He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and a course of cedar beams.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.
- BSB Solomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.
- NKJV And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.
- NASB And he built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.
- NLT The walls of the inner courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Solomon built the inner court with three layers of cut stone topped by a row of cedar beams. This bordered the sacred area immediately around the temple.
Overview
The inner court set apart the immediate space for priestly ministry and sacrifice. Its construction of dressed stone and cedar matched the dignity of the temple itself. Such graded zones of holiness, from outer court to Most Holy Place, taught Israel that sinful people could not casually approach a holy God, a barrier later removed through Christ's atoning work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Kgs 7:12The great court around had three courses of cut stone, and a course of cedar beams; like the inner court of Yahweh’s house and the porch of the house.
- Exod 38:9–20He made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, one hundred cubits;
- Exod 27:9–19“You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side:
- 2 Chr 4:9Furthermore he made the court of the priests, the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with brass.
- 2 Chr 7:7Moreover Solomon made the middle of the court that was before Yahweh’s house holy; for there he offered the burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the fat.
- Rev 11:2Leave out the court which is outside of the temple, and don’t measure it, for it has been given to the nations. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 6:36 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.