Text -- 1 Kings 6:1-8 (NET)

The Building of the Temple

6:1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, during the month Ziv (the second month), he began building the Lord’s temple. 6:2 The temple King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 6:3 The porch in front of the main hall of the temple was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple. It was 15 feet wide, extending out from the front of the temple. 6:4 He made framed windows for the temple. 6:5 He built an extension all around the walls of the temple’s main hall and holy place and constructed side rooms in it. 6:6 The bottom floor of the extension was seven and a half feet wide, the middle floor nine feet wide, and the third floor ten and a half feet wide. He made ledges on the temple’s outer walls so the beams would not have to be inserted into the walls. 6:7 As the temple was being built, only stones shaped at the quarry were used; the sound of hammers, pickaxes, or any other iron tool was not heard at the temple while it was being built. 6:8 The entrance to the bottom level of side rooms was on the south side of the temple; stairs went up to the middle floor and then on up to the third floor.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 1Ki 6:1

_Allowing forty years to Moses, seventeen to Joshua, two hundred ninety - nine to the Judges, forty to Eli, forty to Samuel and Saul, forty to David, and four to Solomon before he began the work, we have just the sum of four hundred and eighty. So long it was before that holy house was built, which in less than four hundred and thirty years was burnt by Nebuchadnezzar. It was thus deferred, because Israel had by their sins, made themselves unworthy of this honour: and because God would shew how little he values external pomp and splendor in his service. And God ordered it now, chiefly to be a shadow of good things to come.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:2

Properly so called, as distinct from all the walls and buildings which were adjoining to it; namely, the holy, and most holy place.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:2

From east, to west. And this and the other measures may seem to belong to the inside from wall to wall.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:2

Cubits of the sanctuary.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:2

Namely, of the house: for the porch was one hundred and twenty cubits high, 2Ch 3:4. So that all the measures compared each with other were harmonious. For sixty to twenty (the length to the breadth) is triple: or as three to one: and sixty to thirty (the length to the height) is double, or as two to one: and thirty to twenty (the height to the breadth) is one and an half, as three to two. Which are the proportions answering to the three great concords in music, commonly called, a twelfth, an eighth, and a fifth. Which therefore must needs be a graceful proportion to the eye, as that in music is graceful to the ear.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:3

In the front of, or entrance into the house, 2Ch 3:4, being a portico, a walk or gallery, at one end of the building (from side to side.) And the measures of this were harmonious also. For twenty to ten (the length of the portico to the breadth of it) is double, or as two to one. And, if the height within, be the same with that of the house, that is thirty; it will be to the length of it, as three to two; and to its breadth, as three to one. Or, if we take in the whole height mentioned, 2Ch 3:4, which is one hundred and twenty; there is in this no disproportion: being to its length as six to one; and to its breadth as twelve to one; especially when this height was conveniently divided into several galleries, one over another, each of which had their due proportions.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:4

Narrow outward, to prevent the inconveniences of the weather; widening by degrees inward, that so the house might better receive, and more disperse the light.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:5

The beams of the chambers were not fastened into the wall, but leaned upon the buttresses of the wall.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:5

For the laying the priests garments, and other utensils belonging to the temple, therein.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:5

On all the sides except the east, where the porch was; and except some very small passages for the light. And yet these lights might be in the five uppermost cubits of the wall, which were above all these chambers, for these were only fifteen cubits high, and the wall was twenty cubits high.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:5

Galleries which encompassed all the chambers; and which were necessary for passage to them.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:6

On the inside, and besides the galleries mentioned above.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:6

Or, narrowings: as in our buildings the walls of an house are thicker, or broader at the bottom, and narrower towards the top: only these narrowings were in the outside of the wall, which at each of the three stories was a cubit narrower than that beneath it. And this is mentioned, as the reason of the differing breadth of the chambers; because the wall being narrower, allowed more space for the upper chambers.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:6

That there might be no holes made in the wall for fastening them; and that the chambers might be removed, if occasion were, without any inconvenience to the house.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:7

Hewed, and squared, and fitted exactly according to the direction of the architect.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:7

So it was ordered, partly for the ease and conveniency of carriage: partly, for the magnificence of the work, and commendation of the workmen's skill and diligence: and partly, for mystical signification. And as this temple was a manifest type both of Christ's church upon earth, and of the heavenly Jerusalem: so this circumstance signified as to the former, that it is the duty of the builders and members of the church, as far as in them lies, to take care that all things be transacted there with perfect peace and quietness; and that no noise of contention, or division, or violence, be heard in that sacred building: and for the latter, that no spiritual stone, no person, shall bear a part in that heavenly temple, unless he be first hewed, and squared, and made meet for it in this life.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:8

That is, by which they entered to go up to the middle chamber or chambers; such as were in the middle story.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:8

That is, in the south - side, called the right side; because when a man looks towards the east, the south is on his right hand. There was another door on the left, or the north - side, leading to the chambers on that side.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:8

Without the wall, leading up to the gallery out of which they went into the several chambers.

Wesley: 1Ki 6:8

Or rather, into the middle story, or row of chambers; and so in the following words, out of the middle story: for these stair's could not lead up into each of the chambers; nor was it needful, but only into the story, which was sufficient for the use of all the chambers.

JFB: 1Ki 6:2

The dimensions are given in cubits, which are to be reckoned according to the early standard (2Ch 3:3), or holy cubit (Eze 40:5; Eze 43:13), a handbreadth longer than the common or later one. It is probable that the internal elevation only is here stated.

JFB: 1Ki 6:3

Or portico, extended across the whole front (see on 2Ch 3:4).

JFB: 1Ki 6:4

That is, windows with lattices, capable of being shut and opened at pleasure, partly to let out the vapor of the lamps, the smoke of the frankincense, and partly to give light [KEIL].

JFB: 1Ki 6:5

On three sides, there were chambers in three stories, each story wider than the one beneath it, as the walls were narrowed or made thinner as they ascended, by a rebate being made, on which the beams of the side floor rested, without penetrating the wall. These chambers were approached from the right-hand side, in the interior of the under story, by a winding staircase of stone, which led to the middle and upper stories.

JFB: 1Ki 6:7

A subterranean quarry has been very recently discovered near Jerusalem, where the temple stones are supposed to have been hewn. There is unequivocal evidence in this quarry that the stones were dressed there; for there are blocks very similar in size, as well as of the same kind of stone, as those found in the ancient remains. Thence, probably, they would be moved on rollers down the Tyropean valley to the very side of the temple [PORTER, Tent and Kahn].

Clarke: 1Ki 6:1

In the four hundred and eightieth year - The Septuagint has the four hundred and fortieth year. It need scarcely be noticed, that among chronologists there is a great difference of opinion concerning this epocha. Glycas has 330 years; Melchior Canus, 590 years; Josephus, 592 years; Sulpicius Severus, 588; Clemens Alexandrinus, 570; Cedrenus, 672; Codomanus, 598; Vossius and Capellus, 580; Serarius, 680; Nicholas Abraham, 527; Maestlinus, 592; Petavius and Valtherus, 520. Here are more than a dozen different opinions; and after all, that in the common Hebrew text is as likely to be the true one as any of the others

Clarke: 1Ki 6:1

The month Zif - This answers to a part of our April and May; and was the second month of the sacred year, but the eighth month of the civil year. Before the time of Solomon, the Jews do not appear to have had any names for their months, but mentioned them in the order of their consecutive occurrence, first month, second month, third month, etc. In this chapter we find Zif and Bul; and in 1Ki 8:2, we find another, Ethanim; and these are supposed to be borrowed from the Chaldeans; and consequently this book was written after the Babylonish captivity. Before this time we find only the word Abib mentioned as the name of a month, Exo 13:4. Whether there were any others at that time, or whether Abib was really intended as the name of a month, we cannot absolutely say. The present names of the Hebrew months are: - Tisri, answering to a part of September and October, Marchesvan, Cisleu, Tebeth, Shebat, Adar, Nisan, Ijar, Sivan, Tamuz, Ab, and Elul.

Clarke: 1Ki 6:2

The length thereof was threescore cubits - A cubit, according to Bishop Cumberland, is 21 inches, and 888 decimals, or 1 foot, 9 inches, and 888 decimals. According to thi

	Yds.	Ft.	Inch.
The length, 60 cubits, was	36	1	5.28
The breadth, 20 cubits, was	12	0	5.76
The height, 30 cubits, was	18	0	8.64

This constituted what was called the temple or house, the house of God, etc. But, besides this, there were courts and colonnades, where the people might assemble to perform their devotions and assist at the sacrifices, without being exposed to the open air. The court surrounded the temple, or holy place, into which the priests alone entered. Sometimes the whole of the building is called the temple; at other times that, the measurement of which is given above. But as no proper account can be given of such a building in notes; and as there is a great variety of opinion concerning the temple, its structure, ornaments, etc., as mentioned in the books of Kings and Chronicles, in Ezekiel, and by Josephus; and as modern writers, such as Vilalpandus, Dr. Lightfoot, and Dr. Prideaux, professing to be guided by the same principles, have produced very different buildings; I think it best to hazard nothing on the subject, but give that description at the end of the chapter which Calmet with great pains and industry has collected: at the same time, pledging myself to no particular form or appearance, as I find I cannot give any thing as the likeness of Solomon’ s temple which I could say, either in honor or conscience, bears any affinity to it. For other particulars I must refer the reader to the three large volumes of Vilalpandus, Dr. Lightfoot’ s Works, and to the Connections of Dr. Prideaux.

Clarke: 1Ki 6:4

Windows of narrow lights - The Vulgate says, fenestras obliquas , oblique windows; but what sort of windows could such be

The Hebrew is חלוני שקפים אטמים challoney shekuphim atumim , windows to look through, which shut. Probably latticed windows: windows through which a person within could see well; but a person without, nothing. Windows, says the Targum, which were open within and shut without. Does he mean windows with shutters; or, are we to understand, with the Arabic, windows opening wide within, and narrow on the outside; such as we still see in ancient castles? This sense our margin expresses. We hear nothing of glass or any other diaphanous substance. Windows, perhaps originally windore, a door to let the wind in, in order to ventilate the building, and through which external objects might be discerned.

Clarke: 1Ki 6:7

The house - was built of stone - It appears that every stone was hewn and squared, and its place in the building ascertained, before it came to Jerusalem: the timbers were fitted in like manner. This greatly lessened the trouble and expense of carriage. On this account, that all was prepared at Mount Lebanon, there was neither hammer, axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the building; nothing except mallets to drive the tenons into the mortises, and drive in the pins to fasten them, was necessary: therefore there was no noise. But why is this so particularly marked? Is it not because the temple was a type of the kingdom of God; and the souls of men are to be prepared here for that place of blessedness? There, there is no preaching, exhortations, repentance, ears, cries, nor prayers; the stones must be all squared and fitted here for their place in the New Jerusalem, and, being living stones, must be built up a holy temple for a habitation of God through the Spirit.

Defender: 1Ki 6:1

This is a key verse in establishing the Biblical chronology of world history, particularly the chronology of the period of the judges. The other chronological data given in the books of Joshua, Judges and Samuel, however, have been difficult to fit into this framework (though numerous harmonizations have been proposed). There may well have been occasions when the tenures of certain judges overlapped with each other or with the periods of oppression as listed in Judges, so that it would be impracticable simply to add up all the numbers as listed. This verse has perhaps been inserted, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for the specific purpose of providing the overall chronology which would otherwise be impossible to obtain with certainty.

However, secular archaeologists dispute the Biblical chronology, as well as the events associated with it. The problems of correlating the events of the exodus and conquest with secular chronology have not yet been fully resolved, but the many uncertainties in secular dating methods certainly do not warrant confidence in them. We can be sure the Biblical record is fully reliable, and will eventually be fully validated."

Defender: 1Ki 6:2

The length and breadth of the temple were twice those of the tabernacle, but the overall plan was similar."

Defender: 1Ki 6:7

Here is a remarkable testimony to the engineering, architectural and construction skills of these ancient professionals. In order to erect the magnificent temple of Solomon, every portion was carefully designed and fabricated away from the construction site itself so the building could be completely and perfectly erected in reverent silence.

Defender: 1Ki 6:7

In both its unique beauty and its silent assemblage, the temple is a type of the spiritual temple now being erected by the Holy Spirit. "Now therefore, ye are ... built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone: In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord" (Eph 2:19-21)."

TSK: 1Ki 6:1

am 2993, bc 1011, An, Ex, Is, 480

And it came : Jdg 11:26; 2Ch 3:1, 2Ch 3:2

in the month Zif : 1Ki 6:37; Num 1:1

began : Heb. built, Act 7:47

build : 1Ch 29:19; Zec 6:12, Zec 6:13, Zec 6:15; Joh 2:19-21; 1Co 6:19; 2Co 6:16; Eph 2:20-22; Col 2:7; Heb 9:11, Heb 11:10; 1Pe 2:5

TSK: 1Ki 6:2

the house : Ezek. 40:1-41:26

the length : According to Bp. Cumberland’ s estimation of the cubit, its length was 36 yds. 1 ft. 5/28 inch; its breadth 12 yds. 5/76 inch; and its height, 18 yds. 8/64 inch This constituted what is properly called the temple; but, besides this, there were the courts and colonnades, where the people might assemble to perform their devotions, without being exposed to the open air.

threescore : Ezr 6:3, Ezr 6:4; Eze 41:1-15; Rev 21:16, Rev 21:17

TSK: 1Ki 6:3

1Ch 28:11; 2Ch 3:3, 2Ch 3:4; Eze 41:15; Mat 4:5; Joh 10:23; Act 3:10, Act 3:11

TSK: 1Ki 6:4

windows of narrow lights : or, windows broad within, and narrow without; or, skewed and closed, 1Ki 6:4; Son 2:9; Eze 40:16, Eze 41:26

TSK: 1Ki 6:5

against : or, upon, or joining to

built : 1Ch 9:26, 1Ch 23:28, 1Ch 28:11; 2Ch 31:11; Neh 10:37, Neh 12:44, Neh 13:5-9; Son 1:4; Jer 35:4; Eze 40:44, Eze 41:5-11, Eze 42:3-12

chambers : Heb. floors, These appear to have been what we should now call corridors or galleries; in which were apartments for the use of the priests. They consisted of three stories, and increased one cubit in breadth in every story, the wall of the temple being two cubits thicker at the bottom than at the top; and where the wall diminished, a rest was thus formed for the beams of the chambers to lodge upon.

oracle : 1Ki 6:16, 1Ki 6:19-21, 1Ki 6:31; Exo 25:22; Lev 16:2; Num 7:89; 2Ch 4:20, 2Ch 5:7, 2Ch 5:9; Psa 28:2

chambers : Heb. ribs

TSK: 1Ki 6:6

narrowed rests : or, narrowings, or rebatements, 1Ki 6:6

TSK: 1Ki 6:7

built of stone : 1Ki 5:17, 1Ki 5:18; Deu 27:5, Deu 27:6; Pro 24:27; Rom 9:23; 2Co 5:5; Col 1:12; 1Pe 2:5

neither hammer : Isa 42:2; Act 9:31; Jam 1:20, Jam 3:17, Jam 3:18

TSK: 1Ki 6:8

side : Heb. shoulder

went up : Eze 41:6, Eze 41:7

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Ki 6:1

In the four hundred and eightieth year - It is upon this statement that all the earlier portion of what is called the "received chronology"depends. Amid Minor differences there is a general agreement, which justifies us in placing the accession of Solomon about 1000 B.C. (1018 B.C. Oppert.) But great difficulties meet us in determining the sacred chronology anterior to this. Apart from the present statement, the chronological data of the Old Testament are insufficient to fix the interval between Solomon’ s accession and the Exodus, since several of the periods which make it up are unestimated. Hence, chronologists have based entirely the "received chronology"upon this verse. But the text itself is not free from suspicion.

(1) it is the sole passage in the Old Testament which contains the idea of dating events from an era.

(2) it is quoted by Origen without the date, and seems to have been known only in this shape to Josephus, to Theophilus of Antioch, and to Clement of Alexandria.

(3) it is hard to reconcile with other chronological statements in the Old and New Testament.

Though the books of Joshua, Judges, and Samuel furnish us with no exact chronology, they still supply important chronological data - data which seem to indicate for the interval between the Exodus and Solomon, a period considerably exceeding 480 years. For the years actually set down amount to at least 580, or, according to another computation, to 600; and though a certain deduction might be made from this sum on account of the round numbers, this deduction would scarcely do more than balance the addition required on account of the four unestimated periods. Again, in the New Testament, Paul (according to the received text) reckons the period from the division of Canaan among the tribes in the sixth year of Joshua Jos 14:1-15, to Samuel the prophet, at 450 years, which would make the interval between the Exodus and the commencement of the temple to be 579 years. On the whole, it seems, therefore, probable that the words "in the four hundred and eightieth year, etc.,"are an interpolation into the sacred text, which did not prevail generally before the third century of our era.

Barnes: 1Ki 6:2

The size of Solomon’ s temple depends upon the true length of the ancient cubit, which is doubtful. It has been estimated as somewhat less than a foot, and again as between 19 and 20 inches, a difference of nearly 8 inches, which would produce a variation of nearly 40 feet in the length of the temple-chamber, and of 46 in that of the entire building. It is worthy of remark that, even according to the highest estimate, Solomon’ s temple was really a small building, less than 120 feet long, and less than 35 broad. Remark that the measures of the temple, both "house"and porch 1Ki 6:3, were exactly double those of the older tabernacle (Exo 26:18 note). This identity of proportion amounts to an undesigned coincidence, indicating the thoroughly historical character of both Kings and Exodus.

Barnes: 1Ki 6:4

Windows of narrow lights - Either (as in the margin) windows, externally mere slits in the wall, but opening wide within, like the windows of old castles: or, more probably, "windows with fixed lattices."The windows seem to have been placed high in the walls, above the chambers spoken of in 1Ki 6:5-8.

Barnes: 1Ki 6:5

Chambers - (Margin, floors). Rather, a lean-to, which completely surrounded three sides of the building, the north, the west, and the south.

Barnes: 1Ki 6:6

In order to preserve the sanctity of the temple, and at the same time allow the attachment to it of secular buildings - sleeping apartments, probably, for the priests and other attendants - Solomon made "rebatements"in the wall of the temple, or in other words built it externally in steps, thus: The beams, which formed the roof of the chambers and the floors of the upper stories, were then laid on these steps or "rests"in the wall, not piercing the wall, or causing any real union of the secular with the sacred building. It resulted from this arrangement that the lowest; chambers were the narrowest, and the uppermost considerably the widest of all, the wall receding each time by the space of a cubit.

Barnes: 1Ki 6:7

The spirit of the command (marginal references), was followed. Thus the fabric rose without noise.

Barnes: 1Ki 6:8

The door for the middle chamber - i. e., the door which gave access to the mid-most "set of chambers."The chambers on the ground-floor were possibly reached each by their own door in the outer wall of the lean-to. The middle and upper floors were reached by a single door in the right or south wall, from which a winding staircase ascended to the second tier, while another ascended from the second to the third. The door to the stairs was in the outer wall of the building, not in the wall between the chambers and the temple. That would have desecrated the temple far more than the insertion of beams.

Poole: 1Ki 6:1

In the fourth year of Solomon’ s reign his three first years being spent partly in settling the affairs of his kingdom, without which neither civil nor ecclesiastical concerns could have any consistency; and partly in making necessary preparations for the work. He began to build for so it is expressed 2Ch 3:1 ; and so it is explained here below, 1Ki 6:37 , The foundation of the house was laid ; though in the Hebrew it be only be built . Thus active words are oft understood of the beginning of the action, as Gen 5:32 11:26 .

Poole: 1Ki 6:2

The house properly so called, as distinct from all the walls and buildings which were adjoining to it, to wit, the holy and most holy place.

The length thereof from east and to west. And this and the other measures may seem to belong to the inside from wall to wall.

Threescore cubits cubits of the sanctuary; of which See Poole "Gen 6:15" .

The height thereof to wit, of the house; for the porch was 120 cubits high, 2Ch 3:4 . So that all the measures compared each with other were harmonious. For 60 to 20 (the length to the breadth) is triple, or as 3 to 1; and 60 to 30 (the length to the height) is double, or as 2 to 1; and 30 to 20 (the height to the breadth) is sesquialter, or one and a half, as 3 to 2; which are the proportions answering to the three great concords in music, commonly called a twelfth, an eighth, and a fifth; which therefore must needs be a graceful proportion to the eye, as that in music is graceful to the ear.

Poole: 1Ki 6:3

Before the temple of the house in the front of or entrance into the house, 2Ch 3:4 ; being a peristilium or portico , a walk or gallery, at one end of the building (from side to side). And the measures of this were harmonious also. For 20 to 10 (the length of the portico to the breadth of it) is double, or as 2 to 1. And if the height within be the same with that of the house, that is, 30; it will be to the length of it as 3 to 2, and to its breadth as 3 to 1. Or if we take in the whole height mentioned 2Ch 3:4 , which is 120; there is in this no disproportion, being to its length as 6 to 1, and to its breadth, as 12 to 1; especially when this height was conveniently divided into several galleries, one over another, each of which had their due proportions.

Poole: 1Ki 6:4

Narrow outward, to prevent the inconveniences of the weather; widening by degrees inward, that so the house might better receive and more disperse the light. Or, for prospect , i.e. to give light; yet shut , i.e. so far closed as to keep out weather, and let in light.

Poole: 1Ki 6:5

Against the wall or, upon it ; or, joining to it ; for the beams of the chambers were not fastened into the wall, but leaned upon the buttresses of the wall. He built chambers , for the laying the priests’ garments and other utensils belonging to the temple, or to the worship of God, therein: see 2Ki 11:2 1Ch 28:12 Eze 42:13,14 .

Round about not simply, for there were none on the, east side; and it may seem that there were some spaces left for the windows, which being narrow outwardly, little spaces would suffice; but in a manner, i.e. on all the sides except the east, where the porch was, and except some very small passages for the light. And yet these lights might be in the five uppermost cubits of the wall, which were above all these chambers; for these were only fifteen cubits high, and the wall was twenty cubits high.

He made chambers Heb. ribs , i.e. either other chambers above and besides the former; or rather, long galleries, which encompassed all the chambers, as the ribs do man’ s body; and which were necessary for passage to all the several chambers.

Poole: 1Ki 6:6

Five cubits broad to wit, on the inside, and besides the galleries mentioned above.

Narrowed rests or, narrowings ; as in our buildings the walls of a house are thicker or broader at the bottom, and narrower towards the top; only these narrowings were in the outside of the wall, which at each of the three stories was a cubit narrower than that beneath it. And this is mentioned as the reason of the differing breadth of the chambers, because the wall being narrower, allowed more space for the upper chambers.

That the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house that there might be no holes made in the wall for the fastening of them; and that the chambers might be removed, if occasion were, without any inconvenience to the house.

Poole: 1Ki 6:7

Made ready ; hewed, and squared, and fitted exactly according to the direction of the architect. No

tool heard in the house, while it was in building : so it was ordered, partly, for the case and conveniency of carriage; partly, for the magnificence of the work, and commendation of the workmen’ s skill and diligence; and partly, for mystical signification. And as this temple was a manifest type, both of Christ’ s church upon earth, and of the heavenly Jerusalem; so this circumstance signified as to the former, that it is the duty of the builders and members of the church, as far as in them lies, to take care that all things be transacted there with perfect peace and quietness; and that no noise of contention, or division, or violence be heard in that sacred building; and for the latter, that no spiritual stone, no person, shall bear a part in that heavenly temple, unless he be first hewed, and squared, and made meet for it in this life.

Poole: 1Ki 6:8

The door for the middle chamber i.e. by which they entered to go up to the middle chamber or chambers, to wit, such as were in the middle story.

In the right side i.e. in the south side, called the right side here , and in the Hebrew text, Psa 89:12 , and in other authors; because when a man looks towards the east, or sun-rising, which is esteemed the most glorious part of the heavens, and to which men most frequently look for divers reasons, the south is on his right hand; whereby it is implied that there was another door on the left, or the north side, leading to the chambers on that side, though for brevity sake it be not mentioned here.

With winding stairs which were either,

1. Within the thickness of the temple wall, as many think; which is not probable, as tending to the great weakening of the wall; especially in the upper parts, where the wall was much narrower. And if such care was taken to preserve the walls entire and unbroken, that there might not be small holes made into it for the fastening of the beams of the chambers, 1Ki 6:6 , it seems very absurd and incredible that there should be made such great breaches within them, as the stairs would require. Or rather,

2. Without the wall, and without the chambers too, as leading up to the gallery out of which they went into the several chambers.

Into the middle chamber or rather, into the middle story , or row of chambers, and so in the following words, out of the middle story; for these stairs could not lead up into each of the chambers, nor was it needful or convenient it should do so, but only into the story, which was sufficient for the use of all the chambers.

Haydock: 1Ki 6:1

Out. Hebrew, "and the cedar boards of the house within, were carved with knops (fruits) and open flowers," (Haydock) alternately. (Calmet) ---

At all. So the bones in the human body, though concealed, strengthen it; and monks, in their deserts, fortify the Church. (Worthington)

Haydock: 1Ki 6:1

Eightieth year. This chronology meets with the approbation of most people. See Usher. (Chap. xii.) Some, however, find a difficulty in reconciling it with Acts xiii. 20., which seems to attribute 450 years to the government of the judges. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint have 440; Josephus 592, though Ruffin neglects the 90 in his version; Petau 520; Severus 582; Clement of Alexandria 566; Vossius 380; Cano 590; Serarius 680. ---

Houbigant would read 350 in the Acts. But Capellus would add 200 here, &c. (Haydock) ---

Second of the sacred year, corresponding with our April. Syriac, Chaldean styles it "of the splendour of flowers." (Menochius) ---

The Hurons, and other nations of America, call this "the moon of plants;" the Flemings, "the month for mowing," Grasmaand. Our Saxon ancestors gave descriptive names to the months. See Verstegan. (Haydock) ---

At first, the Hebrews only described the months by their order; "first, second," &c. In Solomon's time we begin to find other names, taken from the Phenicians, (Scaliger) Chaldeans, (Grotius) or Egyptians. (Hardouin, the year 2993.) ---

After the captivity, at least, Chaldean names were adopted; (Haydock) 1. Nisan; 2. Jar; 3. Sivan; 4. Tammus; 5. Ab; 6. Elul; 7. Tisri; 8. Marshevan; 9. Casleu; 10. Thebet; 11. Schebet; 12. Adar; (Calmet) 13. Veadar, the intercalary month, when requisite, according to the lunar system, which was not perhaps yet adopted. Each of these months generally corresponded with two of ours; Nisan with the end of March and the beginning of April, &c. Septuagint here take no notice of Zio, though they do, ver. 37. (Haydock) ---

The temple was begun on Monday, May 21, in the year of the world 2992. (Usher) ---

It was finished in the year of the world 3000, or in the following year, when it was solemnly dedicated. (Button.)

Haydock: 1Ki 6:2

House. Hebrew Habayith, "the palace" of the God of Israel, where the priests alone had access. It was surrounded by various courts and apartments, as the ancient temples were very different from ours. All these appendages sometimes go under the common name of the temple. (Calmet) ---

Cubits. The common one contained half a yard. The sacred cubit amounted to 21,888 inches. (Arbuthnot) (Ezechiel xliii. 13.) ---

Calmet makes the cubit consist of 24 fingers' breadth, or little less than 20 inches of the French measure, which is greater then ours. (Haydock) ---

Hence the temple would be 102½ feet long, 34 feet 2 inches broad, 51 feet 3 inches high to the ceiling. (Calmet) ---

The walls are not included; else the breadth would be almost 60 cubits, the length 100, and the height 50. (Vallalpand ii. 5, 14.) (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ki 6:3

Temple. The porch was of the same height as the temple, though we read that it was 120 cubits high, 2 Paralipomenon iii. 4. But one word seems there to have been substituted for another, (Calmet) unless it might resemble a high tower. (Haydock) ---

Before the porch were placed the two brazen pillars. The interior of it was highly adorned by Herod. (Josephus, Antiquities xv. 11.)

Haydock: 1Ki 6:4

Oblique windows. Which were made slanting, that the light might be more easily communicated within. (Haydock) ---

On the outside they were not so large. (Worthington) (Menochius) ---

Hebrew, "windows to see through, shut," with lattices, (Calmet) or blinds. Protestants, "he made windows of narrow lights." (Haydock) ---

Curtains might be hung before them, as no glass was yet used. (Calmet) ---

These windows occupied the five cubits above the chambers, which were built on the west end, and on the sides of the temple, 15 cubits high. (Calmet) ---

No windows were permitted in the holy of holies. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ki 6:5

Upon the wall. That is, joining to the wall. ---

He built floors round about. Chambers or cells adjoining to the temple, for the use of the temple and of the priests, so contrived as to be between the inward and outward wall of the temple, in three stories, one above another. ---

The oracle. The inner temple or holy of holies, where God gave his oracles. (Challoner) ---

Sides. Protestants, "he made chambers round about." (Haydock) ---

Some think that buttresses were used, to strengthen the building. Septuagint, "ribs," (Menochius) sides. But there seem rather to have been three off-sets; so that the wall kept decreasing in breadth, as it grew higher, (Haydock) every ten cubits, (Ezechiel xli. 6.; Menochius) and thus the upper chamber was two cubits broader than the lowest. The beams might thus rest upon the walls, and be easily changed. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ki 6:6

Temple. This was done for greater respect, and that the walls might not be injured. Ezechiel (xli. 6,) counts 33 chambers on the three sides. St. Jerome seems to double that number; while Josephus acknowledges only 30. (Calmet) ---

Salien has 42, or 14 in each story.

Haydock: 1Ki 6:7

Made ready, &c. So the stones for the building of God's eternal temple, in the heavenly Jerusalem, (who are the faithful) must first be hewn and polished here by many trials and sufferings, before they can be admitted to have a place in that celestial structure. (Challoner) ---

Those who have the happiness to be chosen, will be no more disturbed with the noise or inconvenience of persecution, (Haydock) which they ought to bear in silence upon earth. (Worthington) ---

Building. Screw nails were probably used. The ancient Romans wrought the mouldings, &c., of their pillars, after they were erected. The Rabbins pretend that a little worm, or stone schamir, which was brought from the earthly paradise by an eagle, or by the devil, Asmodeus, polished all the stones. Maimonides has even written a book on this famous worm. (Grotius) ---

Theodoret (q. 23.) also asserts, without proof, that the stones were found ready cut, in the quarry, and that they had only to be polished. We may form a grand idea of the workmen employed by Solomon, when we consider that they were able to prepare all things, with such exactitude, at a distance. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 6:8

Middle side. Septuagint, "lower story." (Calmet) ---

"The door of the lower story (rib or side, Greek: pleuras; Chaldean, the lower appendage) was under the right wing of the house, and a winding staircase led to the middle, and from the middle to the third story. (Haydock) ---

This sense is very clear. Hebrew intimates that the staircase was round like a screw, and was formed in the wall, at one end of the rooms. ---

Right hand of those who entered the temple, or on the north; though the south is commonly thus designated. The doors opened into the porch, as the temple was not to be made a thoroughfare. (Calmet)

Gill: 1Ki 6:1

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,.... The Tyrian writers ^k make it five hundred sixty years from hence; but this no doubt is tightest, which Junius reckons thus; forty years Israel were in the wilderness, seventeen under Joshua, two hundred ninety nine under the judges, eighty under Eli, Samuel, and Saul, forty under David, add to which the four years of Solomon, and they make four hundred eighty ^l; they are somewhat differently reckoned by others ^m from the coming out of Egypt to Joshua forty years, from thence to the first servitude under Cushan twenty five, from thence to the death of Abimelech two hundred fifty six, under Thola twenty three, from thence to the Ammonitish servitude four, under that eighteen, under the judges, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, thirty one, Samuel and Saul forty, David forty, and Solomon three, in all four hundred eighty;

in the, fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel; when he was clear of all disturbers of his government, and had got all things ready for the building of the temple, and had gathered together gold and silver enough of his own to defray the expenses; for, as for what David gave him, he put that into the treasury of the Lord's house, see 1Ki 7:51;

in the month Zif, which is the second month; and so must be Jiar, for Abib or Nisan was the first, and Jiar was the second, which answered to part of our April and part of May; called Zif either from the splendour of the sun, being now higher, and so the greater; or from the trees and flowers of the field being in all their glory; and so the Targum here calls it, the month of splendour of flowers: and it was on the second day of it,

that he began to build the house of the Lord: and a very fit and proper season of the year it was to begin it in, see 2Ch 3:2.

Gill: 1Ki 6:2

And the house which King Solomon built for the Lord,.... For his worship, honour, and glory:

the length thereof was threescore cubits; sixty cubits from east to west, including the holy place and the most holy place; the holy place was forty cubits, and the most holy place twenty; the same measure, as to length, Eupolemus, an Heathen writer ⁿ, gives of the temple, but is mistaken in the other measures:

and the breadth thereof twenty cubits; from north to south:

and the height thereof thirty cubits; this must be understood of the holy place, for the oracle or most holy place was but twenty cubits high, 1Ki 6:20; though the holy place, with the chambers that were over it, which were ninety cubits, three stories high, was in all an hundred twenty cubits, 2Ch 3:4; some restrain it to the porch only, which stood at the end, like one of our high steeples, as they think.

Gill: 1Ki 6:3

And the porch before the temple of the house,.... Which stood at the east end of it:

twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; which was from north to south, and of the same dimension, so that they exactly answered each other:

and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house; which being added to it, make the whole of the building, most holy place, holy place, and porch, seventy cubits; the height of the porch is not here given, but in 2Ch 3:4; where it is said to be an hundred twenty cubits high, equal to the height of the house, with the chambers over it; but there the breadth of the porch is not given, as it is here; by these dimensions we may observe the difference between the tabernacle and the temple; the temple was twice as long, and as broad, and thrice as high as that, see Exo 26:8. This fabric was an emblem of the church of God, sometimes called an holy temple, and the temple of the living God, 2Co 6:16.

Gill: 1Ki 6:4

And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. Or "open, shut" ^o, which could be both, having shutters to them, to open or shut at pleasure; windows which they could open, and look through at them, or shut when they pleased; the Targum is,

"open within, and shut without;''

or, as others understand it, they were wide within, and narrow without; by being narrow without, the house was preserved from bad weather, as well as could not so easily be looked into by those without; and by being broader within, the light that was let in spread itself within the house; which some interpret only of the holy place, the most holy place having, as they suppose, no windows in it, which yet is not certain: now these windows may denote the word and ordinances of the church of God, whereby light is communicated to men; which in the present state is but narrow or small, in comparison of the new Jerusalem church state, and the ultimate glory; and especially so it was under the legal dispensation, which was very obscure; see Son 2:9 Isa 55:8.

Gill: 1Ki 6:5

And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about,.... Or near it, as Jarchi interprets it, for the beams of them were not fastened in in it, 1Ki 6:6; or rather "upon" it ^p; and when they are said to be round about the house, it must be understood of the two sides, north and south, and of the west end only, for at the east end, where the porch was, there were none:

against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle; that is, both of the holy and the most holy place:

and he made chambers round about; the said buildings; which is repeated that it might be observed; how many chambers there were, is not said; Josephus says ^q there were thirty of them, and over them others of the same measure and number, and over them others also; so that there were three stories of them, and in all ninety; and which is countenanced by what follows in 1Ki 6:6, and agrees with Eze 41:6; the Jewish doctors say ^r, there were thirty eight of them, fifteen on the north, fifteen on the south, and eight on the west; they that were to the north and south were five upon five, and five over them; and they that were to the west were three upon three, and two over them; upper rooms or chambers were rare in Heathen temples ^s: these chambers were for the priests, where they lodged and laid up their garments, and ate their holy things; and were emblems of congregated churches, where the true members thereof, who are priests to God, have communion with him, and partake of divine things.

Gill: 1Ki 6:6

And the nethermost chamber was five cubits broad,.... The nethermost row of them, which were upon the first floor:

and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; so that the middlemost was a cubit larger than the lowest, and the highest a cubit larger than that: the reason of which was,

for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about; or rebatements; the thickness of the wall, as it was raised, became narrower at the height of every five cubits; thus the wall being supposed to be six cubits broad, as in Eze 41:5; when it came to be five cubits high, it was narrowed a cubit, which left a projection, rebatement, or bench for the beams of the first chambers to be laid upon, which made the second row of chambers broader by a cubit; and the same being observed in the next story, made the highest a cubit broader than the middlemost: and this was done,

that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house; or be inserted into them, which could not be done without making holes in it; and these holes could not be made without an iron instrument, and which was not to be used, as the next words show; whereas by the above method the beams of the chambers could be laid upon the buttresses, benches, or rebatements left, without the use of any: the gradual enlargement of these chambers, as they rose higher, may denote the enlargement of the church of God, both as to numbers, gifts, and grace, the nearer it comes to the heavenly state, as in the spiritual and personal reign of Christ.

Gill: 1Ki 6:7

And the house, when it was in building,.... And all the while it was building:

was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither; being hewn or squared by the builders and stonesquarers of Solomon and Hiram, 1Ki 5:18; wherefore the builders had nothing more to do than to lay them in their proper places in the building; it was built with these stones quite up to the ceiling, as Josephus says ^t; and these so admirably polished, and so artificially joined together, that not the least sign of an axe, or of any working tool, could be discerned in them:

so that there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron, heard in the house while it was in building; the first of these observations shows, that none are to be laid in the spiritual building of the church, but such as are first hewed and squared by the Spirit, grace, and word of God: or who have an experience of the grace of God, are sound in the faith, and of becoming lives and good conduct; and the other denotes, that such as are therein, whether ministers or members, should do all they do for the edification of the church in a quiet and peaceable manner, without clamour, contention, fights, and tumults.

Gill: 1Ki 6:8

The door of the middle chamber was in the right side of the house,.... The south side of it:

and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber; which were outside the chambers, and which winded about for the sake of taking up less room, and which led up to the door of the middle chamber, on the south of which they went into it; according to the Vulgate Latin and Tigurine versions, they went up in the forth of a cockle, or the shell of a snail; in like manner as was the ascent of the temple of Pan at Alexandria, as Strabo ^u relates:

and out of the middle into the third; the third chamber, and by winding stairs up to that; and the like might be on the north side, though not expressed, and on the west: the Jews say ^w, that in the second temple, these winding stairs went from the northeast to the northwest, whereby they went up to the roof of the chambers, and so to the south and west; with this compare Eze 41:7; and which may represent the windings and turnings of God's people in this present state, their many afflictions and tribulations, through which they pass from one state to another.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 6:1

¹ sn During the month Ziv. This would be April-May, 966 b.c. by modern reckoning.

NET Notes: 1Ki 6:2

¹ tn Heb “sixty cubits.” A cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm. Measurements in vv. 2-10 have been converted to feet in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “twenty cubits.”

³ tn Heb “thirty cubits.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 6:3

¹ tn Heb “twenty cubits.”

² tn Heb “ten cubits.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 6:5

¹ tn Heb “and he built on the wall of the temple an extension all around, the walls of the temple all around, for the main hall and for the holy place, and he made side rooms all around.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 6:6

¹ tn Heb “five cubits.”

² tn Heb “six cubits.”

³ tn Heb “seven cubits.”

⁴ tn Or “offsets” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “offset ledges.”

⁵ tn Heb “so that [the beams] would not have a hold in the walls of the temple.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 6:7

¹ tn Heb “finished stone of the quarry,” i.e., stones chiseled and shaped at the time they were taken out of the quarry.

NET Notes: 1Ki 6:8

¹ tc The Hebrew text has “middle,” but the remainder of the verse suggests this is an error.

² tn Heb “by stairs they went up.” The word translated “stairs” occurs only here. Other options are “trapdoors” or “ladders.”

³ tc The translation reads with a few medieval Hebrew mss, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate הַשְּׁלִשִׁית (hashÿlishit, “the third”) rather than MT הַשְּׁלִשִׁים (hashÿlishim, “the thirty”).

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 6:1

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 ^{( a )} Zif, which [is] the second month, that he began to build the ^{( b )} house of the LORD.

^{( a )} Which contains part of April and part of May.

^{( b )} By which is meant the temple and the oracle.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 6:3

And the ^{( c )} 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.

^{( c )} Or the court where the people prayed which was before the place where the altar of burnt offerings stood.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 6:5

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 ^{( d )} the oracle: and he made chambers round about:

^{( d )} When God spoke between the Cherubim, called also the most holy place.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 6:6

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 ^{( e )} rests round about, that [the beams] should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

^{( e )} Which were certain stones coming out of the wall, as stays for the beams to rest upon.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Ki 6:1-38

1 The building of Solomon's temple.

5 The chambers thereof.

11 God's promise unto it.

15 The ceiling and adorning of it.

23 The cherubims.

31 The doors.

36 The court.

37 The time of building it.

MHCC: 1Ki 6:1-10

The temple is called the house of the Lord, because it was directed and modelled by him, and was to be employed in his service. This gave it the beauty of holiness, that it was the house of the Lord, which was far beyond all other beauties. It was to be the temple of the God of peace, therefore no iron tool must be heard; quietness and silence suit and help religious exercises. God's work should be done with much care and little noise. Clamour and violence often hinder, but never further the work of God. Thus the kingdom of God in the heart of man grows up in silence, Mar 5:27.

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 6:1-10

Here, I. The temple is called the house of the Lord (1Ki 6:1), because it was, 1. Directed and modelled by him. Infinite Wisdom was the architect, and gave David the plan or pattern by the Spirit, not by word of mouth only, but, for the greater certainty and exactness, in writing (1Ch 28:11, 1Ch 28:12), as he had given to Moses in the mouth a draught of the tabernacle. 2. Dedicated and devoted to him and to his honour, to be employed in his service, so his as never any other house was, for he manifested his glory in it (so as never in any other) in a way agreeable to that dispensation; for, when there were carnal ordinances, there was a worldly sanctuary, Heb 9:1, Heb 9:10. This gave it its beauty of holiness, that it was the house of the Lord, which far transcended all its other beauties.

II. The time when it began to be built is exactly set down. 1. It was just 480 years after the bringing of the children of Israel out of Egypt. Allowing forty years to Moses, seventeen to Joshua, 299 to the Judges, forty to Eli, forty to Samuel and Saul, forty to David, and four to Solomon before he began the work, we have just the sum of 480. So long it was after that holy state was founded before that holy house was built, which, in less than 430 years, was burnt by Nebuchadnezzar. It was thus deferred because Israel had, by their sins, rendered themselves unworthy of this honour, and because God would show how little he values external pomp and splendour in his service: he was in no haste for a temple. David's tent, which was clean and convenient, though it was neither stately nor rich, nor, for aught that appears, ever consecrated, is called the house of the Lord (2Sa 12:20), and served as well as Solomon's temple; yet, when God gave Solomon great wealth, he put it into his heart thus to employ it, and graciously accepted him, chiefly because it was to be a shadow of good things to come, Heb 9:9. 2. It was in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, the first three years being taken up in settling the affairs of his kingdom, that he might not find any embarrassment from them in this work. It is not time lost which is spent in composing ourselves for the work of God, and disentangling ourselves from every thing which might distract or divert us. During this time he was adding to the preparations which his father had made (1Ch 22:14), hewing the stone, squaring the timber, and getting every thing ready, so that he is not to be blamed for slackness in deferring it so long. We are truly serving God when we are preparing for his service and furnishing ourselves for it.

III. The materials are brought in, ready for their place (1Ki 6:7), so ready that there was neither hammer nor ax heard in the house while it was in building. In all building Solomon prescribes it as a rule of prudence to prepare the work in the field, and afterwards build, Pro 24:27. But here, it seems, the preparation was more than ordinarily full and exact, to such a degree that, when the several parts came to be put together, there was nothing defective to be added, nothing amiss to be amended. It was to be the temple of God of peace, and therefore no iron tool must be heard in it. Quietness and silence both become and befriend religious exercises: God's work should be done with as much care and as little noise as may be. The temple was thrown down with axes and hammers, and those that threw it down roared in the midst of the congregation (Psa 74:4, Psa 74:6); but it was built up in silence. Clamour and violence often hinder the work of God, but never further it.

IV. The dimensions are laid down (1Ki 6:2, 1Ki 6:3) according to the rules of proportion. Some observe that the length and breadth were just double to that of the tabernacle. Now that Israel had grown more numerous the place of their meeting needed to be enlarged (Isa 54:1, Isa 54:2), and now that they had grown richer they were the better able to enlarge it. Where God sows plentifully he expects to reap so.

V. An account of the windows (1Ki 6:4): They were broad within, and narrow without, Marg. Such should the eyes of our mind be, reflecting nearer on ourselves than on other people, looking much within, to judge ourselves, but little without, to censure our brethren. The narrowness of the lights intimated the darkness of that dispensation, in comparison with the gospel day.

VI. The chambers are described (1Ki 6:5, 1Ki 6:6), which served as vestries, in which the utensils of the tabernacle were carefully laid up, and where the priests dressed and undressed themselves and left the clothes in which they ministered: probably in some of these chambers they feasted upon the holy things. Solomon was not so intent upon the magnificence of the house as to neglect the conveniences that were requisite for the offices thereof, that every thing might be done decently and in order. Care was taken that the beams should not be fastened in the walls to weaken them, 1Ki 6:6. Let not the church's strength be impaired under pretence of adding to its beauty or convenience.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ki 6:1-10

The Outside of the Building. - 1Ki 6:1. The building of the temple, a fixed and splendid house of Jehovah as the dwelling-place of His name in the midst of His people, formed an important epoch so far as the Old Testament kingdom of God was concerned, inasmuch as, according to the declaration of God made through the prophet Nathan, an end would thereby be put to the provisional condition of the people of Israel in the land of Canaan, since the temple was to become a substantial pledge of the permanent possession of the inheritance promised by the Lord. The importance of this epoch is indicated by the fact, that the time when the temple was built is defined not merely in relation to the year of Solomon's reign, but also in relation to the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. "In the 480th year after the exodus of the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, in the second month of the year, Solomon built the house of the Lord."The correctness of the number 480, as contrasted with the 440th year of the lxx and the different statements made by Josephus, is now pretty generally admitted; and we have already proved at Jdg 3:7 that it agrees with the duration of the period of the Judges when rightly estimated.

(Note: In opposition to the hypothesis of Böttcher, which has beenrepeated by Bertheau, viz., that the number 480 merely rests uponthe computation of 12 x 40 years, or twelve generations of fortyyears each, Thenius himself has observed with perfect justice, that"where both the year and the month of the reign of the king inquestion are given, the principal number will certainly rest uponsomething more than mere computation; and if this had not been thecase, the person making such a computation, if only for the purposeof obtaining the appearance of an exact statement, would have madea particular calculation of the years of Solomon's reign, and wouldhave added them to the round number obtained, and written 'in theyear 484.'Moreover, the introduction to our chapter has somethingannalistic in its tone; and at this early period it would be undoubtedlywell known, and in a case like the present a careful calculation wouldbe made, how long a time had elapsed since the most memorableperiod of the Israelitish nation had passed by."Compare with this Ed. Preuss ( Die Zeitrechnung der lxx, p. 74ff.), who has endeavouredwith much greater probability to show that the alteration made by thelxx into 440 rests upon nothing more than a genealogicalcombination.)

The name of the month Ziv , brilliancy, splendour, probably so called from the splendour of the flowers, is explained by the clause, "that is, the second month,"because the months had no fixed names before the captivity, and received different names after the captivity. The second month was called Jyar after the captivity. - The place where the temple was built is not given in our account, as having been sufficiently well known; though it is given in the parallel text, 2Ch 3:1, namely, " Mount Moriah , where the Lord had appeared to David"at the time of the pestilence, and where David had built an altar of burnt-offering by divine command (see at 2Sa 24:25).

1Ki 6:2-4

Plan and dimensions of the temple-house . - The measure of the temple-house and its several subdivisions are all given in the clear, i.e., as the spaces were seen. The house , i.e., the main building of the temple (lit., as for the house, or shell of the building), its length was sixty cubits, its breadth twenty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, and that, according to 2Ch 3:3, "after the earlier measure,"i.e., after the old Mosaic or sacred cubit, which was a hand-breadth longer, according to Eze 40:5 and Eze 43:13, than the civil cubit of the time of the captivity. The Mosaic cubit, according to the investigations of Thenius, was 214,512 Parisian lines long, i.e., 20 1/2 Dresden inches, or 18 1/2 Rhenish inches (see at Gen 6:10).

1Ki 6:3

The porch (lit., hall ) in the face of ( על־פּני , i.e., before) the Holy Place of the house was twenty cubits long, before ( על־פּני ) the breadth of the house, i.e., it was just the same breadth as the house. The longer line, which ran parallel to the breadth of the house, is called here ארך , the length, though from our point of view we should call it the width. And ten cubits was its breadth, i.e., its depth in front of the house. The height of the court is not given in our text; but in 2Ch 3:4 it is said to have been 120 cubits. This is certainly an error, although Ewald ( Gesch . iii. p. 300) still joins with Stieglitz ( Baukunst , p. 126, and Beitrr . zur Gesch. der Bauk . i. p. 70) in defending its correctness. For an erection of such a height as this could not possibly have been designated as אוּלם (a hall or porch), but would have been called מגדּל , a tower . But even a tower of 120 cubits in height in front of a temple which was only thirty cubits high, would have shown a greater disproportion than our loftiest church towers;

(Note: In the Strasburg cathedral and that at Freiburg in Breisgau theproportion between the height of the tower and that of the church,together with the roof, is about 3 1/4 to 1; it is only in the cathedralat Rouen that the proportion would have been almost 4 to 1 if it hadbeen carried out to the very top. At the same time, in making thiscomparison it must be borne in mind that these Gothic towers taperoff into slender points, whereas in the case of Solomon's temple wemust assume that if the porch was carried up to the height supposed,it finished in a flat truncated tower; and it is this which would chieflyoccasion the disproportion.)

and such a funnel-like erection with a base of only ten cubits in breadth or depth would hardly have possessed sufficient stability. We cannot certainly think of an intentional exaggeration of the height in the Chronicles, since the other measures agree with the account before us; but the assumption that there has been a corruption of the text is rendered natural enough by many other errors in the numerical statements. This still leaves it undecided whether the true height was twenty or thirty cubits; for whereas the Syriac, Arabic, and lxx (Cod. Al.) have twenty cubits, the height of thirty cubits is favoured partly by the omission of any statement of the height from our text, which is much easier to explain if the porch was of the same height as the temple-house than if the heights were different, and partly by the circumstance that the side building had an external height of twenty cubits, and therefore the porch would not have stood out with any especial prominence if its elevation had been just the same.

1Ki 6:4

After the account of the proportionate spaces in the temple-house, the windows through which it received light and air are mentioned. אטמים שׁקפים חלּוני does not mean fenestrae intus latae, foris angustae (Chald., Ar., Rabb., Luther, and others), but windows with closed beams, i.e., windows the lattice-work of which could not be opened and closed at pleasure, as in ordinary dwelling-houses (2Ki 13:17; Dan 6:11). For שׁקפים signifies beams overlaid in 1Ki 7:4, and שׁקף beams in 1Ki 7:5. The opening of the windows was probably narrower without than within, as in the older Egyptian buildings, as the walls were very strong; and in that case such windows would more thoroughly answer their purpose, viz., to admit light and air, and let out the smoke, so that the interpretation given by the Chaldee is most likely founded upon an ancient tradition, and is in accordance with the fact, though not with the words. It is a disputed point among the commentators where the windows were placed: whether merely in the front over the porch, provided, that is to say, that this was ten cubits lower than the temple-house, or on the side walls above the side stories, which were at the most about twenty cubits high, in which case the Most Holy Place, which was only twenty cubits high, remained quite dark, according to 1Ki 8:12. We regard the latter view as the correct one, inasmuch as the objections to it rest upon assumptions which can be proved to be false.

1Ki 6:5-8

The side building . - 1Ki 6:5. "He built against the wall of the house an outwork round about (i.e., against the two longer sides and against the hinder wall, and not against the front also, where the porch was built), against the walls of the house round about, against the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, and he made side chambers round about." יצוּע (written constantly יציע in the Keri ) signifies literally stratum , here the lower building or outwork erected against the rooms mentioned. The word is gen . comm ., but so construed that the masculine is used in a collective sense to denote the whole of the outworks, consisting as they did of three stories, whereas the feminine is used for one single story of the building (1Ki 6:6). On this use of the masculine and feminine genders to distinguish the whole mass and the individual parts, which is very common in Arabic, though it is rare in Hebrew, in which the distinction is generally expressed by a peculiar feminine form. as for example אני a fleet, and אניּה a single ship, compare Ewald, Lehrbuch der hebr. Spr . §175, d ., and 176, a ., and gramm . crit. ling, arab . i. §295. את־קירות does not mean cum parietibus (Seb. Schmidt and J. H. Michaelis), but את is a sign of the accusative, "as for the walls,"and introduces the more precise definition. צלעות signifies, both here and in Eze 41:6., side chambers or side stories, from צלע , to incline to one side, hence to limp, i.e., to lean constantly to one side. From this there were derived for צלע the meanings side, side piece or side wall, e.g., of the ark, Exo 25:12, Exo 25:14, etc., of the dwelling, Exo 26:20, Exo 26:26, etc., of the altar, Exo 27:7, etc., the side wall or slope of a mountain, 2Sa 16:13, the side portion of the human body, i.e., the rib, Gen 2:21-22, the sides or leaves of a door in 1Ki 6:34 of the present chapter, and when used of buildings, the side pieces or portions built out which lean against the main building; and lastly, the idea of a piece which shows a large side, i.e., a broad plank (1Ki 6:15-16). The meaning planks or beams, as it were ribs or rib-work, is unfounded.

1Ki 6:6

The (internal) breadth of the lower side story was five cubits, that of the middle one six, and that of the third seven cubits; "for he (they) had made shortenings (i.e., rebates) against the house round about on the outside, that (there might be) no insertion into the walls of the (temple-) house."The meaning is that rebates were attached against the temple wall, at the point where the lower beams of the different side stories were to be placed, so that the heads of these beams rested upon the rebates and were not inserted in the actual wall of the temple-house. These rebates are called very descriptively מגרעות , deductions or contractions of the thickness of the wall. We may assume that there were four such rebates: three for the three floors of the side stories, and one for the roof. It still remains doubtful, however, whether these rebates were merely laid along the temple wall, or along the outer wall of the side building as well, so as to ensure symmetry and make each of the two walls half a cubit thinner or weaker at every rebate. The former is the more probable. And accordingly the temple wall was one cubit weaker at each rebate, that is to say, in four places. If, therefore, it still remained two cubits thick at the top, it must have been six cubits thick below. This extraordinary thickness, however, would be quite in keeping with the remains of buildings of great antiquity, the walls of which have generally a colossal thickness, and also with the size of the square stones of which the wall was constructed, as described in 1Ki 7:10.

1Ki 6:7-8

1Ki 6:7 contains a circumstantial clause, inserted as an explanation of 1Ki 6:6 : "The house, (namely) when building, was built of perfectly finished stones of the quarry, and hammer and axe; no kind of instrument whatever was heard at the house when it was building." מסּע שׁלמה אבן (on the construction see Ges. §114, 1, Erl., and Ewald, §339, b .) does not mean stones quite unhewn, which God had so caused to grow that they did not require to be hewn (Theodoret); for although שׁלמות אבנים is used in Deu 27:6 (compare with Exo 20:25) to signify uninjured, i.e., unhewn stones, yet this meaning is precluded here by the context (cf. 1Ki 5:18). שׁלם signifies finished here, that is to say, stones which were so perfectly tooled and prepared when first broken in the quarry, that when the temple walls were built no iron instruments were required to prepare them any further. גּרזן , an axe, here a stone-mason's cutting tool corresponding to the axe. - In 1Ki 6:8 the description of the side building is continued. "A door ( פּתח , a opening for the entrance) to the middle side chamber (of the lower story) was on the right side (the southern side) of the house, and a winding staircase led up into the middle (room of the middle story) and out of the middle into the third rooms,"i.e., the rooms of the third story. This is the rendering according to the Masoretic text; and the only thing that appears strange is the use of התּיכנה first of all for the middle room of the lower story and then for the middle story; and the conjecture is a very natural one, that the first התּיכנה may have been an error of the pen for התּחתּנה , in which case הצּלע does not signify the side room, but is used in a collective sense for the row of side rooms in one story, as in Eze 41:5, Eze 41:9,Eze 41:11. That this door was made from the outside, i.e., in the outer wall of the side building, and did not lead into the side rooms "from the interior of the Holy Place,"would hardly need a remark, if Böttcher ( Proben alttestl. Schrifterkl . p. 339) and Schnaase ( Gesch. der bildenden Künste , Bd. 1) had not really supported this view, which is so thoroughly irreconcilable with the dignity of the sanctuary.

(Note: The perfectly groundless assumption of Thenius, that theouter building had most probably an inner door as well, whichconnected it with the temple, does just as much violence to thedecorum of the Holy Place.)

The only question is, whether it was made in the middle of the right side or in the front by the side of the porch. If the Masoretic text is correct, there is no doubt about the former. But if we read התּחתּנה , the text leaves the question undecided. The winding staircase was not constructed in the outer wall itself, because this was not thick enough for the purpose, and the text states pretty clearly that it led from the lower story into the middle one, and thence still higher, so that it was in the centre of the building.

1Ki 6:9-10

In 1Ki 6:9 and 1Ki 6:10 the description of the exterior of the temple building is brought to a close. "So he built the house, and finished it, and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar." ויּספּן is not to be understood as relating to the internal panelling of the temple-house, for this is spoken of first in the section which follows (1Ki 6:15), but to the roofing; ספן means to conceal (Deu 33:21) and cover in all the other passages, even in Hag 1:4 and Jer 22:14, where ספוּן is generally, though incorrectly, translated "panelled."As a verb signifying clothing, it is construed with the accusative. גּבים does not mean boards, but beams, though not "an arched covering"(Thenius), because beams cut in the form of an arch would have been too weak in the middle, nor yet rafters (Böttcher), because the roofs of oriental buildings are flat. בּארזים שׂדרת , "rows, i.e., tablets (consisting) of cedars,"i.e., cedar tablets, which were inserted in rows between the beams. This cedar-work was certainly provided with a strong covering to protect the roof and the building itself against rain; and at the sides it had no doubt a parapet, as in the case of dwelling-houses (Deu 22:8).

1Ki 6:10

"And he built the outbuildings to the whole house (i.e., all round the temple-house, with the exception of the front: see 1Ki 6:5); five cubits was its height,"i.e., the height of each story, the suffix in קומתו being made to agree with היּצוּע through an inaccuracy which has arisen from condensation, although, as in 1Ki 6:5, it denotes the whole of the side buildings, which consisted of three stories. The height given must also be understood as referring to the height within. Consequently the side buildings had an internal height of 3 x 5 cubits, and reckoning the floorings and the roof of the whole building an external height of 18 or 20 cubits; so that the temple-house, which was thirty cubits high within and about thirty-two without, rose about twelve or fourteen cubits above the side building, and there was plenty of room for the windows in the side walls. וגו ויּאחז : "and it (the side building) held to the house with cedar beams."The meaning is, that the building was fastened to the house by the joists of the cedar beams belonging to the different stories, which rested upon rebates of the temple wall, so that it was firmly attached to the temple-house, without any injurious insertions into the sanctuary itself. This is apparently the only explanation, that can be grammatically sustained, of words that have received such different interpretations. For the translation given by Thenius, which coincides with this, - viz., "he fastened it (each separate story of the building) to the temple-house with cedar wood, namely, with the cedar beams which formed the flooring and roofing of the three stores,"- is exposed to this grammatical objection, that the suffix is wanting in יעחז , and that אחז is never followed by את in the sense of with . All the other explanations are unsuitable. יעחז signifies neither "he covered the house"(Chald., Vulg., Luther), nor "he overlaid the house;"moreover, the roofing of the house has been already mentioned in 1Ki 6:9, and there is no trace to be found of any overlaying or covering of the outside with cedar wood.

If, therefore, we reckon the thickness of the temple wall at six cubits, and that of the outer wall of the side building and the front wall of the porch at three cubits each, the whole building would be ninety-three cubits long (externally) and forty-eight cubits broad. The height of the temple-house was about thirty-two cubits externally, and that of the side stories from eighteen to twenty cubits, without the socle upon which the whole building rested. This is not mentioned indeed, as being a subordinate matter, but would certainly not be omitted.

(Note: Thenius, on the other hand, reckons the length of the wholebuilding at a hundred cubits and its breadth at fifty-two, because, onthe unfounded assumption that the temple in Ezekiel's vision wassimply a copy of Solomon's temple, he sets down the thickness of thetemple wall in front and along the two sides at six cubits, and that ofthe hinder wall at seven. Moreover, he not only reckons the internallength of the house at sixty-two cubits, in opposition to thestatement in the text, that the length of the house (which was dividedinto the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies) was sixty cubits; but inopposition to v. 16, according to which the Holy Place and the Holyof Holies were separated by boards of cedar, he assumes that there wasa wall of two cubits in thickness between the Holy Place and the Holyof Holies, according to Eze 41:3; and, lastly, for no other reasonthan the wish to get the round number 100, he takes for granted thatthe hinder wall of the temple was a cubit thicker than that on theother sides.)

The number of rooms in the side buildings is not given, but may be set down at thirty in each story, if their length corresponded to their breadth in the lower story. These rooms had of course windows, although they are not mentioned in the account, but each one would have only a small window sufficient to give it the requisite light. And as to the number of the temple windows also, we can simply make conjectures. We can hardly assume that there were more than six on each side, and there were probably none at the back.

Constable: 1Ki 1:1--11:43

I. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON chs. 1--11

The Holy Spirit led the writer of Kings to give an interpretation of history, not just a chronologically sequential record of events. This is true of all the writers of the Old Testament historical books. Some of the events in Kings are not in chronological order. They appear in the text as they do to make a point that was primarily theological (i.e., to reveal a spiritual lesson from history). The writer chose the historical data he included for this purpose under the superintending inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The lesson that Kings teaches is that failure to honor the revealed will of God results in ruin and destruction.¹² For Israel the revealed will of God was the Mosaic Law and the later revelations of the prophets.

"By way of contrast with the other two books covering the historical details of the united and divided kingdoms, one might say that whereas Samuel's author uses a biographical style and Chronicles is written from a theological standpoint, the author of Kings employs a largely narrative-annalistic approach."¹³

All three major sections of Kings emphasize many theological lessons, but each one repeats and reinforces the main motif, the importance of obeying the Mosaic Law to succeed. This motif stands out clearly in the first major section dealing with Solomon's reign (chs. 1-11). The nation of Israel reached the height of its power and prestige in Solomon's day. It began to decline because of Solomon's unfaithfulness and failure to honor the Mosaic Covenant.

One writer observed that the structure of the record of Solomon's reign is as follows. Chapters 1-2 and 11:14-43 draw a frame around the whole history of Solomon's rule. Within this frame two similar sections form the body of the revelation. The first (3:1-8:66) is favorable to Solomon and the second (9:1-11:13) is critical of him.¹⁴ Each of these sections begins with a dream (3:1-15; 9:1-10a), and each ends with a revelation of Solomon's attitude toward God (chs. 6-8; 11:1-13). The first section has two parts. Part one reveals Solomon's domestic policy with sub-sections on women and wisdom (3:16-28), and administration and wisdom (4:1-5:14). Part two deals with Solomon's labor relations and has sub-sections on the contract with Hiram (5:15-18) and the corvée (5:28-33). The second section also has two parts. Part one gives more information about Solomon's labor relations and has sub-sections on the contract with Hiram (9:10b-14) and the corvée (9:15-28). Part two explains Solomon's foreign policy with sub-sections on women and wisdom (10:1-13), and wealth and wisdom (10:14-29). Thus there is both a chiastic and an unfolding structure in chapters 1-11.¹⁵

Constable: 1Ki 5:1--8:66

C. Solomon's Greatest Contribution chs. 5-8

Solomon's outstanding contribution to the nation of Israel, I believe, was the provision he made for her spiritual strength. The writer of Kings gave this much emphasis in his book.

People generally regarded their king as the representative, son, and vice-regent of their chief god in the ancient Near East.⁶² This was really the true relation of Israel's king to Yahweh. People also viewed the temples of the gods as the palaces of those beings and regarded the magnificence of their houses as a reflection of their personal greatness. The temple represented the god.⁶³ Therefore Solomon wanted to portray the greatness of Yahweh by building Him the most glorious temple in the ancient Near East. This would have enabled Israel to fulfill the purpose for which God had raised her up better, namely, to bring people to God (Exod. 19:6; cf. Isa. 42:6-7).

Constable: 1Ki 6:1-38

2. Temple construction ch. 6

After arrangements for building the temple were in order, construction began. This building took seven years to complete (v. 38).

Constable: 1Ki 6:1-10

The outside of the temple 6:1-10

Verse 1 is one of the most important verses in the Old Testament chronologically. The dates of Solomon's reign (971-931 B.C.) are quite certain. They rest on references that other ancient Near Eastern king lists coroborate. Solomon began temple construction about 966 B.C. According to this verse the Exodus took place in 1445 or 1446 B.C. Most conservative scholars who take statements in Scripture like this verse seriously hold this date for the Exodus. The more popular date of about 1280 B.C. rests primarily on the assumption that Ramses II was the pharaoh of the Exodus. Those who hold this view believe historical similarities between conditions during Ramses' reign and the biblical description of the Exodus support their theory.

Why did the writer of Kings tie the building of the temple to the Exodus? It was evidently for the reason explained above. With the building of the temple Israel would have an opportunity as never before in her history to realize the purpose for which God had formed and freed the nation. That purpose was to draw all people to Himself.

Even though we have some information about the general specifications and appearance of the temple, the omission of other data makes the reproduction of a detailed model impossible. Essentially it followed the pattern of both the Mosaic tabernacle and other ancient Near Eastern temples.⁶⁵

The temple was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had about 2,700 square feet of floor space. Its large open front porch added 15 more feet to its length. It faced east as did the tabernacle and other ancient Near Eastern temples.⁶⁶ Its exterior was limestone, cedar, and gold. It must have been extremely beautiful.

On two or three sides there were narrow clerestory windows above the three stories of side rooms that projected from the outer walls. The priests used these side rooms for storage and service purposes. They were smallest on the first floor where there were also hallways and stairways, larger on the second floor that also had halls and stairs, and largest on the third floor. The offset ledges were apparently supports for the upper floors that fastened to the walls of this surrounding structure. Measurements in the text are probably inside dimensions.

Evidently Solomon wanted to preserve the sanctity of the temple even while it was under construction by eliminating as much noise as possible (v. 7; cf. Deut. 27:5-6).

Guzik: 1Ki 6:1-38

1 Kings 6 - The Construction of the Temple

A. Basic dimensions and structure.

1. (1-6) Basic dimensions of the temple.

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. Now the house which King Solomon built for the LORD, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. The vestibule in front of the sanctuary of the house was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of the vestible extended ten cubits from the front of the house. And he made for the house windows with beveled frames. Against the wall of the temple he built chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the temple.

a. In the four hundred and eightieth year: This marking point shows just how long Israel lived in the Promised Land without a temple. The tabernacle served the nation well for more than 400 years. The temple was built prompted more at the direction and will of God than out of absolute necessity.

i. The dating provided in 1 Kings 6:1 also gives a dating for the Exodus. As many suppose, the reign of Solomon began in 971 B.C. and ended at 913 B.C. (the temple was begun in 967 B.C.). This means that the Exodus took place in 1447 B.C.

b. He began to build the house of the LORD: This was when the actual construction began. Solomon probably started to organize the work right away. There is some evidence that it took three years to prepare timber from Lebanon for use in building. If Solomon began the construction of the temple in the fourth year of his reign, he probably started organizing the construction in the very first year of his reign.

i. Yet the work was carefully organized and planned even before Solomon became king. 1 Chronicles 28:11-12 tells us, Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things.

ii. The writer of 1 Kings never tells us exactly where the temple was built, but the writer of 2 Chronicles tells us that it was built on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1), the same place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac and - on another part of the hill - Jesus would be sacrificed.

c. The house which King Solomon built for the LORD: This chapter will describe the building of the temple and its associated areas. There are four main structures described.

· The temple proper (the house which King Solomon built), divided into two rooms (the holy place and the most holy place).

· The vestibule or entrance hall on the east side of the temple proper (the vestibule in front of the sanctuary). It was thirty feet (10 meters) wide and fifteen feet (5 meters) deep, and the same height as the temple proper.

· The three-storied side chambers (chambers all around) which surrounded the temple proper on the north, south, and west sides.

· A large courtyard surrounding the whole structure (the inner court mentioned in 1 Kings 6:36).

d. Its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits: Assuming that the ancient cubit was approximately 18 inches (perhaps one-half meter), this means that the temple proper was approximately 90 feet (30 meters) long, 30 feet (10 meters) wide, and 45 feet (15 meters) high. This was not especially large as ancient temples go, but the glory of Israel's temple was not in its size.

i. Allowing for the outside storage rooms, the vestibule, and the estimate thickness of the walls, the total size of the structure was perhaps 75 cubits long (110 feet, 37 meters) and 50 cubits wide (75 feet, 25 meters).

ii. The dimensions of the temple also tell us that it was build on the same basic design as the tabernacle, but twice as large. This means that Solomon meant the temple to be a continuation of the tabernacle.

e. He built chambers all around: These seem to be side rooms adjacent to the temple, yet not structurally part of the temple. The New International Version translates 1 Kings 6:5: Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.

2. (7-10) Details of the construction.

And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. The doorway for the middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. So he built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar. And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.

a. No hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built: The stones used to build the temple were all cut and prepared at another site. The stones were only assembled at the building site of the temple.

i. This speaks to the way God wants His work done. The temple had to be built with human labor. God did not, and would not, send a team of angels to build the temple. Yet Solomon did not want the sound of man's work to dominate the site of the temple. He wanted to communicate, as much as possible, that the temple was of God and not of man.

ii. This speaks to the way God works in His people. Often the greatest work in the Kingdom of God happens quietly. Yet the building site of the temple was only quiet because there was a lot of noise and diligent work at the quarry.

iii. This speaks to God's work in the church. "But why is this so particularly marked? It is not because the temple was a type of the kingdom of God; and the souls of men are to be prepared here for that place of blessedness? There, there is no preaching, exhortations, repentance, tears, cries, nor prayers; the stones must be all squared and fitted here for their place in their New Jerusalem." (Clarke)

b. He paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar: These were some of the finest building materials available. The impression is of a magnificent building.

c. He built side chambers against the entire temple: This describes the rooms adjacent to the temple, surrounding it on the north, west, and south sides. These side chambers were built in three stories.

B. God's promise and Solomon's building.

1. (11-13) God's promise to Solomon.

Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying: "Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel."

a. If you walk in My statutes: This was a conditional promise to Solomon and his descendents. It depended on the obedience of Solomon and his descendents.

b. I will perform My word with you . . . And I will dwell among the children of Israel: God promised an obedient Solomon that he would reign and be blessed, fulfilling the promises God made to David about his reign (2 Samuel 7:5-16). He also promised that His special presence would remain among Israel as a nation.

i. We might say that there was nothing particularly new in this promise. These are essentially the same promises of the Old Covenant made to Israel at Sinai. But this was an important reminder and renewal of previous promises.

c. And I will dwell among the children of Israel: God was careful to not say that He would live in them temple the way pagans thought their gods lived in temples. He would dwell among the children of Israel. The temple was a special place for man to meet with God.

2. (14-38) The finished temple.

So Solomon built the temple and finished it. And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress. Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen. And he prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar. So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold the entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary. Inside the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape. The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. Then he set the cherubim inside the inner room; and they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold. Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries. For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were one-fifth of the wall. The two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. So for the door of the sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, one-fourth of the wall. And the two doors were of cypress wood; two panels comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door. Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work. And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams. In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

a. The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high: Special attention was given to the Holy of Holies or Most Holy place. It was a 30-foot (10 meter) cube, completely overlaid with gold. It also had two large sculptures of cherubim (15-foot or 5 meters in height), which were overlaid with gold.

i. There were gold chains across the veil separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. "The gold chains, stretched across the front of the inner sanctuary, served to strengthen the concept of the inaccessibility of this Most Holy Place." (Patterson and Austel) 22

ii. Two cherubim of olive wood: These two large sculptures inside the Most Holy Place faced the entrance to this inner room, so as soon as the High Priest entered he saw these giant guardians of the presence of God facing him. 23

iii. And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold: There was gold everywhere in the temple. The walls were covered with gold (1 Kings 6:20-22), the floor was covered with gold (1 Kings 6:30) and gold was hammered into the carvings on the doors (1 Kings 6:32).

b. He carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers: This was after the pattern of the tabernacle, which had woven designs of cherubim on the inner covering. 29

c. And he built the inner court: This inner court was the court of the priests where the altar and laver were set and sacrifice was conducted. Outside it was the great court, where the people came to pray. Outside it was the court of the women, and outside that was the court of the Gentiles. 36

i. It must always be remembered that under the Old Covenant, the temple was not for the people of Israel. It was only for the priests to meet with God on behalf of the people. The people gathered and worshipped in the outer courtyard.

d. So he was seven years in building it: When the temple was finished it was a spectacular building. It was easy for Israel to focus on the temple of God instead of the God of the temple. Yet without continued faithfulness to God, the temple's glory quickly faded. This glorious temple was plundered just five years after the death of Solomon (1 Kings 14:25-27).

© 2004 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: 1Ki 6:1

1 KINGS 6:1—How can this be an accurate calculation if Ramses the Great was the Pharaoh of the Exodus?

PROBLEM: The predominant view of modern scholarship is that the Pharaoh of the Exodus was Ramses II. If this is right, it would mean that the Exodus took place about 1270 to 1260 B.C. However, since the fourth year of Solomon’s reign was 967 B.C. , adding 480 years to that date would put the Exodus at about 1447 B.C . which is in the reign of Amenhotep II. How can this calculation be correct if Ramses the Great was the Pharaoh of the Exodus?    1. The “y” in the wordrbym is normally represented by the long “i” vowel. However, since the consonantyod was written to represent long vowels before the vowel points were added, it is inserted here as a transliteration of the letter which would have appeared in the unpointed text.

SOLUTION: If the present chronology of the kings of Egypt is accepted, the Pharaoh of the Exodus was not Ramses the Great, but Amenhotep II. If Egyptian chronology is revised, then Ramses lived 200 years earlier and could be the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Although modern scholarship has proposed a late date for the Exodus, ca. 1270-1260 B.C. , there is no longer any reason to accept this date, and alternative explanations provide a better account of all the historical data and place the Exodus at about 1447 B.C. (See comments under Ex. 5:2 .)   

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare 1Ki 17:9; 2Ki 5:14 with Luk 4:24-27; 1Ki 10:1 with Mat 12:42).

JFB: 1 Kings (Outline)

• ABISHAG CHERISHES DAVID IN HIS EXTREME AGE. (1Ki 1:1-4)
• ADONIJAH USURPS THE KINGDOM. (1Ki. 1:5-31)
• SOLOMON, BY DAVID'S APPOINTMENT, IS ANOINTED KING. (1Ki. 1:32-49)
• ADONIJAH, FLEEING TO THE HORNS OF THE ALTAR, IS DISMISSED BY SOLOMON. (1Ki 1:50-53)
• DAVID DIES. (1Ki 2:1-11)
• SOLOMON SUCCEEDS HIM. (1Ki 2:12-24)
• JOAB SLAIN. (1Ki. 2:28-45)
• SHIMEI PUT TO DEATH. (1Ki 2:34-46)
• SOLOMON MARRIES PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER. (1Ki 3:1)
• HIGH PLACES BEING IN USE, HE SACRIFICES AT GIBEON. (1Ki 3:2-5)
• HE CHOOSES WISDOM. (1Ki 3:6-15)
• HIS JUDGMENT BETWEEN TWO HARLOTS. (1Ki 3:16-28)
• SOLOMON'S PRINCES. (1Ki 4:1-6)
• HIS TWELVE OFFICERS. (1Ki 4:7-21)
• HIS WISDOM. (1Ki 4:29-34)
• HIRAM SENDS TO CONGRATULATE SOLOMON. (1Ki 5:1-6)
• FURNISHES TIMBER TO BUILD THE TEMPLE. (1Ki 5:7-12)
• SOLOMON'S WORKMEN AND LABORERS. (1Ki 5:13-18)
• THE BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. (1Ki 6:1-4)
• THE CHAMBERS THEREOF. (1Ki 6:5-10)
• GOD'S PROMISES UNTO IT. (1Ki 6:11-14)
• THE CEILING AND ADORNING OF IT. (1Ki 6:15-22)
• THE TIME TAKEN TO BUILD IT. (1Ki 6:37-38)
• BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S HOUSE. (1Ki 7:1)
• OF THE HOUSE OF LEBANON. (1Ki 7:2-7)
• HIRAM'S WORKS. (1Ki. 7:13-51)
• THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE. (1Ki 8:1-12)
• SOLOMON'S BLESSING. (1Ki 8:12-21)
• HIS PRAYER. (1Ki. 8:22-61)
• HIS SACRIFICE OF PEACE OFFERING. (1Ki 8:62-64)
• THE PEOPLE JOYFUL. (1Ki 8:65)
• GOD'S COVENANT IN A SECOND VISION WITH SOLOMON. (1Ki 9:1-9)
• THE MUTUAL PRESENTS OF SOLOMON AND HIRAM. (1Ki 9:10-23)
• SOLOMON'S YEARLY SACRIFICES. (1Ki 9:24-28)
• THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ADMIRES THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. (1Ki 10:1-13)
• HIS RICHES. (1Ki. 10:14-29)
• SOLOMON'S WIVES AND CONCUBINES IN HIS OLD AGE. (1Ki 11:1-8)
• GOD THREATENS HIM. (1Ki 11:9-13)
• REFUSING THE OLD MEN'S COUNSEL. (1Ki 12:1-5)
• JEROBOAM MADE KING OVER THEM. (1Ki 12:20-33)
• JEROBOAM'S HAND WITHERS. (1Ki. 13:1-22)
• THE DISOBEDIENT PROPHET SLAIN BY A LION. (1Ki 13:23-32)
• AHIJAH DENOUNCES GOD'S JUDGMENTS AGAINST JEROBOAM. (1Ki. 14:1-20)
• REHOBOAM'S WICKED REIGN. (1Ki 14:21-24)
• SHISHAK SPOILS JERUSALEM. (1Ki 14:25-31)
• ABIJAM'S WICKED REIGN OVER JUDAH. (1Ki 15:1-8)
• ASA'S GOOD REIGN. (1Ki 15:9-22)
• NADAB'S WICKED REIGN. (1Ki 15:25-34)
• JEHU'S PROPHECY AGAINST BAASHA. (1Ki 16:1-8)
• ZIMRI'S CONSPIRACY. (1Ki 16:9-22)
• OMRI BUILDS SAMARIA. (1Ki 16:23-28)
• JOSHUA'S CURSE FULFILLED UPON HIEL THE BUILDER OF JERICHO. (1Ki 16:34)
• ELIJAH, PROPHESYING AGAINST AHAB, IS SENT TO CHERITH. (1Ki 17:1-7)
• HE IS SENT TO A WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH. (1Ki 17:8-16)
• HE RAISES HER SON TO LIFE. (1Ki 17:17-24)
• ELIJAH MEETS OBADIAH. (1Ki. 18:1-16)
• ELIJAH, BY PRAYER, OBTAINS RAIN. (1Ki 18:41-46)
• ELIJAH FLEES TO BEER-SHEBA. (1Ki 19:1-3)
• ELISHA FOLLOWS ELIJAH. (1Ki 19:19-21)
• BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (1Ki 20:1-12)
• THE SYRIANS ARE SLAIN. (1Ki 20:13-20)
• A PROPHET REPROVES HIM. (1Ki 20:35-42)
• NABOTH REFUSES AHAB HIS VINEYARD. (1Ki 21:1-4)
• JEZEBEL CAUSES NABOTH TO BE STONED. (1Ki 21:5-16)
• ELIJAH DENOUNCES JUDGMENTS AGAINST AHAB AND JEZEBEL. (1Ki 21:17-29)
• AHAB SLAIN AT RAMOTH-GILEAD. (1Ki. 22:1-36)

TSK: 1 Kings 6 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Ki 6:1, The building of Solomon’s temple; 1Ki 6:5, The chambers thereof; 1Ki 6:11, God’s promise unto it; 1Ki 6:15, The ceiling and adorning of it; 1Ki 6:23, The cherubims; 1Ki 6:31, The doors; 1Ki 6:36, The court; 1Ki 6:37, The time of building it.

Poole: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

FIRST BOOK OF KINGS COMMONLY CALLED

THE THIRD BOOK OF THE KINGS

THE ARGUMENT

THESE two Books called Of the Kings, because they treat of the kings of Judah and Israel, were written by the prophets, or holy men of God, living in or near their several times, and by some one of them digested into this order. But whoever was the penman, that these are a part of those Holy Scriptures which were Divinely inspired is sufficiently evident first,

From the concurring testimony of the whole Jewish church in all ages, to whom were committed the oracles of God, Rom 3:2 , who also did faithfully discharge their duty in preserving and delivering them entirely and truly to their posterity from time to time, as plainly appears, because Christ and his apostles, who reproved them freely for their several sins, never taxed them with this fault, of depraving the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. Secondly, Because this is manifest concerning divers parcels of them which were taken out of the records of the prophets Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo, 2Ch 9:29 , and out of the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah; and the rest doubtless were of the same nature.

Thirdly, From the approbation of these books by the New Testament, both generally, as 2Ti 3:16 , All Scripture is given by inspiration from God, &c., which is affirmed concerning all those Holy Scriptures which Timothy had known, from a child, 2Ti 3:15 , and therefore must necessarily be meant of all the books of the Old Testament, which the Jews owned for canonical Scripture; and particularly Rom 11:2,3 , &c., where a passage out of these books is quoted and owned as a part of the Holy Scripture, called the Scripture by way of eminency.

Poole: 1 Kings 6 (Chapter Introduction)

KINGS CHAPTER 6

The building of the temple, and the time thereof; the form and largeness, windows, chambers, and materials, 1Ki 6:1-10 . God’ s promise unto it, 1Ki 6:11-13 . The ceiling and adorning it, 1Ki 6:14,15 . The oracle, 1Ki 6:16-22 . The cherubims, and divers ornaments, 1Ki 6:23-30 . The doors, 1Ki 6:31-35 . The inner court, 1Ki 6:36 . The time in building, 1Ki 1:37,38 .

This chronological difficulty is too vast and comprehensive to be fully discussed here, or to be determined by unlearned readers; and for the learned, I refer them to what is largely digested in my Latin Synopsis upon this place. It may suffice at present to suggest these particulars:

1. That Israel’ s coming out of Egypt is variously understood in Scripture, and with some latitude, so as not only to note the time when first they came out of Egypt, but the time of their being in or coming out of the wilderness; as is manifest from Deu 4:45 , where the words in the Hebrew are not after , &c., as we translate it, but in their coming forth out of Egypt ; and Psa 94:1-3 , When Israel came forth &c., Heb. their coming forth &c. And it is not impossible it may be so understood here, after they were come out &c., to wit, completely, i.e. towards the end of their expedition out of Egypt into Canaan. Nor doth the difference between the Hebrew prepositions lamed and beth , which a learned man objects, hinder this sense; for as beth signifies (as he saith) after , so also doth lamed, Gen 7:4,10 Nu 33:38 .

2. That whereas the times of the judges do chiefly cause this difficulty, there are many things which will relieve us therein; as,

1. That divers of the years there mentioned belong to one and the same time, as is evident from Jair’ s twenty-two years, within which fell out, as divers learned chronologers agree, the eighteen years of the oppression of the Ammonites, and several years of the Philistine tyranny, who oppressed Israel in the west, whilst the Ammonites vexed them in the east; and the like might be observed in other cases.

2. That the years of rest are not necessarily to be understood of so many distinct years, besides those of war and servitude; and those words which are generally rendered the land had rest forty or eighty years , or the like, may be thus rendered, and that very agreeable to the Hebrew, The land had rest , or began to rest , or recovered its rest, in the fortieth or in the eightieth (the cardinal numbers being frequently put for the ordinal, especially where the number exceeds ten) year , to be computed from some remarkable time; and so that phrase doth not note how long time, or till what time, the rest continued, but at what time it began. As for instance, in Jud 3:11 , the land had rest , not forty years , as it is in our translation, but in the fortieth year , to wit, from and after their first rest in, or quiet possession of, the land of Canaan, which Joshua gave them; which time may very probably be made up of the days of Joshua, after he had settled them in a state of rest; and of the elders that outlived him, Jud 2:7 , and the time of their corruption after the death of those elders; and the eight years of servitude under the king of Mesopotamia. So Jud 3:30 , The land had rest in the eightieth year , to wit, from and after that rest which Othniel obtained for them, Jud 3:11 . And Jud 5:31 , It rested in the fortieth year , to wit, after that rest got by Ehud, Jud 3:30 . And Jud 8:28 , It rested in the fortieth year , to wit, from the last rest got by Deborah. And thus the computation of years is more plain and certain, being thus made from rest to rest, than theirs that proceed the other way. And this is the more considerable, because it was the opinion of that fatuously learned and pious bishop of Armagh. All which considered, it will be very easy to contain all the parts and passages of sacred story, from the coming out of Egypt to this time, within the compass of four hundred and eighty years; of the several parcels whereof, see my Latin Synopsis. And as for other scriptures, which some conceit to be contradictory to this, I shall by God’ s help vindicate them in their several places.

MHCC: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

The history now before us accounts for the affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special regard to the kingdom of God among them; for it is a sacred history. It is earlier as to time, teaches much more, and is more interesting than any common histories.

MHCC: 1 Kings 6 (Chapter Introduction)

(1Ki 6:1-10) The building of Solomon's temple.

(1Ki 6:11-14) Promise given concerning the temple.

(v. 15-38) Particulars respecting the temple.

Matthew Henry: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Kings

Many histories are books of kings and their reigns, to which the affairs of their kingdoms are reduced; this is a piece of honour that has commonly been paid to crowned heads. The holy Scripture is the history of the kingdom of God among men, under the several administrations of it; but there the King is one and his name one. The particular history now before us accounts for the affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special regard to the kingdom of God among them; for still it is a sacred history, much more instructive and not less entertaining than any of the histories of the kings of the earth, to which (those of them that are of any certainty) it is prior in time; for though there were kings in Edom before there was any king in Israel, Gen 36:31 (foreigners, in that point of state, got the precedency), yet the history of the kings of Israel lives, and will live, in holy Writ, to the end of the world, whereas that of the kings of Edom is long since buried in oblivion; for the honour that comes from God is durable, while the honour of the world is like a mushroom, which comes up in a night and perishes in a night. - The Bible began with the story of patriarchs, and prophets, and judges, men whose converse with heaven was more immediate, the record of which strengthens our faith, but is not so easily accommodated to our case, now that we expect not visions, as the subsequent history of affairs like ours under the direction of common providence; and here also we find, though not many types and figures of the Messiah, yet great expectations of him; for not only prophets, but kings, desired to see the great mysteries of the gospel, Luk 10:24 - The two books of Samuel are introductions to the books of the Kings, as they relate the origin of the royal government in Saul and of the royal family in David. These two books give us an account of David's successor, Solomon, the division of his kingdom, and the succession of the several kings both of Judah and Israel, with an abstract of their history down to the captivity. And as from the book of Genesis we may collect excellent rules of economics, for the good governing of families, so from these books we may collect rules of politics, for the directing of public affairs. There is in these books special regard had to the house and lineage of David, from which Christ came. Some of his sons trod in his steps, and others did not. The characters of the kings of Judah may be thus briefly given: - David the devout, Solomon the wise, Rehoboam the simple, Abijah the valiant, Asa the upright, Jehoshaphat the religious, Jehoram the wicked, Ahaziah the profane, Joash the backslider, Amaziah the rash, Uzziah the mighty, Jotham the peaceable, Ahaz the idolater, Hezekiah the reformer, Manasseh the penitent, Amon the obscure, Josiah the tender-hearted, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, all wicked, and such as brought ruin quickly on themselves and their kingdom. The number of the good and bad is nearly equal, but the reigns of the good were generally long and those of the bad short, the consideration of which will make the state of Israel not altogether so bad in this period as at first it seems. In this first book we have, I. The death of David, ch. 1 and 2. II. The glorious reign of Solomon, and his building the temple (ch. 3-10), but the cloud his sun set under, ch. 11. III. The division of the kingdoms in Rehoboam, and his reign and Jeroboam's, ch. 12-14. IV. The reigns of Abijah and Asa over Judah, Baasha and Omri over Israel, ch. 15 and 16. V. Elijah's miracles, ch. 17-19. VI. Ahab's success against Benhadad, his wickedness and fall, ch. 20-22. And in all this history it appears that kings, though gods to us, are men to God, mortal and accountable.

Matthew Henry: 1 Kings 6 (Chapter Introduction)

Great and long preparation had been making for the building of the temple, and here, at length, comes an account of the building of it; a noble piece of work it was, one of the wonders of the world, and taking in its spiritual significancy, one of the glories of the church. Here is, I. The time when it was built (1Ki 6:1), and how long it was in the building (1Ki 6:37, 1Ki 6:38). II. The silence with which it was build (1Ki 6:7). III. The dimensions of it (1Ki 6:2, 1Ki 6:3). IV. The message God sent to Solomon, when it was in the building (1Ki 6:11-13). V. The particulars: windows (1Ki 6:4), chambers (1Ki 6:5, 1Ki 6:6, 1Ki 6:8-10), the walls and flooring (1Ki 6:15-18), the oracle (1Ki 6:19-22), the cherubim (1Ki 6:23-30), the doors (1Ki 6:31-35), and the inner court (1Ki 6:36). Many learned men have well bestowed their pains in expounding the description here given of the temple according to the rules of architecture, and solving the difficulties which, upon search, they find in it; but in that matter, having nothing new to offer, we will not be particular or curious; it was then well understood, and every man's eyes that saw this glorious structure furnished him with the best critical exposition of this chapter.

Constable: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The Books of 1 and 2 Kings received their names because they document the reigns of the 40 kings of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah following David.¹

In the Hebrew Bible 1 and 2 Kings were one book until the sixteenth century. The ancients regarded them as the continuation of the narrative begun in Samuel. The Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Hebrew text, dating from about 250 B.C., was the first to divide Kings into two books. That division has continued to the present day. The Septuagint translators, however, called these two books 3 and 4 Kingdoms. First and 2 Kingdoms were our 1 and 2 Samuel. Jerome's Vulgate (Latin) translation, which dates about A.D. 400, changed the name from Kingdoms to Kings.

"The English Bible presents the books primarily as historical accounts. Their placement next to 1, 2 Chronicles demonstrates the collectors' interest in detailing all the events of Israel's history. In contrast, the Hebrew Bible places Joshua-Kings with the prophets, which highlights their common viewpoints. This decision implies that 1, 2 Kings are being treated as proclamation and history."²

Writer and Date

Most Old Testament scholars today believe several different individuals wrote and edited Kings because of theories concerning textual transmission that have gained popularity in the last 150 years. However, many conservatives have continued to follow the older tradition of the church that one individual probably put Kings together.³ This view finds support in the stylistic and linguistic features that run through the whole work and make it read like the product of a single writer. Some of these features are the way the writer described and summarized each king's reign, the consistent basis on which he evaluated all the kings, and recurring phrases and terms.

The identity of the writer is unknown today and has been for centuries. Ancient Jewish tradition suggested Ezra or Ezekiel as possible writers since both of these men were biblical writers who lived after the Babylonian exile. The record of King Jehoiachin's release from Babylonian captivity (2 Kings 25:27-30) points to a date of final composition sometime after that event. Jeremiah has traditional Talmudic support as well though he never went to Babylon but died in Egypt. Of course, someone else may have written Kings. Scholars have suggested these men only because they were famous writers who lived when Kings reached its final form.

Most non-conservatives date Kings considerably later than the sixth or fifth centuries.⁴

Scope

The historical period Kings covers totals about 413 years. The events that frame this period were Solomon's coronation as co-regent with David (973 B.C.) and Jehoiachin's release from Babylonian exile (560 B.C.).

However, most of Kings deals with the period that spans Solomon's coronation and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., a period of 387 years. In terms of the temple, at the beginning we see the temple built and at the end the temple burnt.

". . . 1, 2 Kings present Israel's history as a series of events that describe how and why the nation fell from the heights of national prosperity to the depths of conquest and exile."⁵

"More specifically, 1, 2 Kings explain how and why Israel lost the land it fought so hard to win in Joshua and worked so hard to organize in Judges and 1, 2 Samuel."⁶

"Plot relates the causes and effects in a story. Thus, the story line in 1, 2 Kings may be that Israel went into exile, but the plot is Israel went into exile because of its unfaithfulness to God. To make cause and effect unfold, plots normally have at least two basic aspects: conflict and resolution. A plot's conflict is the tension in a story that makes it an interesting account, while a plot's resolution is the way the conflict is settled. How the author develops these two components usually decides the shape and effectiveness of the plot."⁷

This historical period is more than twice that of the one the Books of Samuel covered, which was about 150 years in length. The Book of Judges covers about 300 years of Israel's history.

The dates of the kings of Israel and Judah that I have used in the following notes are those of Edwin Thiele.⁸ He has worked out the many problems regarding these dates more satisfactorily than anyone else in the opinion of most scholars.⁹

Message¹⁰

The fact that this book opens and closes with death should be a clue as to its message.

It opens with David's death, and it closes with Ahab's death. The intervening period of about a century and a half is a story of national decline, disruption, disintegration, and disaster. Israel and Judah passed from affluence and influence to poverty and paralysis.

There is an emphasis in this book on thrones.

Obviously there were the thrones of Judah and Israel on earth with their kings who succeeded one another. However there is also the throne in heaven with its one King. Rehoboam and Jeroboam had their successors, the kings who replaced one another. Yahweh also in a sense had His successors, the prophets who replaced one another as His messengers to the people. While the kings remind us of the thrones on earth, the prophets remind us of the throne in heaven.

The thrones on earth present a story of disruption, disintegration, and disaster in both kingdoms, Judah and Israel. This trend continued despite changes in the methods the various rulers employed to govern their people.

Solomon's method of government was oppression. He taxed the people greatly and conscripted them into government service. The result was material magnificence. He multiplied riches and manifested great displays in the temple, the palace, and throughout his kingdom. He increased the military strength of the nation. Nevertheless in the process he ground down the people. The state became more important than the people. The testimony to this appears in 12:4. The result was dissatisfaction with Solomon's method of government.

In reaction to this method Rehoboam chose a new method of government: autocracy. He decided to tighten his grip on the people so he could control them (12:14). He believed the people should trust in their rulers, but he did not trust in God. Consequently he failed. Autocracy led to revolution (12:16).

Jeroboam chose a third method of government: democracy. He let the people determine how they would live. While this resulted in more pleasant conditions for the people, it also resulted in ultimate disaster for his nation. Notice what democracy produced in Jeroboam's day: 12:27-29. People cannot rule themselves effectively. We need God to govern us. Jeroboam believed rulers should trust in the people, but he did not trust in God. Consequently he failed. He made religion convenient, and the people became corrupt (12:30-31).

Rehoboam's successors in Judah chose a method of government we could call government by policy. That is, they chose to follow precedent, the pattern of their predecessors, rather than getting and following God's direction for their nation. There were some exceptions to this approach, but on the whole this was Judah's method of government.

Jeroboam's successors in Israel, however, chose a different method of government: selfishness. The kings of Israel cared little for the people of Israel. What concerned them primarily was what they could get out of being king for themselves. That is why the story of the kingdom of Israel is a story of intrigue, assassinations, and much bloodshed.

In summary, every form of human government results in disastrous failure if people do not acknowledge God's sovereignty. People cannot govern themselves effectively. The result is always decline, disruption, and disintegration. This is one of the great revelations of 1 Kings.

However there is another throne in view in this book: the throne in heaven. Whereas 1 Kings reveals that human government always fails, it also reveals that God's government never fails. There are two ways God exercised His kingship over His people during Israel's monarchy.

First, He broke in on human life with messages that the prophets delivered. Ahijah announced the division of the kingdom (11:26-39). Later he announced the death of Jeroboam's son (14:4-16). Shemaiah directed Rehoboam not to fight against Jeroboam (12:21-24). An unnamed prophet announced the fate of Jeroboam's altar (13:1-10). Jehu announced Baasha's doom (16:1-4). Elijah vindicated Yahweh in the days of Ahab's apostasy (chs. 17-21). Another unnamed prophet rebuked Ahab for allowing Ben-Hadad to escape (20:35-43). Micaiah foretold Israel's scattering (22:8-28). These are all evidences that God was governing His people independently of the kings when they forgot Him. The heavenly throne ruled in spite of the earthly thrones.

The second way God exercised His rule, in addition to sending messages by the prophets, was by directly and indirectly intervening in the lives of His people. He appeared and spoke directly to Solomon, which resulted in the building of the temple. He raised up an adversary to Solomon, namely Jeroboam. He slew Abijah. He withheld rain and brought famine. He sent fire from heaven on Mt. Carmel. He sent rain. He appeared to Elijah in an earthquake. He enticed Ahab into battle through the mouths of lying prophets.

In short, God ruled by exercising direct and indirect influence over people, by directly intervening and by controlling circumstances occasionally. He manipulated history. God sits in perfect control and continuity over all the human chaos that peoples' failure to rule themselves causes.

The message of the book, therefore, is that when people exclude God, every method of human government will fail; but even so God is still on His throne and is in control.

If people exclude God, every method of government ends in disaster. Even though in Solomon's reign the king emphasized religious forms and ceremonies, internal development, foreign treaties, and intellectual attainment, his oppression did not bring stability and peace. Autocracy will end in revolution eventually. Democracy that locks God out can result in the most terrible consequences for the people whose interests it professes to advocate. Government by policy can only deteriorate. Selfish rulers will only rape their nations.

Man cannot govern himself because he does not know himself apart from God's Word. How can he govern others about whom he knows even less? If people do not submit to the throne in heaven, no matter what method of government they choose, they will fail. As Christians, we must remember who is in control. We must look beyond our government to our God.

First Kings also reveals God's method in the midst of human failures.

First, when a throne on earth rebels against the throne in heaven God abandons that throne on earth. He separated Himself from it. He allowed the evil choices of the rulers to work themselves out to their inevitable consequences. Departure leads to disaster. Apostasy results in awful consequences (cf. Rom. 1).

Second, God keeps some consciousness of Himself and His government alive in the hearts and minds of a remnant. The prophets spoke. All Christians exercise that ministry today. We should speak for God to our generation.

Third, God maintains ultimate control. He controls history directly and indirectly so His purposes get accomplished. The Christian never needs to panic. God has revealed His plan for history. Knowledge of the Word should give us stability in uncertain times.

What I have said is true on the national scale is also true on the individual level. If a person excludes God from his or her life, no matter how the person may live, he or she will fail. We can resist God's authority, but we cannot overcome it. People only break themselves by refusing to submit to the throne in heaven. People need reminding of the throne in heaven. These principles have worked out throughout history. God's plan moves ahead.

Constable: 1 Kings (Outline)

Outline

I. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-11

A. Solomon's succession to David's throne 1:1-2:12

1. David's declining health 1:1-4

2. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne 1:5-53

3. David's charge to Solomon 2:1-9

4. David's death 2:10-12

B. The foundation of Solomon's reign 2:13-4:34

1. Solomon's purges 2:13-46

2. Solomon's wisdom from God ch. 3

3. Solomon's political strength ch. 4

C. Solomon's greatest contribution chs. 5-8

1. Preparations for building ch. 5

2. Temple construction ch. 6

3. Solomon's palace 7:1-12

4. The temple furnishings 7:13-51

5. The temple dedication ch. 8

D. The fruits of Solomon's reign chs. 9-11

1. God's covenant with Solomon 9:1-9

2. Further evidences of God's blessing 9:10-28

3. Solomon's greatness ch. 10

4. Solomon's apostasy ch. 11

II. The divided kingdom -1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17

A. The first period of antagonism 12:1-16:28

1. The division of the kingdom ch. 12

2. Jeroboam's evil reign in Israel 12:25-14:20

3. Rehoboam's evil reign in Judah 14:21-31

4. Abijam's evil reign in Judah 15:1-8

5. Asa's good reign in Judah 15:9-24

6. Nadab's evil reign in Israel 15:25-32

7. Baasha's evil reign in Israel 15:33-16:7

8. Elah's evil reign in Israel 16:8-14

9. Zimri's evil reign in Israel 16:15-20

10. Omri's evil reign in Israel 16:21-28

B. The period of alliance -1 Kings 16:29-2 Kings 9:29

1. Ahab's evil reign in Israel 16:29-22:40

2. Jehoshaphat's good reign in Judah 22:41-50

3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18

(Continued in notes on 2 Kings)

One writer observed that a chiastic structure marks the Books of Kings.¹¹

A Solomon/United Monarchy -- 1 Kings 1:1-11:25

B Jeroboam/Rehoboam; the division of the kingdom -- 1 Kings 11:26-14:31

C Kings of Judah/Israel -- 1 Kings 15:1-16:22

D The Omride dynasty; the rise and fall of the Baal cult in Israel and Judah -- -1 Kings 16:23-2 Kings 12

C' Kings of Judah/Israel -- 2 Kings 13-16

B' The fall of the Northern Kingdom -- 2 Kings 17

A' The Kingdom of Judah -- 2 Kings 18-25.

Constable: 1 Kings

1 Kings

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE THIRD BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This and the following Book are called by the holy Fathers, The Third and Fourth Book of Kings; but by the Hebrews, the First and Second. They contain the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Juda, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon to the captivity. As to the writer of these books, it seem most probable they were not written by one man, nor at one time; but as there was all along a succession of prophets in Israel, who recorded, by divine inspiration, the most remarkable things that happened in their days, these books seem to have been written by these prophets. See 2 Paralipomenon, alias 2 Chronicles ix. 29., xii. 15., xiii. 22., xx. 34., xxvi. 22., and xxxii. 32. (Challoner) --- This book informs us of the death of David, chap. ii. 11, where some Greek copies concluded the second book "of the reigns or kingdoms," as they style all the four books. Theodoret and Diodorus follow this division. The point is of no consequence; and the Hebrew editions have often varied. Origen observes, that the Jews denoted these two books from the first words, "Ouammelech David." (Eusebius, Hist. vi. 25.) (Haydock) --- In St. Jerome's time, the four books made only two. The present book details the actions of Solomon, (Calmet) till the end of the 12th chapter. Then we behold the division of the kingdom: Roboam, Abias, Asa, and Josaphat, reign over Juda; Jeroboam, &c., over Israel; while the prophets Abias, Elias, Eliseus, appear in the remaining eleven chapters. (Worthington) --- Though the memoirs seem to have been left by contemporary authors, (Haydock) one, and most probably Esdras, made the compilation, after the captivity, inserting frequently the very words of his authors, yet so as to make some additional reflections. (Calmet) --- The Rabbins generally attribute the work to Jeremias. (Haydock) --- He is more attentive to the house of David, and to display the rewards of the piety, and the punishment of vice, as well as the glory of the temple and of religion, than to describe the military exploits, which occupy so much of the profane history. (Calmet)

Gill: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS

This, and the following book, properly are but one book, divided into two parts, and went with the Jews under the common name of Kings. This, in the Syriac version, is called the Book of Kings; and in the Arabic version, the Book of Solomon, the Son of David the Prophet, because it begins with his reign upon the death of his father; and, in the Vulgate Latin version, the Third Book of Kings, the two preceding books of Samuel being sometimes called the First and Second Books of Kings, they containing the reigns of Saul and David; and in the Septuagint version both this and the following book are called Kingdoms, because they treat of the kingdom of Israel and Judah, after the division in the times of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and of the several kings of them; as of Solomon before the division, so afterwards of the kings of Judah; Rehoboam, Abijam, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah or Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah; and of the kings of Israel, Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the son of Joash, Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea; so that these books may, with great propriety, be called the books or histories of the kings in the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel: who they were written by, is not easy to say; some think they were written by piecemeal by the prophets that lived in the several reigns successively, as Nathan, Ahijah the Shilonite, Iddo, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and afterwards put together by an inspired writer. The Jews commonly say ^a, that Jeremiah wrote the book of the Kings, by which they mean this, and the following book; though very probably they were written by Ezra, since the history in them is carried down to the liberty granted to Jehoiachin in Babylon; but that Ezra was the writer of all the preceding historical books, and even of the Pentateuch, cannot be admitted, which is the conceit of Spinosa ^b; part of whose tract is just now republished by somebody, word for word, under a title as in the margin ^c; but that Ezra was not the writer of the Pentateuch is clear, since he refers to it as written by Moses, and as the rule of religion and worship in his times, Ezr 3:2; and it is certain these writings were in being in the times of Josiah, Amaziah, Joash, yea, of David, and even of Joshua, 2Ch 34:14; and as for the book of Joshua, that also was written long before Ezra's time; it must be written long before the times of David, before the Jebusites were expelled from Jerusalem, since the writer of it says, that they dwelt there in his days, Jos 15:63; the book of Judges must be written before the times of Samuel and David, since the former refers to the annals of it, 1Sa 12:9; and the latter alludes to some passages in it, Psa 68:7; see Jdg 5:4; and a speech of Joab's, 2Sa 11:21, shows it to be an history then extant: to which may be added, that in it Jerusalem is called Jebus, Jdg 19:10; which it never was, after it was taken by David out of the hands of the Jebusites, 2Sa 5:6; the book of Ruth very probably was written by Samuel; had it been of a later date, or written by Ezra, the genealogy with which it concludes, would doubtless have been carried further than to David: the Book of Samuel, and particularly the song of Hannah in it, were written in all probability before the penning of the hundred thirteenth psalm, Psa 113:1, in which some expressions seem to be taken from it wherefore, though the two books of Kings may be allowed to be written or compiled by Ezra, the ten preceding ones cannot be assigned to him: however, there is no room to doubt of the divine authority of these two books, when the honour our Lord has done them is observed, by quoting or referring to several histories in them; as to the account of the queen of Sheba coming to hear the wisdom of Solomon; of the famine in the times of Elijah; and of that prophet being sent to the widow of Sarepta, and of the cleansing of Naaman the Syrian in the times of Elisha, Mat 12:42 from 1Ki 17:1 2Ki 5:10; to which may be added, the quotations and references made by the apostles to passages in them, as by the Apostle Paul in Rom 11:2 from 1Ki 19:14 where this book is expressly called the Scripture; and by the Apostle James, Jam 5:17; who manifestly refers to 1Ki 17:1; and there are various things in this part of Scripture, which are confirmed by the testimonies of Heathen writers, as will be observed in the exposition of it. The use of these books is to carry on the history of the Jewish nation, to show the state of the church of God in those times, and his providential care of it amidst all the changes and vicissitudes in the state; and, above all, to transmit to us the true genealogy of the Messiah, which serves to confirm the Evangelist Matthew's account of it.

Gill: 1 Kings 6 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 6

This chapter gives an account of the building of the temple, for which preparations were before made and begins with the time of its building, 1Ki 6:1; gives the dimensions of it and the porch before it, 1Ki 6:2; observes the windows in it and chambers about it, 1Ki 6:4; and while it was building, Solomon had a word from the Lord relative to it, 1Ki 6:11; and then the account goes on concerning the walls of the house, and the flooring of it, 1Ki 6:15; and the oracle in it, and the cherubim in that, 1Ki 6:19; and the doors into it, and the carved work of them, 1Ki 6:31; and the chapter is concluded with observing the time when it was begun and finished 1Ki 6:37.