1 Kings 6:17 Komentář

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 (Kg1 6:1), and how long it was in the building (Kg1 6:37, Kg1 6:38). II. The silence with which it was build (Kg1 6:7). III. The dimensions of it (Kg1 6:2, Kg1 6:3). IV. The message God sent to Solomon, when it was in the building (Kg1 6:11-13). V. The particulars: windows (Kg1 6:4), chambers (Kg1 6:5, Kg1 6:6, Kg1 6:8-10), the walls and flooring (Kg1 6:15-18), the oracle (Kg1 6:19-22), the cherubim (Kg1 6:23-30), the doors (Kg1 6:31-35), and the inner court (Kg1 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.

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, Kg1 6:1; gives the dimensions of it and the porch before it, Kg1 6:2; observes the windows in it and chambers about it, Kg1 6:4; and while it was building, Solomon had a word from the Lord relative to it, Kg1 6:11; and then the account goes on concerning the walls of the house, and the flooring of it, Kg1 6:15; and the oracle in it, and the cherubim in that, Kg1 6:19; and the doors into it, and the carved work of them, Kg1 6:31; and the chapter is concluded with observing the time when it was begun and finished Kg1 6:37.

And the cedar of the house within,.... With which the inside of the place was lined: was carved with knops; of an oval form; so the Targum says, they had the appearance of eggs; and Ben Gersom likewise, that they were in the form of eggs: and open flowers; not in the figure of buds, but flowers blown, and open, as lilies and others; so the Targum: all was cedar; the wainscotting of the house, the sides of it at least, if not the floor, and the carved work of it; and this was done, that the gold might be laid upon it, which could not be done on stone as on wood: and all was so covered, that there was no stone seen; of which the outward walls were built: all this denotes the inward beauty of the church, and the curious workmanship of the Spirit of God in the hearts of his people, whereby they become all glorious within, adorned with the graces of the blessed Spirit, their stony hearts being kept out of sight, yea, taken away.

We have said that the temple itself before the doors of the oracle was a type of the present church. Hence it was rightly forty cubits long, for this number is often used to signify the present labor of the faithful, just as the number fifty stands for the rest and peace to come. For the number ten contains the precepts, the observance of which leads to life. Likewise the number ten signifies that very eternal life that we desire and for which we live. But the world in which we strive to attain that life is a square. Hence too the psalmist, foreseeing the church that was to be assembled from the nations said, “He has gathered them out of the countries from the rising and from the setting of the sun, from the north and from the sea.” Now ten multiplied by four makes forty. Hence the people liberated from Egypt as a figure of the present church were subjected to many hardships for forty years in the desert, but at the same time they were also regaled with heavenly bread, and in this way they finally reached the land promised them of old. They were subjected to trials for forty years in order to draw attention to the hardships with which the church contends throughout the whole world in observing the law of God; they were fed on manna from heaven for those forty years to demonstrate that the very sufferings that the church endures in the hope of the heavenly denarius, that is, of eternal happiness, are to be alleviated when those “who now hunger and thirst for righteousness will have their fill,” and as the same church sings to its Redeemer, “But as for me, I will appear before your sight in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when your glory shall appear.” In the same way then the people of God is both subjected to adversities and regaled with manna to confirm the saying of the apostle: “Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation.” In this figure too our Lord fasted forty days before his bodily death and feasted forty more with his disciples after his bodily resurrection “appearing to them by many proofs and speaking of the kingdom of God, and eating together with them.” For by fasting he showed in himself our toil, but by eating and drinking with his disciples he showed his consolation in our midst. While he was fasting he was crying out, as it were, “Take heed lest perhaps your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the cares of this life,” whereas while he was eating and drinking he was crying out, as it were, “Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world”; and “But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one shall take from you.” For as soon as we set our feet on the way of the Lord we both fast from the vanity of the present world and are cheered with the promise of the world to come, not setting our heart on the life here below but feeding our heart on the life up there.

In the four hundred and eightieth year from the exodus, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, and in the second month, he laid the foundations of the temple; the length sixty cubits, the breadth twenty, and the height thirty cubits; besides the porch, which was twenty cubits in length, and ten cubits in height, Kg1 6:1-3. A description of its different external parts, Kg1 6:4-10. God's promise to Solomon, Kg1 6:11-13. Description of its internal parts and contents, vv. 14-36. Temple finished in the eighth month of the eleventh year of Solomon's reign, being seven years in building, Kg1 6:37, Kg1 6:38.

THE BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. (Kg1 6:1-4) the house which king Solomon built for the Lord--The dimensions are given in cubits, which are to be reckoned according to the early standard (Ch2 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.

Building of the Temple - 1 Kings 6 The account of the building of the temple commences with a statement of the date of the building (Kg1 6:1); and this is followed by a description of the plan and size of the temple-house (Kg1 6:2-10), to which there is also appended the divine promise made to Solomon during the erection of the building (Kg1 6:11-13). After this we have a further account of the internal fittings and decorations of the sanctuary (vv. 14-36), and in Kg1 7:1-12 a description of the royal palace which was built after the temple; and, finally, a description of the pillars of the court which were executed in metal by the Tyrian artist, and of the different vessels of the temple (1 Kings 7:13-51). (Note: Of the special works on the subject of the temple, see my pamphlet, Der Tempel Salomo's, eine archologische Untersuchung (Dorp. 1839); and Carl Chr. W. F. Bhr, Der Salomonische Tempel mit Bercksichtigung seines Verhltnisses zur heil. Architectur berhaupt (Karlsr. 1848). In both of these there are critical notices of the earlier investigations and monographs on this subject, which have now simply a historical interest. See also the short description of the temple in my Bibl. Archologie, i. 23ff., with sketches of the temple building and the principal vessels on Plates 2 and 3, and the most recent notice by H. Merz in Herzog's Cyclopaedia (Art. Temple). We have a parallel to this in 2 Chron 3 and 4, though here the description is differently arranged. In the Chronicles the external building of the temple-house is not separated from the internal decoration and furnishing; but after the period of erection and the size of the temple-house have been given in Ch2 3:1-3, there follows a description, a. of the court (Ch2 3:4); b. of the Holy Place with its internal decorations (Ch2 3:5-7); c. of the most Holy Place, with special reference to its size and decorations, also of the colossal cherubim placed therein and the curtain in front of it, which is not mentioned in our account (Ch2 3:8-14); d. of the brazen pillars in front of the court (Ch2 3:15-17); e. of the altar of burnt-offering (Ch2 4:1), which is passed over in the account before us; f. of the brazen sea (Ch2 4:2-5); g. of the brazen lavers, the golden candlesticks, the tables of shewbread, and the golden basons (Ch2 4:6-8); and h. of the courts (Ch2 4:9). The account is then closed with a summary enumeration of the different vessels of the temple (Ch2 4:10-22), which agrees almost word for word with Kg1 7:40-50.