1 Kings 6:15-28

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 6:15-38

Here, I. We have a particular account of the details of the building. 1. The wainscot of the temple. It was of cedar (1 Kgs. 6:15), which was strong and durable, and of a very sweet smell. The wainscot was curiously carved with knops (like eggs or apples) and flowers, no doubt as the fashion then was, 1 Kgs. 6:18. 2. The gilding. It was not like ours, washed over, but the whole house, all the inside of the temple (1 Kgs. 6:22), even the floor (1 Kgs. 6:30), he overlaid with gold, and the most... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:15

And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar ,.... For as yet he had only built the stone walls of it without, but now he wainscotted it with cedar boards: and not only them, but both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling ; or from "the floor of the house unto the walls of the ceiling"; that is, from the floor, including that, to the walls on each side, reaching up to the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood : of one sort or another,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:16

And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house ,.... At the end or extremity of it, as the Targum; that is, he built the most holy place, which was twenty two cubits long, at the end of the holy place, which he wainscotted as the other: both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar ; or from the floor, including that, to the walls on each side, from wall to wall, and taking in them, they were all lined with cedar wood: he even built them for it within, even for the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:17

And the house, that is , the temple before it ,.... The holy place, which was before the of holies: was forty cubits long ; and which, with the most holy place, being twenty cubits, as in the preceding verse, made the length of the whole house sixty cubits, as in 1 Kings 6:2 . read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:18

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:19

And the oracle he prepared in the house within ,.... In the innermost part of the house he fitted up the oracle, or speaking place, from whence the Lord spake and gave answer, to receive what was to be put into it: particularly to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord ; even the very same that Moses made, Exodus 37:1 , for which David had pitched a tent in Zion, 1 Chronicles 15:1 , and where it now was; for Solomon made no new ark. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:20

And the oracle in the forepart ,.... Which stood in the forepart of the temple, before a man's face as he entered into it, and went on; or the forepart of the holy of holies, next to the holy place, was of the dimensions as follows, when the back part of it might be higher at least, and be equal to the holy place, even thirty feet; the forepart being lower, and left open to let in the light of the candlesticks, and the smoke of the incense, out of the holy place: this was twenty cubits... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:21

So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold ,.... The inside of the holy of holies with fine gold, which gold amounted to six hundred talents, 2 Chronicles 3:8 ; and these to 7,332,000 ducats of gold, or 3,045,000 pounds sterling: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle ; between the holy and the most holy, and were instead of a vail in the tabernacle of Moses between them; here was also a vail beside the partition made by chains of gold across the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:22

And the whole house he overlaid with gold ,.... Both the holy place, and the most holy place: until he had finished all the house ; in this splendid and glorious manner: also the whole altar that was by the oracle ; the altar of incense, which stood just before the entrance into the oracle, or most holy place: he overlaid with gold ; he overlaid it all over with gold; hence it is called the golden altar, and was an emblem of the excellent and effectual mediation and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:23

And within the oracle he made two cherubim of olive tree ,.... Or of the oil tree, as in Isaiah 41:19 ; see Nehemiah 8:15 ; for there are other trees besides olives, out of which oil is pressed, as pine trees, cypress trees, &c.; and which some think are here meant; though the Targum interprets it of the olive tree: these cherubim are different from those made by Moses, and were besides them; these were larger than they; these were made of olive wood, they of gold; these stood on... read more

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