1 Kings 6:36
in 1 Kings 6Solomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he built the inner court with three courses of hewn stone, and a course of cedar beams.
KJV
And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.
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This verse in 1 Kings 6
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHence it is aptly noted that the priests' court was constructed of three courses of polished stones and one course of cedar beams. For the three courses of polished stones are faith, hope and charity, and the expression "of polished stones" is appropriate because each …
This site's exposition
the inner court with three rows
on 1 Kings 6:36-38
The inner court is built the same way as the great court of the later palace complex at 7:9-12, three rows of hewed stone and a row of cedar beams, one masonry vocabulary running through the kingdom's whole public architecture. The foundation is laid in the month Zif, Solomon's fourth year, and the house stands finished in the month Bul, his eleventh year, seven years in the building; both months keep their old Israelite names rather than a number, a detail the text preserves without translating it for a later reader. The chapter that opened by dating everything against the exodus closes by dating everything against Solomon's own reign.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
There is yet another distinction based upon the elevation and the different levels of ecclesiastics. Now, it is fitting that this distinction be ordained "with three rows of polished stones." Indeed, among the levels, some are cleansing, others enlightening, and others again uniting.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Cedar beams - Which is understood, of so many galleries, one on each side of the temple, whereof the three first were of stone, and the fourth of cedar, all supported with rows of pillars: upon which there were many chambers for the uses of the temple, and of the priests.
2 And the house which king Solomon built for the L ORD , the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. 3 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v2-3
), that over it the people might see what was done and hear what the priests said to them; for, even under that dispensation, they were not kept wholly either in the dark or at a distance. The time spent in this building. It was but seven years and a half from the founding to the finishing of it,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And he built the inner court,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams - Does not this intimate that there were three courses of stone, and then one course of timber all through this wall? Three strata of stone and one stratum of timber, and so on. If so, could such a building be very durable? This is also referred to in the succeeding chapter, 1Ki 7:11; and as both the temple and Solomon’s house were built in the same manner, we may suppose that this was the ordinary way in which the better sort of buildings were constructed.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the inner court--was for the priests. Its wall, which had a coping of cedar, is said to have been so low that the people could see over it. THE TIME TAKEN TO BUILD IT.
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 inner court - An outer court is mentioned in 2Ch 4:9. The inner court is probably identical with the “higher court” of Jeremiah Jer 36:10, being raised above the outer, as were sometimes the inner courts of Assyrian palaces. The court seems to have surrounded the temple. Its dimensions may be reasonably presumed to have been double those of the court of the tabernacle, i. e., 100 cubits on each side of the temple, and 200 cubits at the ends; or, about 720 feet long by 360 broad. With three rows of hewed stone - Either a fence enclosing the court, or the area of the court, which was possibly formed by three layers of hewn stone placed one above the other, and was then boarded on the top with cedar planks. Such a construction would no doubt be elaborate; but if it was desired to elevate the inner court above the outer, this is the way in which it would be likely to have been done. The temple would be placed, like the Assyrian palaces, on an artificial platform; and the platform, being regarded as a part of the sacred building, would be constructed of the best material.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּ֙בֶן֙ | vaiyiven | and he built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הֶחָצֵ֣ר | hechatzer | the court | H2691 → | 191 times |
| הַפְּנִימִ֔ית | hapenimit | <the> inner | H6442 → | 32 times |
| שְׁלֹשָׁ֖ה | sheloshah | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| טוּרֵ֣י | turei | rows of | H2905 → | 26 times |
| גָזִ֑ית | gazit | hewn [stone] | H1496 → | 11 times |
| וְט֖וּר | vetur | and a row of | H2905 → | 26 times |
| כְּרֻתֹ֥ת | kerutot | beams of | H3773 → | 3 times |
| אֲרָזִֽים׃ | ʾarazim | cedar<s> | H730 → | 73 times |
וַיִּ֙בֶן֙and he built
vaiyivenH1129 →376 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הֶחָצֵ֣רthe court
hechatzerH2691 →191 times
הַפְּנִימִ֔ית<the> inner
hapenimitH6442 →32 times
שְׁלֹשָׁ֖הthree
sheloshahH7969 →432 times
טוּרֵ֣יrows of
tureiH2905 →26 times
גָזִ֑יתhewn [stone]
gazitH1496 →11 times
וְט֖וּרand a row of
veturH2905 →26 times
כְּרֻתֹ֥תbeams of
kerutotH3773 →3 times
אֲרָזִֽים׃cedar<s>
ʾarazimH730 →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
Revelation 11:2But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
it leads to
- Luke 21:24
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
- Daniel 7:25
He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for…
- Revelation 12:6
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days.
- Daniel 12:7
And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever,…
- Revelation 11:3
And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
- Luke 21:24
Through
2 Chronicles 7:7Then Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, since the bronze altar…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:64–66
On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of…
- Hebrews 13:10–12
We have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
- 2 Chronicles 4:1
He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.
- 1 Kings 8:64–66
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, Of the Temple of Solomon 2.17.8; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 22; 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; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.