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1 KINGS 6

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

1. The temple of Solomon was
   1. planned by David
   2. built by Phoenician artisans
   3. its architecture resembled Phoenician temples of this period
   
   
2. For a possible diagram of Solomon's temple see
   1. ABD, vol. 6, p. 356
   2. Jewish Study Bible, p. 684
   3. Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 5, p. 625
   4. Tyndale Commentary, vol. 9, pp. 103,107-108
   
   
3. The temple in Jerusalem was believed to be where YHWH dwelt with His people, above the ark, between the cherubim. It was where heaven and earth met! This imagery developed from the creation account, where Genesis 1-2 describes the preparation of YHWH's House. See John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate.
   
   
4. Other sources of information would be
   1. 2 Chronicles 3:1-14
   2. Josephus, Antiq. 7.3.1-3
   3. there are some differences between the MT and the LXX
   4. I surely enjoy reading Roland deVaux's Ancient Israel. His description of Solomon's temple is found in pages 312-322.
   
   

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:1-6
  ¹Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord. ²As for the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits and its width twenty cubits and its height thirty cubits. ³The porch in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits in length, corresponding to the width of the house, and its depth along the front of the house was ten cubits. ⁴Also for the house he made windows with artistic frames. ⁵Against the wall of the house he built stories encompassing the walls of the house around both the nave and the inner sanctuary; thus he made side chambers all around. ⁶The lowest story was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around in order that the beams would not be inserted in the walls of the house.

6:1 "in the four hundred and eightieth year" This is a rare example of precise dating in this section of the OT (i.e., historical books). The LXX has 440 years. Scholars use this date of the starting of Solomon's temple to guess the date of the exodus as 1445/46 b.c. However, I think 1290 b.c. fits the historical data better (480 being 12 generations).

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE DATE OF THE EXODUS

SPECIAL TOPIC: OT HISTORIOGRAPHY COMPARED WITH NEAR EASTERN CULTURES

SPECIAL TOPIC: OT HISTORICAL NARRATIVE

▣ "in the fourth year of Solomon's reign" This would be 967/6 b.c. (cf. 2 Chr. 3:2). The Jewish Study Bible suggests 968 b.c. based on

1. Josephus' chronology of Tyrian kings
2. comparing Assyrian chronology with Tyrian kings

▣ "the month of Ziv which is the second month" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE CALENDARS.

6:2 "cubit" See SPECIAL TOPIC: CUBIT.

6:4-6 The JPSOA footnote says "Meaning of parts of vv. 4-6 uncertain."

6:4 The design and structure of these windows is uncertain. The windows of Ezekiel's temple "may be" the same type (i.e., latticed/shuttered, cf. Ezek. 40:16; 41:16).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:7
  ⁷The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.

6:7 "stone prepared at the quarry" These stones are mentioned in 1 Kgs. 5:17. The temple looked very much like Phoenician temples. Remember, Hiram, King of Tyre, sent his artisans to help build the temple in Jerusalem.

One wonders if these stones, left relatively natural, are related to Exod. 20:25 (cf. Deut. 27:5; Josh. 8:31) about uncut stones for Israel's altars, which would be different from Canaanite altars.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:8-10
  ⁸The doorway for the lowest side chamber was on the right side of the house; and they would go up by winding stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. ⁹So he built the house and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar. ¹⁰He also built the stories against the whole house, each five cubits high; and they were fastened to the house with timbers of cedar.

The MT has the FEMININE NOUN (BDB 854, #3) and suggests "side chambers [enclosing the temple] like ribs").

▣ "by winding stairs" The PLURAL NOUN (BDB 532) is found only here. NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 780, suggests "trap door."

The MT has the FEMININE NOUN (KB 1310), found only here, 2 Kgs. 11:8-15; and 2 Chr. 23:14. Its exact meaning is uncertain. It is an architectural term.

1. in a row of arranged beans (v. 36)
2. part of the roof
3. columned hall
4. adjacent building (v. 10)

The UBS Text Project, p. 299, suggests "to the walls of the ceiling," which refers to the upper part of the walls. However, it gives only a "D" rating so still speculation.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:11-13
  ¹¹Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon saying, ¹²"Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your father. ¹³I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel."

6:11-13 These verses are not in the LXX.

6:11 This was the second major revelation by YHWH to Solomon. They both (first at the altar in Gibeon, 1 Kgs. 3:14) are warnings and promises (i.e., conditional covenant) about obedience to the revealed Mosaic Law.

6:12-13 "if. . .then" The conditional element is emphasized (cf. 1 Kgs. 2:4; 9:6). The theological tension is between

1. YHWH using Israel for His redemptive purposes (see SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN)
2. the conditional aspect of most of YHWH's covenants (see SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT)

Remember, the Mosaic covenant is a performance based covenant (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28; 30; Psalm 1), known as "the two ways."

SPECIAL TOPIC: PREDESTINATION VS. HUMAN FREE WILL

6:12 "walk. . .walking" This is a biblical metaphor for lifestyle faithfulness. YHWH's will was a clearly marked path/road and believers must walk on it, turning neither to the right or left.

▣ "statutes. . .ordinances. . .commandments" See SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION.

▣ "then I will carry out My word" The Mosaic covenant had two aspects—as Israel acted faithfully, then YHWH acted faithfully. Disobedience had consequences in time and eternity.

6:13 Israel's covenant loyalty allowed the holy God to dwell in their midst (cf. Exod. 25:8; 29:45-46; Num. 5:3; Rev. 21:3). This is the true sense of "Emmanuel." (John 14:3).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT:6:14-22
  ¹⁴So Solomon built the house and finished it. ¹⁵Then he built the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the ceiling he overlaid the walls on the inside with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress. ¹⁶He built twenty cubits on the rear part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling; he built them for it on the inside as an inner sanctuary, even as the most holy place. ¹⁷The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. ¹⁸There was cedar on the house within, carved in the shape of gourds and open flowers; all was cedar, there was no stone seen. ¹⁹Then he prepared an inner sanctuary within the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ²⁰The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar with cedar. ²¹So Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold. And he drew chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. ²²He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

6:16 The tabernacle had a veil/curtain to separate the holy of holies from the holy place, but Solomon put in a wooden partition.

6:18 The cedar on the inside walls was carved (VERB used only of temple carvings) with

1. gourds, v. 18 ‒ BDB 825, cf. 2 Kgs. 7:24 (1 Chr. 3:5 changes "gourds" to "chains")
2. open flowers, vv. 18,29,35 ‒ BDB 809 CONSTRUCT BDB 847
3. cherubim, vv. 29,35 ‒ BDB 500 (i.e., angelic protectors, cf. Gen. 3:24)
4. palm trees, vv. 29,35 ‒ BDB 1071

The holy of holies was decorated with more carvings.

SPECIAL TOPIC: CHERUBIM

6:19 "inner sanctuary" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TABERNACLE OF THE WILDERNESS.

▣ "the ark of the covenant" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ARK OF THE COVENANT.

6:20 "twenty cubits" The holy of holies was a perfect cube; twenty cubits high, long, and wide.

▣ "overlaid it with pure gold" There are degrees of holiness expressed by the different metals as one moves from the holy of holies to the sacrificial altar.

1. gold
2. silver
3. bronze

In Ezekiel's temple this same holiness was symbolized by

1. steps
2. narrowing of the steps

▣ "the altar" This refers to the altar of incense which stood before the veil of the holy of holies (cf. v. 22).

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ALTAR OF INCENSE

6:21 "chains" This may refer to how a curtain (cf. 2 Chr. 3:14; Matt. 27:51; Heb. 6:19) was hung that allowed access to the holy of holies.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:23-28
  ²³Also in the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. ²⁴Five cubits was the one wing of the cherub and five cubits the other wing of the cherub; from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits. ²⁵The other cherub was ten cubits; both the cherubim were of the same measure and the same form. ²⁶The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. ²⁷He placed the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and the wings of the cherubim were spread out, so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall. So their wings were touching each other in the center of the house. ²⁸He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

6:23-27 "two cherubim" There were two cherubim on the lid of the ark of the covenant. Solomon added two larger cherubim in the holy of holies which stood above the ark.

SPECIAL TOPIC: CHERUBIM

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:29-30
  ²⁹Then he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inner and outer sanctuaries. ³⁰He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, inner and outer sanctuaries.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:31-32
  ³¹For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood, the lintel and five-sided doorposts. ³²So he made two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:33-36
  ³³So also he made for the entrance of the nave four-sided doorposts of olive wood ³⁴and two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots, and the two leaves of the other door turned on pivots. ³⁵He carved on it cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the engraved work. ³⁶He built the inner court with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

The MT has "curtains" (BDB 887 II), but the UBS Text Project, p. 301, suggests an emendation.

1. curtains ‒ קלע (BDB 887)
2. leaves (lit. "rib") ‒ צלע (BDB 854)

However, the UBS Text Project gives its suggestion a "C" rating (considerable doubt).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 6:37-38
  ³⁷In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

6:38 "according to all its plans" YHWH revealed the layout of the tabernacle (cf. Exod. 25:9,40; 26:30; 1 Chr. 28:12,19; Acts 44; Heb. 8:2,5). The layout had theological implications. The house of YHWH was not a human invention.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Why is the date of 1 Kgs. 6:1 different in the LXX? What does it represent?
2. How does 1 Kgs. 6:1 affect the date of the exodus?
3. Explain 1 Kgs. 6:7.
4. Why are vv. 12-13 so theologically significant? Define "conditional covenant."
5. What was the purpose of the cherubim?

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