The 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.
Parallel translations
- KJV And 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.
- BSB The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.
- NKJV The great court was enclosed with three rows of hewn stones and a row of cedar beams. So were the inner court of the house of the Lord and the vestibule of the temple.
- NASB So the large courtyard all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams as well as the inner courtyard of the house of the Lord, and the porch of the house.
- NLT The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple with its entry room.
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
The great court was bordered with three layers of cut stone and a course of cedar beams, like the temple's inner court. The palace and temple shared a unified design.
Overview
By matching the great court's construction to that of the temple's inner court, the builders gave the whole royal-sacred complex a coherent dignity. The temple and palace stood near one another, symbolizing the close bond between God's house and David's throne. That bond points to the King who is also the true temple, in whom worship and kingship perfectly unite.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 1 Kgs 6:36He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and a course of cedar beams.
- Acts 5:12By the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. They were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.
- Acts 3:11As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
- 1 Kgs 7:6He made the porch of pillars. Its length was fifty cubits and its width thirty cubits; with a porch before them, and pillars and a threshold before them.
- John 10:23It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.
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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 7:12 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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