I Kings 6 · The Lantern

Temple Construction Begins

And it happened in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, its length was sixty cubits, and its breadth twenty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

The temple was built of Parian marble, a white stone, to represent the brilliance of chastity in the church, concerning which the Lord says in the canticle of love: "Like a lily among thorns, so is my love among maidens." [The temple] "was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and thirty cubits high." The length of the temple designates the faith of the holy church, through whi…

The house that Solomon built for the [Lord] was sixty cubits long," that is, the double of the tabernacle. It is extremely likely that it included two rooms, an interior and an exterior. The interior was twenty cubits long, while the exterior was forty cubits. [The house] was built on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, which David had bought together with the garden.

And the portico before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was its length, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was its breadth before the house.

And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.

The Chambers

And against the wall of the house he built rooms all around, against the walls of the house around, both of the temple and of the inner sanctuary: and he made rooms all around:

The nethermost room was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests all around, so that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought there: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

The door for the middle room was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle room, and out of the middle into the third.

So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.

And then he built rooms against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

God’s Promise to Solomon

And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,

Concerning this house which you are in building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with you, which I spoke to David your father:

And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.

The Temple’s Interior

So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.

And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the inner sanctuary, even for the most holy place.

And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.

And the cedar of the house within was carved with gourds and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

And the inner sanctuary he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

And the inner sanctuary in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in its height: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.

So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the inner sanctuary; and he overlaid it with gold.

And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

The Cherubim

And within the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive tree, each ten cubits high.

And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the farthest part of the one wing to the farthest part of the other were ten cubits.

And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one size.

The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.

And he set the cherubim within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubim, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.

And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

And he carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.

And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.

The Doors

And for the entering of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and doorposts were a fifth part of the wall.

The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm trees.

So also he made for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.

And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

And he carved on it cherubim and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.

The Courtyard

And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.

In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:

And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all its parts, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.