So king Solomon was king over [d]all
Israel.
[d] All
Israel, not
divided, as in the days of Saul, Ish-bosheth, and David, or in the days
following Solomon.
2. And these were the [e]princes
which he had; Azari'ah the son of Za'dok [f]the
priest,
[e]
11 princes of Solomon:
1. Azariah, son of Zadok the priest
2. Elihoreph, a scrib
3. Ahiah, a scrib
4. Jehoshaphat, the recorder or remembrancer
5. Benaiah, commander of the army
6. Zadok. the high priest
7. Abiathar, deposed high priest.
8. Azariah, overseer of officers.
9. Zabud, the principal officer and Solomon's friend and counsellor.
10. Ahishar, officer over the household.
11. Adoniram, overseer of taxes.
[f] The priest belongs to Azarian, not to Zadok, and
this should read: Azariah, the priest, son of Zadok. The term used [cohen]
means a priest sometimes, otherwise a civil officer of perhaps a semi-priestly
character. In this passage it has the definite article prefix, and can
only mean the high priest. Here Azariah is called the son, but he was really the grandson of
Zadok. He seems to have succeeded him in the high priesthood (1 Chr.
6:10). His position as high priest at the time this record was made gives
Azariah the foremost place in this list of men called princes and who lived part
or all the time of 40 years Solomon reigned.
3. Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shi'sha, [g]scrubs; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahibud,
the [h]recorder.
[g] The scribes
were probably royal secretaries who drew up the kings edicts, wrote his letters,
and perhaps managed his other affairs. They were amng his most influential
counselors.
[h] The recorser
was really a remembrancer or court analyst.
4. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the host:
and Zadok and [i]Abiathar
were the priests:
[i]
It is noticeable that Abiathar was lilsted among the princes of Solomon, after
the disgrace of being put out of the priesthood as in 2:26-27, 35. Perhaps
the historian made a list of the princes in any part of Solomon's reign (v 4).
5. And Axariah the son [j]of
Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was [k]principal officer, and the king's friend:
[j]
Which Nathan this was is not known, unless it was the son of David of whom came
Mary, the mother of the Messiah (Lk. 3:23-38). If it had been Nathan the
prophet his name no doubt would have been so listed.
[k] Principal or
chief officer and the king's friend and counselor, as Hushai had been to David
(2 Sam. 15:37).
13
Twelve commissaries of Solomon
7. And Solomon had [l]twelve officers over all Isreal, which
provided [m]victuals
for the king and his houshold: each man his month in a year made provision.
[l]
12 officers of the commassaries:
1.
The son of Hur [v 7-8}
2. The son of Dekar [v 9]
4. The son of Abinadab [v 11]
5. Baana, son of Ahilud [v 12]
6. The son of Geber [v 13]
7. Ahinadab, the son of Iddo [v 14]
8. Ahimaaz [v 15]
9. Baanah, son of Paruah [v 17]
10. Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah [v 17]
11. Shimei, son of Elah [v 18]
12. geber, son of Uri [v 19]
[m]
The 12 men in these verses [7-19] were over 12 sections of the kingdom and
levied taxes on the people to supply the king, his household, and all those at
ther king's court, and any others whom he was responsible to support. Each
man supplied the king for a whole month each year.
8. And these are the names: The son of Hur, in
mount Ephraim:
9. The son of Dekar, in Makaz and in Sha-al'bim and
Beth-she'mesh and E'on-beth-ha'nan:
10. The son of He'sed, in Ar'u-both; to him pertained
Lo'choc, and [a]all
the land of He'pher:
[a]
The territory assinged to each of these 12 commissary officers is named in v
7-19. From each of these 12 districts the king and his household of many
servents were supplied once a year for an entire month.
11. The son of A-bn'a-dab, in all the region of Dor;
which had Ta'phath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
12. Ba'a-na the son of A-hi'lud; to him pertained
Ta'a-nach and Me-gid'do, and all Beth-she'ba, which is by Zar'ta-na beneath Jez're-el,
from Beth-she'an to A'bel-me-ho'-lah, even unto the place that is beyond Jok'ne-am:
13. The son of Ge'ber, in Ra'moth-gil'e-ad; to
him pertained the towns of Ja'ir the son of Ma-nas'seh, which are in Gil'e-ad;
to him also pertained the region of Ar'gob, which is in Ba'shan, threescore
great cities with walls and brasen bars:
14. A-hin'a-dab the son of Id'do had Ma-ha-na'im:
15. A-him'a-az was in Naph'ta-li; he also took
Bas'math the daughter of Sol'o-mon to wife:
16. Ba'a-nah the son of [b]Hu'shai was in Ash'er and A'loth:
[b] Hushai was
David's chief friend and counsellor (2 Sam. 15:27). Now his son became
honored as one of the 12 commissary officers of Solomon (v 16)
17. Je-hos'a-phat the son of Par'u-ah, in Is'sa-char:
18. Shim'e-i the son of E'lah, in Ben'ja-min:
19. Ge'ber the son of U'ri was in the country of Gil'e-ad,
in the country of Si'hon king of the Am'or-ites, and he was [c]the only officer which was in the land.
[c] This is said
to let us know that one officer took care of all the vast territory of Sihon and
Og easo to the Jordan.
14
Solomon's dominions
20. [d]Ju'dah and Is'ra-el were many, [e]as the sand which is by the sea in
multitued. [f]eating
and drinking, and making merry.
[d] Here we come
again to the terms Judah and Israel, but thisdoes not mean that
they were two separate people, that they had two different destinies, or that
all Israelites werenot Jews. The purpose is to make clear again that Judah
was the ruling tribe; it was therefore mentioned in perticular (v 20).
[e] A julfillment
of Gen. 13:16; 22:17
[f] An expression
of blessing, contentment, and peace - not of sinfulness (v 20).
21. And Sol'o-mon [g]reigned
over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philis'tines, and unto the
border of E'gypt: [h]they
brought presents, and served Sol'o-mon [i]all
the days of his life.
[g] The extent of
Solomon's kingdon was from the river Euphrates on the east and north to the land
of the Philistines and the Mediterranean sea and to Egypt (v 21: Gen.
15:18-21: Josh. 1:4).
[h] It was
customary for subject nations to send gifts along with trubute to their masteres
(v 21: Ps. 72: 10 - 11)
[i] this was for
40 years (11:42)
15
Solomon's provisions
22. And Solomon's [j]provisions for one day was [k]thirty measures of fine flour, and
threescore measures of meal.
[j] Solomon's
daily provisions: (est. cost)
315
bu. fine flour @ $6.00
$1,890.00
630 bu. course flour @$6.00
$3,780.00
10 fat oxen @ $325.00
$3,250.00
20 pasture oxen @ $325.00
$6,500.00
100 sheep @ $20.00
$2,000.00
Total, less other animals
$17,420.00
How many harts, roebucks, fallow - deer, and fowels were used is not stated, but
without them the daily cost for a year, on the above gasis would be $6,358,300.00.
From this we suppose that the number fed at the royal board were at least 30,000
people.
[k] 30 measures (Heb.
kor or cor, the same as an homer or about 10 1/2 Bu.) would
be 315 bushels; and 60 measures or cors, of course flour would be
630 bushels, daily.
23. Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures,
and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted
fowel.
16
Solomon's peaceful reign and prosperity (3:13)
24. For he had dominion
over all the region on [l]this
side of the river, from Tiph'sah even [m]to
Az'zah, over all the kings on this side of the river; and he had peace on
all sides round about him.
[l]
This side the river Euphrates, the region west of the river. Tiphsah,
meaning ford or passage. It was no doubt the modern Suriyeh, 45
miles below Balis, at the point where the river changesits coursefrom south to
east. It is fordable here and at no other place.
[m] This is
supposed to be Gaza in Philistia, meaning from Tiphsah on the river Euphrateas
to Gaza in Philistia (v 24).
25. And Ju'dah and Is'ra - el dwelt safely, every man [n]under his vine and under his fig tree, from
[o]Dan
even to Be'er - she'ba, all the days of Sol'o-mon.
[n]
An expression of peace, safety and prosperity (v 25; Mic. 4:4; Zecg.
3:10).
[o] The north and
south extremities of thekingdom (v 25; Judg. 20:1; 1 Sam. 3:20).
26. And Sol'o-mon had [p]forty
thousand stalls [q]of
hoerses for his chariots, and [r]twelve
thousand horsemen.
[p]
In 2 Chr. 9:25 the number of stalls is said to be 4,000 instead of 40,000 as
here. 40,000 may be a corruption of the ancient scroll. Mistakes in
copying or even similarity of letters (which were used for numbers) could have
led to a misgtake in one of these places. It seems that 4,000 stalls would
be more correct, as there were only 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen.
Since some chariots used 3 horses and others only 2, the 4,000 horses would be
sufficient for this number of chariots and horsemen (v 26).
[q] Multipllying
horses was a violation of the law of Moses (Dt. 17:16), the reason being that in
doing so Israel would begin to trust in the horses instead of Jehovah (Ps. 20:7;
Isa. 31:1 - 3).
[r] The same number as
in 2 Chr. 9:25
27. And those officers provided victual for king
Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month:
they [a]lacked
nothing.
[a] This is the
way it will always be when men serve God and He blesses them. This is the
way it would have been if Adam had not fallen; and it is the way it will
be when the Messiah reigns in the Millennium and on the new earth eternally (v
27: Isa. 35:1 - 8; 65:20 - 25; Rev. 22:3).
28. [b]Barley
also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where
the officers were, every man accorcing to his charge.
[b] Barley was the
usual fodder for cattle. They were also fed with a mixture of chopped
straw, barley, beans and poundeddate kernels (v 28).
Chapter
5
18 Solomon's religious policies (5:1 - 9:9.
(1) Preparation for building the temple (2 Chr. 2). A - Solomon's request
of Hiram, king of Tyre
And [f]Hi'ram
kingof Tyre sent his servents unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had
anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a [g]lover of David.
[f]
Not the Hiram of David's day, but the son of the Hiram of 2 Sam. 5:11.
Meander of Ephesus who wrote a history of Tyre in Greek about 300 B. C. mentoned
this Hiram as the son of Abibaal , king of Tyre, and said that he ascended the
throne when he was 19 years old, that he reigned 34 years, and died at the age
of 53, being succeeded by his son, Baleazar. This history speaks at length
on the dealings of Hiram with Solomon.
[g] Lover or ally.
The Hebrews were always at peace woith the Phoenicians, but never with the
Canaanites (v 1).
2. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
3. [h]Thou
knowest how that David my father [i]could
not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were
about him on every side, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.
[h]
See 2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Chr. 14:1; 22:4.
[i] 2 reasons
David could not build temple:
1.
Not the opportune time (v 3; 2 Sam. 7)
2. Not the man because of being a man of wars and
blood (1 Chr. 22:8; 28:3)
4. But now the Lord my
God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor
evil occurrent.
5.
[j]And, behold, I purpos to build an house unto
the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy
son, whom I will set upon thy throne lin thy room, he shall build an house unto
my name.
[j]
3rd prophecy in 1 Ki.(5:5, fulfilled). Next 8:19
2
predictions fulfilled:
1.
I will set your son upon your throne in your room (5:5)
2. He shall build an house unto My
name
6. Now therefore [k]command thou they hew me [l]cedar
trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and unto thee
will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint;
for thou knowest that there is not among us [a]any
that can skill to hew like unto the Sidonians.
[k]
This communication between Hiram and Solomon is given in much more detrail in 2
Chr. 2:2-16. Solomon's presumption that Hiram knew David's design is not
recorded here, but it is in perfect harmony with 1 Chr. 22:4.
[l] The Heb. word
for cedar appears to be used, not only for the cedar but also other trees
- the filr and juniper (v 10). The cedar still grows in Lebanon on parts
of the mountains, but it is not as plentiful as in ancient times. The
Tyrians made masts for their ships from it (Ezek. 27:5). It seems that
Assyrians and other peoples also cut down many of these trees to take to their
own countries, which added to the scarcity, as time went on.
[a] The mechanical
genius and nautical skill of the Phoenicians and of the Sidonians in particular,
were noticed by both Homer and Herodotus. Though Sidon might have had a
king of her own, she acknowledged the supremacy of Tyre during the reign of
Hiram.
Hiram co-operates with Solomon to build the temple
7. And it came to pass,
when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said,
Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this
great people.
8. And Hiram [b]sent
to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for:
and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar and concerning timber of
fir.
(b) Sent by writing and
ambassadors
9. My servants shall (c)bring
them down from Lebanon unto the sea; and I will convey them by sea in
floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be
discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish
my desire, (d)in giving food for my household.
(b) Sent by
writing and ambassadors.
(c) The timber was
first carried westward from the flanks of Lebonan to the nearest part of the
coast, where it was collected into floats or rafts and conveyed southward on the
waters to Joppa (now Jaffa) where the land journey to Jerusalem was not more
than 40 miles (v 9). A similar course was taken in the building of the
second temple (Ezra. 3:7).
(d) Supply of food
for hiram's household was at least part of the payment for the timber cut in
Lebanon and floated down to Joppa for the building of the temple (v 8).
The Phoenician cities had very little arable land so had to depend upon imports
of food from abroad.
10. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees
according to all his desire.
Hiram's yearly wages
11. And Solomon gave
Hiram (e)twenty thousand measures of wheat
for food to his household, and twenty measures of plure oil: thus gave
Solomon to Hiram year by year.
(e) 20,000
measures (Heb. cors) at 10 1/2 bu. to the measure or cor would be 210,000
bu. of wheat; and 20 cors of pure olive oil would be 1,680 gal. This
amount given to Hiram each year during construction of the temple and Solomon's
house, a period of 20 years, would make a total of 4,200,000 bu. of wheat(@$6.00
a bu.= $25,200,000.00) and 33,600 gal. of olive oil (@ $5.60 a gal. =
$188,180.00).
Solomon's league with Tyre
12. And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom,
as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon;
and they two (f)made
a league together.
(f)
The league was broken by Tyre later and for this the peple were judged (Amos.
1:9)
183,300 laborers and overseers working on the temple
13. And king Solomon raised a (g)levy (h)out
of all Isreal; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
(g)
A levy or tribute of menfor free labor, not the bond service of 9:21 - 22.
Such a levy was predicted when Israel demanded a king (1 Sam. 8:16). David
employed forced service of resident aliens (1 Chr. 22:2; 2 Sam. 12:31).
(h) This was the
first time that Israelites had been called upon to perform forced labor for a
big project stretching out over a number of years. Out of 1,300,000 able
bodied men in Israel (2 Sam. 24:9), a band of 30,000 - one in 44 was raised, of
whom 1/3 - 10,000 worked a month, then returned home for 2 months (v 14).
This levy of men in Israel helped cause the division of the kingdom after
thedeath of Solomon (12:4).
14. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month
by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home:
and Adoniram was over the levy.
15. And Solomon had (i)threescore
and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand (j)hewers in the mountains:
(i) Besides the
30,000 hewers of wood in Lebanon, of v 14 - 14, Solomon had 70,000 that bare
burdens, and 80,000 hewers in the mountains. These 150,000 men were
continuous workers made up of aliens in the land - Amorites, Hittites,
Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, and others whom he continued in slavery as did
his father David (1 Chr. 22:2).
(j) These were
hewers of stone in the rock quarries, not hewers of wood in Lebanon as in v 14(
15, 17, 18).
16. Besides the chief of Solomon's officers which were
over the work, (k)three
thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the
work.
(k)
Here we have 3,300 overseers of all the people that worked in the mountains
cutting wood, hewing stones, and carrying burdens (v 16). Another 550 are
mentioned in 9:23, who were chief overseers, making altogether 3,850. Of
the 550 there were 300 under 250 of the overseers, according to 2 Ch. 8:10.
The 163,850 regular workers were almost as many as the number hired by Ford
Motor Company, U.S.A.
17. And the king commanded, and they brought (l)great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay
the foundation of the house.
(l) Some of the
stones were extra large and heavy. The largest said to be found in modern
Jerusalem thus far is 38 ft. 9 in. long and weighs 100 tons. It is no
doubt one of the many stones hewn out of the mountains in the days of Solomon (v
17). The marks of the Phoenicians masons are still on some stones.
They were fully cut on the mountains to exact size, so that no chiseling or
hammering took place when they were set together. The same was true of the
wooden beams, so that the use of no tools was heard in the construction (6:7).
18. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew
them, and the (m)stonesqujarers:
so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
(m) The Gebalites,
the inhabitants of Gebal, a Phoenician city between Beyrout and Tripolis, which
the Greeks called Byblus, and which is now known as Jebeil, a place about 40
miles north of Sidon (Ezek. 27:9, Cp. Ps. 83:7).
Chapter 6
(2) Building the temple (6:1 - 7:51: 2 Chr. 3:1 - 4:22)
A Beginning date for building
1.
And it came to pass in the (a)four
hundred and eighth 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
of Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.
(a)
480 years. This was not the whole time of the period between the
exodus and the 4th year of Solomon's reign. It really refers to the 480th
year of the security of Isreal as a nation: it does not include the 41
years of Sinai and the Wondering in the wilderness, the period of the conquest
of Canaan and division of the land (about 10 years), or the 3 years of confusion
under Abimelech and the 111 years of servitudes during the judges. The
entire pleriod from the exodus to the 4th year of Solomon was 645 years.
Some chronologists have made the mistake of basing their whole system upon this
480 year period. 12 chronologists differ from 330 to 680 years reguarding
the entire time from the exodus to the 4th year of Solomon, which shows no basis
of proof for their conclusions. Scriptures can be found for most of the
lengths of various periods and these prove some modern scholars to be mistaken
as much as 300 - 400 years in their figuring of the time from the exodus to
Christ. Any chronoogical differences noted in this work as compared with
others can be accounted for by the fact that the Scripture themselves have been
searched and chapter and verse used as proof whenever available.
B Dimensions of the temple
2. And the house which king Solomon built for the Lord,
the (b)length
thereof was threescore cubits, and the (c)bread
thereof twenty cubits, and the height therof (d)thirty
cubits.
(b)
60 cubits - 125 ft. counting 25 in. as a cubit.
(c) 20 cubits - 41
ft. 8 in.
(d) 30 cubits - 62
1/5 ft.
C Porches and outside rooms
3. And the porch before the temple of
the house, (e)twenty
cubits was the length therof, according to the breadth of the house: and (f)ten cubits was the breadth therof before
the house.
(e)
20 cubits - 41 ft. 8 in. long, or all the way in fromt of the temple (v 3).
(f) 10 cubits - 20
ft. 10 in. wide (v 3)
5. And against the wall of the house
he built (h)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:
(h) He built
chambers or rooms round about the temple on the outside walls of the 2 sides and
the end (v r). They were 10 ft. 5 in. hiht (v 10).
6. The nethermost chamber was (i)five cubits broad, and the middle was six
cubits broad, and the third 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.
(i) The rooms were
10 ft. 5 in. wide: 12 ft. 6 in. wide: and 14 ft. 7 in. wide, with pillars
for the ceiling beams so they would not rest on the wall (v 6)
D Materials of the temple
7. And the house, when it was in building, was buuilt
of stone made ready before it was brought thither: (j)so that there was neither hammer nor ax nor
any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
(j)
All the stones and timbers were cut to exact size, being prepared for their
places before being brought to the temple site; and these were so
perfect that it was not necessary for use of hammer, ax, or any other tool
during the entire consrtruction work (6:7)
E Door, stairs, and outside rooms around the temple
8. The door for the middle chamber
was in the right side of the house: and they went up with (k)winding stairs into the middle chamaber,
and out of the middle into the third.
(k) The rooms were
on top of each other making 3 stories with winding stairs (v 8).
9. So he built the house and finished it; and (l)covered the house with beams and boards of
decar.
(l)
The temple was covered with beams and boards of cedar.
10. And then he built chambers against all the house,
five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
F
Davidic Covenant confirmed in Solomon (2 Sam. 7:7 - 17)
11. And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,
12. Concerning this house which thou art in building, (m)if thou (n)will
walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to
walk in them; then will I perform my work with thee, which I spake unto
David thy father:
(m)
Here we have another conditional prophecy, one based upon aoedience. Then
when obedience is rendered, the Lord promised to perform His work which He had
spoken to both David and Solomon concerning the continuation of the kingdom and
God dwelling in the midst of His people (v 12 - 13). The prophecy never
was completely fulfilled for Solomon rebelled and Israel sinned until God could
not bless them further or dwell in their midst.
(n) 3
conditions of blessings (v 12)
1. Walk in My statutes
2. Execute My judgments
3. Keep all My commandments to walk in them.
13. (a)And
I will dwell among the children of Israel, and (b)will
not forsake my people Israel.
(a)
God laid down the conditions on which He would dwell among Israel and not
forsake them; and the fact that He ceased to dwell with them and forsook
them is proof that they did nogt continue meeting the conditions. God
would have proved himself untrue before all beings if He had continued His grace
with them when they sinned; and so it is today. If a believer sins
God is obligated to imput it to him. There is no place in Christ or out of
Him where one is not held responsible and where he does not incure the death
penalty for breaking the new conenant laws when sin is committed (Mk. 7:19 - 21;
Rom. 1:18 - 32; 6:1 - 23; 8:12 - 13: 1 Cor. 3:16 - 17;
6:9 - 11; Gal. 5:10 - 21: Col. 3:5 - 10)
(b) Just as God
promised not to forsake Israel as long as they lived true to Him, so He also
promised to forsake them when they sinned, regardless of past grace and
blessings.
14. So Solomon (c)built
the house and finished it.
(c)
The 2nd time it is stated here that he built the house and finished it (v 9,
14).
V - 9 refers to the external shell
of the temple, and v 14 to the internal finishing of it.
G Inside cedar walls
15. And he built the (d)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.
(d)
All the inside walls, the ceiling, and the floors of the temple were covered
with cedar and fir or juniper boards (v 15).
H Dimensions and decorations of the Holy of Holies and the Holy
Place (v 2:20)
16. And he built (e)twenty
cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls he covered with
boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle,
even for the most holy place.
(e) 20 cubits - 41
ft. 8 in. square for the most holy place (v 16).
17. And the house, that is, the temple before it, was (f)forty cubits long.
(f)
40 cubits - 83 ft. 4 in. long and 20 cubits - 41 ft. 8 in. wide for the holy
place.
18. And the cedar of the house within was (g)carved with knops and open flowers: all was
cedar; there was no stones seen.
(g) The cedar of
the walls of the holy and most holy places was carved with knops and
flowers. The boards fully covered the inside so that no stone of the walls
was seen and they were covered with pure gold. The altar alsowas covered
with gold, as well as the partition between the holy and most holy places (v 18
- 22)
19. And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to
set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
20. And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in
length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in height therof:
and so covered the altar was of cedar.
21. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pur gold:
and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he
overlaid it with pure gold.
22. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until
hehad finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the orqcle
he overlaid with gold.
I Two cherubims in the Holy of Holies
23. And within the oracle he made (h)two cherubims of olive tree, each ten
cubits high.
(h) 2 cherubims of
olive wood measuring 10 cubits - 20 ft. 10 in. high, with each wing measuring 5
cubits - 10 ft. 5 in. making a full wing spread of 10 cubits or 20 ft. 10 in.,
were made and set up in the most holy place side by side woth the outer wings
touching th outside walls and the inner ones touching each other. These
were overlaid with gold (v 23 - 28).
24. 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. And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the
cherubims were of one measure and one size.
26. The height of the one cherubim was ten cubits, and
so was it of the other cherub.
27. And he set the cherubims within the inner house:
and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wings 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. And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
J Walls and floor decorations
29. And he (a)carved all the walls of the house round
about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within
and without.
(a)
The walls all around the inner and outer rooms, theholy and most holy places,
were carved with figures of cherubims, palm trees, and open flowers; and
the floor was covered with gold (v 29 - 30).
30. And the loor of the house he overlaid with gold,
within and without.
K Doors of the Holy of Holies
31. And for the entering of the oracle he make (b)doors of olive tree: the lintel and
side posts were a fifth part of the wall.
(b) The two doors
of the most holy place were made of olive wood, carved with cherubim, palm
trees, and open flowers, and covered with gold (v 31 - 32). They formed a
fifth part of the wall or about 8 1/2 ft. 8 in. wall (v 31). Each of the 2
doors was possibly 3 1/2 ft. wide which would leave some room for posts and
lintels.
32. The two doors also were of olive tree; and he
carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers,
andoverlaid them oith gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.
33. So also made he for (c)the door of the temple posts of olive tree,
a fourth part of the wall.
(c)
The two folding doors between the porch and the most holy place, with the posts
and lintels, took up 1/4 of the wall. They were made of olive wood, carved
with cherubims, palm trees, and open flowers, and covered with gold. This
10 ft. 8 in. space for the 2 folding doors would make each opening at least
about 4 1/2 ft. (v 33 - 35).
34. 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. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and
open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.
L The inner court
36. And he built the (d)inner
court with (e)three
rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.
(d) The inner
court. An outer court is mentioned in 2 Ch. 4:9. The inner
courtwas perhaps the same as the higher court of Jer. 36:10, being raised above
the outer one a few steps. It seems the inner court surrounded the
temple building and was perhaps double the size of the temple all the way
around. The outside width of the temple was no doubt 40 cubits - 104 ft. 2
in. (We cannot be certain because we do not know how thick the walls were).
If double, the inner court then, extended 208 ft. 4 in. from the temple itself
on all sides. There may have even been more space in front to make room
for the brazen altar and sacrifices. The outer court was evidently much
larger, measuring perhaps 500 - 750 feet.
(e) There were
three rows of stone in the inner court walls and a row of cedar beams (v 36).
This does not tell us how wide thestones were, but we know they were seen only
on the outside of the court walls. Inside there was a covering of cedar.
M The temple finished
37. In the fourth year was the foundation of the house
of the Lord (f)laid,
in the month Zif:
(f) The foundation
was laid in the mont of Zif, the 2nd month or May(v 1, 37), and the temple was
finished in the 8th month, Bul or November, 7 years and 6 monthes later (v 38).
It was dedicated in the 7th month or October (8:2), which means it took 11
months to complete the furnishings unless the people waited purposely until the
next feast of tabernacles for lthe dedication. Compare this with the years
Solomon took to build his own house - 13 years in all or 6 more than the time
spent on the temple (7:1).
We
have a fair idea of what it would cost to build such a temple - more than
$174,000,000,000.00; and for the two buildings, over
$261,000,000,000.00.
38. And in the eleventh
year, in the mont Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished
throughout all the parts therof, and according to all the fashions of it.
So was he seven years in building it.
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