1 Kings 6

In its opening section on Solomon's reign, 1 Kings devotes considerable space to the building of the Temple. This chapter follows 1 Kings 5, in which Solomon arranges with Hiram king of Tyre for timber and laborers, and records the actual construction. It leads into chapter 7 (the royal palace and the Temple furnishings) and chapter 8 (the dedication).

Outline

• Verse 1 Construction begins in the 480th year after the Exodus, in the month Zif (the second month) of the fourth year of Solomon's reign.
• Verses 2–10 The Temple is built 60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high, with a porch in front, windows, and three-story side chambers. The stone is dressed at the quarry before being brought to the site, so no sound of iron tools is heard during construction.
• Verses 11–13 The LORD tells Solomon that if he keeps His statutes, He will fulfill His word to David and dwell among the children of Israel.
• Verses 14–22 The inner walls are lined with cedar and the floor with fir. The inner sanctuary (the Most Holy Place), a cube of 20 cubits, and the outer sanctuary (the Holy Place), 40 cubits long, are constructed and overlaid with gold.
• Verses 23–28 Two cherubim of olive wood, each 10 cubits high, are made and overlaid with gold; their wings reach the two side walls and meet in the middle.
• Verses 29–36 Cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers are carved on the walls and doors, and the inner court is built with three courses of hewn stone and one course of cedar beams.
• Verses 37–38 The foundation is laid in the fourth year, and the work is completed in the month Bul (the eighth month) of the eleventh year; the construction thus takes seven years.

Key Verses

• 1 Kings 6:1 "in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt" — a principal basis for calculating the date of the Exodus.
• 1 Kings 6:7 "there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building" — frequently cited as showing the reverence that surrounded the Temple's construction.
• 1 Kings 6:12–13 — These verses make clear that obedience, rather than the building itself, is the condition of God's presence.

People and Places

• Solomon: The third king of Israel, who built the Temple.
• David: Solomon's father, to whom God's promise was given (2 Samuel 7).
• Egypt: The land from which Israel came out, mentioned as a chronological reference point.
• The Temple's location is not named in this chapter, but 2 Chronicles 3:1 records that it was Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.

Points for Reflection

• One view takes the 480 years literally and places the Exodus in the fifteenth century BC (the early-date theory); another regards the figure as a symbolic number, twelve generations of forty years each, and places the Exodus in the thirteenth century BC (the late-date theory).
• The Temple's structure is often described as the tabernacle enlarged to twice its size. The same construction is also recorded in 2 Chronicles 3.
• Some interpreters connect the cube-shaped Most Holy Place with the shape of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:16).
• The New Testament reinterprets the temple as the body of Jesus (John 2:21) and as believers (1 Corinthians 3:16). Some preachers connect 6:7 with the "lively stones" of 1 Peter 2:5.

In the Korean Church

This chapter, together with chapter 8, is frequently used as a text for services marking the groundbreaking, opening, and dedication of church buildings. At the same time, some, citing the New Testament understanding of the temple, question the practice of calling church buildings a "temple" (seongjeon) and propose using the term "house of worship" (yebaedang) instead.