1 Kings 6:2
in 1 Kings 6The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the house which king Solomon built for Jehovah, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
KJV
And the house which king Solomon built for the Lord, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
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This verse in 1 Kings 6
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe house that Solomon built for the [Lord] was sixty cubits long," that is, the double of the tabernacle. It is extremely likely that it included two rooms, an interior and an exterior. The interior was twenty cubits long, while the exterior was forty cubits. …
This site's exposition
the length thereof was threescore cubits
on 1 Kings 6:2-6
Solomon's house measures sixty cubits long, twenty broad and thirty high: length and breadth run exactly double the tabernacle's thirty by ten of Exodus 26, the height risen higher still, from the tabernacle's ten cubits to thirty. The porch, the narrow windows and the three tiers of side chambers wrap the house without cutting into its own walls, resting instead on ledges built into the outer wall so that no beam is fastened into the sanctuary's stone. The chambers widen with each story, five cubits, then six, then seven, a detail the text records without saying why.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Why is it said in the book of Kings [1 Kings 6:2] that the temple had a height of 30 cubits, while in the book of Chronicles [2 Chronicles 3:4] it is stated as 120 cubits? What is said regarding the construction of the temple …
The temple was built of Parian marble, a white stone, to represent the brilliance of chastity in the church, concerning which the Lord says in the canticle of love: "Like a lily among thorns, so is my love among maidens." [The temple] "was sixty cubits …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Which are the proportions answering to the three great concords in music, commonly called, a twelfth, an eighth, and a fifth. Which therefore must needs be a graceful proportion to the eye, as that in music is graceful to the ear.
And the house which King Solomon built for the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The length thereof was threescore cubits - A cubit, according to Bishop Cumberland, is 21 inches, and 888 decimals, or 1 foot, 9 inches, and 888 decimals. According to this Yds. Ft. Inch. The length, 60 cubits, was 36 1 5.28 The breadth, 20 cubits, was 12 0 5.76 The height, 30 cubits, was 18 0 8.64 This constituted what was called the temple or house, the house of God, etc. But, besides this, there were courts and colonnades, where the people might assemble to perform their devotions and assist at the sacrifices, without being exposed to the open air.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the house which king Solomon built for the Lord--The dimensions are given in cubits, which are to be reckoned according to the early standard (2Ch 3:3), or holy cubit (Eze 40:5; 43:13), a handbreadth longer than the common or later one. It is probable that the internal elevation only is here stated.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The size of Solomon’s temple depends upon the true length of the ancient cubit, which is doubtful. It has been estimated as somewhat less than a foot, and again as between 19 and 20 inches, a difference of nearly 8 inches, which would produce a variation of nearly 40 feet in the length of the temple-chamber, and of 46 in that of the entire building. It is worthy of remark that, even according to the highest estimate, Solomon’s temple was really a small building, less than 120 feet long, and less than 35 broad. Remark that the measures of the temple, both “house” and porch 1Ki 6:3, were exactly double those of the older tabernacle (Exo 26:18 note). This identity of proportion amounts to an undesigned coincidence, indicating the thoroughly historical character of both Kings and Exodus.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
In the month of Ziv. This is Iyar because the trees have blossoms. And [Targum] Yonoson translated this similarly, “the bloom of the buds.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַבַּ֗יִת | vehabayit | and the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּנָ֜ה | banah | he built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹה֙ | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| לַֽיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | for Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שִׁשִּֽׁים־ | shishim- | [was] sixty | H8346 → | 59 times |
| אַמָּ֥ה | ʾamah | cubit[s] | H520 → | 247 times |
| אָרְכּ֖וֹ | ʾareko | length its | H753 → | 95 times |
| וְעֶשְׂרִ֤ים | veesrim | and [was] twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| רָחְבּ֑וֹ | rachebo | breadth its | H7341 → | 101 times |
| וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים | usheloshim | and [was] thirty | H7970 → | 172 times |
| אַמָּ֖ה | ʾamah | cubit[s] | H520 → | 247 times |
| קוֹמָתֽוֹ׃ | komato | height its | H6967 → | 45 times |
וְהַבַּ֗יִתand the house
vehabayitH1004 →2046 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בָּנָ֜הhe built
banahH1129 →376 times
הַמֶּ֤לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
שְׁלֹמֹה֙Solomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
לַֽיהוָ֔הfor Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
שִׁשִּֽׁים־[was] sixty
shishim-H8346 →59 times
אַמָּ֥הcubit[s]
ʾamahH520 →247 times
אָרְכּ֖וֹlength its
ʾarekoH753 →95 times
וְעֶשְׂרִ֤יםand [was] twenty
veesrimH6242 →315 times
רָחְבּ֑וֹbreadth its
racheboH7341 →101 times
וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥יםand [was] thirty
usheloshimH7970 →172 times
אַמָּ֖הcubit[s]
ʾamahH520 →247 times
קוֹמָתֽוֹ׃height its
komatoH6967 →45 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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, Questions on the Book of Kings #11; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 2.25; Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 6:2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil, The Books of the Kings.