Topical Bible: Temple: Solomon's: Description of

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The Temple of Solomon, also known as the First Temple, holds a significant place in biblical history as the first permanent structure built for the worship of Yahweh by the Israelites. Commissioned by King Solomon, the son of King David, the temple was constructed in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, the site where Abraham was to offer Isaac (2 Chronicles 3:1). The construction of the temple is detailed primarily in 1 Kings 6-7 and 2 Chronicles 3-4.

Construction and Design:

The temple's construction began in the fourth year of Solomon's reign and took seven years to complete (1 Kings 6:1, 38). The dimensions of the temple were sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high (1 Kings 6:2). The structure was built using the finest materials, including cedar from Lebanon, gold, and precious stones, reflecting the wealth and glory of Solomon's kingdom.

The temple was divided into several key areas:

1. The Porch (Ulam): The entrance to the temple featured a porch that was twenty cubits wide and ten cubits deep (1 Kings 6:3). Two bronze pillars, named Jachin and Boaz, stood at the entrance, each eighteen cubits high (1 Kings 7:15-21).

2. The Holy Place (Hekal): This main hall was forty cubits long and housed the altar of incense, the table for the showbread, and ten golden lampstands (1 Kings 6:17; 1 Kings 7:48-49).

3. The Most Holy Place (Debir): Also known as the Holy of Holies, this inner sanctuary was a perfect cube, measuring twenty cubits in each dimension (1 Kings 6:20). It housed the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the stone tablets of the Law given to Moses (1 Kings 8:6-9). The entrance to the Most Holy Place was adorned with a veil of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen (2 Chronicles 3:14).

Interior and Furnishings:

The interior of the temple was lavishly decorated. The walls were lined with cedar and overlaid with pure gold, and the floors were made of cypress wood, also overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:15, 22, 30). Carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers adorned the walls and doors (1 Kings 6:29, 32).

The temple's furnishings were crafted with great artistry. The altar of incense, the table for the showbread, and the lampstands were all made of gold (1 Kings 7:48-49). The bronze Sea, a large basin supported by twelve oxen, was used for the priests' ceremonial washing (1 Kings 7:23-26). Additionally, ten bronze lavers were used for washing the offerings (1 Kings 7:38-39).

Significance:

Solomon's Temple served as the central place of worship and sacrifice for the Israelites and was the dwelling place of the divine presence of God. The dedication of the temple was marked by a grand ceremony, during which Solomon offered prayers and sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11). The temple stood as a symbol of the covenant between God and Israel and played a crucial role in the religious life of the nation until its destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

Nave's Topical Index

1 Kings 6:16,19-35
And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.
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2 Chronicles 3:8-14
And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
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2 Chronicles 4:22
And the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.
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Library

Solomon's Temple Spiritualized
... Solomon's Temple Spiritualized. or, ... Of all the wonders of the world, the temple of
Solomon was beyond comparison the greatest and the most magnificent. ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/solomons temple spiritualized.htm

The Description of Jerusalem.
... also bends again towards the east at Solomon's pool, and ... it that stood northward
of the temple, and joined ... not possible to give a complete description of these ...
/.../chapter 4 the description of.htm

At the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple.
... That He Who purified the Temple, was its True Light ... Jesus spake to the people in
Solomon's Porch.' There is a pictorialness in the description of the ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xiv at the feast.htm

At the Feast of Tabernacles - First Discourse in the Temple
... the circumstance that it was the only relic left of Solomon's Temple. ... another day,
He was moving in the Temple, watched by ... [3952] For a full description of the ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter vi at the feast.htm

Acts III
... which faced the inner side of the temple wall, called ... to them on the portico called
Solomon's, greatly wondering ... for it is clear, from the description, that he ...
/.../mcgarvey/a commentary on acts of the apostles/acts iii.htm

A Description of Contemplation, and of the First Difference that ...
... A DESCRIPTION OF CONTEMPLATION, AND OF THE FIRST DIFFERENCE ... Saba,"regarding the proofs
of Solomon's wisdom in ... which were offered in the Temple,"was taken ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter iii a description of.htm

In the House of his Heavenly, and in the Home of his Earthly ...
... Passing along the eastern colonnade, or Solomon's Porch, we would, if the description
of the ... Here the standard measures of the Temple are said to have been ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter x in the house.htm

Book 8 Footnotes
... [7] Of the temple of Solomon here described by Josephus, in this and the following
sections of this chapter, see my description of the temples belonging to ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/book 8 footnotes.htm

And First, of the Phials Generally.
... conclusion, before he comes to the particular description either of ... of idolatry,
in that sacred laver of the temple or sea, not made as Solomon's, of brazen ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/mede/a key to the apocalypse/and first of the phials.htm

Ezekiel's vision (Preached Before the Queen at Windsor, June 16 ...
... to speak of the living creatures, the cherubim, his description is very ... the same
which overshadowed the ark in Moses' tabernacle and Solomon's temple"only of ...
/.../the water of life and other sermons/sermon ix ezekiels vision preached.htm