CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
1 Kings 6
Chapter 6 of 22
Chapter Overview
What happens in 1 Kings 6
Solomon begins building the temple in the fourth year of his reign. The chapter describes the temple's design, materials, inner rooms, and golden cherubim. The temple took seven years to complete.
Scripture
1 Kings 6
The Temple Construction Begins
Study note
Construction began 480 years after the Exodus, in the month of Ziv. The temple was about 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet tall. All stones were prepared at the quarry so no hammer or tool was heard at the building site, honoring the holiness of God's house.
1 Construction on the Lord's temple began in Solomon's fourth year as king, in the month of Ziv (the second month). This was 480 years after the people of Israel came out of Egypt. And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
2 The temple Solomon built for the Lord was 60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits tall. And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
3 The entrance hall in front of the main room was 20 cubits wide, matching the width of the temple. It reached 10 cubits out from the front. And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.
4 He built narrow windows set high in the temple walls. And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.
5 Against the outside walls of the temple, he built a structure with side rooms running along both sides and the rear. The rooms went all the way around. And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:
6 The bottom floor of rooms was five cubits wide, the middle floor was six cubits wide, and the top floor was seven cubits wide. He made ledges on the outside of the temple walls so the room beams would not have to be set into the temple walls themselves. The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.
7 The temple was built using stones that were finished at the quarry. No hammer, chisel, or any other iron tool was heard at the building site. And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
8 The entrance to the lowest level of side rooms was on the south side. Stairs led up to the middle and then to the top level. The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.
9 After Solomon finished building the main part of the temple, he put on a roof made of cedar beams and planks. So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.
10 He built side rooms along the whole temple. Each one was five cubits high. He connected them to the temple with cedar beams. And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
God's Promise About the Temple
Study note
While construction was underway, God promised Solomon that if he would walk in God's ways, God would live among Israel and never abandon his people.
11 Then the Lord spoke to Solomon with this message: And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,
12 "About this temple you are building: follow my laws. Carry out my rules. Keep all my commands and live by them. Then I will keep the promise I made to your father David." Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:
13 "I will live among the people of Israel and will never abandon my people." And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.
The Interior of the Temple
Study note
The inside was lined with cedar so no stone was visible. The back section was the Most Holy Place, a perfect cube about 30 feet in each direction, entirely covered with pure gold.
14 Solomon finished building the temple. So Solomon built the house, and finished it.
15 He lined the inside walls with cedar planks from floor to ceiling and covered the floor with cypress wood. And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.
16 He walled off 20 cubits at the back of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. This made the inner room — the Most Holy Place. And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.
17 The main hall in front of the inner sanctuary was 40 cubits long. And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.
18 The cedar inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar -- not a single stone was visible. And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.
19 He prepared the inner sanctuary at the back of the temple as the place for the Ark of the Lord's covenant. And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
20 The inner sanctuary was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high. He covered the entire room with pure gold. He also covered the cedar altar with gold. And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.
21 Solomon overlaid the inside of the main hall with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was also covered in gold. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.
22 He covered the entire interior of the temple with gold. He also covered the altar that stood near the inner sanctuary with gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
The Cherubim and Carved Walls
Study note
Two massive cherubim of olive wood were placed in the Most Holy Place, each 15 feet tall with 15-foot wingspans. Their wings stretched wall to wall. All walls were carved with cherubim, palm trees, and flowers, overlaid with gold.
23 For the inner room, he made two cherubim angels out of olive wood. Each one was 10 cubits tall. And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.
24 Each wing of the first cherub measured five cubits, giving a total wingspan of 10 cubits from tip to tip. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.
25 The second cherub was also 10 cubits tall. Both were identical in size and form. And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.
26 Each cherub stood 10 cubits high. The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
27 He set the cherubim inside the inner sanctuary with their wings spread open. One wing of the first cherub reached one wall, one wing of the second reached the opposite wall, and their inner wings met in the center of the room. And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
28 He covered both cherubim with gold. And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
29 He carved pictures into all the walls of the temple, both the inner and outer rooms. The carvings showed cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.
30 The floors of both rooms were also covered with gold. And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.
The Doors and Completion
Study note
The entrance to the Most Holy Place had olive wood doors carved with cherubim and flowers. The temple was completed in the month of Bul, Solomon's eleventh year, after seven years of construction.
31 At the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he installed double doors of olive wood. The doorframe took up one-fifth of the wall space. And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.
32 The two olive wood doors were carved with cherubim, palm trees, and flowers, all coated with gold. The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.
33 At the entrance to the main hall, he made doorposts of olive wood, filling one-fourth of the wall width. So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.
34 He made two doors of cypress wood, each consisting of two folding panels. And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
35 He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flowers on them and applied gold evenly over the carvings. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.
36 He built the inner courtyard using three rows of cut stone topped by a row of cedar beams. And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.
37 The temple foundation was laid in the month of Ziv, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign. In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:
38 The temple was completed in every detail in the month of Bul, the eighth month, during the eleventh year of Solomon's reign. The entire construction took seven years. And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
Key Themes
Themes in 1 Kings 6
Creating sacred space for God's presenceThe beauty and care invested in worshipGod's conditional promise tied to obedienceThe holiness and grandeur of God
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
1 Kings 11-13 John 2:19-21
Solomon's temple as the dwelling place of God among His people foreshadows Jesus, who declared His body to be the true temple and who is the ultimate meeting place between God and humanity.
Apply This Today
Living 1 Kings 6
God told Solomon that the temple's value depended not on its gold and cedar but on whether the people would obey His commands. The most beautiful building in the world means nothing without hearts devoted to God. What matters is not the outward appearance of our worship but the inward reality of our obedience.
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