1 Kings 6:15-35

D. THE INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE 6:15-35

1 Kings 6:15 resumes the description of the building of the Temple which was interrupted in 1 Kings 6:11-14 by the account of the divine communication which came to Solomon. In this paragraph the author discusses (1) the paneling and partitioning of the house (1 Kings 6:15-22); (2) the cherubim of the Debir (1 Kings 6:23-28); (3) interior decorations (1 Kings 6:29-30); and (4) the Temple doors (1 Kings 6:31-35).

1. THE PANELING AND PARTITIONING OF THE HOUSE

(1 Kings 6:15-22)

TRANSLATION

(15) And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar from the floor of the house unto the walls of the ceiling; he covered the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. (16) And at twenty cubits, from the sides of the house he built planks of cedar from the floor to the walls of the ceiling; he even built them for it within, even for a Debir, the most holy place. (17) Forty cubits was the house, that is the anterior Temple. (18) And the cedar of the house within was engraved work of gourds and flower blossoms; all was cedar, no stone being seen. (19) And the Debir he prepared in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. (20) And the ulterior of the Debir was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width and twenty cubits in height; and he covered it with pure gold, and he covered the altar with cedar. (21) And Solomon covered the house within with pure gold, and he hung chains of gold before the Debir, and he covered it with gold. (22) And the whole house he covered with gold until he had finished all the house; also the entire altar which was in front of the Debir he covered with gold.

COMMENTS

The interior stone walls of the Temple were lined with wood in order to make it possible to overlay them with gold from the floor to the walls of the ceiling, i.e., the point where the walls meet the ceiling. According to the Chronicler (2 Chronicles 3:6) the interior walls were also ornamented with precious stones. The wood flooring in the Temple was fir, more technically the Aleppo pine (1 Kings 6:15). Thirty feet from the west end of the house, Solomon constructed a partition from floor to ceiling which separated the Debir or most holy place from the rest of the house (1 Kings 6:16). That portion of the structure in front of the Debir was sixty feet long (1 Kings 6:17). The cedar paneling in the house was covered with engraved work. Authorities are divided as to the nature of this engraved work, some arguing that it was bas-relief, and others, that figures were cut into the wood. The gourds were oval ornaments (resembling the wild gourd) which ran in rows along the walls (Keil). The open flowers (lit., burstings of flowers) are probably to be understood as flower blossoms. These beautiful walls of wood completely covered the stone walls on the interior of the Temple (1 Kings 6:18).

At the rear of the Temple structure Solomon constructed the Debir,[176] the Holy of Holies, which served the primary purpose of housing the ark of the covenant (1 Kings 6:19). On the inside the Debir was a cube of thirty feet. The Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle was a cube of fifteen feet, and the New Jerusalem was a cube of twelve thousand furlongs. Geometric symbolism is obviously intended in these passages with the cube most likely symbolizing absolute perfection. The Debir was overlaid with pure (lit., shut up) gold from which all impurities had been removed. The lavish use of gold in the interior of the Temple must also have had symbolic import as it was never seen except by the priests. Perhaps the gold symbolized light and purity (Job 37:22-23; Revelation 21:18), and hence was most appropriate for the abode of Him who dwells in light (1 Timothy 6:16). The overlaying was not gilding, but little plates of gold were attached to the wood with nails. In front of the Debir was a small stone altar that Solomon covered with cedar (1 Kings 6:20). Upon the altar incense was offered before the Invisible Presence of God within the Debir.

[176] The word Debir is derived from a Semitic root signifying back or behind, i.e., the hindmost or inner most room. There is no reason to relate this word to daber, to speak and thereby associate the word with an oracle. Honor, JCBR, p. 92.

Since the height of the Debir was thirty feet and the height of the entire Temple structure was forty-five feet, there must have been some space above the Debir.[177] Keil identifies this space as the upper chambers of 2 Chronicles 3:9 which were overlaid with gold. But what purpose would such a space serve? Perhaps this chamber was empty and served only to procure the cubical shape of the Debir beneath. It has also been suggested that the relics of the Tabernacle were stored in this upper chamber.

[177] This assumes (1) that the Temple had a flat roof, and (2) that the height of the roof was uniform throughout the whole structure. It is possible that the roof of the Debir section of the building was some fifteen feet lower than that of the house.

1 Kings 6:21 is extremely difficult to translate and interpret, and opinions as to its meaning are quite varied. It would seem that gold chains hung in front of the partition which separated the Debir from the remainder of the building. Whether these chains had some functional purpose[178] or were placed there purely for aesthetic reasons cannot be ascertained. The clause, and he covered it with gold, probably refers to the cedar partition itself, though this is by no means certain.[179] As a matter of fact the whole house, possibly including the porch (2 Chronicles 3:4), was covered with gold[180] as well as the altar of incense which stood before the Debir (1 Kings 6:22).

[178] Keil (BCOT, p. 78) believes that the door to the Debir was fastened shut with these gold chains until the Day of Atonement.

[179] Keil (13COT, p. 79) thinks it is the cedar-covered stone altar mentioned in 1 Kings 6:20 which is being alluded to here.

[180] Stinespring (ID13, R-Z, 537) suggests that the text refers to inlay rather than overlay. Pfeiffer (UK, p. 63) concurs in this interpretation.

2. THE CHERUBIM IN THE DEBIR (1 Kings 6:23-28)

TRANSLATION

(25) And within the Debir he made two cherubim with olive wood, ten cubits was the height of each one. (24) And five cubits was the wing of one cherub, and five cubits the wing of the other cherub, ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. (25) And the other cherub was ten cubits; the two cherubim were of one measurement and one shape. (26) The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so also was the other cherub. (27) And he put the cherubim within the inner house and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of one touched a wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall, and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. (28) And he covered the cherubim with gold.

COMMENTS

Two giant cherubim made of the precious wood of the wild olive tree dominated the interior of the Debir. Each was fifteen feet high (1 Kings 6:23) and had a wingspan of fifteen feet (1 Kings 6:24). The two figures were exactly the same size and shape (1 Kings 6:25-26). It is useless to conjecture as to the appearance of the cherubim.[181] Modern scholars tend to think of them as resembling the Egyptian sphinxhuman-headed, winged lions.[182] Archaeological discoveries in Palestine have brought to light representations of such creatures which may well be the Biblical cherubim. Keil, on the other hand, thinks of the cherubim as having human form and as standing upright on their feet.[183] The Temple cherubim did not face each other as did their Tabernacle counterparts; but faced east toward the Holy Place (2 Chronicles 3:13).

[181] Josephus (Ant. VIII, 3.3): Nobody can tell or even conjecture what was the shape of these.

[182] See the article Cherubim in NBD, pp. 208-209; and the article Angel in IDB, A-D, 131.
[183] Keil, BCOT, p. 79.

Each wing of the cherubim was five cubits long. The four wings stretched out across the entire width (20 cubits) of the Debir. The wing tips of the two figures touched in the center of that Holy Place (1 Kings 6:27).[184]

[184] The wings were evidently fastened to the back of each cherub and placed so close to one another on the shoulder blades that the small space between their starting points is not taken into consideration in the calculation of their length.

Between the bodies of the cherubim there was a clear space of several feet where the ark of the covenant would rest. These cherubim too were overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:28). No function is assigned to the cherubim. From other Scripture references, however, it seems that they symbolized God's presence.

3. INTERIOR DECORATIONS (1 Kings 6:29-30)

TRANSLATION

(29) And all the walls of the house round about he carved with reliefs of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers within and without. (30) And the floor of the house he covered with gold within and without.

COMMENTS

Two further details of the interior decoration are added in 1 Kings 6:29-30. The entire wall of the house, the Debir, the main sanctuary and perhaps even the porch, were decorated with reliefs of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers (1 Kings 6:29). The palm trees may represent the tree of life in the Garden of Eden which was to be guarded by cherubim, (Genesis 3:24).[185] The flowers may well have been lilies such as decorated the top of the front pillars (1 Kings 7:19). There can be no certainty about the precise form or about the arrangement of these ornamental figures.[186] Caution must also be exercised in speculating about the possible symbolic import of these figures. A second detail in these verses is that the floor of the house both in the Debir and outside of it was covered with gold (1 Kings 6:30).

[185] The motif of cherubim guarding palm trees, probably thought of as a tree of life, is well known in the art of the ancient Near East. See Matheney and Honeycutt, BC, p. 175.

[186] Arguing from the analogy of Egyptian temples, Keil contends for two or three rows. In Ezekiel's Temple description, the palm trees alternated with the cherubim, so that there was always one cherub standing between two palm trees (Ezekiel 41:18).

5. THE TEMPLE DOORS (1 Kings 6:31-35)

TRANSLATION

(31) And the entrance of the Debir he made doors of olive, and the lintel and the side posts were a fifth part. (32) And two of the doors were of olive wood, and he carved upon them cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and covered It with gold, and spread the gold over the cherubim and the palm trees. (33) So also for the entrance of the Temple he made posts of olive wood, a fourth part. (34) And the two doors were of fir wood, the one door being two leaves folding, and the other door two leaves folding. (35) And he carved on them cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and he spread gold evenly over the engraving.

COMMENTS

The words describing the olive wood doors which led to the Debir are an enigma. Literally the Hebrew reads the frame, doorposts, fifth, which is obviously capable of various interpretations. Some suggest that the frame of the entrance was pentagonal, having the form of a triangle set on the top of a rectangle.[187] But pentagonal doorways are without parallel in the architecture of the Near East. Perhaps the simplest explanation is that the entrance to the Debir, inclusive of the side posts which helped to form it, occupied one-fifth of the cedar partition which separated the holy from the most holy place (1 Kings 6:31). These doors to the Debir had relief carvings upon them similar to those on the walls, and they were overlaid with gold as well. He spread the gold upon the cherubim and palms so that all the figuresthe elevations and depressions of the carved workwere impressed into the gold leaf and were thus plainly seen (1 Kings 6:32). The author of Kings does not mention the curtain which hung inside the Debir and which prevented any priest from gazing into the Debir when the doors were opened once each year on the day of atonement (2 Chronicles 3:14).

[187] Slotki, SBB, p. 45. Honor (JCBR, p. 97) suggests that the doorposts had five sides instead of the usual four. Such a construction might serve to let the doors of the Debir swing wider than would normally be the case with a conventional square doorpost.

In a similar manner Solomon made doors for the entire Temple structure. These doors occupied the fourth part of the width of the front wall of the Temple. Since the width of the Temple was thirty feet, the doorway consequently would measure 7 1/2 feet. While the doorposts were of olive wood (1 Kings 6:33), the doors themselves were of fir. Each door consisted of two leaves or panels which opened on hinges (1 Kings 6:34). It is impossible to determine whether the doors were divided lengthwise into two narrow leaves (Hammond) or widthwise about half way up (Keil). These doors, like the inner doors of the Debir, were decorated with figures of cherubim, palm trees and flowers and then were overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:35).