1 Re 6:29 Commento

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.

So also made he for the door of the temple,.... The holy place: posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall; which was five cubits, its breadth being twenty, Kg1 6:20; this door was a cubit wider than that into the most holy place, Kg1 6:31, more entering into the one than into the other; as more go into the church on earth than into the heavenly glory.

Here it is indicated that there were four symbols of cherubim, palm trees, narcissus and lilies, which we said represent the saints praying in the temple and contemplating divine things. And these same saints were foreshadowed with a similar sense by Moses, even though he used different symbols, when he distributed the tribes of his people in four groups to the four regions of the world, so that they might all live around the tabernacle. Indeed, the tabernacle represented the person of God, whom he wanted them to contemplate and to observe constantly.

Solomon makes cherubim in the temple walls when the Lord grants to his elect to guide their lives according to the rule of the holy Scriptures, which contain a great store of knowledge. He makes cherubim when he teaches them to imitate in this world, according to their limited capacity, the chastity of the life of angels, and this is done particularly by vigils and the divine praises, by sincere love of the Creator and the neighbor. He makes palm trees when he fixes in their minds the thought of their eternal reward so that the more they have the reward of righteousness ever before the eyes of their hearts, the less likely are they to fall from the pinnacle of uprightness. He makes several representations, as it were, standing out in relief from the wall when he assigns to the faithful the manifold functions of the virtues, for instance, “compassion, kindness, lowliness, patience and self-restraint, to show forbearance toward one another and forgive one another and above all these things” to have “love, which is the bond of perfection.” That is to say, these virtues, when they become such a habit with the elect that they seem, as it were, to be naturally ingrained in them, what else are they than the pictures of the Lord’s house done in relief as if they were coming out of the wall, because they no longer learn the words and works of truth extrinsically from others but have them deeply rooted within themselves. Holding them in constant readiness, they can bring forth from their inmost hearts what ought to be done and taught.

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.