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2 Chronicles

Chapter 3

In this chapter
  1. Temple Construction Begins 1–4
  2. The Temple’s Interior 5–9
  3. The Cherubim 10–13
  4. The Veil and Pillars 14–17

Temple Construction Begins

Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeareda to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornanb the Jebusite. Solomon began construction on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

The foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide,c according to the old standard.d The portico at the front, extending across the width of the temple, was twenty cubits longe and twenty cubits high.f He overlaid the inside with pure gold.

The Temple’s Interior

He paneled the main room with cypress,g which he overlaid with fine gold and decorated with palm trees and chains. He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and its gold was from Parvaim. He overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.

Then he made the Most Holy Place;h its length corresponded to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. And he overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold.i The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold.j He also overlaid the upper area with gold.

The Cherubim

In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of sculptured work, and he overlaid them with gold. The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits longk and touched the wall of the temple, and its other wing was five cubits long and touched the wing of the other cherub. The wing of the second cherub also measured five cubits and touched the wall of the temple, while its other wing measured five cubits and touched the wing of the first cherub. So the total wingspan of these cherubim was twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main room.

The Veil and Pillars

He made the veil of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim woven into it.

In front of the temple he made two pillars, which together were thirty-five cubits high,l each with a capital on top measuring five cubits.

He made interwoven chainsm and put them on top of the pillars. He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork. Then he set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south and one on the north. The pillar on the south he named Jachin,n and the pillar on the north he named Boaz.o

Footnote · 2 Chronicles 3:

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Footnotes

  1. a3:1 , back to the text See LXX; Hebrew where He had appeared
  2. b3:1 , back to the text Ornan is a variant of Araunah; see 2 Samuel 24:16.
  3. c3:3 , back to the text The foundation was approximately 90 feet long and 30 feet wide (27.4 meters long and 9.1 meters wide).
  4. d3:3 , back to the text The old standard of measurement was a cubit equal to 18 inches or 45.7 centimeters. The new standard, a cubit of approximately 21 inches or 53.3 centimeters (the long cubit) is the basic unit of length throughout Ezekiel 40 to 48.
  5. e3:4 , back to the text 20 cubits is approximately 30 feet or 9.1 meters; also in verses 8, 11, and 13.
  6. f3:4 , back to the text Some LXX and Syriac manuscripts; Hebrew 120 cubits high (approximately 180 feet or 54.9 meters)
  7. g3:5 , back to the text Or pine or juniper or fir
  8. h3:8 , back to the text Or the Holy of Holies; also in verse 10
  9. i3:8 , back to the text 600 talents is approximately 22.6 tons or 20.5 metric tons of gold.
  10. j3:9 , back to the text 50 shekels is approximately 1.26 pounds or 569.8 grams of gold.
  11. k3:11 , back to the text 5 cubits is approximately 7.5 feet or 2.3 meters; also in verse 15.
  12. l3:15 , back to the text 35 cubits is approximately 52.5 feet or 16 meters.
  13. m3:16 , back to the text Or He made chains in the inner sanctuary
  14. n3:17 , back to the text Jachin probably means He establishes.
  15. o3:17 , back to the text Boaz probably means in Him is strength.