1 Kings 6:8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 6:1-10

Here, I. The temple is called the house of the Lord (1 Kgs. 6:1), because it was, 1. Directed and modelled by him. Infinite Wisdom was the architect, and gave David the plan or pattern by the Spirit, not by word of mouth only, but, for the greater certainty and exactness, in writing (1 Chron. 28:11, 12), as he had given to Moses in the mouth a draught of the tabernacle. 2. Dedicated and devoted to him and to his honour, to be employed in his service, so his as never any other house was, for he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:8

The door of the middle chamber was in the right side of the house ,.... The south side of it: and 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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 6:2-20

Christianity built on the Foundations of Judaism. The Jewish temple in its resemblance to the Gothic church is a not inapt illustration of the relations of Christianity to Judaism. The temple of Solomon was not only architecturally the exact reproduction on a larger scale, and in a more permanent form, of the tabernacle of witness, it was also the model and archetype of the sacred buildings of the Christian faith. In appearance, no doubt, it was somewhat different—the purposes for which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 6:8

After recording this interesting and singular fact, the historian resumes his description of the side building. The door [or entrance, doorway, פֶתַח , as in 1 Kings 6:31 ] for [Heb. of ] the middle chamber [generally understood to mean "the middle side chamber of the lower story." But this is by no means necessary, for read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 6:8

The door for the middle chamber - i. e., the door which gave access to the mid-most “set of chambers.” The chambers on the ground-floor were possibly reached each by their own door in the outer wall of the lean-to. The middle and upper floors were reached by a single door in the right or south wall, from which a winding staircase ascended to the second tier, while another ascended from the second to the third. The door to the stairs was in the outer wall of the building, not in the wall between... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 6:8

1 Kings 6:8. The door for the middle chamber That is, by which they entered to go up into the middle row of chambers; was in the right side That is, in the south side, called the right side, because, when a man looks toward the east, the south is on his right hand. There was another door on the left, or the north side, leading to the chambers on that side. They went up with winding stairs Without the wall, leading up to the gallery, out of which they went into the several chambers. ... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 6:1-13

Click image for full-size versionOverall plan of the temple (6:1-13)The simplest way to describe Solomon’s temple is as a rectangular stone building with a porch added to the front, and three storeys of storerooms added to the sides and rear. The side and rear walls of the main building were reduced in thickness by one cubit (about forty-four centimetres, or eighteen inches) for the middle storey, and by a further cubit for the top storey. This created ‘steps’ on which the timber beams rested... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Kings 6:1-10

The outside of the temple 6:1-101 Kings 6:1 is one of the most important verses in the Old Testament chronologically. The dates of Solomon’s reign (971-931 B.C.) are quite certain. They rest on references that other ancient Near Eastern king lists corroborate. Solomon began temple construction about 966 B.C. According to this verse the Exodus took place in 1445 or 1446 B.C. Most conservative scholars who take statements in Scripture like this verse seriously hold this date for the Exodus. The... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Kings 6:1-38

2. Temple construction ch. 6After arrangements for building the temple were in order, construction began. This building took seven years to complete (1 Kings 6:38)."In an earlier era scholars debunked the reality of a temple in Israel like Solomon’s because nothing similar was known from the ancient Near East. However, at ’Ain Dara (and earlier in Tall Ta’yinat), Syria, a temple from the tenth century B.C. came to light that bore a remarkable similarity to the temple of Jerusalem. The size is... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 6:1-38

The Construction of the TempleIn shape the Temple was a rectangular hall 60 x 20 x 30 cubits (a cubit being about 18 inches). On its E. face it had a porch (forming an entrance) which extended across the whole front and added 10 cubits to the length of the building (1 Kings 6:3). The height of this is given in 2 Chronicles 3:4 as 120 cubits; but such a measurement is out of all proportion to the others, and is probably an error (one of the MSS of the LXX substitutes 20 cubits). On three sides... read more

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