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1 Kings 7:18

in 1 Kings 7

Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

So he made the pillars; and there were two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars: and so did he for the other capital.

KJV

And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.

This verse in 1 Kings 7

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
And he made the pillars,.... Or adorned them in this manner: and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates; that is, there were two rows of figures like pomegranates upon the net or branch work that covered the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars; and Kimchi owns, that some copies so read, on the top of the pillars, instead of pomegranates, though he thinks it a mistake: and so did he for the other chapiter; put two rows about that also.

This site's exposition

two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high

on 1 Kings 7:15-22

The pillar to the south is Jachin, meaning he will establish, and the pillar to the north is Boaz, meaning in him is strength. Boaz is also the name of Ruth’s redeemer in David’s line. The book of 2 Kings 25:13-17 records these pillars broken and carried to Babylon.

This site's exposition

two rows of pomegranates around each grating

Pomegranates were a common ornament in Assyria. Albert Barnes leaves open whether the bronze pomegranates set in rows on the network of each capital carried a meaning or were made for beauty. Kimchi, cited by John Gill, knew copies that swapped pillars and pomegranates in this verse.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Of the Temple of Solomon 2.18.11 · Written before 735.

proposed

True, there were two rows of networks right around the capital, but both rows were repeated seven times over until the capital was encircled and the row rejoined itself after going full circle. Nor is the figure of the mystery obscured by the fact that …

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

The pomegranate was one of the most common ornaments in Assyria. It was used on quivers, on spear-shafts, and maceheads, in patterns on doorways and pavements, etc. It is doubtful whether a symbolic meaning was attached to it, or whether it was merely selected as a beautiful natural form.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

two pillars of brass of eighteen cubits high--They were made of the brass (bronze) which was taken from the king of Zobah (1Ch 18:8). In 2Ch 3:15 they are said to have been thirty-five cubits high. There, however, their joint lengths are given; whereas here the length of the pillars is given separately.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיַּ֖עַשׂand he made

    vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הָעַמּוּדִ֑יםthe pillars

    haamudimH5982 →111 times

  • וּשְׁנֵי֩and two

    usheneiH8147 →768 times

  • טוּרִ֨יםrows

    turimH2905 →26 times

  • סָבִ֜יב[were] all around

    savivH5439 →336 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הַשְּׂבָכָ֣הthe network

    hasevakhahH7639 →16 times

  • הָאֶחָ֗ת<the> one

    haechatH259 →971 times

  • לְכַסּ֤וֹתto cover

    lekhasotH3680 →152 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַכֹּֽתָרֹת֙the capitals

    hakotarotH3805 →24 times

  • אֲשֶׁר֙which

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • עַל־[were] on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • רֹ֣אשׁ[the] top of

    roshH7218 →599 times

  • הָֽרִמֹּנִ֔יםthe pomegranates

    harimonimH7416 →32 times

  • וְכֵ֣ןand thus

    vekhenH3651 →771 times

  • עָשָׂ֔הhe did

    ʾasahH6213 →2628 times

  • לַכֹּתֶ֖רֶתfor the capital

    lakoteretH3805 →24 times

  • הַשֵּׁנִֽית׃<the> second

    hashenitH8145 →156 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

7 stops

Each 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

    2 Kings 25:17

    Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall. The bronze capital atop one pillar was three cubits high, with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its network, was similar.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 7:15–22

      He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.

    • Jeremiah 52:21–23

      Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall and twelve cubits in circumference; each was hollow, four fingers thick.

  • Through

    Exodus 28:14

    and two chains of pure gold, made of braided cord work; and attach these chains to the settings.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 7:17

      For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital.

    • Exodus 39:15

      For the breastpiece they made braided chains like cords of pure gold.

    • Exodus 28:22–25

      For the breastpiece, make braided chains like cords of pure gold.

    • 2 Chronicles 4:12–13

      the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars;

    • 2 Kings 25:17

      Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall. The bronze capital atop one pillar was three cubits high, with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its network, was similar.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Kings

The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, Sir Edward John Poynter, 1890. Public domain.
The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, Sir Edward John Poynter, 1890. Public domain.

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Of the Temple of Solomon 2.18.11; F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Kings.