1 Kings 6
BSASBSolomon builds the temple in Jerusalem, a house for the LORD’s name, using stone, cedar, olive wood and gold. In the middle of the work God speaks, promising to dwell among His people if they obey. The chapter ends with the temple finished after seven years.
1 Kings 6:1
The writer dates the temple from Israel’s rescue out of Egypt. The building is tied to the exodus: a redeemed people now make a place for the God who redeemed them. Work began in Solomon’s fourth year.
BSA: come out (“been delivered, set free”): Israel’s leaving Egypt was a rescue, so the temple is built as a response to deliverance.
See also: Exodus 12:51.
1 Kings 6:2
The main building was about 90 feet long, 30 wide and 45 high, using a cubit of roughly a forearm’s length. It was twice the length and breadth of the old tabernacle. It was a modest size, built to be rich and beautiful rather than huge.
BSA: cubits (“unit of measurement, about the length of a forearm”): The measure came from the human body, so the house is sized to people who come to worship.
1 Kings 6:3
A covered porch stood at the front, as wide as the house and ten cubits deep. Worshipers passed through it from the open courtyard toward the holy rooms. It is a threshold between the ordinary world and God’s house.
BSA: portico (“porch, entrance room”): It is a room of entry, a place of approach before one goes further in.
Hebrew: אוּלָם (ʼulām, H197) — “porch, vestibule.” This is the usual Hebrew word for the entrance hall of the temple. It marks the first step in approaching God’s presence.
1 Kings 6:4
The temple had narrow windows set high in the walls. The exact Hebrew wording is uncertain, but they were small, framed openings. They let in some light while keeping the inside quiet and set apart.
BSA: narrow (“with fixed lattice-work”): The openings may have been fitted with fixed frames or grilles, not wide-open windows.
1 Kings 6:5-6
Along the sides and back, Solomon built three stories of small rooms, each wider than the one below: five, six and seven cubits. These probably served for storage and temple service. The upper floors rested on ledges in the outer wall, so no beams pierced the temple wall itself.
BSA: ledges (“rests, beams”): The floors rested on steps in the wall, so the sacred wall stayed whole.
1 Kings 6:7
The stones were shaped at the quarry, so no hammer or iron tool was heard on the temple site. The house of the God of peace went up quietly and in order. Whatever was rough was dealt with elsewhere, so that the place of worship was calm.
BSA: finished (“complete, whole”): The stones arrived ready, whole and complete, needing no further work on site. iron (“strong, harsh”): Iron tools suggest harsh force, which was kept away from the building of God’s house.
Hebrew: שְׁלֵמָה (shᵉlēmāh, H8010) — “whole, complete, finished.” It is related to the word shalom and to Solomon’s own name. The stones were whole and at peace before they were set in place.
See also: Deuteronomy 27:5-6.
1 Kings 6:8
The door to the side rooms was on the south side. A winding stair led up to the middle and third floors. These are practical details, but they show how carefully the house was planned.
BSA: stairway (“winding stairs, spiral staircase”): It was likely a turning stair, reaching the upper floors in a small space.
1 Kings 6:9-10
Solomon finished the main structure and roofed it with beams and planks of cedar. The side chambers, each five cubits high, were fastened to the temple with cedar beams. Cedar from Lebanon was prized for its strength and fragrance.
BSA: cedar (“a strong and durable wood”): The best wood was chosen so the house would last.
1 Kings 6:11-12
In the middle of the building, God speaks to Solomon. Before the temple is complete He reminds the king that a fine building is not enough. God’s promise to David depends on living by His laws, which means actual obedience from the king and the people.
BSA: walk (“live, conduct yourself”): Walking means a whole way of life, step after step, not one act of devotion. promise (“word, covenant”): God ties the temple to His covenant word to David.
Hebrew: תֵּלֵךְ (tēlēk, H1980) — “you walk.” The Bible often pictures obedience as a walk. God asks for a daily way of living, not only for a building.
See also: 2 Samuel 7:12-13.
1 Kings 6:13
God promises to live among Israel and never abandon His people. The temple is a sign of this nearness, but it is God’s own commitment that makes it real. The building does not hold Him. His promise holds the people.
BSA: dwell (“live among, tabernacle in the midst of”): God means to pitch His tent in the middle of His people, close at hand. abandon (“forsake, loosen my grip on”): God says He will not let go of His people.
Hebrew: שָׁכַנְתִּי (shākantî, H7931) — “I will dwell, settle.” This verb gives us the word for God’s abiding presence, the Shekinah. It pictures God settling in close, as a neighbor.
See also: Exodus 25:8.
1 Kings 6:14
The writer repeats that Solomon built and finished the temple. This returns to the building story after God’s word. The work goes on, with the promise and its condition now in the background.
BSA: finished (“completed, ended”): The structure was brought to its end, ready to be fitted and furnished.
1 Kings 6:15
The inside walls were covered with cedar from floor to ceiling, and the floor with cypress boards. A worshiper inside would see warm, carved wood and no bare stone. The whole inside was made rich and fragrant.
BSA: cedar (“a strong and durable tree, known for its strength”): The lasting wood lined the whole interior.
1 Kings 6:16-17
The back twenty cubits were walled off with cedar to make the inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. In front of it lay the main hall, forty cubits long. The temple has two rooms, and the deepest is the most set apart.
BSA: Most Holy Place (“the innermost and most sacred area, where God’s presence dwelled”): It is the room where God’s presence was said to rest, the heart of the whole house.
Hebrew: דְּבִיר (dᵉvîr, H1687) — “inner room, innermost sanctuary.” This word is used for the back room of the temple. It names the place farthest in, the most private place of God’s presence.
1 Kings 6:18
The cedar was carved with gourds and open flowers, and no stone showed anywhere. The walls looked like a garden in bloom. Everything was beauty fitted to God’s house.
BSA: gourds (“decorative knobs”): The carved shapes were rounded, bulb-like forms. open flowers (“blooming, in full blossom”): The flowers were shown fully open, as in full life.
1 Kings 6:19
Solomon prepared the inner room to hold the ark of the covenant. The ark held the tablets of the law and was the place where God was met. The whole temple was built around this one chest.
BSA: ark (“box, chest”): It was a simple wooden chest, yet it was the most sacred object in Israel. covenant (“promise, agreement”): The ark stood for God’s binding promise to His people.
Hebrew: אֲרוֹן (ʼărôn, H727) — “chest, ark.” It is the plain Hebrew word for a chest. The most holy thing in the temple was a humble box, made holy by God’s word.
See also: Exodus 25:10-22.
1 Kings 6:20
The inner room was a perfect cube, twenty cubits each way, covered inside with pure gold. The cedar altar in front of it, used for incense, was covered in gold too. Everything near God’s presence is of the finest and purest kind.
BSA: pure (“refined, most precious”): The gold was the best, fit for the place of God’s presence.
See also: Revelation 21:16.
1 Kings 6:21-22
The whole interior was overlaid with gold, and gold chains were stretched across the front of the inner room. The altar belonging to that room was covered too. The work was carried through completely, with nothing left bare.
BSA: chains (“bindings, connectors”): The gold chains marked the boundary of the most holy place.
1 Kings 6:23
Solomon made two huge cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high, for the inner room. Cherubim are winged angelic guardians. They stood over the ark as attendants at God’s throne.
BSA: cherubim (“angelic beings, heavenly guardians”): They guard God’s holy presence and show His glory. olive (“oil-rich”): Olive wood is dense and fine-grained, a lasting material for the carving.
Hebrew: כְּרוּבִים (kᵉrûvîm, H3742) — “cherubim, winged heavenly guardians.” They first appear guarding Eden. Here they stand in the temple, close to the place where God meets His people.
See also: Genesis 3:24; Psalm 80:1.
1 Kings 6:24-26
Each cherub stood ten cubits high, with two five-cubit wings, so each wingspan was ten cubits. The two matched exactly in size and form. They were great figures, built to fill the room.
BSA: cherub (“a heavenly, angelic being”): These carved figures were an image of the heavenly servants of God.
1 Kings 6:27
The cherubim stood side by side in the innermost room with wings outstretched. The outer wings touched the two side walls, and the inner wings met in the middle. Together they covered the whole room above the ark.
BSA: spread out (“stretched forth, fully extended”): The wings were fully open, filling the room from wall to wall.
See also: Exodus 25:18-20.
1 Kings 6:28
The cherubim were covered with gold. Even the carved guardians of the room shared its glory and value. Gold was used throughout to show that this house belonged to God.
BSA: overlaid (“covered with a gold coating, plated over”): The wood was covered over with a thin layer of gold.
1 Kings 6:29
All the walls, in both rooms, were carved with cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. The images recall a garden, and heavenly guardians watch over it. The worshiper is surrounded by life and by signs of God’s presence.
BSA: carved (“with skilled craftsmanship”): The work was done with expert skill.
1 Kings 6:30
Even the floor was covered with gold in both rooms. Every surface, up, down and around, was golden. Walking in that house meant treading on the best material of all.
BSA: floor (“the foundation, the base”): Even the base of the house was golden.
1 Kings 6:31-32
The doorway to the inner room had olive-wood doors and five-sided doorposts. The doors were carved with cherubim, palm trees and flowers, and gold was hammered over the carvings. The way into the deepest place was as beautiful as the room itself.
BSA: double doors (“two doors, a pair”): A pair of doors guarded the entry to the most holy place.
1 Kings 6:33-35
The entrance to the main hall had square doorposts of olive wood and two cypress doors, each with two folding leaves. They carried the same carvings of cherubim, palms and flowers, covered evenly with hammered gold. The look of the whole house is consistent.
BSA: hammered (“beaten, smoothed”): The gold was beaten thin and fitted closely over the carved shapes.
1 Kings 6:36
Solomon built the inner courtyard of three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams. This court surrounded the temple. It marked off the holy ground where priests served.
BSA: rows (“courses, layers”): The wall was built in neat layers, stone and then cedar.
1 Kings 6:37-38
The foundation was laid in Solomon’s fourth year, in the month of Ziv, and the work was finished in his eleventh year, in the month of Bul. It took seven years. A great work was done steadily, to the last detail.
BSA: foundation (“base, starting point”): Everything began with a base laid carefully and in order. finished (“completed, ended”): The building was brought to its end in every part.