1 Kings 6:15

And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(15) Both the floor.—The true reading is that of the margin, agreeing generally with the LXX. and the Vulgate: that “from the floor to the walls of the ceiling” (including in this phrase the surface of the ceiling itself) “he covered all with cedar, and laid the floor with planks of cypress.”

Benson Commentary

1 Kings 6:15. He built the walls within with boards of cedar — He wainscoted the house, as we now speak, with cedar. Both the floor of the house and the walls of the ceiling — Or, from the floor unto the ceiling; that is, from the bottom to the top. And he covered the floor with planks of fir — Or, with another sort of cedar, which was a great deal firmer and more lasting than fir. See 1 Kings 5:8.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

6:15-38 See what was typified by this temple. 1. Christ is the true Temple. In him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead; in him meet all God's spiritual Israel; through him we have access with confidence to God. 2. Every believer is a living temple, in whom the Spirit of God dwells, 1Co 3:16. This living temple is built upon Christ as its Foundation, and will be perfect in due time. 3. The gospel church is the mystical temple. It grows to a holy temple in the Lord, enriched and beautified with the gifts and graces of the Spirit. This temple is built firm, upon a Rock. 4. Heaven is the everlasting temple. There the church will be fixed. All that shall be stones in that building, must, in the present state of preparation, be fitted and made ready for it. Let sinners come to Jesus as the living Foundation, that they may be built on him, a part of this spiritual house, consecrated in body and soul to the glory of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The description of this verse applies to the main chamber of the temple, the holy place, only. The writer in 1 Kings 6:16 describes the holy of holies.

The marginal rendering of this verse is right, and not the rendering in the text.

Fir - Rather, "juniper." See 1 Kings 5:6 note.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

1Ki 6:15-22. The Ceiling and Adorning of It.

15-21. he built the walls of the house within—The walls were wainscotted with cedar-wood; the floor, paved with cypress planks; the interior was divided (by a partition consisting of folding doors, which were opened and shut with golden chains) into two apartments—the back or inner room, that is, the most holy place, was twenty cubits long and broad; the front, or outer room, that is, the holy place, was forty cubits. The cedar-wood was beautifully embellished with figures in relievo, representing clusters of foliage, open flowers, cherubims, and palm trees. The whole interior was overlaid with gold, so that neither wood nor stone was seen; nothing met the eye but pure gold, either plain or richly chased.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Both the floor, or rather, from the floor, as it is in the Hebrew; for the floor itself was not covered with cedar, but with fir, as it here follows.

And the walls of the ceiling, or rather, as it is in the Hebrew, unto the walls of the ceiling, or of the roof, i.e. unto the top of the wall, which was even with the roof; for the roof itself was not of stone, but wood. Or,

unto the walls of the ceiling, i.e. unto the ceiling itself; which performing the office of a wall, may well be called by that name. For the name of a wall is not appropriated to stone or brick, because we read of a brasen wall, Jeremiah 15:20, and a wall of iron, Ezekiel 4:3. And that wall into which Saul smote his javelin, 1 Samuel 19:10, seems more probably to be understood of wood than of stone; especially, considering that it was the room where the king used to dine. So by this periphrasis, from the floor of the house unto the walls of the ceiling, he designs all the side walls of the house.

He covered them, to wit, the side walls of the house, now mentioned.

With wood, i.e. with other kind of wood, even with fir, as appears from 2 Chronicles 3:5, wherewith the floor is here said to be covered.

The floor of the house: this is here spoken only concerning the floor, because there was nothing but planks of fir; whereas there was both cedar and fir in the sides of the house, the fir being either put above or upon the cedar, or intermixed with or put between the boards or ribs of cedar, as may be gathered from the said parallel place, 2 Chronicles 3:5.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar,.... For as yet he had only built the stone walls of it without, but now he wainscotted it with cedar boards: and not only them, but

both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling; or from "the floor of the house unto the walls of the ceiling"; that is, from the floor, including that, to the walls on each side, reaching up to the ceiling,

he covered them on the inside with wood: of one sort or another, cedar or fir, or both: particularly he

covered the floor of the house with planks of fir: which Hiram sent him, 1 Kings 5:8; which is differently interpreted; by Josephus cypress; by others, as the Tigurine version, pine tree wood; it is very probable it was of the cedar kind, and not the floor only, but the ceiling also, 2 Chronicles 3:5.

Geneva Study Bible

And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and {h} the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.

(h) Meaning, to the roof which was also sealed.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15. And he built] The Hebrew uses the same word for the erection of the stone structure and for the work described in this verse, which was to fit the house with a wainscot of cedar.

both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling] More literally, and better, with R.V., ‘from the floor of the house unto the walls of the cieling.’ The expression means from top to bottom, but ‘the walls of the cieling’ is a singular description of that portion of the wall which touches the cieling. The difference between the Hebrew word for ‘walls’ קירות and for ‘beams’ קורות is so slight that we can hardly help accepting the reading of the LXX. in the next verse, and apparently here too, of ‘beams.’

and he covered them] It is better to omit the conjunction for which, as A.V. indicates, there is no Hebrew, and join with the previous clause, ‘from the floor of the house to the walls (beams?) of the cieling he covered them &c.’

Thus the whole sides, roof and floors on the inside were of wood.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 15. - And he built [i.e., constructed, covered] the walls of the house within [but not without also, as Stanley affirms, "Its massive stonewalls were entirely cased in cedar, so as to give it the appearance of a rough log house"] with boards [or beams (צְלָעות): same word as in vers. 5-8] of cedar [Heb. cedars. The practice of covering stone walls with a lining of wood, which in turn was ornamented with gold or colour (Jeremiah 22:14), seems to have had its origin in Phoenicia (Bahr), and may have been suggested to Solomon by his Zidonian workmen (Cf. 2 Chronicles 2:14), both the floor of the house and the walls of the cieling [This gives no sense and is against the Hebrew, which is as the marg. - "from the floor... unto the walls," etc. The expression walls of the cieling," though it may be taken to mean "the walls where they join the cieling," is peculiar, and the suggestion that for קִירות walls, we should read קורות beams - the word of the parallel verse in 2 Chronicles - has everything in its favour. The LXX. reads εὥς τῶν δοκῶν]: and [omit] he covered them on the inside with wood [This is apparently a mere repetition. The A.V. would lead us to suppose that a fresh particular was stated. We learn from 2 Chronicles 3:6 that not only were the walls, or their wooden lining, covered with plates of gold, "gold of Parvaim," but they were likewise ornamented with precious stones], and he covered the floor of the house with planks of fir [see on 1 Kings 5:8]. 1 Kings 6:15

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"He built (i.e., so far as the sense is concerned, he covered) the walls of the house within with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling he overlaid it with wood within, and overlaid the floor with cypress boards." The expression הסּפּן קירות, "walls of the ceiling," is very striking here, and renders it probable that קירות is only a copyist's error for קורות, "beams of the ceiling." The whole of the inside of the house was covered with wood, so that nothing was to be seen of the stone wall (1 Kings 6:18). On the other hand, the biblical text knows nothing of any covering of the outer walls also with wood, as many have assumed.