{"commentary":{"id":"john-gill","name":"John Gill Bible Commentary","website":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gill_(theologian)","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/","licenseNotes":null,"licenseNotice":null,"englishName":"John Gill Bible Commentary","language":"eng","textDirection":"rtl","sha256":"f6fcfd6c3a726dc834cfaf1ae1cd0bf49bffb88c1246ac3500699e8af7be71a5","availableFormats":["json"],"listOfBooksApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/books.json","listOfProfilesApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/profiles.json","numberOfBooks":66,"totalNumberOfChapters":1189,"totalNumberOfVerses":29707,"totalNumberOfProfiles":0,"languageName":"English","languageEnglishName":"English"},"book":{"id":"1KI","commentaryId":"john-gill","name":"1 Kings","commonName":"1 Kings","introduction":"INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS \n\nThis, and the following book, properly are but one book, divided into two parts, and went with the Jews under the common name of Kings. This, in the Syriac version, is called the Book of Kings; and in the Arabic version, the Book of Solomon, the Son of David the Prophet, because it begins with his reign upon the death of his father; and, in the Vulgate Latin version, the Third Book of Kings, the two preceding books of Samuel being sometimes called the First and Second Books of Kings, they containing the reigns of Saul and David; and in the Septuagint version both this and the following book are called Kingdoms, because they treat of the kingdom of Israel and Judah, after the division in the times of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and of the several kings of them; as of Solomon before the division, so afterwards of the kings of Judah; Rehoboam, Abijam, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah or Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah; and of the kings of Israel, Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the son of Joash, Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea; so that these books may, with great propriety, be called the books or histories of the kings in the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel: who they were written by, is not easy to say; some think they were written by piecemeal by the prophets that lived in the several reigns successively, as Nathan, Ahijah the Shilonite, Iddo, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and afterwards put together by an inspired writer. The Jews commonly say (a), that Jeremiah wrote the book of the Kings, by which they mean this, and the following book; though very probably they were written by Ezra, since the history in them is carried down to the liberty granted to Jehoiachin in Babylon; but that Ezra was the writer of all the preceding historical books, and even of the Pentateuch, cannot be admitted, which is the conceit of Spinosa (b); part of whose tract is just now republished by somebody, word for word, under a title as in the margin (c); but that Ezra was not the writer of the Pentateuch is clear, since he refers to it as written by Moses, and as the rule of religion and worship in his times, Ezr 3:2; and it is certain these writings were in being in the times of Josiah, Amaziah, Joash, yea, of David, and even of Joshua, Ch2 34:14; and as for the book of Joshua, that also was written long before Ezra's time; it must be written long before the times of David, before the Jebusites were expelled from Jerusalem, since the writer of it says, that they dwelt there in his days, Jos 15:63; the book of Judges must be written before the times of Samuel and David, since the former refers to the annals of it, Sa1 12:9; and the latter alludes to some passages in it, Psa 68:7; see Jdg 5:4; and a speech of Joab's, Sa2 11:21, shows it to be an history then extant: to which may be added, that in it Jerusalem is called Jebus, Jdg 19:10; which it never was, after it was taken by David out of the hands of the Jebusites, Sa2 5:6; the book of Ruth very probably was written by Samuel; had it been of a later date, or written by Ezra, the genealogy with which it concludes, would doubtless have been carried further than to David: the Book of Samuel, and particularly the song of Hannah in it, were written in all probability before the penning of the hundred thirteenth psalm, Psa 113:1, in which some expressions seem to be taken from it wherefore, though the two books of Kings may be allowed to be written or compiled by Ezra, the ten preceding ones cannot be assigned to him: however, there is no room to doubt of the divine authority of these two books, when the honour our Lord has done them is observed, by quoting or referring to several histories in them; as to the account of the queen of Sheba coming to hear the wisdom of Solomon; of the famine in the times of Elijah; and of that prophet being sent to the widow of Sarepta, and of the cleansing of Naaman the Syrian in the times of Elisha, Mat 12:42 from Kg1 17:1 Kg2 5:10; to which may be added, the quotations and references made by the apostles to passages in them, as by the Apostle Paul in Rom 11:2 from Kg1 19:14 where this book is expressly called the Scripture; and by the Apostle James, Jam 5:17; who manifestly refers to Kg1 17:1; and there are various things in this part of Scripture, which are confirmed by the testimonies of Heathen writers, as will be observed in the exposition of it. The use of these books is to carry on the history of the Jewish nation, to show the state of the church of God in those times, and his providential care of it amidst all the changes and vicissitudes in the state; and, above all, to transmit to us the true genealogy of the Messiah, which serves to confirm the Evangelist Matthew's account of it. \n\n(a) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 15. 1. (b) Tractat. Theolog. Politic. c. 8. & 9. p. 150, &c. (c) Tractatus de Primis 12. Vet. Test. Lib. &c. Londini 1763. \n\n\n\nNext: 1 Kings Chapter 1\n\n","order":11,"numberOfChapters":22,"sha256":"4cc492dfbdd9128b7270a3a9d01cba49ad440540726f4cc815e2c87b3be60396","firstChapterNumber":1,"firstChapterApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/1KI/1.json","firstChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"john-gill","book":"1KI","chapter":1},"lastChapterNumber":22,"lastChapterApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/1KI/22.json","lastChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"john-gill","book":"1KI","chapter":22},"totalNumberOfVerses":811},"chapter":{"number":6,"content":[{"type":"verse","number":1,"content":["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,.... The Tyrian writers (k) make it five hundred sixty years from hence; but this no doubt is tightest, which Junius reckons thus; forty years Israel were in the wilderness, seventeen under Joshua, two hundred ninety nine under the judges, eighty under Eli, Samuel, and Saul, forty under David, add to which the four years of Solomon, and they make four hundred eighty (l); they are somewhat differently reckoned by others (m) from the coming out of Egypt to Joshua forty years, from thence to the first servitude under Cushan twenty five, from thence to the death of Abimelech two hundred fifty six, under Thola twenty three, from thence to the Ammonitish servitude four, under that eighteen, under the judges, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, thirty one, Samuel and Saul forty, David forty, and Solomon three, in all four hundred eighty;\n\nin the, fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel; when he was clear of all disturbers of his government, and had got all things ready for the building of the temple, and had gathered together gold and silver enough of his own to defray the expenses; for, as for what David gave him, he put that into the treasury of the Lord's house, see 1 Kings 7:51;\n\nin the month Zif, which is the second month; and so must be Jiar, for Abib or Nisan was the first, and Jiar was the second, which answered to part of our April and part of May; called Zif either from the splendour of the sun, being now higher, and so the greater; or from the trees and flowers of the field being in all their glory; and so the Targum here calls it, the month of splendour of flowers: and it was on the second day of it,\n\nthat he began to build the house of the Lord: and a very fit and proper season of the year it was to begin it in, see 2 Chronicles 3:2.\n\n(k) Apud Theophil. ad Autolyc. l. 3. p. 131. (l) So Gerard. Voss. Chron. Sacr. Isagoge, dissert. 8. c. 7. p. 128. (m) Vid. Vitring. Hypotypos. Hist. Sacr. p. 43. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":2,"content":["And the house which King Solomon built for the Lord,.... For his worship, honour, and glory:\n\nthe length thereof was threescore cubits; sixty cubits from east to west, including the holy place and the most holy place; the holy place was forty cubits, and the most holy place twenty; the same measure, as to length, Eupolemus, an Heathen writer (n), gives of the temple, but is mistaken in the other measures:\n\nand the breadth thereof twenty cubits; from north to south:\n\nand the height thereof thirty cubits; this must be understood of the holy place, for the oracle or most holy place was but twenty cubits high, 1 Kings 6:20; though the holy place, with the chambers that were over it, which were ninety cubits, three stories high, was in all an hundred twenty cubits, 2 Chronicles 3:4; some restrain it to the porch only, which stood at the end, like one of our high steeples, as they think.\n\n(n) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 34. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":3,"content":["And the porch before the temple of the house,.... Which stood at the east end of it:\n\ntwenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; which was from north to south, and of the same dimension, so that they exactly answered each other:\n\nand ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house; which being added to it, make the whole of the building, most holy place, holy place, and porch, seventy cubits; the height of the porch is not here given, but in 2 Chronicles 3:4; where it is said to be an hundred twenty cubits high, equal to the height of the house, with the chambers over it; but there the breadth of the porch is not given, as it is here; by these dimensions we may observe the difference between the tabernacle and the temple; the temple was twice as long, and as broad, and thrice as high as that, see Exodus 26:8. This fabric was an emblem of the church of God, sometimes called an holy temple, and the temple of the living God, 2 Corinthians 6:16. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":4,"content":["And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. Or \"open, shut\" (o), which could be both, having shutters to them, to open or shut at pleasure; windows which they could open, and look through at them, or shut when they pleased; the Targum is,\n\n\"open within, and shut without;''\n\nor, as others understand it, they were wide within, and narrow without; by being narrow without, the house was preserved from bad weather, as well as could not so easily be looked into by those without; and by being broader within, the light that was let in spread itself within the house; which some interpret only of the holy place, the most holy place having, as they suppose, no windows in it, which yet is not certain: now these windows may denote the word and ordinances of the church of God, whereby light is communicated to men; which in the present state is but narrow or small, in comparison of the new Jerusalem church state, and the ultimate glory; and especially so it was under the legal dispensation, which was very obscure; see Sol 2:9 Isaiah 55:8.\n\n(o)  \"apertas clausas\", Vatablus; \"perspectui accommodas, clausas\", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":5,"content":["And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about,.... Or near it, as Jarchi interprets it, for the beams of them were not fastened in in it, 1 Kings 6:6; or rather \"upon\" it (p); and when they are said to be round about the house, it must be understood of the two sides, north and south, and of the west end only, for at the east end, where the porch was, there were none:\n\nagainst the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle; that is, both of the holy and the most holy place:\n\nand he made chambers round about; the said buildings; which is repeated that it might be observed; how many chambers there were, is not said; Josephus says (q) there were thirty of them, and over them others of the same measure and number, and over them others also; so that there were three stories of them, and in all ninety; and which is countenanced by what follows in 1 Kings 6:6, and agrees with Ezekiel 41:6; the Jewish doctors say (r), there were thirty eight of them, fifteen on the north, fifteen on the south, and eight on the west; they that were to the north and south were five upon five, and five over them; and they that were to the west were three upon three, and two over them; upper rooms or chambers were rare in Heathen temples (s): these chambers were for the priests, where they lodged and laid up their garments, and ate their holy things; and were emblems of congregated churches, where the true members thereof, who are priests to God, have communion with him, and partake of divine things.\n\n(p)  \"super parietem\", V. L. Montanus. (q) Antiqu. l. 8. c. 3. sect. 2.((r) Misn. Middot, c. 4. sect. 3.((s) Pausan. Laconic. sive. l. 3. p. 190. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":6,"content":["And the nethermost chamber was five cubits broad,.... The nethermost row of them, which were upon the first floor:\n\nand the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; so that the middlemost was a cubit larger than the lowest, and the highest a cubit larger than that: the reason of which was,\n\nfor without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about; or rebatements; the thickness of the wall, as it was raised, became narrower at the height of every five cubits; thus the wall being supposed to be six cubits broad, as in Ezekiel 41:5; when it came to be five cubits high, it was narrowed a cubit, which left a projection, rebatement, or bench for the beams of the first chambers to be laid upon, which made the second row of chambers broader by a cubit; and the same being observed in the next story, made the highest a cubit broader than the middlemost: and this was done,\n\nthat the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house; or be inserted into them, which could not be done without making holes in it; and these holes could not be made without an iron instrument, and which was not to be used, as the next words show; whereas by the above method the beams of the chambers could be laid upon the buttresses, benches, or rebatements left, without the use of any: the gradual enlargement of these chambers, as they rose higher, may denote the enlargement of the church of God, both as to numbers, gifts, and grace, the nearer it comes to the heavenly state, as in the spiritual and personal reign of Christ. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":7,"content":["And the house, when it was in building,.... And all the while it was building:\n\nwas built of stone made ready before it was brought thither; being hewn or squared by the builders and stonesquarers of Solomon and Hiram, 1 Kings 5:18; wherefore the builders had nothing more to do than to lay them in their proper places in the building; it was built with these stones quite up to the ceiling, as Josephus says (t); and these so admirably polished, and so artificially joined together, that not the least sign of an axe, or of any working tool, could be discerned in them:\n\nso that there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron, heard in the house while it was in building; the first of these observations shows, that none are to be laid in the spiritual building of the church, but such as are first hewed and squared by the Spirit, grace, and word of God: or who have an experience of the grace of God, are sound in the faith, and of becoming lives and good conduct; and the other denotes, that such as are therein, whether ministers or members, should do all they do for the edification of the church in a quiet and peaceable manner, without clamour, contention, fights, and tumults.\n\n(t) Antiqu. l. 8. c. 3. sect. 2. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":8,"content":["The door of the middle chamber was in the right side of the house,.... The south side of it:\n\nand they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber; which were outside the chambers, and which winded about for the sake of taking up less room, and which led up to the door of the middle chamber, on the south of which they went into it; according to the Vulgate Latin and Tigurine versions, they went up in the forth of a cockle, or the shell of a snail; in like manner as was the ascent of the temple of Pan at Alexandria, as Strabo (u) relates:\n\nand out of the middle into the third; the third chamber, and by winding stairs up to that; and the like might be on the north side, though not expressed, and on the west: the Jews say (w), that in the second temple, these winding stairs went from the northeast to the northwest, whereby they went up to the roof of the chambers, and so to the south and west; with this compare Ezekiel 41:7; and which may represent the windings and turnings of God's people in this present state, their many afflictions and tribulations, through which they pass from one state to another.\n\n(u) Geograph. l. 17. p. 547. (w) Misn. Middot, c. 4. sect. 5. See Lightfoot's Prospect of the Temple, &c. c. 12. p. 1071. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":9,"content":["So he built the house, and finished it,.... The body of it, the walls of the holy and most holy place, with the chambers on the sides of them, and the porch at the end that led into them:\n\nand covered the house with beams and boards of cedar; with hollow boards, as the Targum, which formed an arch ceiling to it, and made it look very grand and beautiful; and then over them were laid beams and planks of cedar, not properly as a flat roof to it, but rather as a flooring for other buildings; for upon this, as in 1 Kings 6:10, there were chambers built. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":10,"content":["And then he built chambers against all the house five cubits high,.... Which some understand of the same chambers in 1 Kings 6:5; here made mention of again for the sake of giving the height of them, not before given; but they were built against, or upon the wall of the house, these against, or rather upon the whole house itself; and are the chambers referred to; see Gill on 1 Kings 6:2; which consisting of three stories of ninety cubits, raised the whole house to an equal height with the porch, 2 Chronicles 3:4; as is there intended (x); these are the upper chambers in 2 Chronicles 3:9; and they rested on the house with timber of cedar; or on the timber of cedar, the beams of cedar, with which the house was covered, as in 1 Kings 6:9; on these the chambers rested, being built upon them; and in one of these chambers the disciples might be after Christ's ascension, Acts 1:13.\n\n(x) Vid. Joseph. Antiqu. ut supra. (l. 8. c. 3. sect. 2.) \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":11,"content":["And the word of the Lord came to Solomon,.... The word of prophecy, as the Targum, foretelling what would be the case of this building, according to the obedience or disobedience of him and the people of Israel; which was brought to him either by an impulse of the Spirit of God upon him; or by the hand of a prophet, as Kimchi thinks; and some of the Jewish writers (y), as he particularly, name Ahijah the Shilonite as the prophet that was sent with this message to him:\n\nsaying, as follows.\n\n(y) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 20. p. 53. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":12,"content":["Concerning this house which thou art in building,.... Or with respect to that, these things are to be said as from the Lord:\n\nif thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; even all the laws of God, moral, ceremonial, and judicial; and this respects not only Solomon personally, but his successors, and even all the people of Israel:\n\nthen will I perform my covenant with thee, which I spake unto David thy father; by Nathan the prophet; not only that he should build an house for God, which should be a settled dwelling place, but that his own house and kingdom should be established for a long time to come, and his posterity should enjoy the presence of God in this house, provided regard was had to the precepts and ordinances of the Lord, 2 Samuel 7:12. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":13,"content":["And I will dwell among the children of Israel,.... In this house now building, and which was in the middle of the land, and where he would meet with them, and accept their sacrifices, not only of slain beasts, but of prayer and praise:\n\nand will not forsake my people Israel; and leave them to the mercy of their enemies, and to be carried captive by them, but protect and defend them. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":14,"content":["So Solomon built the house, and finished it. He went on with it until he had completed it, animated and encouraged by the promise of the divine Presence in it, provided a proper regard was had to the will and ways of God. Abarbinel thinks the above message was sent him in the midst of his work, to strengthen and caution him from a dependence on the continuance of the fabric, because of the strength of it; since its perpetuity depended on his, his successors', and the people's conduct and behaviour; wherefore conscious to himself of his own integrity, and hoping well of posterity, he was not discouraged, but proceeded in his undertaking until he had brought it to perfection. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":15,"content":["And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar,.... For as yet he had only built the stone walls of it without, but now he wainscotted it with cedar boards: and not only them, but\n\nboth the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling; or from \"the floor of the house unto the walls of the ceiling\"; that is, from the floor, including that, to the walls on each side, reaching up to the ceiling,\n\nhe covered them on the inside with wood: of one sort or another, cedar or fir, or both: particularly he\n\ncovered the floor of the house with planks of fir: which Hiram sent him, 1 Kings 5:8; which is differently interpreted; by Josephus cypress; by others, as the Tigurine version, pine tree wood; it is very probable it was of the cedar kind, and not the floor only, but the ceiling also, 2 Chronicles 3:5. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":16,"content":["And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house,.... At the end or extremity of it, as the Targum; that is, he built the most holy place, which was twenty two cubits long, at the end of the holy place, which he wainscotted as the other:\n\nboth the floor and the walls with boards of cedar; or from the floor, including that, to the walls on each side, from wall to wall, and taking in them, they were all lined with cedar wood:\n\nhe even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place; which explains what building is spoken of, and that the inside of that was covered with cedar from bottom to top. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":17,"content":["And the house, that is, the temple before it,.... The holy place, which was before the of holies:\n\nwas forty cubits long; and which, with the most holy place, being twenty cubits, as in the preceding verse, made the length of the whole house sixty cubits, as in 1 Kings 6:2. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":18,"content":["And the cedar of the house within,.... With which the inside of the place was lined:\n\nwas carved with knops; of an oval form; so the Targum says, they had the appearance of eggs; and Ben Gersom likewise, that they were in the form of eggs:\n\nand open flowers; not in the figure of buds, but flowers blown, and open, as lilies and others; so the Targum:\n\nall was cedar; the wainscotting of the house, the sides of it at least, if not the floor, and the carved work of it; and this was done, that the gold might be laid upon it, which could not be done on stone as on wood: and all was so covered, that\n\nthere was no stone seen; of which the outward walls were built: all this denotes the inward beauty of the church, and the curious workmanship of the Spirit of God in the hearts of his people, whereby they become all glorious within, adorned with the graces of the blessed Spirit, their stony hearts being kept out of sight, yea, taken away. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":19,"content":["And the oracle he prepared in the house within,.... In the innermost part of the house he fitted up the oracle, or speaking place, from whence the Lord spake and gave answer, to receive what was to be put into it: particularly\n\nto set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord; even the very same that Moses made, Exodus 37:1, for which David had pitched a tent in Zion, 1 Chronicles 15:1, and where it now was; for Solomon made no new ark. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":20,"content":["And the oracle in the forepart,.... Which stood in the forepart of the temple, before a man's face as he entered into it, and went on; or the forepart of the holy of holies, next to the holy place, was of the dimensions as follows, when the back part of it might be higher at least, and be equal to the holy place, even thirty feet; the forepart being lower, and left open to let in the light of the candlesticks, and the smoke of the incense, out of the holy place: this\n\nwas twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and was a perfect square, and as the most holy place may be an emblem of the church triumphant, it may denote the perfection of its heavenly state; so the new Jerusalem is a foursquare, Revelation 21:16;\n\nand he overlaid it with pure gold; make it rich, glorious, and magnificent, and may denote the glory of the heavenly state, Revelation 21:21; and so Florus (z), the Roman historian, calls it the golden heaven, as it were, into which Pompey went, and saw the great secret of the Jewish nation, the ark:\n\nand so covered the altar which was of cedar; the altar of incense, which is here mentioned, because it was near the most holy place, 1 Kings 6:22; this altar by Moses was made of shittim wood, but Solomon's was of cedar it seems; unless, as the words will bear to be rendered, \"he covered the altar with cedar\" (a); though made of shittim wood, it had a covering of cedar over it; or if of stone, such a covering was on it, that it might better receive the gold which was afterwards put upon it.\n\n(z) De Gest. Roman. l. 3. c. 5. (a)  \"operuit cedro\", Montanus. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":21,"content":["So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold,.... The inside of the holy of holies with fine gold, which gold amounted to six hundred talents, 2 Chronicles 3:8; and these to 7,332,000 ducats of gold, or 3,045,000 pounds sterling:\n\nand he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; between the holy and the most holy, and were instead of a vail in the tabernacle of Moses between them; here was also a vail beside the partition made by chains of gold across the oracle; for the partition was a wall of the thickness of a cubit, as Maimonides (b) says; and in 2 Chronicles 3:14 express mention is made of a vail of blue, &c. and in imitation of this had the Heathens their deities within vails (c):\n\nand he overlaid it with gold; the partition wall.\n\n(b) Hilchot Beth Habechirah, c. 4. sect. 2.((c) Apulei Metamorph. l. xi. p. 176. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":22,"content":["And the whole house he overlaid with gold,.... Both the holy place, and the most holy place:\n\nuntil he had finished all the house; in this splendid and glorious manner:\n\nalso the whole altar that was by the oracle; the altar of incense, which stood just before the entrance into the oracle, or most holy place:\n\nhe overlaid with gold; he overlaid it all over with gold; hence it is called the golden altar, and was an emblem of the excellent and effectual mediation and intercession of Christ, Revelation 8:3. Agreeably to this account Eupolemus, an Heathen writer (d) testifies, that the whole house, from the floor to the tool, was covered with gold, as well as with cedar and cypress wood, that the stonework might not appear; and so the capitol at Rome, perhaps in imitation of this temple, its roofs and tiles were glided with gold (e); a magnificent temple, like this, was at Upsal in Switzerland, as Olaus Magnus relates (f).\n\n(d) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 34. p. 450. (e) Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 33. c. 3. Vid. Rycquium de Capitol. Roman. c. 16. (f) De Ritu Gent. Septent. l. 3. c. 5. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":23,"content":["And within the oracle he made two cherubim of olive tree,.... Or of the oil tree, as in Isaiah 41:19; see Nehemiah 8:15; for there are other trees besides olives, out of which oil is pressed, as pine trees, cypress trees, &c. and which some think are here meant; though the Targum interprets it of the olive tree: these cherubim are different from those made by Moses, and were besides them; these were larger than they; these were made of olive wood, they of gold; these stood on the floor of the house, they at the two ends of the mercy seat, and were made out of it, and were with it in this holy place in Solomon's temple: these two cherubim may be emblems of the angels in their greatness and glory, who are always in the presence of God, behold his face, and wait to do his will; or it may be rather of the two witnesses, said to be the two olive trees standing before the God of the whole earth, Revelation 11:3; who have boldness to enter into the holiest of all, and have sight and knowledge of the mysteries of the ark and mercy seat; have their commission from heaven, and speak according to the oracles of God; these are said to be of image work, 2 Chronicles 3:10; that is, of various forms, as the thee of a man, a lion, an ox, and eagle, Ezekiel 1:10. Dr. Lightfoot thinks (g) they resembled the two Testaments, which in their beginning and end reach the two sides of the world, the creation and the last judgment, and in the middle do sweetly join the one to the other:\n\neach ten cubits high; half as high as the most holy place; emblems either of the high angels, those thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, or of men of uncommon size as to their gifts and grace.\n\n(g) Prospect of the Temple, c. 15. sect. 4. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":24,"content":["And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub,.... When stretched out on one side:\n\nand five cubits the other wing of the cherub; on the other side him:\n\nfrom the uttermost part of the one wing, to the uttermost part of the other wing, were ten cubits; half the breadth of the house. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":25,"content":["And the other cherub was ten cubits,.... That is, its wings stretched out measured so many cubits, as did those of the other:\n\nboth the cherubim were of one measure, and of one size; of the same height and stature, of the same breadth of their wings, and of the same bulk of their bodies; they were of \"image work\"; 2 Chronicles 3:10; very probably in the form of men: and this uniformity may denote the perfect agreement of angels; or else the consent of the true faithful witnesses of Christ in all ages, who have all agreed in the person, office, and grace of Christ, as represented by the mercy seat and ark, which these cherubim covered with their wings. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":26,"content":["The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. Which is repeated from 1 Kings 6:23; that it might be observed, being of an extraordinary size. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":27,"content":["And he set the cherubim within the inner house,.... The holy of holies:\n\nand they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims; the carvers that framed them, they wrought them in that form; or impersonally, the wings of the cherubim were stretched out; this was the position of them, they overshadowed and covered the mercy seat and ark, and even the other two cherubim that were at the ends of the mercy seat:\n\nso that the wing of the one touched the one wall; the southern wall:\n\nand the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; the northern wall; they reached from wall to wall, even the whole breadth of the house, which was twenty cubits, as their wings thus spread were, 1 Kings 6:24;\n\nand their wings touched one another in the midst of the house; which was ten cubits, and that was the spread of the wings of each of them; so that the wing of the right side of the one, stretched out, touched the wing of the left side of the other fit the same position; in 2 Chronicles 3:13; their faces are said to be \"inward\", or \"toward the house\"; either toward the holy place, and so faced those that came into that and saw them; or towards the inner part of the holy of holies, their backs being to the holy place, or their faces were inward, and looked obliquely to each other. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":28,"content":["And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. Which may denote the purity and excellency of angels; or the precious gifts and graces of the Spirit, with which the witnesses of Christ are adorned. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":29,"content":["And he carved all the walls of the house about with carved figures of cherubim, and palm trees, and open flowers,.... That is, of palm trees, those in full blow: if the cherubim are an emblem of angels, the palm trees fitly enough represent just and upright men, who both appear in the church of God below, and in heaven above; in both which are to be seen the open and full-blown flowers of divine grace, especially in the latter state:\n\nwithin and without; on the walls of the most holy place, both within and without; and so upon the walls of the holy place, in each of which were these sculptures, which were very ornamental, and were emblematical; see Ezekiel 41:17. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":30,"content":["And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold within and without. Both the floor of the holy place, and of the holy of holies; so the street of the new Jerusalem is said to be pure gold, Revelation 21:21; this expresses the purity and magnificence of it, particularly the holy conversation of them that dwell in the church, in heaven, signified hereby. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":31,"content":["And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree,.... The door of the holy of holies was a two leaved or folding door, made of olive wood; typical of Christ, the door into the church above and below, the way to heaven and eternal life, the true olive tree:\n\nthe lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall; four cubits, twenty cubits being the breadth of the oracle; or the lintel was four cubits, twenty being the height of it also, 1 Kings 6:20. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":32,"content":["The two doors also were of olive tree,.... The two leaves of the door, as before observed, repeated for the sake of the ornament of them, as follows:\n\nand he carved upon them carvings of cherubims, and palm trees, and open flowers; as upon the walls, 1 Kings 6:29;\n\nand overlaid them with gold; the two doors:\n\nand spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees; thin plates of gold. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":33,"content":["So also made he for the door of the temple,.... The holy place:\n\nposts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall; which was five cubits, its breadth being twenty, 1 Kings 6:20; this door was a cubit wider than that into the most holy place, 1 Kings 6:31, more entering into the one than into the other; as more go into the church on earth than into the heavenly glory. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":34,"content":["And the two doors were of fir tree,.... the posts were of olive, but the doors of fir, and they were both folding doors, as appears by what follows:\n\nthe two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding; which, taking up less room, made the passage wider, see Ezekiel 41:24. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":35,"content":["And he carved thereon cherubims, and palm trees, and open flowers,.... As upon the doors of the most holy place, 1 Kings 6:32; see Ezekiel 41:25;\n\nand covered them with gold, fitted upon the carved work; plates of gold were fitted, as to the dimensions of them, to the cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":36,"content":["And he built the inner court,.... The court of the priests, 2 Chronicles 4:9; so called to distinguish it from the outer court, where the people assembled: this was built\n\nwith three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams; the rows of stones were one upon another, topped with a row of cedar beams; or rather the cedar was a lining to the stones; and the whole is supposed to be about three cubits high, and was so low, that the people in the outward court might see priests ministering for them, and could converse with them; under the second temple, as Maimonides (h) says, the court of the priests was higher than that of the court of Israel two cubits and an half, called the great court, for which doors were made, and those overlaid with brass, 2 Chronicles 4:9.\n\n(h) Hilchot Beth Habechirah, c. 6. sect. 3. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":37,"content":["In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the Lord laid,.... The fourth year of Solomon's reign:\n\nin the month Zif; See Gill on 1 Kings 6:1. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":38,"content":["In the eleventh year,.... That is, of the reign of Solomon:\n\nin the month Bul, which is the eighth month; from the month Abib or Nisan; this month answers to part of our October, and part of November; it is the same month sometimes called Marchesvan; it had the name of Bul, because of the rains which usually fell in this month, as Kimchi thinks, like a flood; and Noah's flood is called Mabbul, from the same root (i), and when all the fruits were withered, and the leaves were fallen from the trees; or, as Jarchi supposes, because the grass was consumed in the field, and they were obliged to mix provender for cattle, deriving the word from another root (k): in this month\n\nwas the house finished throughout all the parts thereof; the porch, the holy place, and holy of holies, with all the chambers and courts belonging to it:\n\nand according to all the fashion of it; which David had given to Solomon, to frame it by:\n\nso he was seven years in building it; and six months, which are not mentioned, only the round number is given, as appears by comparing it with 1 Kings 6:1.\n\n(i) \"concidit\", Buxtorf. (k) \"consumpsit, vel\" \"miscuit\", ib. \n"]}]},"thisChapterLink":"/api/c/john-gill/1KI/6.json","thisChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"john-gill","book":"1KI","chapter":6},"nextChapterApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/1KI/7.json","nextChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"john-gill","book":"1KI","chapter":7},"previousChapterApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/1KI/5.json","previousChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"john-gill","book":"1KI","chapter":5},"numberOfVerses":38}