1 Kings 6:36

And he built the inner court This inner court is that which in Jeremiah 36:10 is called -the higher court" and must be that intended (2 Chronicles 4:9) by the -court of the priests" in contradistinction to -the great court," which must have enclosed the inner one. There is some doubt as to how the description in this verse is to be understood. It seems clear from the passage in Jeremiah that the inner was on a higher level than the outer court. Some have thought that this elevation was made by three layers of stone and then a wooden planking put over all. But to do this for the whole enclosure would have been very laborious work and seemingly for no purpose. It seems better to take it that the elevation was artificially made, and then to understand the three rows of hewn stone, covered by one row of cedar wood at the top, to have made a sort of sunk fence all round the inner court. The people standing in the outer court would need to see what the priests were doing. This they would all be able to do if the wall of stone and cedar work were very little, if at all, higher than the level of the inner court.