6: 1 And it came to pass in the ⁴⁹four hundred eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he ⁵⁰began to build the house of Jehovah.
⁴⁹An apparent problem to reconcile this number with the 450 years of inheritance in Ac 13:19-20, and possibly with Jephthah’s 300 years in Jg 11:26.
⁵⁰Hb. built the house of Jehovah. Compare Jo 2:20.

6: 2 And the house which king Solomon built for Jehovah, the length thereof was sixty ⁵¹cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
⁵¹Hb. amnah, forearm (from the elbow to the tip of the fingers), typically 18-20 inches.

6: 3 And the porch before ⁵²the 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.
⁵²That is, the holy place. or, the Holy.

6: 4 And for the house he made ⁵³windows of fixed lattice-work.
⁵³Or, windows broad within, and narrow without.

6: 5 And against the wall of the house he built stories round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of ⁵⁴the Word; and he made side-chambers round about.
⁵⁴Or perhaps, the inner sanctum; That is, the most holy place; or, the Holy of Holies; Hb.  debiyr,  the word So vs. 16, and elsewhere.

6: 6 The nethermost story was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house round about, that the beams should not have hold in the walls of the house.
6: 7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready ⁵⁵at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
⁵⁵Or, when it was brought away;

6: 8 The door for the middle side-chambers was in the right ⁵⁶side of the house: and they went up by winding stairs into the middle story, and out of the middle into the third.
⁵⁶Hb. shoulder of the house:

6: 9 So he built the house, and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and ⁵⁷planks of cedar.
⁵⁷Hb. rows

6: 10 And he built the stories against all the house, each five cubits high: and ⁵⁸they rested on the house with timbers of cedar.
⁵⁸Or, he fastened the house

6: 11 And the word of Jehovah came to Solomon, saying,
6: 12 Concerning this house which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute mine ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I establish my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father.
6: 13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.
6: 14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.
6: 15 And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar: ⁵⁹from the floor of the house unto the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the house with boards of ⁶⁰fir.
⁵⁹Or, both the floors of the house and the walls etc. or, ...and the beams etc. Similarly in vs. 16.
⁶⁰Or, cypress.

6: 16 And he built twenty cubits on the hinder parts of the house with boards of cedar from the floor unto the walls of the ceiling: he built them for it within, for a Word, even for the Most Holy.
6: 17 And the house, that is, the temple before the Word, was forty cubits long.
6: 18 And there was cedar on the house within, carved with ⁶¹knops and open flowers: all was ⁶²cedar; there was no stone seen.
⁶¹Or, gourds
⁶²Cedar is toxic to insects, suggesting incorruptibility.

6: 19 And he prepared a Word in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of Jehovah.
6: 20 And within the Word 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: ⁶³and he covered the altar with cedar.
⁶³Or, he overlaid the altar also, which was of cedar.

6: 21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he drew chains of gold across before the Word; and he overlaid it with gold.
6: 22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished: also the whole altar that belonged to the Word he overlaid with gold.
6: 23 And in the Word he made two ⁶⁴cherubim of olive-wood, each ten cubits high.
⁶⁴That is, plural of cherub.

6: 24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the wings unto the uttermost part of the other wings were ten cubits.
6: 25 And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one form.
6: 26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
6: 27 And he set the cherubim within the inner house; and the wings of the cherubim were stretched forth, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
6: 28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
6: 29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers, within and without.
6: 30 And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.
6: 31 And for the entrance of the Word he made doors of olive-wood: the ⁶⁵lintel and door-posts were a fifth part of the wall.
⁶⁵Or, posts

6: 32 So he made two doors of olive-wood; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm-trees.
6: 33 So also made he for the entrance of the temple door-posts of olive-wood, out of a fourth part of the wall;
6: 34 and two doors of ⁶⁶fir-wood: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
⁶⁶Or, cypress-wood:

6: 35 And he carved thereon cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted upon the graven work.
6: 36 And he built the inner court with three courses of hewn stone, and a course of cedar beams.
6: 37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of Jehovah laid, in the month Ziv.
6: 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, ⁶⁷which is the eighth month, was the house finished ⁶⁸throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
⁶⁷The Hebrew calendar begins with the 7^th month, near the Autumn equinox. Hence the total time was 6½ years, not 7½ years. The years are properly reckoned as 7, not 6, because the duration crossed seven New Years’ days (Tishri 1).
⁶⁸Or, with all the appurtenances thereof, and with all the ordinances thereof.