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Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 6:2-20

Christianity built on the Foundations of Judaism. The Jewish temple in its resemblance to the Gothic church is a not inapt illustration of the relations of Christianity to Judaism. The temple of Solomon was not only architecturally the exact reproduction on a larger scale, and in a more permanent form, of the tabernacle of witness, it was also the model and archetype of the sacred buildings of the Christian faith. In appearance, no doubt, it was somewhat different—the purposes for which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 6:3

And the porch [ אוּלָם , forepart, projection ( Vorhalle, Gesenius). The porch was not a colonnade—that is called a "porch of pillars " ( 1 Kings 7:6 ), but was formed By simply prolonging the side walls, and possibly the roof (see below). Bähr holds that it had only side walls and cieling (sic), and was entirely open in front; and the fact that no mention is made of any door or opening, though the doors of the other parts of the edifies are all referred to ( 1 Kings 6:8 , 1... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 6:4

And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. [There has been much disputation over these words. The older expositors generally follow the Chaldee and Rabbins: "windows broad within and narrow without;" windows, i.e. somewhat like the loopholes of ancient castles. The windows of the temple would then have resembled those of Egyptian sacred buildings. (It is not implied that there was any conscious imitation of Egypt, though Fergusson surely forgets the affinity with Pharaoh ( 1... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 6:5

And against [or upon, עַל ; they rested on the wall] the wall of the house [here meaning both temple and oracle: see below] he built chambers [Marg. floors . The Orig. is יָצוּעַ (Keri, יָצִיעַ ) singular = stratum ( יָצַע stravit, spread out). Symm. translates κατάστρωμα . Gesenius remarks that the word is used here and in 1 Kings 6:10 in the masculine of the whole of the side structure, while in 1 Kings 6:6 it is used in the feminine of the single stories.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 6:6

The nethermost chamber [Heb. floor; cf. Ezekiel 41:6 ] was five cubits broad [It must be remembered that all the measurements are those of the interior], and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for [Explanation how these differences of size arose] without [ i.e; on the outside] in the wall of [Heb. omits ] the house [main building—nave, and chancel] he made [Heb. put ] narrowed rests [marg. "narrowings or rebatements," The word ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 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... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 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 1 Kings 6:5-8. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 6:5

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

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 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... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 6:2

1 Kings 6:2. The house Properly so called, as distinct from all the walls and buildings adjoining to it; namely, the holy and most holy place. Which King Solomon built for the Lord For his worship and service; and wherein his divine presence might, as it were, dwell among them by a visible appearance. The length thereof was threescore cubits From east to west; forty of which belonged to the holy place, and twenty to the most holy. And this and the other measures seem to belong to the... read more

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