1 Kings 6:7-10

6:7 As the temple was being built, only stones shaped at the quarry ¹  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 ²  level of side rooms was on the south side of the temple; stairs went up ³  to the middle floor and then on up to the third ⁴  floor. 6:9 He finished building the temple ⁵  and covered it ⁶  with rafters ⁷  and boards made of cedar. ⁸  6:10 He built an extension all around the temple; it was seven and a half feet high ⁹  and it was attached to the temple by cedar beams.

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

² tc The Hebrew text has “middle,” but the remainder of the verse suggests this is an error.

³ tn Heb “by stairs they went up.” The word translated “stairs” occurs only here. Other options are “trapdoors” or “ladders.”

⁴ 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”).

³ tn Heb “ built the house and completed it.”

⁴ tn Heb “the house.”

⁵ tn The word occurs only here; the precise meaning is uncertain.

⁶ tn Heb “and rows with cedar wood.”

⁴ tn Heb “five cubits.” This must refer to the height of each floor or room.