1 Kings 6:1--7:51
four <0702> [A.M. 2993. B.C. 1011. An. Ex. Is. 480. And it came.]
month Ziv .... month <02320 02099> [in the month Zif.]
building <01129> [began. Heb. built.]
building <01129> [build.]
temple <01004> [the house.]
long <0753> [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.
90 feet <08346> [threescore.]
framed windows <02474 0331 08261> [windows of narrow lights. or, windows broad within, and narrow without; or, skewed and closed.]
.# 4 So 2:9 Eze 40:16 41:26
walls <07023> [against. or, upon, or joining to. built.]
extension ................ side <03326 06763> [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.
holy place <01687> [oracle.]
extension ................ side <03326 06763> [chambers. Heb. ribs.]
ledges <04052> [narrowed rests. or, narrowings, or rebatements.]
built ... stones ....... used ...................... built <068 01129> [built of stone.]
hammers <04717> [neither hammer.]
side <03802> [side. Heb. shoulder. went up.]
building <01129> [he built.]
rafters ... boards <01356 07713 0730> [with beams and boards of cedar. or, the vault beams and the ceilings with cedar.]
<03212> [if thou wilt.]
fulfill <06965> [then will I perform.]
live <07931> [I will dwell.]
abandon <05800> [will not forsake.]
[A.M. 2993-3000. B.C. 1011-1004.]
constructed <01129> [he built.]
That is, he lined or wainscoted the walls with cedar, the floor being covered with planks of fir: the marginal reading in this verse is preferable, as it removes every difficulty and obscurity.
walls inside ... temple ............. floor .... temple .... rafters ........ temple floor <07023 01004 07172> [both the floor of the house, and the walls. or, from the floor of the house, unto the walls, etc. and so ver.]
built ............ temple ................. paneled <01129 01004> [built them.]
inner sanctuary <01687> [the oracle.]
The oracle was the sanctuary, or holy of holies, in which there was nothing but the ark of the covenant, including the tables of the law, and into which the high priest alone was to enter but once a year.
carvings ... round ornaments <06497> [knops. or, gourds.]
{Peka‹m,} "artificial knops," in the shape of {colocynths,} or wild gourds, as the word denotes. (See note on 2 Ki 4:39;) the full-blown flowers of which must have been very ornamental.
flowers <06731 06362> [open flowers. or, openings of flowers.]
inner sanctuary <01687> [the oracle.]
placed <05414> [to set.]
30 feet ... 30 feet .... 30 feet <0520 06242> [twenty cubits.]
<05462> [pure. Heb. shut up. the altar.]
plated .................... plated <06823> [overlaid.]
chains <07572> [by the chains.]
temple <01004> [the whole house.]
It is impossible to calculate this expense, or the quantity of gold employed in this sacred building; but both must have been immense.
altar <04196> [also.]
altar <04196> [the whole altar.]
This was the altar of incense without the vail, in the holy place, which was twice the length of the most holy place.
two cherubs <08147 03742> [two cherubims.]
These were distinct from, and much larger than those which covered the mercy-seat.
olive wood <06086 08081> [olive tree. or, oily trees. Heb. trees of oil.]
cherubs .......... wings ... spread out ...... cherub's wings .......... cherub's wings .......... wing ....... wing <03742 03671 06566> [they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims. or, the cherubims stretched forth their wings.]
carved <04734 06603> [carved figures.]
palm trees <08561> [palm trees.]
{Tamar,} in Ethiopic, {tamart,} the palm tree, is so called, says Parkhurst, from its straight, upright growth, for which it seems more remarkable than any other tree; and it sometimes rises to the height of more than 100 feet. The trunk is remarkably straight and lofty; and it is crowned at the top with a large tuft of spiring leaves, about four feet long, which never fall off, but always continue in the same flourishing verdure. The stalks are generally full of rugged knots, which are vestiges of decayed leaves: for the trunk of the tree is not solid, but its centre is filled with pith, round which is a tough bark full of strong fibres when young, which, as the tree becomes old, hardens and becomes ligneous. To this bark the leaves are closely joined, which, as the tree becomes old, hardens and becomes ligneous. To this bark the leaves are closely joined, which in the centre rise erect, but after they are advanced above the vagina which surrounds them, they expand very wide on every side of the stem, and as the older leaves decay, the stalk advances in height. The leaves, when the tree has grown to a size for bearing fruit, are six or eight feet long, and very broad when expanded. The fruit, called the date, grows below the leaves in clusters.
[open flowers. Heb. openings of flowers.]
doors <01817> [doors.]
five-sided <02549> [a fifth part. or, five square.]
two doors <01817 08147> [two doors. or, leaves of the doors. open flowers. Heb. openings of flowers.]
four-sided <07243> [a fourth part. or, four square.]
wood ... evergreens <06086 01265> [fir tree.]
two ........... two ... leaves <08147 06763 07050> [the two leaves.]
inner <06442> [the inner.]
Among chronologists there is a great diversity of opinion respecting the time of the building of the temple. The Septuagint has 440 years; Glycas, 330; Josephus and Moeslinus, 592; Melchius Canus, 590; Sulpicius Severus, 588; Clemens Alexandrinus, 570; Cedrenus, 672; Codomus, 598; Vossius and Capellus, 580; Serarius, 680; Nicholas Abraham, 527; Petavius and Valtherus, 520. After all, that in the common Hebrew text is more likely to the true one, than any of the others.
completed <03615> [finished.]
<01697> [throughout, etc. or, with all the appurtenances thereof, and with all the ordinances thereof. seven years.]
thirteen years <07969 08141> [thirteen years.]
beams <06763> [beams. Heb. ribs.]
windows <08261> [windows.]
<04237> [light was against light. Heb. sight against sight.]
entrances ... rectangular ... shape <04201 07251 08260 06607> [doors and posts were square, with the windows. or, spaces and pillars were square in prospect.]
[before them. or, according to them. before them. or, according to them.]
room .... Hall <0197> [a porch.]
throne <03678> [for the throne.]
Judgment <04941> [of judgment.]
floor <07172> [from one side of the floor to the other. Heb. from floor to floor.]
palace ............... palace <01004> [an house.]
best stones <068 03368> [costly stones.]
foundation <03245> [the foundation.]
stones .... 15 feet .... feet <068 06235 0520> [stones of ten cubits.]
Reckoning the cubit at 21 inches, the ten cubits are 17 feet and a half, and the eight cubits are 14 feet. The magnitude of these stones was certainly extraordinary; but let us hear M. Volney, and our surprise will no longer be fixed on these stones, but transferred from Solomon's house to the ruins of Balbec: "What is still more astonishing is the enormous stones which compose the sloping wall. To the west, the second layer is formed of stones which are from 28 to 35 feet long, by about 9 in height. Over this layer, at the north-west angle, there are three stones, which alone occupy a space of 175 feet and a half; viz. the first, 58 feet 7 inches; the second, 58 feet 11 inches; and the third, exactly 58 feet; and each of these is 12 feet thick. These stones are of white granite, with large shining flakes, like gypsum: there is a quarry of this kind of stone under the whole city, and another in the adjacent mountains, which is open in several places. On the right, as we approach the city, there is still lying there a stone hewn on three sides, which is 69 feet 2 inches long, 12 feet 10 inches broad, and 13 feet 3 inches in thickness.
three rows ....... row <02905 07969> [three rows.]
hall <0197> [the porch.]
Hiram <02438> [Hiram.]
[Huram.]
son <01121 0802> [a widow's son. Heb. the son of a widow woman. tribe.]
The mother of Hiram (not the Tyrian king mentioned before, but an intelligent coppersmith, of Jewish extraction by his mother's side) in Chronicles, is said to have been of "the daughters of Dan;" and she might have been of Naphtali by her father, and of Dan by her mother; or she might originally be of the tribe of Dan, and have been first married to a man of the tribe of Naphtali; and, in either case, she might be indifferently called "of the tribe of Naphtali," or of "the daughters of Dan."
Naphtali <05321> [Naphtali.]
father <01> [his father.]
<04390> [he was filled.]
fashioned <06696> [cast. Heb. fashioned. two pillars.]
27 feet .... 18 feet <0520 08083> [eighteen cubits.]
That is, nearly thirty feet, English measure. But in the parallel place in Chronicles, these pillars are said to thirty-five cubits high. Tremellius reconciles this difference by observing, that the common cubit was but one-half of the cubit of the sanctuary; so that eighteen of the one would make thirty-six of the other; from which, if we deduct one cubit for the base, there will remain thirty-five. Notwithstanding the names of these pillars, they seem to have supported no part of the building, and appear to have been formed for ornament; and were no doubt also emblematical. The right pillar was called {Jachin,} which signifies, "He will establish;" while that on the left was named {Boaz,} "In it is strength." Some think they were intended for memorials of the pillars and cloud of fire, which led Israel through the wilderness; but Henry supposes them designed for memorandums to the priests and others that came to worship at God's door. 1st. To depend upon God only, and not upon any sufficiency of their own, for strength and establishment in all their religious exercises. 2nd. It was a memorandum to them of the strength and establishment of the temple of God among them. When the temple was destroyed, particular notice is taken of the breaking up and carrying away of these brazen pillars, 2 Ki 25:13, 17, which had been the tokens of its establishment, and would have been still so, if they had not forsaken God.
shaped ... lilies <04639 07799> [lily work.]
pomegranate-shaped <07416> [and the pomegranates.]
set up .............. erected ............. erected <06965> [And he set.]
porch <0197> [the porch.]
Jakin <03199> [Jachin.]
Boaz <01162> [Boaz.]
made <06213> [he made.]
Sea <03332 03220> [a molten sea.]
rim <08193> [the one brim to the other. Heb. his brim to his brim.]
ornaments ......... ornaments <06497> [knops.]
round ... arranged in settings ................. Sea <05437 05362 03220> [compassing the sea.]
four fingers <02947> [an hand breadth.]
blossom <06525> [with flowers.]
hold <03557> [it contained.]
This immense laver, called a sea from it magnitude, held, at a moderate computation, 16,000 gallons. Besides this great brazen laver, there were in the temple ten lavers of brass of a less size, which moved on wheels, and were ornamented with the figures of various animals, having, probably, always some relation to the cherubim. These lavers were to hold water for the use of the priests in their sacred office, particularly to wash the victims that were to be offered as a burnt offering, as we learn from 2 Ch 4:6; but the brazen sea was for the priests to wash in. The knops are supposed to have been in the form of an ox's head, (2 Ch 4:3;) and some think the water flowed out at their mouths.
12,000 gallons <0505> [two thousand.]
ten .... stands ... stand <06235 04350> [ten bases.]
These highly ornamental bases appear to have been square stands, or immense pedestals, for the purpose of supporting the lavers.
stands ..... frames <04350 04526> [bases was on.]
It seems evident that these bases or pedestals rose with steps, and that the ornaments mentioned in the next verse appeared in front, forming so many entablatures. But the description of these bases is very difficult to comprehend: many of the original words are seldom, if at all, used elsewhere; and it would be impossible to give an explanation of each particular, without a labour and prolixity disproportioned to its importance to us.
lions ....... lions <0738> [lions.]
cherubs <03742> [cherubims.]
decorative <03914> [certain additions.]
wheels <0212> [wheels.]
supports ...... supports <03802> [had undersetters.]
It is probable that these undersetters were so many strong legs, somewhat shorter than the wheels, and were intended to prevent the laver from tilting, or falling, in case of any accident.
stand <04350> [joined to the base. Heb. in the base.]
engraved ... cherubs <03742 06605> [graved cherubims.]
wherever there was room <04626> [proportion. Heb. nakedness.]
ten ... basins ........... basin .......... basin <03595 06235> [ten lavers.]
side .......... side ......... side <03802> [side. Heb. shoulder. he set.]
Hiram ........ He <02438> [Hiram. Heb. Hirom.]
basins <03595> [the lavers.]
shovels <03257> [the shovels.]
bowls <04219> [the basons.]
Hiram ........ He <02438> [So Hiram.]
two pillars ... two ...... pillars ........... pillars <05982 08147> [two pillars.]
two .... two ........ latticework <07639 08147> [two networks.]
pillar <05982> [the pillars. Heb. the face of the pillars.]
ten movable stands .... ten <04350 06235> [ten bases.]
basin .... Sea <03220 0259> [one sea.]
pots <05518> [the pots.]
bronze <05178 04178> [bright brass. Heb. brass made bright, or scoured.]
earth foundries <0127 04568> [the clay ground. Heb. the thickness of the ground. Succoth.]
Zarethan <06891> [Zarthan.]
Zarthan is supposed to have been situated in the tribe of Manasseh, west of Jordan, near Jezreel and Bethshan or Scythopolis, and not far from the Jordan. Succoth we know was situated east of Jordan, in the tribe of Gad, and according to Jerome, in the district of Scythopolis: hence the "plain of Jordan," where Hiram cast the brazen vessels, must be the plain in which that river runs, Zarthan and Succoth being probably nearly opposite each other; but whether the precise spot of his operations was on this side or the other side, is uncertain. In this place he found that particular clay that was proper for his purpose; and it being a considerable distance from Jerusalem, that city would not be annoyed by the smoke and noxious vapours necessarily occasioned by the process.
[Zartanah.]
[Zaretan.]
[Zeredathah.]
unweighed .... so <07230 03966> [because they were exceeding many. Heb. for the exceeding multitude.]
weigh <02713> [found out. Heb. searched.]
altar <04196> [the altar.]
table <07979> [the table.]
lampstands <04501> [the candlesticks.]
entrance .... inner sanctuary <06440 01687> [before the oracle.]
tongs <04457> [the tongs.]
pans <03709> [spoons.]
censers <04289> [censers. Heb. ash pans.]
finished <07999> [was ended.]
Solomon ....... he put <08010 0935> [Solomon brought.]
It appears, therefore, that Solomon did not use any of the gold and silver in the structure of the temple which his father had provided.
holy ....... father David <01 06944 01732> [things which David his father had dedicated. Heb. holy things of David.]
1 Kings 7:2
1 Kings 3:4
Gibeon <01391> [Gibeon.]
thousand <0505> [a thousand.]
