1 Kings 6:38
in 1 Kings 6In his eleventh year and eighth month, the month of Bul, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification. So he built the temple in seven years.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
KJV
And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
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This verse in 1 Kings 6
Commentary
8 notes on this verseIn the eleventh year - was the house finished - It is rather strange that this house required seven years and about six months to put all the stones and the timbers in their places, for we have already seen that they were all prepared before they came to Jerusalem; but the ornamenting, gilding, or overlaying with gold, making the carved work, cherubim, trees, flowers, etc., must have consumed a considerable time. The month Bul answers to a part of our October and November, as Zif, in which it was begun, answers to a part of April and May.
This site's exposition
the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone
on 1 Kings 6:36-38
The inner courtyard has “three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams”, the same pattern as the palace at 7:9-12. The foundation is laid in “the month of Ziv” of Solomon’s fourth year. The temple is finished in “the month of Bul” of his eleventh.
This site's exposition
So he built the temple in seven years.
From Ziv of the fourth year to Bul of the eleventh is seven years and six months, as Albert Barnes counts. Adam Clarke credits the time to carving and gilding. Matthew Henry and John Wesley read the finished house as a picture of the church, a temple built on Christ.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The allegorical meaning of the fact that the house of the Lord was built in seven years is plain, because, of course, the holy church is being built of the souls of the elect for the entire duration of this world, which is also completed …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
We are wonderfully made by the Divine Providence, but more wonderfully made anew by the Divine grace. And as Solomon's temple was built on a rock, so are we built on Christ. The church is a mystical temple, enriched and beautified, not with gold and precious stones, but with the gifts and graces of the spirit.
We are not only wonderfully made by the divine providence, but more wonderfully made anew by the divine grace. This living temple is built upon Christ as its foundation and will be perfected in due time. The gospel church is the mystical temple; it grows to a holy temple in the Lord ( Eph. ii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
In the eleventh year,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Seven years - More exactly, “seven years and six months,” since Zif was the second, and Bul the eighth month. 1Ki 6:1.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבַשָּׁנָה֩ | uvashanah | and in the year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| הָאַחַ֨ת | haachat | <the> one [plus] | H259 → | 971 times |
| עֶשְׂרֵ֜ה | ʾesreh | ten | H6240 → | 338 times |
| בְּיֶ֣רַח | beyerach | in [the] month of | H3391 → | 12 times |
| בּ֗וּל | bul | Bul | H945 → | |
| ה֚וּא | hu' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַחֹ֣דֶשׁ | hachodesh | [was] the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י | hashemini | <the> eighth | H8066 → | 28 times |
| כָּלָ֣ה | kalah | it was complete | H3615 → | 208 times |
| הַבַּ֔יִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| דְּבָרָ֖יו | devarav | parts its | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| וּלְכָל־ | ulekhol- | and to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִשְׁפָּטָ֑יו | mishpatov | plans its | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וַיִּבְנֵ֖הוּ | vaiyivnehu | and he built it | H1129 → | 376 times |
| שֶׁ֥בַע | sheva' | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| שָׁנִֽים׃ | shanim | years | H8141 → | 877 times |
וּבַשָּׁנָה֩and in the year
uvashanahH8141 →877 times
הָאַחַ֨ת<the> one [plus]
haachatH259 →971 times
עֶשְׂרֵ֜הten
ʾesrehH6240 →338 times
בְּיֶ֣רַחin [the] month of
beyerachH3391 →12 times
בּ֗וּלBul
bulH945 →
ה֚וּאthat
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הַחֹ֣דֶשׁ[was] the month
hachodeshH2320 →284 times
הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י<the> eighth
hasheminiH8066 →28 times
כָּלָ֣הit was complete
kalahH3615 →208 times
הַבַּ֔יִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
דְּבָרָ֖יוparts its
devaravH1697 →1440 times
וּלְכָל־and to all
ulekhol-H3605 →5413 times
מִשְׁפָּטָ֑יוplans its
mishpatovH4941 →422 times
וַיִּבְנֵ֖הוּand he built it
vaiyivnehuH1129 →376 times
שֶׁ֥בַעseven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
שָׁנִֽים׃years
shanimH8141 →877 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Kings 7:1Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 9:10
Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built these two houses, the house of the LORD and the royal palace,
- 2 Chronicles 8:1
Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own palace,
- 1 Kings 9:10
Through
1 Kings 6:1In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the month of Ziv, the second month of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 3:1–2
Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the…
- 2 Chronicles 3:1–2
Through
Zechariah 4:9“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.
it leads to
- Zechariah 6:12–13
And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build…
- Ezra 6:14–15
So the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees…
- Ezra 5:16
So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been under construction, but it has not yet been completed.”
- Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand…
- Zechariah 6:15
Even those far away will come and build the temple of the LORD, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey…
- Zechariah 6:12–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Of the Temple of Solomon 2.18.1-2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.