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The Building of the Temple

Solomon began building the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord[a] had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David prepared at the threshing floor of Ornan[b] the Jebusite. He began building on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of his reign.[c]

Solomon laid the foundation for God’s temple;[d] its length (determined according to the old standard of measure) was 90 feet, and its width 30 feet.[e] The porch in front of the main hall was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple,[f] and its height was 30 feet.[g] He plated the inside with pure gold. He paneled[h] the main hall[i] with boards made from evergreen trees[j] and plated it with fine gold, decorated with palm trees and chains.[k] He decorated the temple with precious stones; the gold he used came from Parvaim.[l] He overlaid the temple’s rafters, thresholds, walls and doors with gold; he carved decorative cherubim on the walls.

He made the Most Holy Place;[m] its length was 30 feet,[n] corresponding to the width of the temple, and its width 30 feet.[o] He plated it with 600 talents[p] of fine gold. The gold nails weighed 50 shekels; he also plated the upper areas with gold. 10 In the Most Holy Place he made two images of cherubim and plated them with gold. 11 The combined wing span of the cherubim was 30 feet.[q] One of the first cherub’s wings was 7½ long and touched one wall of the temple; its other wing was also 7½ long and touched one of the second cherub’s wings.[r] 12 Likewise one of the second cherub’s wings was 7½ long and touched the other wall of the temple; its other wing was also 7½ long and touched one of the first cherub’s wings.[s] 13 The combined wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet.[t] They stood upright, facing inward.[u] 14 He made the curtain out of blue, purple, crimson, and white fabrics, and embroidered on it decorative cherubim.

15 In front of the temple he made two pillars which had a combined length[v] of 52½ feet,[w] with each having a plated capital 7½ high.[x] 16 He made ornamental chains[y] and put them on top of the pillars. He also made 100 pomegranate-shaped ornaments and arranged them within the chains. 17 He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right side and the other on the left.[z] He named the one on the right Yakin,[aa] and the one on the left Boaz.[ab]

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Notas al pie

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:1 tn Heb “where he.” “Lord” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  2. 2 Chronicles 3:1 tn In 2 Sam 24:16 this individual is called אֲרַוְנָא (ʾaravna; traditionally “Araunah”). The form of the name found here also occurs in 1 Chr 21:15; 18-28.
  3. 2 Chronicles 3:2 sn This would be April-May, 966 b.c. by modern reckoning.
  4. 2 Chronicles 3:3 tn Heb “and these are the founding of Solomon to build the house of God.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 3:3 tn Heb “the length [in] cubits by the former measure was 60 cubits, and a width of 20 cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches (45 cm) for the standard cubit, the length of the foundation would be 90 feet (27 m) and its width 30 feet (9 m).
  6. 2 Chronicles 3:4 tc Heb “and the porch which was in front of the length corresponding to the width of the house, 20 cubits.” The phrase הֵיכַל הַבַּיִת (hekhal habbayit, “the main hall of the temple,” which appears in the parallel account in 1 Kgs 6:3) has been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton after עַל־פְּנֵי (’al pene, “in front of”). Note that the following form, הָאֹרֶךְ (haʿorekh, “the length”), also begins with the Hebrew letter he (ה). A scribe’s eye probably jumped from the initial he on הֵיכַל to the initial he on הָאֹרֶךְ, leaving out the intervening letters in the process.
  7. 2 Chronicles 3:4 tc The Hebrew text has “one hundred and 20 cubits,” i.e., (assuming a cubit of 18 inches) 180 feet (54 m). An ancient Greek witness and the Syriac version read “20 cubits,” i.e., 30 feet (9 m). It is likely that מֵאָה (meʾah, “a hundred”) should be emended to אַמּוֹת (ʾammot, “cubits”).
  8. 2 Chronicles 3:5 tn Heb “covered.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 3:5 tn Heb “the large house.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 3:5 tn Heb “wood of evergreens.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 3:5 tn Heb “and he put up on it palm trees and chains.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 3:6 tn Heb “and he plated the house [with] precious stone for beauty, and the gold was the gold of Parvaim.”sn The location of Parvaim, the source of the gold for Solomon’s temple, is uncertain. Some have identified it with modern Farwa in Yemen; others relate it to the Sanskrit parvam and understand it to be a general term for the regions east of Israel.
  13. 2 Chronicles 3:8 tn Heb “the house of the holy place of holy places.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 3:8 tn Heb “20 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), this would give a length of 30 feet (9 m).
  15. 2 Chronicles 3:8 tc Heb “20 cubits.” Some suggest adding, “and its height 20 cubits” (see 1 Kgs 6:20). The phrase could have been omitted by homoioteleuton.
  16. 2 Chronicles 3:8 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold plating was 40,380 lbs. (18,360 kg).
  17. 2 Chronicles 3:11 tn Heb “and the wings of the cherubim, their length was 20 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the wingspan of the cherubim would have been 30 feet (9 m).
  18. 2 Chronicles 3:11 tn Heb “the wing of the one was 5 cubits from the touching of the wall of the house, and the other wing was 5 cubits from the touching of the wing of the other cherub.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), each wing would have been 7.5 feet (2.25 m) long.
  19. 2 Chronicles 3:12 tn Heb “and the wing of the one (הָאֶחָד, haʾekhad, “the one”; this should probably be emended to הָאַחֵר, haʾakher, “the other”) cherub was 5 cubits, touching the wall of the house, and the other wing was 5 cubits, clinging to the wing of the other cherub.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 3:13 tn Heb “the wings of these cherubim were spreading 20 cubits.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 3:13 tn Heb “and they were standing on their feet, with their faces to the house.” An alternative translation of the last clause would be, “with their faces to the main hall.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 3:15 sn The figure given here appears to refer to the combined length of both pillars (perhaps when laid end-to-end on the ground prior to being set up; cf. v. 17); the figure given for the height of the pillars in 1 Kgs 7:15, 2 Kgs 25:17, and Jer 52:21 is half this (i.e., 18 cubits).
  23. 2 Chronicles 3:15 tc The Syriac reads “18 cubits” (27 feet). This apparently reflects an attempt at harmonization with 1 Kgs 7:15, 2 Kgs 25:17, and Jer 52:21.
  24. 2 Chronicles 3:15 tn Heb “and he made before the house two pillars, 35 cubits [in] length, and the plated capital which was on its top [was] 5 cubits.” The significance of the measure “35 cubits” (52.5 feet or 15.75 m, assuming a cubit of 18 inches) for the “length” of the pillars is uncertain. According to 1 Kgs 7:15, each pillar was 18 cubits (27 feet or 8.1 m) high. Perhaps the measurement given here was taken with the pillars lying end-to-end on the ground before they were set up.
  25. 2 Chronicles 3:16 tn The Hebrew text adds here, “in the inner sanctuary,” but the description at this point is of the pillars, not the inner sanctuary.
  26. 2 Chronicles 3:17 tn Or “one on the south and the other on the north.”
  27. 2 Chronicles 3:17 tn The name “Yakin” appears to be a verbal form and probably means, “he establishes.”
  28. 2 Chronicles 3:17 tn The meaning of the name “Boaz” is uncertain. For various proposals, see BDB 126-27 s.v. בֹּעַז. One attractive option is to revocalize the name as בְּעֹז (beʿoz, “in strength”) and to understand it as completing the verbal form on the first pillar. Taking the words together and reading from right to left, one can translate the sentence, “he establishes [it] in strength.”

Temple Construction(A)

So Solomon began construction of the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where the Lord[a] had appeared to his father David, that is, where David had prepared Ornan the Jebusite’s threshing floor. He began construction on the second day[b] of the second month of the fourth year of his reign.

Dimensions of the Temple

These are the foundations that Solomon set in place for God’s Temple. The length in terms of the former standard measurements: 60 cubits;[c] its width: 20 cubits.[d] A portico extended in front of the Temple for its entire width of 20 cubits,[e] and was[f] 120 cubits[g] high. Inside he had it overlaid with pure gold. The main room of the Temple was trimmed with a wainscoting composed of cypress wood, overlaid with fine gold ornamented with palm trees and chains. The Temple was adorned with precious stones, including gold from the Orient.[h] The Temple was overlaid with gold, including the beams, thresholds, walls, and doors. Cherubim were engraved on the walls. With respect to the Most Holy Place in the Temple, its length across the width of the Temple was 20 cubits,[i] and its width extended 20 cubits.[j]

Materials of the Temple

Solomon[k] overlaid it with 600 talents[l] of pure gold. The gold nails weighed 50 shekels.[m] He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold. 10 He crafted two cherubim from wood, overlaid them with gold, and placed them in the Most Holy Place in the Temple. 11 The wingspan of the cherubim was 20 cubits;[n] the wing of one, five cubits[o] long, touched the wall of the Temple, and its other wing, five cubits[p] long, touched the wing of the other cherub. 12 The wing of the other cherub, five cubits[q] long, touched the opposite[r] wall of the Temple and its other wing, five cubits[s] long, touched the wing of the first[t] cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended for 20 cubits[u] as they stood on their feet and faced the front of[v] the Temple. 14 He constructed the veil from blue,[w] purple, crimson, and fine linen, embroidering cherubim on it. 15 He also made two pillars 35 cubits[x] high for the front of the Temple, topped by a capital that was five cubits[y] high. 16 He crafted chains for the inner sanctuary and placed them on top of the pillars, attaching 100 pomegranates to each of the chains. 17 He set up the pillars at the front of the Temple, one on the south side of the entrance[z] and the other on the north side of the entrance.[aa] He named the south pillar Jachin[ab] and the north pillar Boaz.[ac]

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Notas al pie

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:1 The Heb. lacks the Lord
  2. 2 Chronicles 3:2 The Heb. lacks day
  3. 2 Chronicles 3:3 I.e. about 90 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  4. 2 Chronicles 3:3 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  5. 2 Chronicles 3:4 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  6. 2 Chronicles 3:4 The Heb. lacks was
  7. 2 Chronicles 3:4 I.e. about 180 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  8. 2 Chronicles 3:6 Lit. from Parvaim
  9. 2 Chronicles 3:8 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  10. 2 Chronicles 3:8 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  11. 2 Chronicles 3:8 Lit. He
  12. 2 Chronicles 3:8 I.e. about 45,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  13. 2 Chronicles 3:9 I.e. about 20 ounces; a shekel weighed about 0.4 ounces
  14. 2 Chronicles 3:11 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  15. 2 Chronicles 3:11 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  16. 2 Chronicles 3:11 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  17. 2 Chronicles 3:12 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  18. 2 Chronicles 3:12 The Heb. lacks opposite
  19. 2 Chronicles 3:12 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  20. 2 Chronicles 3:12 Lit. other
  21. 2 Chronicles 3:13 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  22. 2 Chronicles 3:13 The Heb. lacks the front of
  23. 2 Chronicles 3:14 Or violet
  24. 2 Chronicles 3:15 I.e. about 52 and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  25. 2 Chronicles 3:15 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  26. 2 Chronicles 3:17 The Heb. lacks of the entrance
  27. 2 Chronicles 3:17 The Heb. lacks of the entrance
  28. 2 Chronicles 3:17 The Heb. name means He will establish
  29. 2 Chronicles 3:17 The Heb. name means In him is strength