And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.
Parallel translations
- WEB He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and a course 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 7:12And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.
- Exod 38:9–20And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits:
- Exod 27:9–19And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:
- 2 Chr 4:9Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass.
- 2 Chr 7:7Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.
- Rev 11:2But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
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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
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