Bible Commentaries

11. The pattern — Jehovah had somehow revealed to David the pattern of the temple, as he revealed to Moses that of the tabernacle. Exodus 26:30.

The porch — See on 1 Kings 6:3.

The houses thereof — The two main rooms, the holy place and the holy of holies, called in 1 Kings 6:17; 1 Kings 6:27, respectively “the house” and “the inner house.”

The treasuries — These were probably located in some of the side chambers.

The upper chambers — These are mentioned again in 2 Chronicles 3:9, and are probably to be understood of the upper tier or story of the side chambers, mentioned in 1 Kings 6:5. Bertheau thinks they were over the most holy place, which, being twenty cubits every way, left a vacant space above of twenty cubits square and ten cubits high. But the place above the oracle would have been most likely left in darkness, and the plan of the temple as given in 1 Kings 6, shows no way of access to it.

The inner parlours thereof — These were probably the more private apartments of the middle and lower stories of the side chambers.

The place of the mercy seat — Hebrew, house of the capporeth; that is, the oracle, or holy of holies. See on 1 Kings 6:20.

12. The pattern of all that he had by the Spirit — Rather, of all that was in spirit with him; that is, of all that was pictured or conceived in his own mind. The words do not warrant the explanation, all that was shown him by the Holy Spirit.

15, 16. The candlesticks of silver and the tables of silver are mentioned nowhere else. They were probably for the more private use of the priests and Levites.

18. The chariot of the cherubim — The words chariot and cherubim are grammatically in apposition — the chariot, namely, the cherubim. The cherubim were themselves regarded as the chariot on which Jehovah rode. Psalms 18:10.

19. The Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me — Literally, the whole in a writing from the hand of Jehovah upon me he taught, all the works of the pattern. The meaning of this passage seems to be, that David had committed his plans for the temple to writing, and having modelled them largely after the pattern of the tabernacle, and conscious of the Divine inspiration and approval with which he wrote, he presented his patterns to Solomon as no devices or plans of his own invention, but as truly God-given as that received by Moses in the mount. Exodus 25:40. It need not be assumed, however, that David received the revelation of his plans in the same way that Moses did those of the tabernacle.