1 Kings 6:36

36. The inner court The temple was surrounded by a double court or enclosure, an inner and an outer. The outer was much larger than the inner court, but the exact size of each it is now impossible to decide. These courts seem also to have been called respectively the upper and the lower, (Jeremiah 36:10,) probably because the one occupied a higher terrace than the other, in 2 Chronicles 4:9, the outer is called the great court, and the inner the court of the priests.

Three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams The precise meaning is obscure, but is usually understood of the enclosing wall of the inner court being so constructed that three layers of hewn stone were placed one upon another, and a row of cedar beams fastened on the top, either horizontally or in the form of a railing or balustrade. Perhaps, however, it is better to understand these layers of stone and cedar as forming the pavement of the inner court, and covering its entire area. This would have boon the natural way to elevate the platform of the inner court above that of the outer, (compare Jeremiah 36:10,) and thus, says Rawlinson, “the temple would be placed, like the Assyrian palaces, on an artificial platform; and the platform, being regarded as a part of the sacred building, would be constructed of the best material.”