For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made doors of olive wood. The lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall. So he made two doors of olive wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold. He spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. He also did so for the entrance of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth part of the wall; and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted on the engraved work.
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So Solomon built the house, and finished it. He built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar: from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the house with cypress boards. He built twenty cubits on the back part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling. He built them for it within, for an inner sanctuary, even for the most holy place. In front of the temple sanctuary was forty cubits. There was cedar on the house within, carved with buds and open flowers. All was cedar. No stone was visible. He prepared an inner sanctuary in the middle of the house within, to set the ark of Yahweh’s covenant there. Within the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in its height; and he overlaid it with pure gold; and he covered the altar with cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold. He drew chains of gold across before the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. He also overlaid the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary with gold. In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. Five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub. From the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was ten cubits. The other cherub was ten cubits. Both the cherubim were of one measure and one form. One cherub was ten cubits high, and so was the other cherub. He set the cherubim within the inner house. The wings of the cherubim were stretched out, 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 middle of the house. He overlaid the cherubim with gold. He carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inside and outside. He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, inside and outside. For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made doors of olive wood. The lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall. So he made two doors of olive wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold. He spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. He also did so for the entrance of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth part of the wall; and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted on the engraved work. He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and a course of cedar beams. The foundation of Yahweh’s house was laid in the fourth year, in the month Ziv. In the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts, and according to all its specifications. So he spent seven years building it.
Parallel Translations
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For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made doors of olive wood. The lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall.
So he made two doors of olive wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold. He spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
He also did so for the entrance of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth part of the wall;
and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted on the engraved work.
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And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.
The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.
So also made he 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 thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.
Show all 3 translations
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And for the entrance of the Sanctuary he made doors of olive-wood, the door-posts within the frame having five angles.
And as for the two doors of olive-wood, he carved upon them carvings of cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm-trees.
So also made he for the entrance of the temple door-posts of olive-wood, within a frame four-square;
and two doors of cypress-wood; the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
And he carved thereon cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted upon the graven work.
Cross-references (8)
- Ezekiel 41:23-25 (v34) The temple and the sanctuary had two doors. The doors had two leaves each, two turning leaves: two for the one door, and two leaves for the…
- Hebrews 10:19-20 (v31) Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and…
- 1 Kings 5:8 (v34) Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent to me. I will do all your desire concerning timber of cedar,…
- 1 Kings 6:18 (v32) There was cedar on the house within, carved with buds and open flowers. All was cedar. No stone was visible.
- 1 Kings 6:29 (v32) He carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inside and outside.
Show all 8 cross-references
- John 10:9 (v31) I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.
- John 14:6 (v31) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
- Ephesians 3:18 (v31) may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv32, 34 So that the fashion of the carved work might…
So that the fashion of the carved work might still appear.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv31–35 1Ki 6:31 And for the entering of the oracle…
1Ki 6:31 And for the entering of the oracle he made doors [of] olive tree: the lintel [and] side posts [were] a fifth part [of the wall].
Ver. 31. Doors of olive tree.] Which kind of wood is hard, firm, and lasting: fit for posts and doors.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 i.e. Four cubits in height or breadth, whereas the…
i.e. Four cubits in height or breadth, whereas the wall was twenty cubits. Or,
a fifth part of the door now mentioned. Or rather, five-square, having five sides and five angles, which is not incongruous nor unusual in buildings,
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv31–34 And he carved thereon cherubims, and palm trees, and…
And he carved thereon cherubims, and palm trees, and open flowers,.... As upon the doors of the most holy place, Kg1 6:32; see Eze 41:25;
and covered them with gold, fitted upon the carved work; plates of gold were fitted, as to the dimensions of them, to the cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v31 Fifth part - That is, four cubits in height…
Fifth part - That is, four cubits in height or breadth, whereas the wall was twenty cubits.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv31–32 1Ki 6:31. The lintel and side-posts were a fifth…
1Ki 6:31. The lintel and side-posts were a fifth part of the wall — The original text here is very obscure, there being nothing in it for the words, of the wall; but only, The lintel and side-posts were a fifth, which may be understood to signify, that they held the proportion of a fifth part of the doors. But some think the meaning is, that this gate was the fifth in number belonging to the house. The first, they say, was that which led into the court of the people; the second, that which led into the court of the priests; the third was the door of the porch; the fourth, that of the holy place; and this fifth, of the oracle, or most holy. And in this way they interpret a similar expression, (1Ki 6:33,) which we render a fourth part of the wall, the words, of the wall, being not in the Hebrew, they understand it of the fourth gate; namely, that of the holy place. But the most probable meaning is, as our translators have understood it to be, that the doors, including the lintel and side-posts, here mentioned, as well as the valves, took up a fifth part of the wall or partition, being four cubits in breadth.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv31–34 A fifth part - Better than the margin. The…
A fifth part - Better than the margin. The meaning seems to be that the lintel was one-fifth of the width of the wall, and each door-post one-fifth of its height. Thus the opening was a square of four cubits, or of six feet.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv31, 32, 34, 35 Corners, each piece being, perhaps, a cubit in length,…
Corners, each piece being, perhaps, a cubit in length, so that the two folding-doors would contain ten cubits, or half the wall. But Ezechiel only assigns six cubits to this door, and ten to that of which opened into the holy place. Hebrew, "the lintel and the side posts, a fifth" of the wall; in which sense, the door must not have been above four cubits. So ver. 33, four-square is translated also, "a fourth part." But it does not appear to what it refers. Rebihith sometimes means four-square; and why may not chamishith here signify pentagonal? (Calmet) --- Many suppose that the gate of the sanctuary was of this form, (Haydock) ending in a point at the top; unless the posts were carved so as to have five angles, like a pillar. (Ribera, Templ. ii. 8.) (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v31 for the entering of the oracle--The door of the…
for the entering of the oracle--The door of the most holy place was made of solid olive tree and adorned with figures. The door of the holy place was made of cypress wood, the sides being of olive wood.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv31–34 31. The entering of the oracle — The doorway,…
31. The entering of the oracle — The doorway, or place of entrance. It appears that the oracle had no other opening than this. There was no other door, and there were no windows, for Jehovah would dwell in the thick darkness, (1Ki_8:12,) and thereby indicate to his human worshippers that his ways and his being are past finding out. He makes darkness his pavilion to teach his worshippers the folly of thinking to find out the Almighty to perfection.
The lintel — איל, pilaster. “The projection which always springing, pillar-like, out of adjacent recesses on both sides, fronts toward the space where is the entrance and through passage.” — Furst. It would be better, then, to render either the pilaster of the side-posts, or, with Keil, to attach side-posts to pilaster as an explanatory apposition — the pilaster, namely, the projecting side-posts.
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A fifth part — Of the doorway or entrance; not of the wall, as our translators have supplied. The meaning is, that the pilasters on each side of the doorway projected outward in bold relief, and took up one fifth of the passage between the side-posts.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv31–35 31–36. The doors for the oracle and for the…
31–36. The doors for the oracle and for the Temple. The building of the inner court (Not in Chronicles)
31. the lintel and side posts] There is no conjunction between these words, and the former seems from other places in O. T. to apply to the whole framework in which the doors were fixed, the latter is used regularly of the part to which the hinges were attached. The idea meant to be conveyed here is of the whole structure of the doorway, the framework with its posts.
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were a fifth part of the wall] The expansion indicated by the italics of A. V. is no doubt correct both here and in 1Ki_6:33. As the partition wall of the oracle was 20 cubits in height and the same in breadth the opening filled by the framework of the doorway would be 4 cubits high by 4 cubits broad.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv31–32 (31) Doors.—The two doors of olive wood, from the…
(31) Doors.—The two doors of olive wood, from the Holy place into the Oracle, which as a rule stood open, showing the veil and the golden chains, were of moderate size. If our version (as is probable) is correct, the outside measure of the lintel and post was a fifth part of the wall, that is, four cubits, or six feet. Each door, therefore, would be something less than six feet by three. The description of the gilding states with minute accuracy that in overlaying the whole of these doors with gold, gold was “spread,” that is, made to cover the carvings in relief (the cherubim of 1Ki_6:35); in the other doors the gold was fitted, probably beaten into shape, over the carved work.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv31–35 And for the entering of the oracle, he made…
And for the entering of the oracle, he made doors which hung on golden hinges (1Ki_7:50 of olive tree see on ver. 23), the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall. The meaning of the Hebrew words has been much disputed. See Gesen. Thesaur, 1. pp. 43-45. Gesen. himself interprets as A.V: crepido cum postibus erat quinta pars, i.e., quintam parietis partem occupabat. The Rabbins: the "entablature with side posts and threshold formed a pentagon." But a pentagonal doorway is without example in Eastern architecture. Thenius: "the strength (lyia" is generally taken as an architectural term = crepido portae, or entablature) of the posts was a fifth." Rawlinson: "the lintel was one-fifth of wall, and each door post one-fifth of its height;" in which case the doorway would of course be a square of four cubits. But perhaps the rendering of A.V (with which Keil and Bahr also agree) is more natural. The meaning, consequently, would be that the entrance to the oracle, inclusive of the side posts which helped to form it, occupied one-fifth of the extent of the cedar partition. The entrance to the house (ver. 33) was one-fourth of the wall of the house.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv31, 33 Solomon made ... he made ... he made ...…
Solomon made ... he made ... he made ... He overlaid ... he spread
Solomon would have commanded his workers to do this work. AT: "They made ... they made ... they made ... They overlaid ... they spread" (See: Metonymy)
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lintel
beam across the top of a door frame
indented sections
toothlike notches on each of five sections
overlaid
"covered." See how you translated this in 1 Kings 6:21.
translationWords
Solomon
doorpost
cherub
palm
gold
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.