
14So Solomon's workers finished building the temple.
The Inside of the Temple Is Furnished
(2 Chronicles 3.8-14)
15The floor of the temple was made out of pine, and the walls were lined with cedar from floor to ceiling.#6.15 from floor to ceiling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
16 #
Ex 26.31-34. The most holy place was in the back of the temple, and it was nine meters square. Cedar boards standing from floor to ceiling#6.16 standing … ceiling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. separated it from the rest of the temple. 17The temple's main room was 18 meters long, and it was in front of the most holy place.
18The inside walls were lined with cedar to hide the stones, and the cedar was decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers.
19The sacred chest was kept in the most holy place. 20-22#Ex 30.1-3. This room was nine meters long, nine meters wide, and nine meters high, and it was lined with pure gold. There were also gold chains across the front of the most holy place. The inside of the temple, as well as the cedar altar in the most holy place, was covered with gold.
23 #
Ex 25.18-20. Solomon had two statues of winged creatures#6.23 statues of winged creatures: These were symbols of the Lord's throne on earth (see Exodus 25.18-22). made from olive wood to put in the most holy place. Each creature was four and a half meters tall 24-26and four and a half meters across. They had two wings, and the wings were just over two meters long. 27Solomon put them next to each other in the most holy place. Their wings were spread out and reached across the room. 28The creatures were also covered with gold.
29The walls of the two rooms were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. 30Even the floor was covered with gold.
31-32The two doors to the most holy place were made out of olive wood and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. The doors and the carvings were covered with gold. The door frame came to a point at the top.
33-34The two doors to the main room of the temple were made out of pine, and each one had two sections#6.33,34 two sections: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. so they could fold open. The door frame was shaped like a rectangle and was made out of olive wood. 35The doors were covered with gold and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures.
36The inner courtyard of the temple had walls made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams.
37Work began on the temple during Ziv,#6.37 Ziv: See the note at 6.1. the second month of the year, four years after Solomon became king of Israel. 38Seven years later the workers finished building it during Bul,#6.38 Bul: The eighth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-October to mid-November. the eighth month of the year. It was built exactly as it had been planned.
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