1 Kings 7:12
in 1 Kings 7The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the great court round about had three courses of hewn stone, and a course of cedar beams; like as the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and the porch of the house.
KJV
And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the Lord, and for the porch of the house.
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This verse in 1 Kings 7
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The palace, like the temple, had two courts 1Ki 6:36, not, however, one immediately within the other. The lesser court of the palace seems to have been a private inner court among the buildings 1Ki 7:8. The greater court was outside all the buildings, surrounding the palace on every side. Assyrian palaces had always such an external court, and had generally one or more inner courts or quadrangles. Both for the inner court - By a slight alteration of the text, the meaning would be “as (was done) in the inner court, etc. and in the porch.”
This site's exposition
according to the measures of hewed stones
on 1 Kings 7:9-12
Foundation stones of eight and ten cubits, sawed within and without, and a great court built to the same pattern as the inner court of the house of the LORD, three rows of hewed stone and a row of cedar beams. Palace and temple share one masonry vocabulary, which is the section's quiet point: the kingdom's whole public architecture is of a piece with the sanctuary at its center.
This site's exposition
The great courtyard was surrounded
The palace had two courts like the temple, and Albert Barnes places them differently: a private inner court among the buildings and a great court around them all. Assyrian palaces had the same outer court. Matthew Henry notes that Solomon modeled his own courts on God's.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
36 ); so well did he like the model of God's courts that he made his own by it. 13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. 14 He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass.
quarantine:debris,scripture (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens; scripture-overlap:81%@v13-15
And the great court round about,.... Which surrounded Solomon's house: was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams; these rows were one upon another, and were a wall to the court, which were either topped with a row of cedar wood, or that was a lining to the stones for the inner court of the house of the Lord; or rather as, or like to that, as appears from 1Ki 6:36, and for the porch of the house; not the temple, but Solomon's house.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
for the inner court of the house of the Lord--should be, as in the inner court of the house of the Lord; the meaning is, that in this palace, as in the temple, rows of hewed stones and the cedar beams formed the enclosing wall.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Three rows of cut stones. The wall was made of three tiers of stone and a tier of wood on them.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And above it were precious stones. And above the stones used for the foundation were precious stones, until the ceiling as he mentioned above.
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. 2 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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְחָצֵ֨ר | vechatzer | and [the] court | H2691 → | 191 times |
| הַגְּדוֹלָ֜ה | hagedolah | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| סָבִ֗יב | saviv | [were] all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| שְׁלֹשָׁה֙ | sheloshah | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| טוּרִ֣ים | turim | rows | H2905 → | 26 times |
| גָּזִ֔ית | gazit | hewn [stone] | H1496 → | 11 times |
| וְט֖וּר | vetur | and a row of | H2905 → | 26 times |
| כְּרֻתֹ֣ת | kerutot | beams of | H3773 → | 3 times |
| אֲרָזִ֑ים | ʾarazim | cedar<s> | H730 → | 73 times |
| וְלַחֲצַ֧ר | velachatzar | and to [the] court of | H2691 → | 191 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַפְּנִימִ֖ית | hapenimit | <the> inner | H6442 → | 32 times |
| וּלְאֻלָ֥ם | uleulam | and to [the] porch of | H197 → | 34 times |
| הַבָּֽיִת׃ פ | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
וְחָצֵ֨רand [the] court
vechatzerH2691 →191 times
הַגְּדוֹלָ֜ה<the> great
hagedolahH1419 →526 times
סָבִ֗יב[were] all around
savivH5439 →336 times
שְׁלֹשָׁה֙three
sheloshahH7969 →432 times
טוּרִ֣יםrows
turimH2905 →26 times
גָּזִ֔יתhewn [stone]
gazitH1496 →11 times
וְט֖וּרand a row of
veturH2905 →26 times
כְּרֻתֹ֣תbeams of
kerutotH3773 →3 times
אֲרָזִ֑יםcedar<s>
ʾarazimH730 →73 times
וְלַחֲצַ֧רand to [the] court of
velachatzarH2691 →191 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַפְּנִימִ֖ית<the> inner
hapenimitH6442 →32 times
וּלְאֻלָ֥םand to [the] porch of
uleulamH197 →34 times
הַבָּֽיִת׃ פthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 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
Acts 3:11While the man clung to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and ran to them in the walkway called Solomon’s Colonnade.
it leads to
Through
Acts 5:12The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade.
it leads to
- Acts 19:11
God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul,
- Hebrews 2:4
and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.
- 2 Corinthians 12:12
The true marks of an apostle—signs, wonders, and miracles—were performed among you with great perseverance.
- Acts 14:3
So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
- Acts 2:42–43
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
- Acts 19:11
Through
John 10:23and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade.
it leads to
- Acts 3:11
While the man clung to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and ran to them in the walkway called Solomon’s Colonnade.
- Acts 3:11
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.