1 Kings 6
6
Building of the Temple.#6:1–7:51] The central units of the Solomon story describe the building of the Temple (6:1–7:51) and its dedication ceremony (8:1–9:10). The account of the construction of the Temple (“the house”) is organized to give the reader a guided tour. Approaching from a distance, we see ground plans (6:2–3) and structural work in stone (6:4–8) and wood (6:9–10). After a brief interruption that recounts a divine word to Solomon (6:11–13), we enter the Temple to view the paneling and ornamentation of the nave (6:14–18), the gilded walls and golden entrance of the inner sanctuary or holy of holies (6:19–22), with its priceless interior decoration and furnishings (6:23–28). As we leave, we admire the interior carvings and gilded floor of the inner sanctuary (6:29–30), return to the nave through carved and gilded doors (6:31–32), and exit from the nave through another set of carved and gilded doors (6:33–35) to the courtyard (6:36). Our guide briefly points out the nearby palace complex (7:1–12); then we walk around the courtyard to marvel at Hiram’s heroic works in bronze: the two columns (7:15–22), the “sea” (7:23–26), and the ten stands and basins set along either side of the Temple buildings (7:27–39). The account ends with the smaller bronze vessels Hiram made for the Temple services (7:40–47) and the gold vessels that Solomon made (7:48–50). Unfortunately, several factors make it impossible to use the account to produce a satisfactory model of Solomon’s Temple. Throughout the account there are numerous technical architectural terms whose meaning is lost to us; and it is moreover likely that the author is describing the Temple as it stood in his own time, centuries after Solomon’s day. The Chronicler also describes the construction of the Temple in 2 Chr 3:1–4:22 and its dedication in 2 Chr 5:1–7:22. 1In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites went forth from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv (the second month), he began to build the house of the Lord.#Construction of the Temple is here dated in relation to the traditional date of the exodus from Egypt, rounded off to a conventional twelve generations of forty years each. This chronology means that the Temple was built approximately midway between Israel’s two foundational deliverances, the exodus and the return from the Babylonian exile. The schematization of history implied in these figures recommends caution in using them for historical reconstruction.
2The house which King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide, and thirty high. 3The porch in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits from side to side along the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. 4Windows with closed lattices were made for the house, 5and adjoining the wall of the house he built a substructure around its walls that enclosed the nave and the inner sanctuary, and he made side chambers all around. 6The lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle one six cubits wide, the third seven cubits wide, because he put recesses along the outside of the house to avoid fastening anything into the walls of the house. 7The house was built of stone dressed at the quarry, so that no hammer or ax, no iron tool, was to be heard in the house during its construction. 8The entrance to the middle story was on the south side of the house; stairs led up to the middle story and from the middle story to the third. 9When he had finished building the house, it was roofed in with rafters and boards of cedar. 10He built the substructure five cubits high all along the outside of the house, to which it was joined by cedar beams.
11The word of the Lord came to Solomon: 12#2 Sm 7:13–16. As to this house you are building—if you walk in my statutes, carry out my ordinances, and observe all my commands, walking in them, I will fulfill toward you my word which I spoke to David your father. 13I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites and will not forsake my people Israel.
14When Solomon finished building the house, 15its inside walls were lined with cedar paneling: he covered the interior with wood from floor to ceiling, and he covered its floor with fir planking. 16At the rear of the house a space of twenty cubits was set off by cedar panels from the floor to the ceiling, enclosing the inner sanctuary, the holy of holies. 17The house was forty cubits long, that is, the nave, the part in front. 18The cedar in the interior of the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers; all was of cedar, and no stone was to be seen.
19In the innermost part of the house#The innermost part of the house: the inner sanctuary or holy of holies reserved exclusively for the Lord, enthroned upon the cherubim over the ark of the covenant (2 Chr 3:10–13). See note on Ex 25:18–20. he set up the inner sanctuary to house the ark of the Lord’s covenant. 20In front of the inner sanctuary (it was twenty cubits long, twenty wide, and twenty high, and he covered it with pure gold), he made an altar of cedar. 21Solomon covered the interior of the house with pure gold, and he drew golden chains across in front of the inner sanctuary, and covered it with gold. 22He covered the whole house with gold, until the whole house was done, and the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he covered with gold. 23In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, each ten cubits high, made of pine. 24Each wing of a cherub was five cubits so that the span from wing tip to wing tip was ten cubits. 25The second cherub was also ten cubits: the two cherubim were identical in size and shape; 26the first cherub was ten cubits high, and so was the second. 27He placed the cherubim in the inmost part of the house; the wings of the cherubim were spread wide, so that one wing of the first touched the side wall and the wing of the second touched the other wall; the wings pointing to the middle of the room touched each other. 28He overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29The walls of the house on all sides of both the inner and the outer rooms had carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30The floor of the house of both the inner and the outer rooms was overlaid with gold. 31At the entrance of the inner sanctuary, doors of pine were made; the doorframes had five-sided posts. 32The two doors were of pine, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors were overlaid with gold, and the cherubim and the palm trees were also covered with beaten gold. 33He did the same at the entrance to the nave, where the doorposts were of pine and were four-sided. 34The two doors were of fir wood, each door consisting of two panels hinged together; 35and he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and plated them with gold. 36He walled off the inner court with three courses of hewn stones and one course of cedar beams.
37The foundations of the Lord’s house were laid in the month of Ziv in the fourth year, 38and it was finished, in all particulars, exactly according to plan, in the month of Bul, the eighth month, in the eleventh year. Thus Solomon built it in seven years.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
1 Kings 6
6
Solomon Builds the Temple for Yahweh
1It happened in the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” went out from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s rule#Literally “Solomon to rule” over Israel, the month of Ziv (that is the second month), that he began to build the house for Yahweh. 2Now the house that King Solomon built for Yahweh was sixty cubits in its length and twenty cubits in its width and thirty cubits in its height. 3The vestibule on the face of the main hall of the temple#Or “house” was twenty cubits in its length, and the width of the temple#Or “house” was ten cubits wide on the face of the temple.#Or “house” 4And he made for the temple#Or “house” specially designed framed windows, 5and he built a structure against the wall of the temple#Or “house” running all along the walls of the house, for the outer sanctuary and for the inner sanctuary, and made side rooms all around. 6The lower structure was five cubits in its width and the middle was six cubits in its width and the third was seven cubits in its width, for he made niches for the temple#Or “house” all around to the outside, so that beams would not attach to the walls of the temple.#Or “house” 7Now while the temple#Or “house” was being built, it was built with stones finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or stone shaping tool or any instrument of iron was heard in the temple#Or “house” as it was being built. 8The doorway of the side room in the middle of the side of the temple#Or “house” was on the south; they went up with a stairway to the middle and from the middle to the third floor. 9So he built the house and finished it. He covered the temple#Or “house” with rafters and wood planks and with the cedars. 10He also built the structure against all of the temple#Or “house” five cubits in height and fastened it to the temple#Or “house” with beams of cedar.
11Then the word of Yahweh came to Solomon, saying, 12“Regarding this temple#Or “house” that you are building: if you walk in my ordinances and if you do my judgments and you keep all my commandments to walk in them, then I will establish my promise with you which I made to David your father. 13And I will dwell among#Literally “in the middle of” the Israelites,#Literally “sons/children of Israel” and I will not forsake my people Israel.”
14So Solomon built the temple#Or “house” and finished it. 15He lined the walls of the inside of the house#Literally “the house from house” with boards of cedar; from the floor of the temple#Or “house” up to the rafters of the ceiling he covered them with wood on the inside.#Literally “from house” He also covered the floor of the temple#Or “house” with cypress boards. 16He built twenty cubits from the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor up to the ceiling, and he built for it an inner sanctuary on the inside, as the most holy place.#Literally “as the holy place of the holy places.” Often referred to as the Holy of Holies 17The main hall of the temple#Or “house” was forty cubits in front of the inner sanctuary,#So LXX supported by the Vulgate. MT has “before me” 18with the cedar within the inner house having carvings of gourds and buds of flowers. It was entirely of cedar; there was not a stone visible. 19Now in the inner sanctuary in the middle of the temple#Or “house” he prepared the inside to place the ark of the covenant of Yahweh there. 20In front, the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold and covered the altar with cedar. 21Solomon overlaid the temple#Or “house” on the inside with pure gold, and he drew across it with golden chains in front of the inner sanctuary, which he overlaid with gold.
22All of the temple#Or “house” he overlaid with gold until all of the temple#Or “house” was finished; all of the altar which belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold. 23He made two cherubim of olive wood for the inner sanctuary, ten cubits high. 24Five cubits was the first wing of the cherub, and five cubits the second wing of the cherub, from the tip of his one wing up to the tip of his other wing. 25The second cherub was ten cubits according to the same#Literally “one” measurement, and there was one shape for the two cherubim. 26The height of the first cherub was ten cubits and so was the second cherub.
27He placed the cherubim in the middle of the inner house, and they spread out the wings of the cherubim; the wing of the first cherub touched against the wall and the wing of the second cherub was touching against the second wall; their wings spread to the middle of the house and were touching wing to wing. 28He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29On all of the walls around the house, he carved engravings of cherubim and palm tree images and budding flowers both inside and out. 30He overlaid the floor of the house with gold both inside and out. 31He made doors of olive wood for the doorway of the inner sanctuary, as well as for the doorpost of the fifth doorframe. 32On the two doors of olive wood he made carvings of cherubim and palm tree images and budding flowers, and he overlaid them with gold by beating#Literally “and he beat out” out the gold on the cherubim and the palm tree images. 33Thus he made doorframes of olive wood on four sides for the doorway of the main hall 34and two doors of cypress wood; one door with two folding panels and the second door with two folding panels. 35He carved cherubim and palm tree images and budding flowers and overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. 36Then he built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and a row of cedar beams. 37In the fourth year,#That is, the fourth year of Solomon’s reign the house of Yahweh was founded in the month of Ziv. 38In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, that is, the eighth month, the house was finished according to all his specifications and according to all his plans. He had built it in seven years.
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