1 Kings 6:9

So he built the house and finished it [ i.e; the exterior (see on 1 Kings 6:14 )] and covered [ i.e; roofed, same word Deuteronomy 33:21 ; Jeremiah 22:14 ; Haggai 1:4 . There is no reference to the lining of cedar which was applied to the interior. That is described in Haggai 1:15 ] the house with beams and boards [Heb. rows, ranks. The same word is used of soldiers 2 Kings 11:8 , 2 Kings 11:15 ] of cedar. [It has been universally held till quite lately that the roof was either vaulted (Thenius) or flat (Bähr, Keil). But Mr. Fergussen has alleged some reasons for believing that it was a span or gable roof. It is true that Oriental buildings almost invariably have externally flat(internally arched) roofs. In Palestine, because of the scarcity of timber, no other form is possible. But the temple, as we have seen, was constructed after the model of the tabernacle, and the latter, as the name almost implies, and as necessity would require, had a ridged roof. It does not necessarily follow, however, as Fergusson assumes, that the temple followed the tabernacle in this respect. It is obvious that when a " house was built unto the name of the Lord," the form of the tent might be abandoned as inappropriate. It is true that this shape would be consecrated to them by many centuries of use, but it is also possible that in a house it would strike them as altogether bizarre. ]