{"book":"1 Kings","slug":"1-kings","ch":6,"genre":"prose","sub":"1 Kings","prev":"1-kings/5","next":"1-kings/7","verses":[{"v":1,"t":"In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of [Solomon’s] reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, [he] began to build the house of the LORD.","f":["Hebrew; LXX four hundred and fortieth","Ziv was the second month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar, usually occurring within the months of April and May; also in verse 37."],"h":"Temple Construction Begins","style":"reg"},{"v":2,"t":"The house that King Solomon built for the LORD [was] sixty cubits long, twenty [cubits] wide, and thirty cubits high.","f":["The house was approximately 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high (27.4 meters long, 9.1 meters wide, and 13.7 meters high)."],"style":"reg"},{"v":3,"t":"The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple [was] twenty cubits long, extending across the width of the temple and projecting out ten cubits in front of the temple.","f":["20 cubits is approximately 30 feet or 9.1 meters; also in verses 16 and 20.","10 cubits is approximately 15 feet or 4.6 meters; also in verses 23–26."]},{"v":4,"t":"He also had narrow windows framed high in the temple.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":5,"t":"Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, [Solomon] built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms.","f":[],"h":"The Chambers","style":"reg"},{"v":6,"t":"The bottom floor [was] five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits, and the third [floor] seven cubits. He also placed offset ledges around the outside of the temple, so that nothing would be inserted into [its] walls.","f":["5 cubits is approximately 7.5 feet or 2.3 meters; also in verses 10 and 24.","6 cubits is approximately 9 feet or 2.7 meters.","7 cubits is approximately 10.5 feet or 3.2 meters."]},{"v":7,"t":"The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel [or] any [other] iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":8,"t":"The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the temple. A stairway led up to the middle level, and from [there] to the third floor.","f":["LXX and Targum; Hebrew middle"],"style":"reg"},{"v":9,"t":"So [Solomon] built the temple and finished it, roofing it with beams and planks of cedar.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":10,"t":"He built chambers all along the temple, [each] five cubits high and attached to the temple with beams of cedar.","f":[]},{"v":11,"t":"Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying:","f":[],"h":"God’s Promise to Solomon","style":"reg"},{"v":12,"t":"“ As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David.","f":[]},{"v":13,"t":"And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not abandon My people Israel.”","f":[]},{"v":14,"t":"So Solomon built the temple and finished it.","f":[],"h":"The Temple’s Interior","style":"reg"},{"v":15,"t":"He lined the interior walls with cedar paneling from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and he covered the floor with cypress boards.","f":["Or pine or juniper or fir; also in verse 34"]},{"v":16,"t":"He partitioned off the twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.","f":["Or the Holy of Holies"],"style":"reg"},{"v":17,"t":"And the main hall in front of [this room] was forty cubits [long].","f":["40 cubits is approximately 60 feet or 18.3 meters."]},{"v":18,"t":"The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":19,"t":"[Solomon] also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":20,"t":"The inner sanctuary [was] twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid [the inside] with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.","f":["Or with cedar"]},{"v":21,"t":"So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold.","f":["Or made gold chains to draw (the curtains)"],"style":"reg"},{"v":22,"t":"So he overlaid with gold the whole interior of the temple, until everything was completely finished. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.","f":[]},{"v":23,"t":"In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, [each] ten cubits high, out of olive wood.","f":[],"h":"The Cherubim","style":"reg"},{"v":24,"t":"One wing of the first cherub [was] five cubits long, and the other wing [was] five cubits long [as well]. So the full wingspan [was] ten cubits.","f":[]},{"v":25,"t":"The second cherub [also measured] ten cubits; both cherubim had the same size and shape,","f":[]},{"v":26,"t":"and the height of each cherub [was] ten cubits.","f":[]},{"v":27,"t":"And he placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple. Since their wings were spread out, the wing of the first [cherub] touched one wall, while the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and in the middle of the room their wingtips touched.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":28,"t":"He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.","f":[]},{"v":29,"t":"Then he carved the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":30,"t":"And he overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.","f":[]},{"v":31,"t":"For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, [Solomon] constructed doors of olive wood with five-sided doorposts.","f":[],"h":"The Doors","style":"reg"},{"v":32,"t":"The double doors were made of olive wood, and he carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.","f":[]},{"v":33,"t":"In the same way he made four-sided doorposts of olive wood for the sanctuary entrance.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":34,"t":"The two doors were made of cypress wood, [and] each had two folding panels.","f":[]},{"v":35,"t":"He carved [into them] cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.","f":[]},{"v":36,"t":"[Solomon] built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.","f":[],"h":"The Courtyard","style":"reg"},{"v":37,"t":"The foundation of the house of the LORD was laid in the fourth year [of Solomon’s reign], in the month of Ziv.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":38,"t":"In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification. So he built [the temple] in seven years.","f":["Bul was the eighth month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar, usually occurring within the months of October and November."]}]}