Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][graphic][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][graphic]

God's promise unto it.

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

round about, both of the temple and | children of Israel, and will not for-
of the oracle: and he made † cham- sake my people Israel.
bers round about:

6 The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made † narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

Before CHRIST 1005.

the floor of house unto

15 And he built the walls of the
house within with boards of cedar,
both the floor of the house, and the Or, from
walls of the cieling: and he covered out the
them on the inside with wood, and the walls, &c.
covered the floor of the house with 16.
planks of fir.

7 And the house, when it was in 16 And he built twenty cubits on
building, was built of stone made the sides of the house, both the floor
ready before it was brought thither: and the walls with boards of cedar:
so that there was neither hammer he even built them for it within, even
nor ax nor any tool of iron heard for the oracle, even for the most holy
in the house, while it was in build-place.
ing.
17 And the house, that is, the
8 The door for the middle cham-temple before it, was forty cubits
ber was in the right side of the
house and they went up with wind-
ing stairs into the middle chamber,
and out of the middle into the third.
9 So he built the house, and finish-
ed it; and covered the house with
beams and boards of cedar.

10 And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

11 And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,

12 Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:

13 And I will dwell among the

5. - he made chambers round about:] In the Hebrew, he made "ribs," by which some understand galleries, encompassing the above-mentioned chambers, so as to afford a convenient passage to them. The chambers were made for the convenience of the priests, where they might refresh themselves, change their dress, eat of the sacrifices, &c. Bp. Patrick.

long.

and so ver.

18 And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and Or, gourds. +open flowers: all was cedar; there + Heb. was no stone seen.

19 And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

openings of

flowers.

20 And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with + pure gold; and so ↑ Heb. shut covered the altar which was of cedar. "P 21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.

22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished

charges respecting it, unless he firmly intended to lead a religious life, and observe all the Divine laws. Bp. Patrick.

15. the walls of the house] He here speaks, ver. 15, 16, of the most holy place, which, of all parts of the temple, was properly called "the house," because here the Divine glory dwelt, and here answers were given from the oracle of God. It is called "the house within," ver. 19, probably on account of its being farthest from the entrance into the whole building.

7.- so that there was neither hammer nor ax &c.] The sense is plain, that the stones were laid without any noise, there being nothing to be done but to join them together. Bp. Patrick. All the materials, whether of 17. - the house, that is, the temple before it,] He here wood or stone, were so adapted and prepared before- speaks of the holy place, or that part of the house, hand, that they were put together with great quick-which was before the most holy place; the former being ness, little trouble, and very little or no noise of workmanship. Pyle.

12. Concerning this house &c.] While Solomon was laying the foundation, and raising the building very firm and strong, which would last for many generations, God conveys this intimation to him, that he should not presume upon its duration, unless he and the people of Israel continued in obedience; and therefore that he had better not proceed in his work, nor incur further

forty cubits in length, and the latter twenty. Bp. Patrick. 19. And the oracle he prepared &c.] The inmost or holiest room (agreeably to that in the tabernacle) was the place where the ark (or oracle) was to stand, whence the whole room is called the oracle, ver. 20. This room was plated every where with beaten gold, ver. 20, as was also the altar (of incense) that stood before the ark. The holy place, and the most holy, ver. 21, 22, were parted by a large costly vail or curtain, hung upon golden

The ornaments of the temple.

CHRIST 1005.

I. KINGS.

The time of building it.

Before all the house also the whole altar | overlaid with gold, within and withthat was by the oracle he overlaid out. with gold.

Or, oily. + Heb. trees of oil.

c Exod. 25. 20.

Or, the cherubims stretched forth their

wings.

+ Heb. openings of flowers.

23 ¶ And within the oracle he made two cherubims of || +olive tree, each ten cubits high.

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 one wing unto the uttermost part of the other

were ten cubits.

25 And the other cherub was ten cubits both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.

26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.

27 And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, 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.

Before CHRIST 1005.

31 And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were || a fifth | Or, part of the wall.

fivesquare.

32 The two doors also were of Or, olive tree; and he carved upon them doors. carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them + Heb. with gold, and spread gold upon the of cherubims, and upon the palm trees.

openings

33 So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, || a | Or, fourth part of the wall.

34 And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

35 And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.

36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.

37¶ In the fourth year was the

28 And he overlaid the cherubims foundation of the house of the LORD with gold.

29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and with

out.

30 And the floor of the house he

chains; the partition itself, as far as the curtain, was overlaid with gold, as was also the whole of the sanctuary or holy place. Pyle.

[ocr errors]

23. two cherubims of olive tree,] These were different from the cherubims constructed by Moses, which were of solid gold, rising out of each end of the mercy seat, and looking towards each other, Exod. xxv. 18, 19. But these were of a much larger size, and made of olive wood. Thus, in the most holy place of Solomon's temple, there were four cherubims; two lesser made by Moses of massy gold, and two larger made by Solomon, overlaid with gold. Those constructed by Moses formed part of the mercy seat, and were inseparable from it; these of Solomon seem to have spread their wings over it, being added only for the greater ornament and glory of God's house. It is generally agreed, that, by the cherubims which were so plentifully delineated in every part of this holy place, the hosts of angels were represented, there attending on the Divine Majesty, as ministers to execute his pleasure. Bp. Patrick.

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

seven years and a half in building it, but the half year is omitted to express the time in round numbers. Bp. Patrick. This building of the temple was a work of extraordinary despatch, if we consider its magnitude, variety, and minuteness. The summit of the rocky limestone mount of Moriah was first to be levelled, and hollows and inequalities to be filled up, in order to form a sufficient area or platform for the temple itself, its courts, porticoes, and surrounding offices, which altogether composed a prodigious pile of building, the most splendid and magnificent, perhaps, that the world ever saw; worthy of the Divine Architect who planned, and of the wise and opulent prince who executed it. Dr. Hales. Though the temple itself was a small edifice, yet the many courts and offices about it made the whole a vast pile; and the exquisiteness of the art, and the small number of the artists that could be employed, rendered a long time necessary for the construction. must be owned, however, that, considering all things, singular despatch was used; for, if the building of Diana's temple at Ephesus employed all Asia for 200 years; and if no less than 360,000 men were employed for twenty years in erecting one pyramid, (as Pliny affirms,) no reasonable man can wonder that the temple was seven years and a half in building. Stackhouse. The following is a further account of Solomon's temple, given by Calmet, from whom the plan of the structure which accompanies this work is taken,

It

[blocks in formation]

The place pitched upon for the erection of this magnificent structure was on one side of mount Sion, called Moriah. Its entrance or front stood towards the east, and the most holy and most retired part was towards the west. In the books of Kings and Chronicles we have chiefly a description of the temple properly so called, that is, the holy place, the most holy, and the apartments belonging to them, also the vessels, implements, and ornaments of the temple; without much description of the courts and open areas, which however made a principal part of the grandeur of this august edifice. But Ezekiel has supplied the defect by the exact plan which he has delineated of these parts. It must be owned that the temple, as described by Ezekiel, was never restored after the Babylonish captivity, according to the model and mensurations which that Prophet has given of it. But as the measures which he sets down for the holy and most holy places are nearly the same as those of the temple of Solomon, and as this Prophet, who was himself a priest, had seen the first temple, it is to be supposed that the description which he gives us of the temple of Jerusalem, is that of the temple of Solomon.

The ground plot on which the temple was built was a square of 600 cubits, Ezek. xlv. 2. This space was encompassed with a wall of the height of six cubits, and of the same breadth. Beyond this wall was the court of the Gentiles, being fifty cubits wide. After this was seen a great wall, which encompassed the whole court of the children of Israel. This court of the children of Israel was 500 cubits in square, and was encompassed all round with magnificent galleries, supported by two or three rows of pillars. It had four gates or entrances, to the east, west, north, and south, respectively. They were all of the same form and size, and each had an ascent of seven steps. The court was paved with marble of divers colours, and had no covering; but the people, in case of need, could retire under the galleries that were round about it. The court of the priests was placed in the middle of the court of the people, and was a perfect square, having each side 100 cubits. It was encompassed without by a great wall, having various covered galleries and apartments round about. These apartments were for the lodging of the priests, and for laying up such things as were neces

The porch of pillars, &c.

4 And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks.

Before CHRIST 1005.

+ Heb. sight

sight.

pillars were

prospect.

5 And all the doors and posts against were square, with the windows: and or, light was against light in three ranks. spaces and 6 And he made a porch of pil- square in lars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before | Or, acthem and the other pillars and the them. thick beam were || before them.

cording to

| Or,

them.

7¶Then he made a porch for the according to throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar + from one side + Heb. from of the floor to the other.

8 And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's

floor to floor.

sary for the use of the temple. There were but three ways of entrance, to the east, north, and south, and there was an ascent to it of eight steps. Before, and over against the gate of the court of the priests, in the court of Israel, was erected a throne for the king, being a magnificent alcove, where the king seated himself when he came into the temple. Within the court of the priests, and over against the same eastern gate, was the altar of burnt offerings, of twelve cubits square, according to Ezek. xliii. 12, 13, or of ten cubits high, and twenty broad, according to 2 Chron. iv. 1; the ascent to it was by stairs on the eastern side. Beyond this, and to the west of the altar of burnt offerings, was the temple properly so called, that is, the most holy place, the holy place, and the porch or entrance. The porch was twenty cubits wide, and six cubits deep. The holy place was forty cubits wide, and twenty deep. There stood the golden candlestick, the table of shewbread, and the golden altar upon which the incense was offered. The most holy place was a square of twenty cubits. There was nothing in it but the ark of the covenant, including the tables of the law; the high priest entered into it only once a year; and none else was permitted to enter. Solomon embellished the inside of this most holy place with palm trees in relief, and cherubims of wood covered with plates of gold, and in general the whole of it was adorned, and, as it were, overlaid with plates of gold. Round the holy and most holy places were three stories of chambers, to the number of thirty-three. Ezekiel makes them only four cubits wide; but, according to 1 Kings vi. 5, 6, five cubits were allowed to the first story, six to the second, and seven to the third.

Chap. VII. ver. 1. - was building his own house thirteen years,] It appears that he did not begin to build his own house till he had finished the house of God; for it is stated at chap. ix. 10, that he was twenty years in building the two. The house here mentioned was in Jerusalem. It appears from the next verse, that he also built another house for himself, called "the house of the forest of Lebanon." We are not to suppose from this name that it was built in the forest of Lebanon, which was in the very extremity of Solomon's kingdom; it was probably built in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and derived its name, perhaps, from being built on a

« AnteriorContinuar »