1 Kings 6:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar.

NIV: So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar planks.

NASB: So he built the house and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar.

CSB: When he finished building the temple, he paneled it with boards and planks of cedar.

NLT: After completing the Temple structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of cedar beams and planks.

KJV: So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.

NKJV: So he built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar.

When David wanted to build a temple, God sent Nathan the prophet a message. God said, "In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, 'Why have you not built me a house of cedar?'" (2 Samuel 7:7). God told David that he couldn't build the temple because he was a man of war and blood. But his son, Solomon, would (1 Chronicles 22:8–10).

David did what he could to prepare. He contracted cedar from Hiram, king of Tyre (1 Chronicles 22:2–5) and asked the Israelite leaders to follow his example by donating precious metals and stones (1 Chronicles 22:14–16; 29:2–9). When Solomon became king, he followed his father's example and contacted Hiram (1 Kings 5:6). Hiram was delighted to help (1 Kings 5:7–10).

The temple's structure isn't cedar; it's stone. Solomon begins by ordering his workers to dress limestone blocks at the quarry for the walls (1 Kings 6:7). Once they're in place, he brings in the first of the cedar for the roof and ceiling. More timbers join the exterior three-floor structure to the temple walls (1 Kings 6:10).

This verse and 1 Kings 6:14 form a kind of bracket, called an "inclusio," that both surrounds God's message to Solomon and transitions from the exterior construction to the interior finishes. A stone building with a cedar roof isn't grand enough. Solomon lines all the walls with cedar and cypress, carved with palms, flowers, and cherubim, until no stone is visible. Then, he coats all the wood with gold (1 Kings 6:14–22).

First Kings 6:1–10 depicts Solomon building the structure of the temple (2 Chronicles 3:1–4) according to David's plan (1 Chronicles 22:6–16; 28:11–12). Solomon starts in his fourth year, 964 BC, when his kingdom is established, and he has peace on all sides (1 Kings 2:46; 4:21). King Hiram of Tyre provides wood and craftsmen (1 Kings 5:2–8), and Solomon conscripts resident foreign alien workers (2 Chronicles 2:2, 17–18). The building is finished in seven and a half years (1 Kings 6:37–38), but it's not dedicated until the furnishings and Solomon's palace are finished (1 Kings 7).

In 1 Kings 6 (2 Chronicles 3:1–13), Solomon builds the structure of the temple. It's 90 feet / 27.4 meters long and 30 feet / 9 meters wide. At the back, in the west, is the 30-foot / 9 meters cubed holy of holies with two gold-covered cherubim. In front of the nave is a 15-foot-deep / 4.6-meter-deep vestibule. Around the sides and possibly the back are three stories of storerooms. The stone is covered in cedar, carved with cherubim, palm trees, and flowers, and gourds, all of which are covered in gold. The building takes seven and a half years to complete.

In 1 Kings 6 (2 Chronicles 3:1–13), Solomon completes the great task David gave him (1 Chronicles 22:6–11): he builds the temple. David gathered wood and gold (1 Chronicles 22:4, 14; 29:1–9), and Solomon stockpiled more wood and stone (1 Kings 5:6–8). Solomon begins in the fourth year of his reign, in 966 BC, and finishes seven and a half years later. He will spend another thirteen years building his palace while the craftsman Hiram-abi makes the temple furnishings. Then he can dedicate the temple (1 Kings 7—9).

This was originally the first half of a combined text. First Kings records the end of David's reign and the rule of Solomon. After this, the kingdom is split in two. The northern nation of Israel no longer submits to the king of the southern nation, called Judah. The prophet Elijah first appears in this book. The kings mostly fail to honor the Lord. They participate in idolatry and other sins. This will eventually result in their conquest and exile, as depicted throughout the books of Chronicles.