1 Kings 6:15-38

Description Of The Embellishment Of The Building (1 Kings 6:15-38 ).

Having been given the description of the erection of the basic stonework we are now provided with brief details of how the building was embellished, which emphasises the wealth that was poured into it. Once again we have the problem of technical information and unusual technical words which would have been quite understandable to the builders but are somewhat of a mystery to us. The passage has been described as ‘untranslatable’, but we should recognise that that is due to our ignorance, and not to the grammar of the passage itself. It was possibly originally composed from builder’s technical notes which would help to explain its obscurity.

The work proceeded as follows:

The lining of the building with woodwork and the dividing off of the Inner Room to contain the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH (1 Kings 6:16-19).

The overlaying of the various parts with gold (1 Kings 6:20-22).

The making and erection of the cherubim in the Inner Room (1 Kings 6:23-28).

The decorating of the whole (1 Kings 6:29-30).

The making of the various doors (1 Kings 6:31-35).

The building of the inner court (1 Kings 6:36).

With this the work was completed (1 Kings 6:37).