1 Kings 6:20
in 1 Kings 6The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And within the oracle was a space of twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof; and he overlaid it with pure gold: and he covered the altar with cedar.
KJV
And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.
⋯
This verse in 1 Kings 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The fore part - Perhaps “the interior.” And so covered ... - Rather, “and he covered the altar (of incense) with cedar.” The altar was doubtless of stone, and was covered with cedar in preparation for the overlaying with gold. This overlaying was not gilding, but the attachment of thin plates of gold, which had to be fastened on with small nails. Such a mode of ornamentation was common in Babylonia, in Assyria, and in Media.
This site's exposition
So Solomon built the temple and finished it
on 1 Kings 6:14-22
The inner sanctuary is a cube, “twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high”. The only other space in Scripture given equal length, width and height is the New Jerusalem at Revelation 21:16. The whole house is overlaid with gold “until everything was completely finished”.
This site's exposition
he also overlaid the altar of cedar
Bede and Albert Barnes read the altar of cedar as the incense altar, which stood before the inner sanctuary. Barnes takes it for stone faced with cedar. The gold overlay was thin plates fastened with small nails, as in Babylonia, Assyria and Media.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"And the altar he also covered with cedar." He means the altar of incense which was in front of the oracle [i.e., the inner sanctuary], about which a little further down are added the words "also the whole altar, which belonged to the oracle, he …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Forepart - Which was in the inner part of the house, called in Hebrew, the forepart; not because a man first enters there, but because when a man is entering, or newly entered into the house, it is still before him.
And the oracle in the forepart,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The cedar-wood was beautifully embellished with figures in relievo, representing clusters of foliage, open flowers, cherubims, and palm trees. The whole interior was overlaid with gold, so that neither wood nor stone was seen; nothing met the eye but pure gold, either plain or richly chased.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלִפְנֵ֣י | velifnei | and <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַדְּבִ֡יר | hadevir | the innermost room | H1687 → | 16 times |
| עֶשְׂרִים֩ | ʾesrim | [was] twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| אַמָּ֨ה | ʾamah | cubit[s] | H520 → | 247 times |
| אֹ֜רֶךְ | ʾorekh | length | H753 → | 95 times |
| וְעֶשְׂרִ֧ים | veesrim | and [was] twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| אַמָּ֣ה | ʾamah | cubit[s] | H520 → | 247 times |
| רֹ֗חַב | rochav | breadth | H7341 → | 101 times |
| וְעֶשְׂרִ֤ים | veesrim | and [was] twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| אַמָּה֙ | ʾamah | cubit[s] | H520 → | 247 times |
| קֽוֹמָת֔וֹ | komato | height its | H6967 → | 45 times |
| וַיְצַפֵּ֖הוּ | vaytzapehu | and he overlaid it | H6823 → | 47 times |
| זָהָ֣ב | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| סָג֑וּר | sagur | gold plate | H5462 → | 91 times |
| וַיְצַ֥ף | vaytzaf | and he overlaid | H6823 → | 47 times |
| מִזְבֵּ֖חַ | mizbeach | an altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| אָֽרֶז׃ | ʾarez | cedar | H730 → | 73 times |
וְלִפְנֵ֣יand <to> before
velifneiH6440 →2123 times
הַדְּבִ֡ירthe innermost room
hadevirH1687 →16 times
עֶשְׂרִים֩[was] twenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
אַמָּ֨הcubit[s]
ʾamahH520 →247 times
אֹ֜רֶךְlength
ʾorekhH753 →95 times
וְעֶשְׂרִ֧יםand [was] twenty
veesrimH6242 →315 times
אַמָּ֣הcubit[s]
ʾamahH520 →247 times
רֹ֗חַבbreadth
rochavH7341 →101 times
וְעֶשְׂרִ֤יםand [was] twenty
veesrimH6242 →315 times
אַמָּה֙cubit[s]
ʾamahH520 →247 times
קֽוֹמָת֔וֹheight its
komatoH6967 →45 times
וַיְצַפֵּ֖הוּand he overlaid it
vaytzapehuH6823 →47 times
זָהָ֣בgold
zahavH2091 →389 times
סָג֑וּרgold plate
sagurH5462 →91 times
וַיְצַ֥ףand he overlaid
vaytzafH6823 →47 times
מִזְבֵּ֖חַan altar
mizbeachH4196 →401 times
אָֽרֶז׃cedar
ʾarezH730 →73 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 6:22So he overlaid with gold the whole interior of the temple, until everything was completely finished. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.
it leads to
- Exodus 30:3
Overlay with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns, and make a molding of gold around it.
- Exodus 30:1
“You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense.
- 2 Chronicles 3:7–14
He overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.
- Exodus 30:3
Through
1 Kings 7:48Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;
it leads to
- Exodus 37:10–16
He also made the table of acacia wood two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.
- 2 Chronicles 4:8
Additionally, he made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold bowls.
- Exodus 39:36
the table with all its utensils and the Bread of the Presence;
- Malachi 1:12
“But you profane it when you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is contemptible.’
- Ezekiel 41:22
There was an altar of wood three cubits high and two cubits square. Its corners, base, and sides were of wood. And the man told me, “This is the table that is before the…
- Exodus 37:10–16
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 1.12.3; 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.