Verse 1

Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.

The breadth — These walls in their thickness took up as much space as the whole breadth of Moses's tabernacle, Exodus 26:16,22.

Verse 3

Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits.

Went he — From the porch thro' the body of the temple, to the partition between the body of the temple and the holy of holies.

Measured — Either the thickness of that partition wall, or of the pilasters, which stood one on the one side, and the other on the other side of the door.

Of the door — Or entrance out of the temple into the oracle.

And the door — This door was six cubits broad, and an upright bar or post on which the leaves met, and which was of one cubit's breadth, make out seven cubits.

Verse 4

So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place.

Thereof — Of the holy of holies, which was an exact square.

Before — Parallel with the breadth of the temple.

Verse 5

After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side.

After — Having left the holy of holies, now he is come to take the measures of the outer wall.

The house — The temple.

Six cubits — Three yards thick was this wall from the ground to the first story of the side-chambers.

Side-chamber — Of the lowest floor; for there were three stories of these, and they differed in their breadth, as the wall of the temple, on which they rested, abated of its thickness; for the middle chambers were broader than the lowest by a cubit, and the highest as much broader than the middle.

Round about — On the north, south, and west parts, on each side of every one of these three gates.

Verse 6

And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house.

They might — That the beams of the chambers might have good and firm resting-hold.

Had not hold — The ends of the beams were not thrust into the main body of the wall of the temple.

Verse 7

And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.

An enlarging — Of the side chambers, so much of breadth added to the chamber, as was taken from the thickness of the wall; that is, two cubits in the uppermost, and one cubit in the middle-most, more than in the lowest chambers.

A winding about — Winding stairs, which enlarged as the rooms did, and these run up between each two chambers from the bottom to the top; so there were two doors at the head of each pair of stairs, one door opening into one chamber, and the other into the opposite chamber.

For the winding about — These stairs, as they rose in height, enlarged themselves too.

Round about — On all sides of the house where these chambers were.

The breadth — Of each chamber.

Increased — Grew broader by one cubit in every upper chamber. From five in the lowest to six in the middle, and to seven in the highest chamber.

Verse 8

I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.

The foundations — The lowest chamber had properly a foundation laid on the earth, but the floor of the middle, and highest story must be accounted here a foundation; so from the ground to the ceiling of the first room, was six great cubits; from the first to the second, six great cubits; and from the third floor to the roof of the chamber, a like number; to which add we one cubit for thickness of each of the three floors, you have twenty-one cubits for height, ten yards and a half high.

Verse 9

The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within.

The place — The walk and wall.

Verse 11

And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.

The doors — The doors of the lowest row opened into this void paved space.

Verse 12

Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.

The building — This is a new building not yet mentioned, but now measured by itself.

Verse 13

So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long;

The house — The whole temple, oracle, sanctuary and porch, with the walls.

The building — On both the north and south-side of the temple.

Verse 14

Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits.

The breadth — The whole front of the house eastward.

Verse 18

And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces;

Cherubim — Generally taken for the portrait of angels, or young men with wings: yet is the description of them very different in different places; in Ezekiel's vision, Ezekiel 1:5-14; 10:14, Isaiah's vision, Isaiah 6:2, John's vision, Revelation 4:6-8, and in Solomon's temple, 1 Kings 6:23-26.

Verse 19

So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about.

Through all the house — And thus it was through the whole house round about.

Verse 21

The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other.

The face — The door or gate of the temple was square, not arched.

As the appearance — As was the form of the gate of the temple in its larger, so was the form of the gate of the oracle in its lesser dimensions.

Verse 22

The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD.

The altar — Of incense.

The corners — The horns framed out of the four posts at each angle on the top of the altar.

The walls — The sides.

Before the Lord — In the temple, not in the holy of holies.

Verse 23

And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.

Two doors — Each had one.

Verse 25

And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without.

Them — The doors of both temple and oracle.

The temple — Including the holy of holies also.