Poole on 1 Kings 6:11-15: Solomon's Temple: The Promise of God's Presence

Verse 11:[1]  And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying…

The word of the LORD came, etc.:  Either by some prophet, or rather in a vision or dream, as it did before.

Verse 12:  Concerning this house which thou art in building, (1 Kings 2:4; 9:4) if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, (2 Sam. 7:13; 1 Chron. 22:10) which I spake unto David thy father…

[This house which thou art building (thus most interpreters)]  The sense here is suspended; the Nominative is posited absolutely according to custom, as in Psalm 10:4;[2] Isaiah 11:10, in that day a root, etc.[3] (Sanchez).  Concerning this house, etc. (English, Dutch).  As far as that is concerned, etc. (Sanchez).  This house, understanding, is acceptable to me (Osiander, Martyr).  Let this be the house that thou art building.  If thou wilt walk, etc.  God distinguishes the true temple from that of stone.  For God does not dwell in temples made with hands,[4] but the man converted to God is truly His temple and dwelling; according to that saying in John 14:23, we will make our abode with him (Strigelius).

[If thou wilt walk, etc.]  That is, In this temple I will fulfill my promises, and from here render responses, will protect the temple and city; if thou and thy successors will live according to my law (Grotius).  He cautions him, lest he persuade himself that the kingdom was to be perpetuated to him on account of that building.  But I will fulfill that, if thou wilt walk, etc.  I think that these things were said, while he was in the midst of the work; others, after the completion of the work; and He wanted these things posited here by way of anticipation (Martyr).

If thou wilt walk in my statutes, etc.:  God speaks thus, partly to encourage him to proceed in his work, and partly to purge out that pride and vainglory, (which God, the searcher of hearts, saw either then did or would arise in Solomon’s mind, as being the author and builder of so glorious a work,) and that presumption and security, which was very likely to grow, and God foresaw would grow, both in Solomon and in the people; as if God was now in a manner engaged to continue his presence with them, and in his own temple; and that they had now no great reason to fear God’s departure from them, though they should provoke him.  Therefore he expresseth the condition upon which his promise and favour is suspended; and by assuring him thereof in case of obedience, he plainly intimates the contrary upon his disobedience.

Verse 13:[5]  And (Exod. 25:8; Lev. 26:11; 2 Cor. 6:16; Rev. 21:3) I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not (Deut. 31:6) forsake my people Israel.

Verse 14:[6]  (1 Kings 6:38) So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

Verse 15:[7]  And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls (or, from the floor of the house unto the walls,[8] etc., and so, ver. 16[9]) of the cieling:  and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.

[And he built]  That is, he covered, dressed, adorned; for the walls were built of stones (Lapide).  He covered with boards, within with boards (or ribs [Montanus], posts [Syriac], sides [Junius], planks [Munster, Pagnine, Junius and Tremellius, Tirinus]) of cedar[10] (thus Jonathan).  Ribs in the place of planks (Mariana).

[From the pavement of the house unto the summit of the walls, and unto the rafters, ‎מִקַּרְקַ֤ע הַבַּ֙יִת֙ עַד־קִיר֣וֹת הַסִּפֻּ֔ן [11]]  From the pavement (or, that is, from the pavement [Pagnine]:  he explains what he had previously said [Vatablus]:  from the floor [Vatablus, Junius and Tremellius]; from the foundation [Arabic, Syriac]) of the house to the raftering, or to the walls of the raftering (Pagnine, Montanus), to the ceiling of it (Syriac, similarly Jonathan), to the top of it (Arabic), to the story, that is, the ceiling (Vatablus), to the covering of the walls.  Hebrew:  to the walls of the covering, that is, to the uppermost part of the wall, upon which rests the covering (Junius).

Both the floor, or rather, from the floor, as it is in the Hebrew; for the floor itself was not covered with cedar, but with fir, as it here follows.  And the walls of the ceiling, or rather, as it is in the Hebrew, unto the walls of the ceiling, or of the roof, that is, unto the top of the wall, which was even with the roof; for the roof itself was not of stone, but wood.  Or, unto the walls of the ceiling, that is, unto the ceiling itself; which performing the office of a wall, may well be called by that name.  For the name of a wall is not appropriated to stone or brick, because we read of a brasen wall, Jeremiah 15:20, and a wall of iron, Ezekiel 4:3.  And that wall into which Saul smote his javelin, 1 Samuel 19:10, seems more probably to be understood of wood than of stone; especially, considering that it was the room where the king used to dine.  So by this periphrasis, from the floor of the house unto the walls of the ceiling, he designs all the side walls of the house.

[He covered with timbers of cedar within, ‎צִפָּ֥ה עֵ֖ץ מִבָּ֑יִת]  He covered with timber (or timber of cedar [Munster, thus Jonathan, Osiander, Vatablus]) within (Pagnine, Tigurinus, Montanus).

He covered them, to wit, the side walls of the house, now mentioned.  With wood, that is, with other kind of wood, even with fir, as appears from 2 Chronicles 3:5, wherewith the floor is here said to be covered.

[And he covered the pavement of the house]  Not of the innermost part, but of the prior part.  It is Synecdoche, as it appears from verse 17.  See 2 Chronicles 3:5 (Piscator out of Junius).

[With planks of fir (thus Pagnine, Jonathan, etc.), ‎בְּצַלְע֥וֹת בְּרוֹשִֽׁים׃ [12]]  In ribs of fir (Montanus).  [But Tigurinus:  with timbers of pine.]  Solomon made use of timber rather than stone, 1.  because timber was better suited to receive engraving; 2.  because gold more readily adheres to, and is impressed upon, wood than stone (Martyr).

The floor of the house:  this is here spoken only concerning the floor, because there was nothing but planks of fir; whereas there was both cedar and fir in the sides of the house, the fir being either put above or upon the cedar, or intermixed with or put between the boards or ribs of cedar, as may be gathered from the said parallel place, 2 Chronicles 3:5.

[1] Hebrew:  ‎וַיְהִי֙ דְּבַר־יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃

[2] Psalm 10:4:  “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek (רָשָׁ֗ע כְּגֹ֣בַהּ אַ֭פּוֹ בַּל־יִדְרֹ֑שׁ):  God is not in all his thoughts.”

[3] Isaiah 11:10:  “And it shall be in that day, a root of Jesse (‎וְהָיָה֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא שֹׁ֣רֶשׁ יִשַׁ֗י), which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek:  and his rest shall be glorious.”

[4] Acts 17:24.

[5] Hebrew:  ‎וְשָׁ֣כַנְתִּ֔י בְּת֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֥א אֶעֱזֹ֖ב אֶת־עַמִּ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ס

[6] Hebrew:  ‎וַיִּ֧בֶן שְׁלֹמֹ֛ה אֶת־הַבַּ֖יִת וַיְכַלֵּֽהוּ׃

[7] Hebrew: ‎וַיִּבֶן֩ אֶת־קִיר֙וֹת הַבַּ֤יִת מִבַּ֙יְתָה֙ בְּצַלְע֣וֹת אֲרָזִ֔ים מִקַּרְקַ֤ע הַבַּ֙יִת֙ עַד־קִיר֣וֹת הַסִּפֻּ֔ן צִפָּ֥ה עֵ֖ץ מִבָּ֑יִת וַיְצַ֛ף אֶת־קַרְקַ֥ע הַבַּ֖יִת בְּצַלְע֥וֹת בְּרוֹשִֽׁים׃

[8] Hebrew:  ‎מִקַּרְקַ֤ע הַבַּ֙יִת֙ עַד־קִיר֣וֹת.

[9] 1 Kings 6:16:  “And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls (‎מִן־הַקַּרְקַ֖ע עַד־הַקִּיר֑וֹת, from the floor to the walls) with boards of cedar:  he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.”

[10] Hebrew:  ‎מִבַּ֙יְתָה֙ בְּצַלְע֣וֹת אֲרָזִ֔ים—וַיִּבֶן֩.

[11] סִפֻּן/ceiling is related to the verbal root סָפַן, to cover, or to panel.

[12] בְּרוֹשׁ can signify fir or cypress.