Construction Begins on Mount Moriah
Study note
Solomon began building the temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. This was the same place where Abraham had once been willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. It was also the spot where God appeared to David at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. Construction started in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, in the second month.
1 Solomon began building the Lord's temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. This was the place where the Lord had appeared to his father David. David had prepared this spot at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 Construction started on the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign. And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
The Temple's Design and Gold Covering
Study note
The temple was about 90 feet long and 30 feet wide, using the old standard of measurement. The entrance hall was 30 feet wide and very tall. Solomon covered the inside with pure gold and decorated the walls with palm tree designs and chain patterns. He even used gold from the land of Parvaim, a place known for its fine gold. The weight of the gold nails alone was about one and a quarter pounds.
3 Here are the base measures Solomon used for God's temple. It was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide. These used the older system. Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
4 The entrance hall at the front was 30 feet wide (the same as the temple) and extremely tall. Solomon plated the inside with pure gold. And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5 He lined the main hall with pine wood, overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with carved palm trees and chain patterns. And the greater house he ceiled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.
6 He adorned the temple with beautiful precious stones. The gold came from the land of Parvaim. And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
7 He covered the beams, doorframes, walls, and doors of the temple with gold. He also carved cherubim (angels) into the walls. He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.
8 Solomon constructed the Most Holy Place. It measured 30 feet long and 30 feet wide, matching the width of the temple. He covered it entirely with fine gold weighing about 23 tons. And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
9 The gold nails weighed about one and a quarter pounds each. He also plated the upper rooms with gold. And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
The Cherubim in the Most Holy Place
Study note
In the Most Holy Place, Solomon placed two large carved angels called cherubim. Each angel had wings that stretched out about 7.5 feet on each side. Together their wings spanned the full 30-foot width of the room, with one wing touching a wall and the other touching the wing of the other angel. The cherubim faced outward toward the main hall and were covered in gold.
10 Inside the Most Holy Place, Solomon placed two sculptures of cherubim and covered them with gold. And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
11 Together, the wings of the two cherubim stretched 30 feet across the room. One wing of the first cherub was 7.5 feet long and touched the wall. Its other wing, also 7.5 feet, reached over to touch the wing of the second cherub. And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
12 The second cherub's wing was 7.5 feet long and touched the opposite wall. Its other 7.5-foot wing touched the first cherub's wing. And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.
13 The combined wingspan of both cherubim was 30 feet. They stood upright on their feet, facing toward the main hall. The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.
The Curtain and the Two Pillars
Study note
A curtain of blue, purple, and red yarn with fine linen separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Angels were woven into the fabric. In front of the temple stood two bronze pillars, each about 52 feet tall with decorative tops about 7.5 feet high. Solomon decorated them with chains and 100 pomegranate designs. He named the right pillar Jakin, meaning 'he establishes,' and the left pillar Boaz, meaning 'in him is strength.'
14 Solomon made the curtain separating the two rooms from blue, purple, and red yarn woven with fine linen. He had images of cherubim woven into it. And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.
15 He built two pillars for the front of the temple. Each one stood about 52 feet tall, with a decorative cap on top about 7.5 feet high. Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
16 He crafted chains and placed them on top of the pillars. He also made 100 pomegranate decorations and fastened them to the chains. And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
17 He positioned the two pillars in front of the temple -- one on the right side and one on the left. He named the right one Jakin and the left one Boaz. And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.