Solomon builds the temple
1 In the four hundred and eight ieth year after the Israelites left the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solo mon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, Solomon began to build the temple of Yahweh.
2 The House which King Solomon built for Yah weh was sixty cubits long, twenty wide, and thirty high.
3 The vestibule fronting the Sanctuary was twenty cubits long from side to side, the width of the temple, and ten cubits deep in front of the House.
4 He made windows with recessed frames for the House.
5 Solomon had a structure built adjoining the walls all around the House and enclosing both Sanctuary and Inner Sanctuary. He also made lateral rooms all around.
6 The lowest story was five cubits wide; the middle, six cubits wide; and the third, seven cubits wide. Around the exterior of the temple, he made offsets on the wall so that the supporting beams need not be inserted into walls of the temple.
7 The House was built with stones prepared at the quarry so that no hammer, or axe, or any iron implement was heard in the temple during the construction.
8 The entrance to the lowest story was on the right side of the House. A staircase led up to the middle story; and from the middle story, to the third.
9 So, Solo mon built the House and finished it, making the ceiling of the House from cedar beams and planks.
10 Each story of the structure which he built surrounding the House was five cubits high joined to the House with cedar timber.
11 The word of Yahweh was directed to Solo mon,
12 “If you observe my statutes, obey my ordinances, keep all my commands and follow them, I will fulfill everything I said to David your father regarding this House.
13 There I will be in the midst of the Israelites and not forsake my people Israel.”
14 So, Solomon built the House and finished it.
15 He covered the interior walls of the temple with cedar boards; so that in the interior from the floor of the House to the rafters of the ceiling only wood could be seen. The floor also was covered with cypress boards.
16 Solomon covered twenty cubits of the rear of the House with cedar boards from floor to rafter to serve as an inner sanctuary – the Most Holy Place.
17 The front of the house, that is the Sanctuary, was forty cubits long.
18 In all the interior of the House, the cedar was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers; all was of cedar and no stone was to be seen.
19 The inner sanctuary in the innermost part of the building had been destined to house the ark of the covenant of Yahweh.
20 It was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, overlaid with pure gold. He also made an altar of cedar.
21 Solomon overlaid the interior of the House with pure gold. He closed the inner sanctuary with golden chains and overlaid it with gold.
22 Solomon overlaid the entire House with gold. He also overlaid with gold the whole altar in the inner sanctuary.
23 In the inner sanctuary, Solomon made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.
24 The length of the wings of each cherub was five cubits each, hence, ten cubits from tip to tip.
25 Both cherubim had the same measurement and the same form,
26 both being ten cubits high.
27 When the cherubim were put in the innermost part of the House their wings were so spread out that a wing of one touched one wall, while a wing of the other touched the other wall. Their other wings touched each other at the center of the House.
28 The cherubim were also overlaid with gold.
29 Solomon had all the surrounding walls of the House carved with figures of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers both in the interior and exterior rooms.
30 He also had the floor of the House, in both the interior and exterior rooms, overlaid with gold.
31 Solomon had doors made of olive wood for the entrance to the inner sanctuary of which the lintel and doorposts formed the fifth part.
32 He covered the two olive wood doors with carvings of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. He then overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and the palm trees.
33 He did the same for the olive wood doorposts at the entrance to the sanctuary, which formed the fourth part of the door.
34 Both the right and left side of the door had two folding panels of cypress wood.
35 He had cherubim, palm trees and open flowers carved on them and overlaid the carvings with gold evenly applied.
36 As for the interior court, Solomon had it built with three courses of hewn stone and one course of cedar beams.
37 In the month of Ziv of the fourth year, the foundation of Yahweh’s House was laid.
38 In the month of Bul, the eighth month of the eleventh year, the House was finished, complete and according to all specifications. It took Solomon seven years to build it.
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Comments 1 Kings, Chapter 6
• 6.1 Solomon’s first construction is the House of Yahweh, that is, the Temple of Jerusalem, which will be counted among the wonders of ancient times.
The tent of the Ark in the desert had been the center of worship as practiced by nomadic tribes. From now on, the Temple, somewhat similar to the Canaanite temples, will be the center of an urban and sedentary culture. The sacrifices and feasts celebrated there are inspired by Canaanite cults. Israel takes a new step forward in its culture, and worship is also adapted to a new situation.
Not God, but people need the Temple (see 2 S 7:7).
– There is the sincere desire to honor Yahweh by giving him the most beautiful house of all. Hence, the Temple is always called in the Bible, the House of Yahweh.
– On the other hand, the people want to show their prosperity and they feel proud to have a temple that can compete with those of other people.
– There is also the desire to have something beautiful which can be a visible image of the Glory of the invisible God. For the Israelites, the Temple of Jerusalem was the pedestal of the invisible Temple where Yahweh is in his glory. He forbade them to represent him by images of creatures; but at least the House could be adorned with gold and precious wood.
– Finally there is the concern to have God present to protect his people. Though Yahweh says that he has no temple but the entire universe (8:27), he wants to be present in the midst of his people (Dt 12:5). In Jerusalem, Yahweh is “in his holy dwelling” (Jer 25:30), to defend his people (Is 31:5).
Like Solomon, the Christian kings and authorities of past centuries wanted to adorn their churches with gold and silver. They believed that the House of God ought to be much more beautiful than their own. Let us respect their piety; but today we understand that the city of God is governed by criteria different from those of most people. The splendor of temples does not always help us to discover God’s greatness.
• 14. The most sacred part of the Temple, the most Holy Place, contained only the Ark with the stone slabs on which the covenant of Yahweh with his people had been confirmed. Before this room was another one, the Holy Place, where the sacred candlesticks burned and incense was kindled. Here, too, were placed the twelve loaves that were offered every week. (See 1 S 21:5.) An entrance hall completed the house and all around were wide and spacious courtyards where the people stood praying.
This arrangement of several rooms leading into the most sacred place is a common thing in many ancient religions. It teaches that we cannot approach God without the required preparation. Even though Yahweh remains in the midst of his people, his mystery continues to be inaccessible.
This arrangement reflects in some way what is innermost to humans, the true Temple of God. There is, in us, a very intimate place where God is present (see Jn 14:23). When Jesus asks us to “meet the Father in secret” (Mt 6:6), it means not only to pray in a place apart, but to seek within our own selves the Most Sacred Place where the Spirit communicates his way of feeling and of thinking.