Each of the pillars was 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference. They were hollow, with walls 3 inches thick.
Parallel translations
- WEB As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits encircled it; and its thickness was four fingers. It was hollow.
- KJV And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
- BSB Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall and twelve cubits in circumference; each was hollow, four fingers thick.
- NKJV Now concerning the pillars: the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, a measuring line of twelve cubits could measure its circumference, and its thickness was four fingers; it was hollow.
- NASB As for the pillars, the height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow.
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 text describes one pillar's dimensions: eighteen cubits high, a twelve-cubit circumference, four fingers thick, and hollow. It records the grandeur of the temple's bronze pillars.
Overview
The pillars, named Jachin and Boaz, stood at the temple entrance as enduring symbols of God's establishment and strength. The careful measurements memorialize their majesty even as they are being destroyed. By recording such detail, Scripture preserves the memory of the LORD's house, while the loss of these pillars points beyond stone and bronze to the unshakable foundation Christ provides.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 2 Kgs 25:17The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was on it. The height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates on the capital around it, all of brass; and the second pillar with its network was like these.
- 2 Chr 3:15–17Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty-five cubits height, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
- 1 Kgs 7:15–21For he fashioned the two pillars of brass, eighteen cubits high apiece; and a line of twelve cubits encircled either of them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 52:21 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.