1 Kings 7:20
in 1 Kings 7On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there were capitals above also upon the two pillars, close by the belly which was beside the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred, in rows round about upon the other capital.
KJV
And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter.
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This verse in 1 Kings 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network,.... The supplement is needless, according to Dr. Lightfoot; the sense being only, that the chapiters were above the lily work, which wrought out as far as the belly of the chapiters, or the middle cubit of them, which the pomegranates filled up: and the pomegranates were two hundred, in rows round about upon the other chapiter: there were so many in each, which in all made four hundred, as in 1Ki 7:
This site's exposition
two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits
on 1 Kings 7:15-22
The two freestanding pillars are dressed like a garden, chain work, two hundred pomegranates in rows, lily work at the crown, Eden's vocabulary cast in brass at the temple door. They are named at 7:21, Jachin, he shall establish, and Boaz, in him is strength, a sentence a worshipper read every time he went in, and Boaz is also the name of Ruth's redeemer in David's own line. The narrator will inventory these same pillars broken in pieces and carried to Babylon at 2 Ki 25:13-17, and the naming here is what makes that later verse land.
This site's exposition
the two hundred pomegranates
Albert Barnes holds that words fell out of this verse by repetition, and he restores two hundred pomegranates on each capital. John Wesley reads the same count. John Gill takes the pomegranates as filling the middle cubit of each capital.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
We have said that the pomegranates were a type of either the whole church or of each individual believer, but the number one hundred that was originally applied to the right hand was sometimes apt to be used as a figure of eternal beatitude. There …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it must needs be granted, that there were as many on the other side of the pillar, or in the other row, which makes them two hundred upon a pillar, as is here said, and four hundred upon both pillars, as they are numbered, 2 Chron. iv, 13.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In this verse also a portion of the original text is supposed to have fallen out in consequence of the repetition of words. The full phrase of the original has been retained in 1Ki 7:16-17. It may be restored thus: “And the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the one chapiter, and two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter.” The “four hundred” 1Ki 7:42; 2Ch 4:13, are obtained by counting the pomegranates of both pillars together.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכֹתָרֹ֗ת | vekhotarot | and [the] capitals | H3805 → | 24 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [were] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שְׁנֵי֙ | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| הָֽעַמּוּדִ֔ים | haamudim | the pillars | H5982 → | 111 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| מִמַּ֙עַל֙ | mimaal | from above | H4605 → | 140 times |
| מִלְּעֻמַּ֣ת | mileumat | from to near | H5980 → | |
| הַבֶּ֔טֶן | habeten | the bulge | H990 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לְעֵ֣בֶר | leever | [was] to [the] side of | H5676 → | 90 times |
| הַשְּׂבָכָ֑ה | hasevakhah | the network | H7639 → | 16 times |
| וְהָרִמּוֹנִ֤ים | veharimonim | and the pomegranates | H7416 → | 32 times |
| מָאתַ֙יִם֙ | matayim | two hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| טֻרִ֣ים | turim | rows | H2905 → | 26 times |
| סָבִ֔יב | saviv | [were] all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| עַ֖ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַכֹּתֶ֥רֶת | hakoteret | the capital | H3805 → | 24 times |
| הַשֵּׁנִֽית׃ | hashenit | <the> second | H8145 → | 156 times |
וְכֹתָרֹ֗תand [the] capitals
vekhotarotH3805 →24 times
עַל־[were] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שְׁנֵי֙[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
הָֽעַמּוּדִ֔יםthe pillars
haamudimH5982 →111 times
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
מִמַּ֙עַל֙from above
mimaalH4605 →140 times
מִלְּעֻמַּ֣תfrom to near
mileumatH5980 →
הַבֶּ֔טֶןthe bulge
habetenH990 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לְעֵ֣בֶר[was] to [the] side of
leeverH5676 →90 times
הַשְּׂבָכָ֑הthe network
hasevakhahH7639 →16 times
וְהָרִמּוֹנִ֤יםand the pomegranates
veharimonimH7416 →32 times
מָאתַ֙יִם֙two hundred
matayimH3967 →581 times
טֻרִ֣יםrows
turimH2905 →26 times
סָבִ֔יב[were] all around
savivH5439 →336 times
עַ֖לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
הַכֹּתֶ֥רֶתthe capital
hakoteretH3805 →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 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
2 Chronicles 4:13the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars);
it leads to
- Exodus 28:33–34
Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn all the way around the lower hem, with gold bells between them,
- 1 Kings 7:42
the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars);
- Song of Solomon 4:13
Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates with the choicest of fruits, with henna and nard,
- Jeremiah 52:23
Each capital had ninety-six pomegranates on the sides, and a total of a hundred pomegranates were above the surrounding network.
- Exodus 28:33–34
Through
2 Kings 25:17Each 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.
- 1 Kings 7:15–22
Through
2 Chronicles 3:16He made interwoven chains and put them on top of the pillars. He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 6:21
So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold.
- 1 Kings 6:21
About 1 Kings

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Of the Temple of Solomon 2.18.15; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil, The Books of the Kings.
