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Nach YomiI Kings · מלכים א׳Chapter 6

I Kings 6

מלכים א׳ פרק ו׳

Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: I Kings | Chapter: 6 of 22 | Day: 106 of 742

Date: May 28, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

I Kings 6 is the chapter in which the Beit HaMikdash is built. It is one of the most architecturally precise passages in Tanakh — a sustained piece of sacred description in which dimensions, materials, and decorative motifs are laid out with a craftsman’s deliberateness. The chapter is also rhetorically extraordinary in what it withholds: there are no scenes, no speeches except a single divine word in the middle (verses 11-13), no characters in motion. Where chapter 5 gave us the diplomacy and the workforce that made the Temple possible, chapter 6 gives us the building itself — measured, paneled, gilded, and at last completed. The reader is asked to behold and to understand: the geometry of the House, the symbolic vocabulary of its ornament, and the moral condition under which God’s presence will dwell within it.

The opening verse is one of the most famous chronological anchors in Tanakh: in the four-hundred-and-eightieth year after the Exodus, in the second month — Ziv, an old Canaanite name later replaced by Iyar — in the fourth year of Shlomo’s reign, the construction begins. Chazal use this verse to fix the date of Yetziat Mitzrayim, and the chronology of the entire Israelite nationhood-and-monarchy era hangs on it. The dimensions follow immediately: the House itself is sixty cubits long, twenty wide, thirty high; the ulam (porch) extends another ten cubits beyond the front. These proportions — exact doubles of the dimensions of the Mishkan in many of its parts — frame the Temple as a stable, monumental successor to the portable sanctuary, not a different category of structure but its full-scale, permanent rendering. The windows are described as shekufim atumim — recessed and latticed — a difficult phrase that Chazal read theologically: narrow on the outside but wide on the inside, because the Temple did not need light to enter from the world; rather, light went out from it.

A striking technical detail is the yetzi’a — the storied side-structure that wrapped around the building’s exterior on three sides, providing storage chambers and likely housing some of the priestly service infrastructure. The chapter notes that each story was successively wider (five, six, seven cubits), achieved by recessing the Temple wall as one ascended, so that the supporting beams of the side-chambers rested on these recessed ledges and never penetrated the actual wall of the Temple. Then comes the chapter’s most famous architectural-theological note: when the House was being built, no hammer or axe or any iron tool was heard in the House while it was being built (verse 7). The stones were entirely shaped at the quarry and brought silently to the site. Chazal connect this to the earlier prohibition against using iron on the altar (Shemot 20:22) — iron is the material of war, of Esav, and the House of peace must not be cut by it. The midrash also offers a more wondrous reading: the shamir, a miraculous stone-cutting creature given to Shlomo, did the cutting without iron at all. The silence of the construction is itself part of the architecture: the Beit HaMikdash arises without the noise of tools, in a stillness that anticipates its purpose.

In the heart of the chapter, immediately after the structural description and before the gilding begins, comes the chapter’s only divine speech (verses 11-13). It is a starkly conditional promise: if you walk in My statutes, observe My ordinances, and keep My commandments to walk in them, I will fulfill the word I spoke to David your father, and I will dwell among the children of Israel and not forsake My people Israel. The divine indwelling — the Shechinah — is being announced into the very building under construction, but the announcement is conditioned on Israel’s fidelity. The Temple, magnificent in its physical perfection, is not in itself a guarantor of God’s presence; that presence is contingent on the moral and religious life of the people. This is the chapter’s deepest theological claim, and it sits in a striking literary position — embedded between the description of the exterior and the description of the gilded interior, as if to remind the reader that what truly matters about the House is not the gold yet to come but the fidelity that will inhabit it.

The interior is then described in luminous, almost overwhelming detail. The walls are paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling, the floor with cypress, all so that no stone is visible — the entire stone shell is dressed in living wood. The innermost twenty cubits, separated by a cedar partition, become the Devir, the Holy of Holies — a perfect twenty-by-twenty-by-twenty cubit cube, the architectural realization of the Mishkan’s Kodesh HaKodashim. Here Shlomo carves and gilds with a special intensity. The walls of the entire House are carved with three repeating motifs: keruvim (cherubim), timorot (palm-trees), and peturei tzitzim (open-flower calyxes) — a vocabulary that points simultaneously toward the angelic, the paradisal, and the natural-vegetal. Pure gold covers everything: walls, floor, the cedar altar (the future incense altar), and golden chains hang at the entrance to the Devir.

The chapter’s centerpiece arrives in verses 23-28: the two great cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits tall, each with a ten-cubit wingspan, placed in the Devir. They are entirely new — additions to the Mishkan’s pair of small gold cherubim atop the Aron, not replacements for them. With wings outstretched, the cherubim’s wingtips touch the side walls of the Devir while their inner wings touch each other in the center, exactly spanning the twenty-cubit room. Below them the Aron HaBrit will rest, with its own original pair of cherubim still atop the kapporet. The Holy of Holies thus contains two pairs of cherubim — small and intimate atop the Aron, monumental and protective above and around it. The whole interior is then gilded again, and golden carvings of cherubim, palms, and calyxes adorn every wall.

The doors of the Devir and of the Heichal are described next, both of carved and gilded wood. The Devir’s doors are of atzei shemen (olive-wood, or possibly oleaster); the outer Heichal’s doors are of cypress, hinged on cylindrical pivot-posts. All bear the same iconography of cherubim, palms, and calyxes. The chapter ends with the date-bookends: the foundations were laid in Ziv of year four; the building was completed in the eighth month, Bul (later called Marcheshvan), of year eleven. Seven years from foundation to completion. The total seven years, contrasted with the thirteen years he later spent on his own palace (chapter 7:1), is itself a quiet rebuke or a quiet point of pride, depending on how one reads it: the House of Hashem demanded less time than the house of the king, but the House was built first, and was built with a different sort of attention. The next chapter will turn to the palace, the Temple vessels, and Chiram of Tzor’s bronzework. But for now, the House stands. It is the chapter’s whole subject and its whole accomplishment.

פרק ו׳ · Chapter 6

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֣י בִשְׁמוֹנִ֣ים שָׁנָ֣ה וְאַרְבַּ֣ע מֵא֣וֹת שָׁנָ֡ה לְצֵ֣את בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל מֵאֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרַ֩יִם֩ בַּשָּׁנָ֨ה הָרְבִיעִ֜ית בְּחֹ֣דֶשׁ זִ֗ו ה֚וּא הַחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִ֔י לִמְלֹ֥ךְ שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיִּ֥בֶן הַבַּ֖יִת לַיהֹוָֽה׃

English:

In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left the land of Egypt, in the month of Ziv—that is, the second month—in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, Solomon began to build the House of GOD.

The chapter opens with one of Tanakh's most consequential chronological anchors: 480 years after Yetziat Mitzrayim, in the fourth year of Shlomo's reign, in the month of Ziv (the second month). Rashi: Ziv = Iyar, named for the *zivah* (radiance) of blossoms; the Targum renders 'month of buds.' Radak parses the syntax: 'in the reign of Shlomo' modifies 'the fourth year,' as confirmed by Divrei Hayomim II 3:2.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
בְּחֹדֶשׁ זִו. הוּא אִיָּר, דְּאִית בֵּהּ זִיוָא לְאִילָנָא, וְכֵן תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: זִיו נִיצָנַיָּא. הוּא הַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי. לְמִנְיַן הֶחֳדָשִׁים, שֶׁהֲרֵי נִיסָן רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לֶחֳדָשִׁים. לִמְלֹךְ שְׁלֹמֹה. מוּסַב עַל הַשָּׁנָה הָרְבִיעִית, רְבִיעִית לְמַלְכוּת שְׁלֹמֹה, וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר בְּדִבְרֵי הַיָּמִים: וַיָּחֶל לִבְנוֹת בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בִּשְׁנַת אַרְבַּע לְמַלְכוּתוֹ.
In the month of Ziv. This is Iyar because the trees have blossoms. And [Targum] Yonoson translated this similarly, "the bloom of the buds." Which is the second month. When numbering the months, because Nissan is the beginning of the year for [counting] months. Of the reign of Shlomo. Referring to "the fourth year."1I.e., it does not mean "the second month of Shlomo's reign," rather it means the second month of the fourth year of Shlomo's reign. It was the fourth year of Shlomo's reign. And similarly it is stated in Divrei Hayomim, "And he began to build in the second month [on the second day] in the fourth year of his reign."2II Divrei Hayomim 3:2.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

וְהַבַּ֗יִת אֲשֶׁ֨ר בָּנָ֜ה הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה֙ לַיהֹוָ֔ה שִׁשִּׁים־אַמָּ֥ה אׇרְכּ֖וֹ וְעֶשְׂרִ֣ים רׇחְבּ֑וֹ וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים אַמָּ֖ה קוֹמָתֽוֹ׃

English:

The House that King Solomon built for GOD was 60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.

The Temple's principal dimensions: 60 cubits (length, east-west) × 20 cubits (width, north-south) × 30 cubits high. Rashi: the 60-cubit length comprises the Heichal (40 cubits) plus the Devir/Holy of Holies (20 cubits). Radak adds that Divrei Hayomim II 3:4 records the height of the upper-stories and Ulam together as 120 cubits — referring to the second-floor structure above the main 30-cubit shell.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
שִׁשִּׁים אַמָּה. הַהֵיכָל וְהַדְּבִיר יַחַד.
Sixty amohs. The Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies together.3The length of the Sanctuary was 40 amos and the Holy of Holies was 20 amos.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וְהָאוּלָ֗ם עַל־פְּנֵי֙ הֵיכַ֣ל הַבַּ֔יִת עֶשְׂרִ֤ים אַמָּה֙ אׇרְכּ֔וֹ עַל־פְּנֵ֖י רֹ֣חַב הַבָּ֑יִת עֶ֧שֶׂר בָּאַמָּ֛ה רׇחְבּ֖וֹ עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַבָּֽיִת׃

English:

The portico in front of the Great Hall of the House was 20 cubits long—along the width of the House—and 10 cubits deep to the front of the House.

The Ulam (porch) extends across the eastern face of the Heichal: 20 cubits long (matching the Temple's width) and 10 cubits deep, jutting outward 'al pnei habayit.' Rashi explains the convention: the larger dimension is always called 'length,' the smaller 'width' — so in the Heichal proper east-west is the length, but in the Ulam (oriented across the front) north-south becomes the length.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְהָאוּלָם עַל פְּנֵי. לִפְנֵי הַהֵיכָל בִּכְנִיסָתוֹ. אָרְכּוֹ עַל פְּנֵי רֹחַב הַבָּיִת. אֹרֶךְ הָאוּלָם לְרָחְבּוֹ שֶׁל הַהֵיכָל מִן הַצָּפוֹן לַדָּרוֹם. כָּל מִדָּה הַיְתֵרָה קְרוּיָה אֹרֶךְ, וְהַפְּחוּתָה קְרוּיָה רֹחַב, לְפִי שֶׁבַּהֵיכָל מִדַּת מִן הַמִּזְרָח לַמַּעֲרָב יְתֵרָה, קְרוּיָה אֹרֶךְ, וּבָאוּלָם שֶׁמִּדַּת מִצָּפוֹן לַדָּרוֹם יְתֵרָה בּוֹ, קְרוּיָה אֹרֶךְ מִן הַצָּפוֹן לַדָּרוֹם, וּמִן הַמִּזְרָח לַמַּעֲרָב קְרוּיָה בּוֹ רֹחַב. עַל פְּנֵי הַבָּיִת. לִפְנֵי הַבַּיִת, לְצַד מִזְרָח לְצַד חוּץ.
The entrance hall along the front. In front of the entrance to the Sanctuary. [Twenty amohs] long along the front of the width of the Beis Hamikdosh. The length of the entrance hall was along the width of the Sanctuary, from north to south. All larger measurements are referred to as the length, and the lesser are referred to as the width. Since in the Sanctuary, the measurement from east to west was greater,4It measured 40 amos versus 20 amos from north to south. it was called the length, but since the entrance hall's measurement from north to south was greater,5It measured 20 amos versus 10 amos from east to west. [that which is] called the length, [is the measurement] from north to south and [the measurement] from east to west was called the width. Along the front of the house. Was in front of the house on the eastern side, on the outside.6I.e., it was in addition to the 60 amos mentioned in v. 2 above.

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וַיַּ֣עַשׂ לַבָּ֔יִת חַלּוֹנֵ֖י שְׁקֻפִ֥ים אֲטוּמִֽים׃

English:

aMeaning of parts of vv. 4–6 is uncertain. He made windows for the House, recessed and latticed.

The famous 'shekufim atumim' windows. Rashi (citing Menachot 86b): contrary to ordinary windows that flare wide on the inside to admit more light, these were *narrow on the inside, wide on the outside* — to teach that the Temple did not need light to enter; rather, divine light went out from it. Metzudat David: sealed with translucent glass-like material — visible-through but blocked. Radak notes the Targum gave the opposite reading (open inside, sealed outside).
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
שְׁקֻפִים אֲטֻמִים. רַבּוֹתֵינוּ פֵּרְשׁוּ: שְׁקוּפִים לְשׁוֹן רְאִיָּה וּפְתִיחָה וְהַשְׁקָפָה, פְּתוּחִים מִבַּחוּץ וַאֲטוּמִים מִבִּפְנִים, קְצָרִים מִבִּפְנִים, שֶׁלֹּא כְּדֶרֶךְ שְׁאָר חַלּוֹנוֹת אֲחֵרוֹת הָעֲשׂוּיוֹת לְמָאוֹר, לְהַרְאוֹת שֶׁאֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ לְאוֹרָה.
That were open [wide] on the outside and closed [narrow] on the inside. Our Rabbis explained [שקופים] as an expression of looking, an opening, an observation;7It was made of a glass-like substance.—Metzudas Dovid. open on the outside and closed on the inside, narrow on the inside, not in the usual manner of other windows8Alternatively, חלוני means "sockets" into which שקפים [="horizontal beams"] were inserted. The sockets were open only on the inside and did not go all the way through the wall, i.e., they were אטומים [=sealed] and not visible from the outside of the building. which are made for illumination,9They are therefore constructed narrow on the outside and widening towards the inside to allow the light to spread out as it enters. to indicate that it was not in need of illumination.10See Maseches Menachos 86b.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וַיִּ֩בֶן֩ עַל־קִ֨יר הַבַּ֤יִת (יצוע) [יָצִ֙יעַ֙] סָבִ֔יב אֶת־קִיר֤וֹת הַבַּ֙יִת֙ סָבִ֔יב לַהֵיכָ֖ל וְלַדְּבִ֑יר וַיַּ֥עַשׂ צְלָע֖וֹת סָבִֽיב׃

English:

Against the outside wall of the House—the outside walls of the House enclosing the Great Hall and the Shrinebthe Shrine I.e., the inner sanctuary, designated in v. 16 and elsewhere as the “Holy of Holies.”—he built a storied structure; and he made side chambers all around.

The yatzia — a multi-story structure of side-chambers wrapping the Temple's exterior on three sides (north, west, south). Rashi (citing Bava Batra 61a): three names refer to the same chamber: yatzia, ta, tzela. The chambers wrapped the Heichal and the Devir from outside, providing storage and service space without infringing on the sacred interior.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
יָצִיעַ. אפנטי"ץ בְּלַעַ"ז (יָצִיעַ), וּשְׁלשָׁה שֵׁמוֹת יֵשׁ לָהּ, יָצִיעַ, תָּא, צֶלַע כַּךְ מְפוֹרָשׁ בְּבָּבָא בַּתְרָא. אֶת קִירוֹת הַבַּיִת סָבִיב. כְּלוֹמַר כְּנֶגֶד הַהֵיכָל וּבֵית קָדְשֵׁי הַקֳּדָשִׁים הוּא הַדְּבִיר, עָשָׂה צְלָעוֹת מִבַּחוּץ, לְדָרוֹם וּלְמַעֲרָב וּלְצָפוֹן, וְסוֹף הַמִּקְרָא הוּא פֵּרוּשׁ לְרֹאשׁוֹ, וַיִּבֶן עַל קִיר הַבַּיִת, סָמוּךְ לְקִיר הַבַּיִת, יָצִיעַ סָבִיב, כֵּיצַד עָשָׂה? אֶת קִירוֹת הַבַּיִת לַהֵיכָל וְלַדְּבִיר, עָשָׂה צְלָעוֹת. וַיַּעַשׂ. כְּמוֹ עָשָׂה, וְכֵן: וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה, כְּמוֹ הָיָה לִי לִישׁוּעָה.
A chamber. Apentec, in O.F. It has three names, יציע' תא' צלע, thus is this explained in [Maseches] Bava Basra.11 61a. Around the walls of the Beis Hamikdosh circling all around. I.e., against the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies, which is the דביר, he made chambers on the outside at the south, west, and north. And the end of the verse explains its beginning. "He built against the wall of the Beis Hamikdosh, [meaning] near the wall of the Beis Hamikdosh, a chamber round about. How did he make it? "Against the walls of the Beis Hamikdosh, [i.e., against] the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies, he made chambers." And he made. He made. And similarly, "He was [ויהי] my salvation,"12Shemos 15:2. means the same as "He was [היה] my salvation."13The word 'יהי' is in the future tense but the 'vav' converts it [="ו" המהפך] to the past tense.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

(היצוע) [הַיָּצִ֨יעַ] הַתַּחְתֹּנָ֜ה חָמֵ֧שׁ בָּאַמָּ֣ה רׇחְבָּ֗הּ וְהַתִּֽיכֹנָה֙ שֵׁ֤שׁ בָּאַמָּה֙ רׇחְבָּ֔הּ וְהַ֨שְּׁלִישִׁ֔ית שֶׁ֥בַע בָּאַמָּ֖ה רׇחְבָּ֑הּ כִּ֡י מִגְרָעוֹת֩ נָתַ֨ן לַבַּ֤יִת סָבִיב֙ ח֔וּצָה לְבִלְתִּ֖י אֲחֹ֥ז בְּקִירוֹת־הַבָּֽיִת׃

English:

The lowest story was 5 cubits wide, the middle one 6 cubits wide, and the third 7 cubits wide; for he had provided recesses around the outside of the House so as not to penetrate the walls of the House.

The three stories of side-chambers grew progressively wider: bottom 5 cubits, middle 6, top 7. Rashi (citing Mishna Middot 4:3): 38 chambers in all — 15 north, 15 south (5×3 stories), 8 west. The widening was achieved by *migra'ot* — recessing the Temple wall by one cubit at the height of each story, so the side-chamber roof-beams rested on the recessed ledge rather than penetrating the wall — preserving the integrity and beauty of the Temple wall itself.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
הַיָּצִיעַ הַתַּחְתֹּנָה. בְּכָל רוּחַ וְרוּחַ הָיוּ הַתָּאִים שְׁלשָׁה זֶה עַל זֶה, וּמִדַּת אָרְכּוֹ לֹא נֶאֶמְרָה כָּאן, וּבְמַסֶּכֶת מִדּוֹת שָׁנִינוּ: שְׁלשִׁים וּשְׁמוֹנָה תָּאִים הָיוּ, חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בַּצָּפוֹן, חֲמִשָּׁה עַל גַּבֵּי חֲמִשָּׁה, וַחֲמִשָּׁה עַל גַּבֵּיהֶן, וְכֵן בַּדָּרוֹם, וּשְׁמוֹנָה בַּמַּעֲרָב, שְׁלשָׁה עַל גַּבֵּי שְׁלשָׁה, וּשְׁנַיִם עַל גַּבֵּיהֶם, הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה חָמֵשׁ, וְהָאֶמְצָעוֹת שֵׁשׁ, וְהָעֶלְיוֹנוֹת שֶׁבַע, לָמָּה? כִּי מִגְרָעוֹת נָתַן לַבַּיִת סָבִיב חוּצָה, קוֹמַת הַתָּא חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת, וּכְשֶׁעוֹלֶה כֹּתֶל הַהֵיכָל חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת, גּוֹרֵעַ אֶת עָבְיוֹ, וְכִנֵּס בּוֹ אַמָּה לְפָנִים, וְהִנִּיחַ עַל אוֹתָהּ כְּנִיסָה רָאשֵׁי קוֹרוֹת גַּג עֲלִיַּת הַתָּא, שֶׁהִיא קַרְקָעִית לְאֶמְצָעִית, וּכְשֶׁעוֹלֶה עֶשֶׂר, כִּנֵס אַמָּה, לְהַנִּיחַ רָאשֵׁי קוֹרוֹת עֲלִיַּת הָאֶמְצָעִית, שֶׁהִיא קַרְקַע הָעֶלְיוֹנָה, נִמְצֵאת אֶמְצָעִית רְחָבָה מִן הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה אַמָּה, וְהָעֶלְיוֹנָה רְחָבָה מִן הַתִּיכוֹנָה אַמָּה. לְבִלְתִּי אֲחֹז בְּקִירוֹת הַבָּיִת. שֶׁלֹּא לְדַבֵּק רָאשֵׁי הַקּוֹרוֹת דֶּרֶךְ נְקָבִים בְּקִירוֹת הַבַּיִת, שֶׁקִּלְקוּל הַחוֹמָה הוּא, וְאֵינוֹ דֶּרֶךְ נוֹי.
The bottom chamber. One each side there were three [tiers of] chambers, one on the other. The measurement of its length is not stated here, but in Maseches Midos14 4:3. we learned that there were thirty-eight chambers, fifteen in the north, five on top of five and five on top of them, and the same was in the south. And eight in the west, three on top of three and two on top of them. The bottom ones were five [amohs wide] and the middle ones six, and the top ones seven. Why? Because he made depressions in the wall of the house round about on the outside. The height of the chamber was five amohs, and as the height of the wall of the Sanctuary reached five amohs, he decreased its thickness and recessed it one amoh inward, and on that recess he placed the ends of the beams of the roof at the top of the chamber which served as the floor of the middle one. And as the wall reached [the height of] ten [amohs], he recessed it [another] amoh to place the ends of the beams of the roof of the middle [chamber] which served as the floor of the upper [chamber]. Thus we find the middle [chamber] is wider than the lower one by one amoh, and the upper [chamber] is wider than the middle one by one amoh. So that [the beams] would not be attached to the walls of the Beis Hamikdosh. In order that the ends of the beams do not attach [to the walls] through perforations in the walls of the house, since this deteriorates the wall and it diminishes its beauty.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וְהַבַּ֙יִת֙ בְּהִבָּ֣נֹת֔וֹ אֶבֶן־שְׁלֵמָ֥ה מַסָּ֖ע נִבְנָ֑ה וּמַקָּב֤וֹת וְהַגַּרְזֶן֙ כׇּל־כְּלִ֣י בַרְזֶ֔ל לֹֽא־נִשְׁמַ֥ע בַּבַּ֖יִת בְּהִבָּנֹתֽוֹ׃

English:

When the House was built, only finished stones cut at the quarry were used, so that no hammer or ax or any iron tool was heard in the House while it was being built.

The chapter's most famous architectural-theological note: no hammer, no axe, no iron tool was heard at the construction site. Rashi: the stones were brought already finished from the quarry — and (per a well-known mesorah) shaped not by iron but by the **shamir**, a miraculous worm or stone the Holy One had set aside for this purpose; Shlomo had the eagle bring it from Gan Eden. Radak elaborates: the shamir, kept in a lead tube packed with cotton and bran, would split any stone over which it was placed. Iron is the metal of war and bloodshed; the House of peace would not be cut by it.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
בְּהִבָּנֹתוֹ אֶבֶן שְׁלֵמָה מַסָּע. כְּמוֹ שֶׁהִסִּיעוּהָ מִן הָהָר עַל יְדֵי הַשָּׁמִיר, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהִיא בָּאָה מִשָּׁם, נְתָנוּהָ בְּחוֹמַת הַבִּנְיָן, וְלֹא סִתְּתוּהָ בִּכְלֵי בַרְזֶל, וְאַבְנֵי גָזִית הָאָמוּר לְמַעְלָה, מַחֲלֹקֶת הִיא בְּסוֹטָה (מח ב). וּמַקָּבוֹת. דלוט"א בִּלְשׁוֹן רוּסְיָא (פַּטִּישׁ).
When [the Beis Hamikdosh] was being constructed it was built of whole stones carried [from the quarry]. As it was removed from the mountain, through the worm [=a שמיר],15See Mishnayos Avos 5:6. Radak indicates that Shlomo sent an eagle to bring him the shamir which was in the Garden of Eden. [i.e.,] as it came from there they set it into the wall of the structure,16That is why it is called אבן שלמה [=whole stones], because they were used exactly as they arrived, without being cut or chiseled. and they did not chisel it with any metal tools. And the "stone" mentioned above,17 5:31. is a controversy in [Maseches] Sotah.18 48b. Hammer. Delutta, in Russian.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

פֶּ֗תַח הַצֵּלָע֙ הַתִּ֣יכֹנָ֔ה אֶל־כֶּ֥תֶף הַבַּ֖יִת הַיְמָנִ֑ית וּבְלוּלִּ֗ים יַֽעֲלוּ֙ עַל־הַתִּ֣יכֹנָ֔ה וּמִן־הַתִּיכֹנָ֖ה אֶל־הַשְּׁלִשִֽׁים׃

English:

The entrance to the middlecmiddle Septuagint and Targum read “lowest.” [story of] the side chambers was on the right side of the House; and winding stairs led up to the middle chambers, and from the middle chambers to the third story.

The entrance to the side-chambers was on the *southern* (right) side of the Temple. Access to upper stories was via *belulim* — Rashi: spiral staircases winding around a stone pillar, called 'vis' in Old French ('vindelstein' in German), allowing one to ascend many cubits in tight space without the steep angle of a ladder. Targum: 'mesibata' — circular stairs. Each chamber connected upward through these spirals to the next story above.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
פֶּתַח הַצֵּלָע הַתִּיכֹנָה אֶל כֶּתֶף הַבַּיִת הַיְמָנִית. יוֹנָתָן תִּרְגֵּם תִּיכוֹנָה זוֹ כְּמוֹ תַּחְתּוֹנָה, לֹא תִּיכוֹנָה בֵּין עֶלְיוֹנָה לַתַּחְתּוֹנָה, שֶׁבְּחָמֵשׁ תָּאִים שֶׁבַּדָּרוֹם הָיָה לָהּ פֶּתַח אֶל הַחוּץ בַּשּׁוּרָה הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה, וְזֶה (הַתַּרְגּוּם) וּבְלוּלִים יַעֲלוּ עַל הַתִּיכוֹנָה. הַתִּיכֹנָה. תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: מְצִיעָתָא, כִּי הַתָּאִים הַלָּלוּ לֹא הָיוּ פְּתוּחִים אֶל הַחוּץ. שְׁלשָׁה פְּתָחִים הָיוּ לְכָל אֶחָד, כָּךְ הִיא שְׁנוּיָה בְּמַסֶּכֶת מִדּוֹת (שָׁם), אֶחָד לַתָּא מִן הַיָּמִין, וְאֶחָד לַתָּא מִן הַשְּׂמֹאל, וְאֶחָד לַתָּא שֶׁעַל גַּבָּיו. וְלִמֵּד כָּאן, שֶׁאֶחָד מִן הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים שֶׁבְּכֹתֶל דְּרוֹמִי, הָיָה לוֹ פֶּתַח אֶל הַחוּץ, וְדֶרֶךְ אוֹתוֹ פֶּתַח נִכְנָסִים לְכֻלָּם, 'וְצֵלָע הַתִּיכוֹנָה' דִּקְרָא, לֹא תִּיכוֹנָה בֵּין עֶלְיוֹנָה לַתַּחְתּוֹנָה, אֶלָּא תִּיכוֹנָה שֶׁבְּחָמֵשׁ תָּאִים שֶׁבַּדָּרוֹם הָיָה לָהּ פֶּתַח אֶל הַחוּץ בַּשּׁוּרָה הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה, וְזֶהוּ תַּרְגּוּם 'וּבְלוּלִּים יַעֲלוּ עַל הַתִּיכוֹנָה', שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה הֵימֶנָּה, מַשְׁמָע דְהַצֶּלַע הַתִּיכוֹנָה לְמַטָּה. בְּלוּלִּים. תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: מְסִבָּתָא, וְהוּא שֶׁקּוֹרִין בִּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ וויי"ן בְּלַעַ"ז וּבִלְשׁוֹן אַשְׁכְּנַז ווינד"ל שטיי"ן, וְשָׁם הַמֻּרְגָּל שווינד"ל שטי"ג (מַדְרֵגוֹת לוּלְיָנִיּוֹת), וְהוּא בִּנְיַן עַמּוּד אֲבָנִים עָשׂוּי מַעֲלוֹת מַעֲלוֹת, וְהַהוֹלֵךְ בָּהֶן דּוֹמֶה כְּמַקִּיף סְבִיבוֹת עַמּוּד, וְעוֹלִין בּוֹ כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה אַמּוֹת גָּבוֹהַּ, וְאֵין צָרִיךְ לְשֶׁפַע כִּשְׁאָר סֻלָּם, כִּי הִקִּיפוֹ הוּא שִׁפּוּעַ. אֶל הַשְּׁלִשִׁים. כְּמוֹ אֶל הַשְּׁלִישִׁים.
The entrance of the bottom chamber was in the right side of the house. [Targum] Yonoson rendered תיכונה as the "bottom,"19It cannot mean the middle story because you would not have an entrance to a building that is one story above ground level. and not as "between" the upper and lower [ones], because the five chambers on the southern side had an opening to the outside in the bottom story. And this (is the meaning) "and by a winding stairway they went up to the middle [chamber]."20Thus indicating that תיכונה was the "bottom" story. The bottom. [Targum] Yonoson rendered "the middle," because these chambers were not open to the outside. There were three openings to each. Thus is this taught in Maseches Midos,21 4:3. "One was to the chamber on the right and one was to the chamber on the left and one to the chamber above." And it teaches us here that one of the lower [chambers] on the southern wall had an opening to the outside and through that opening22The southern side is called the "right" side, because a person standing inside the Beis Hamikdosh at its entrance and looking out would be facing east and the southern side would be to the right. they entered all the chambers. And the "middle chamber" of the verse, is not the middle one between the upper and the lower [ones], but the middle one of the five chambers on the southern side which had an opening to the outside in the bottom story. And this is the meaning of, "and by a winding stairway they went up to the middle [chamber]," which was above it, signifying that the תיכונה chamber was below. And by a winding stairway. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, a winding staircase [=מסיבתא], and that is called in our language [O.F.] vis, and in German, vindelstein, and the commonly used name is schvindel stieg. It is a structure of stone pillars made [in the form] of many stairs, and one who goes on them is likened to one spiraling around a column, ascending many amohs on it without needing the inclination of an ordinary ladder, because its spiral serves as its incline. To the third. [שלישים means the same] as to the third [=שלישיים]

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וַיִּ֥בֶן אֶת־הַבַּ֖יִת וַיְכַלֵּ֑הוּ וַיִּסְפֹּ֤ן אֶת־הַבַּ֙יִת֙ גֵּבִ֔ים וּשְׂדֵרֹ֖ת בָּאֲרָזִֽים׃

English:

When he finished building the House, he paneled the House with beams and planks of cedar.dhe paneled the House with beams and planks of cedar Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

The double ceiling: a lower ornamental ceiling of *gevim* (carved cedar boards or hollow vault-tiles) and an upper ceiling of cedar *sederot* (rows of planks). Rashi: the lower one was for beauty (paneled and decorated, like a 'celing' in Old French); the upper one of cedar planks was for structural support. Radak: the lower was actually cypress (per Divrei Hayomim II 3:5), the upper cedar; *gevim* may suggest curved ribbing like ribs of a body.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וַיִּסְפֹּן. לְשׁוֹן כִּסּוּי תִּקְרָה. גֵּבִים וּשְׂדֵרֹת בָּאֲרָזִים. שְׁתֵּי תִּקְרָאוֹת, אַחַת עֲשׂוּיָה לְנוֹי מִלְּמַטָּה, וְאַחַת שֶׁל לוּחֵי אֲרָזִים מִלְּמַעְלָה, שֶׁל גֵּבִים הִיא הַתַּחְתּוֹנָה. וְתִרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: בְּהַנְתּוּכִין, וְלֹא יָדַעְתִּי מָה הֵן, וְשָׁמַעְתִּי מִשְּׁמוֹ שֶׁל רַבִּי מְנַחֵם זַצַ"ל, שֶׁהֵם נְסָרִים אֲרוּגִים נָאִים כְּמִין צוּרָה, וְקוֹרִין לוֹ בִּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ צילי"ד (תִקְרָה) (וּבִלְשׁוֹן אַשְׁכְּנַז גהימל"ט), וְהִיא לְשׁוֹן 'שָׁמַיִם ', 'שְׁמֵי קוֹרָה'. וַאֲנִי אוֹמֵר, שֶׁהֵם לְבֵנִים חֲלוּלִים, וְהֵם כַּחֲצִי קָנֶה עָגֹל, שֶׁעוֹשִׂין לְכִסּוּי בָּתִּים (בִּלְשׁוֹן אַשְׁכְּנַז דעק ציגל — רְעַפִים). גֵּבִים. לָשׁוֹן אֲרַמִּי: גּוּבְתָּא דְּקַנְיָא, וְהֵם הָיוּ (לְמַעְלָה), וְהַשְּׂדֵרוֹת (לְמַטָּה). וּשְׂדֵרֹת. לוּחֵי אֲרָזִים סְדוּרִים לְמַעְלָה מִן הַגֵּבִים, לִדְרִיסַת הָרֶגֶל, כְּשֶׁעוֹלִין לִרְאוֹת בְּבֶדֶק הַבַּיִת. וְכֵן תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: וּשְׂדֵרוֹת בָּאֲרָזִים: וְעֵילָּא מִנְּהוֹן (רוֹצֶה לוֹמַר, מִן הַגֵּבִים) סִידְרָא דְרִכְפַּת רֵישֵׁי שִׁרְיָתָא אַרְזַיָּא, וְרִכְפַּת לְשׁוֹן תְּכִיפַת, וַחֲבֵרוֹ: עָבֵי שְׁחָקִים, תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: מֵרִכְפַּת עֲנָנִין קְלִילִין.
And [he] covered. An expression of a ceiling covering. With decorated boards and connected planks of cedar. [There were] two ceilings, the one made for beauty was below, and the one of cedar planks was above; that of paneling was the lower one. And [Targum] Yonoson rendered [גבים as] בהנתוכין, but I do not know what they are. I heard in the name of Rabbi Menachem, blessed be the memory of the righteous, that they are boards woven beautifully in the form of a design, and it is called in our language [O.F.] celed, and in German, gehimmelt, and that is an expression of "heavenly," [meaning] the highest part of the beam. But I say, they are hollowed bricks, and they are like half a round reed, which are used as coverings for houses. (In German, dek tzigel.) Paneling. In Aramaic it is גובתא דקניא which were (above) and the planks (below). And connected planks. Planks of cedar arranged above the paneling upon which they walk when they go up to repair the building. And similarly, [Targum] Yonoson rendered ושדרות בארזים as, "above them (i.e., the paneling) was an arrangement of a succession [דרכפת] of cedar wooden planks," and "&רכפת" is an expression of a succession, comparable to, "clouds of heaven,"23II Shmuel 22:12. which [Targum] Yonoson rendered, "a succession [=מריכפת] of light clouds."

פסוק י״ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וַיִּ֤בֶן אֶת־[הַיָּצִ֙יעַ֙] (היצוע) עַל־כׇּל־הַבַּ֔יִת חָמֵ֥שׁ אַמּ֖וֹת קוֹמָת֑וֹ וַיֶּאֱחֹ֥ז אֶת־הַבַּ֖יִת בַּעֲצֵ֥י אֲרָזִֽים׃ {פ}

English:

He built the storied structure against the entire House—each story 5 cubits high, so that it encased the House with timbers of cedar.

Each side-chamber story was 5 cubits high (Rashi: bringing the total stack to 15 cubits — half the height of the Temple wall, leaving the upper 15 cubits visible). The chambers were 'attached' to the House via cedar beams resting on the wall-recesses, encasing the building's lower half on three sides.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת קוֹמָתוֹ. שֶׁל כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד, הֲרֵי גָּבְהָן חָמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמּוֹת, לְבַד עֳבִי הַתִּקְרָה. וַיֶּאֱחֹז אֶת הַבַּיִת. הוּא כִּסּוּי הַגַּג הָעֶלְיוֹן, וְהַסִּפּוּן הָאָמוּר לְמַעְלָה, הוּא תִּקְרַת הָעֲלִיָּה.
Five amohs high. Of each one. Therefore, their total height was fifteen amohs besides the thickness of the ceiling. And he covered the Beis Hamikdosh. That is the upper covering of the roof, and the covering [=והספון] mentioned above that was the ceiling of the upper story.

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וַֽיְהִי֙ דְּבַר־יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

Then the word of GOD came to Solomon,

In the middle of the construction account, the narrative pauses for a divine address. Radak: the prophet Achiya HaShiloni came to Shlomo while he was still building. The placement is striking — God's word interrupts the technical description with a moral condition for the entire project.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

הַבַּ֨יִת הַזֶּ֜ה אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֣ה בֹנֶ֗ה אִם־תֵּלֵ֤ךְ בְּחֻקֹּתַי֙ וְאֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַ֣י תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֔ה וְשָׁמַרְתָּ֥ אֶת־כׇּל־מִצְוֺתַ֖י לָלֶ֣כֶת בָּהֶ֑ם וַהֲקִמֹתִ֤י אֶת־דְּבָרִי֙ אִתָּ֔ךְ אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי אֶל־דָּוִ֥ד אָבִֽיךָ׃

English:

“With regard to this House you are building—if you follow My laws and observe My rules and faithfully keep My commandments, I will fulfill for you the promise that I gave to your father David:

The chapter's central theological pivot: a *conditional* promise. Despite the Temple's magnificence, God says — Metzudat David — 'though you build it most beautifully, I will not rest My Shechinah within it unless you walk in My laws.' The keeping of mitzvot, not the gold and cedar, secures God's promised indwelling that He had pledged to David.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וְשָׁ֣כַנְתִּ֔י בְּת֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֥א אֶעֱזֹ֖ב אֶת־עַמִּ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ {פ}

English:

I will abide among the children of Israel, and I will never forsake My people Israel.”

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וַיִּ֧בֶן שְׁלֹמֹ֛ה אֶת־הַבַּ֖יִת וַיְכַלֵּֽהוּ׃

English:

When Solomon had completed the construction of the House,

A bridge verse: the structural shell is complete, and now begins the interior finishing. Metzudat David: earlier (verse 9) the *walls* and *ceiling* were finished; this *vayikalehu* announces completion of the entire stone-and-cedar shell. Radak: now Shlomo turns to interior wood-work — the Heichal interior.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וַיִּ֩בֶן֩ אֶת־קִיר֨וֹת הַבַּ֤יִת מִבַּ֙יְתָה֙ בְּצַלְע֣וֹת אֲרָזִ֔ים מִקַּרְקַ֤ע הַבַּ֙יִת֙ עַד־קִיר֣וֹת הַסִּפֻּ֔ן צִפָּ֥ה עֵ֖ץ מִבָּ֑יִת וַיְצַ֛ף אֶת־קַרְקַ֥ע הַבַּ֖יִת בְּצַלְע֥וֹת בְּרוֹשִֽׁים׃

English:

he paneled the walls of the House on the inside with planks of cedar. He also overlaid the walls on the inside with wood, from the floor of the House to the ceiling. And he overlaid the floor of the House with planks of cypress.

The interior is paneled in cedar from floor to ceiling. Rashi explains the practical reason: the entire interior was to be gilded (verse 21), and gold cannot be applied directly to stone — it requires a wood substrate to nail it onto. So cedar walls and cypress floor become the substrate. The stone shell entirely disappears from view, replaced by living wood inside.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
מִבַּיְתָה בְּצַלְעוֹת אֲרָזִים. קִירוֹת אֶרֶז אֵצֶל קִיר הָאֶבֶן, כְּדֵי לָטוּחַ עָלָיו זָהָב, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהוּא אוֹמֵר לְמַטָּה (פסוק כא): וַיְצַף שְׁלֹמֹה אֶת הַבַּיִת פְּנִימָה זָהָב סָגוּר, וְאִי אֶפְשָׁר לָטוּחַ זָהָב עַל גַּבֵּי הָאֲבָנִים, כִּי אִם בְּעֵצִים וּבְמַסְמְרוֹת. קִירוֹת הַסִּפֻּן. קִירוֹת הָעֲלִיָּה. אֶת קַרְקַע הַבַּיִת. הָרִצְפָּה כֻּלָּהּ.
With panels of cedar. Boards of cedar against the stone wall in order to coat it with gold, as it states below, "And Shlomo covered the inside of the Beis Hamikdosh with refined gold,"24Below, v. 21. and it is impossible to coat gold on top of the stones, without wood and nails. Beams of the ceiling. The boards of the attic. The floor of the Beis Hamikdosh. The entire floor.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וַיִּ֩בֶן֩ אֶת־עֶשְׂרִ֨ים אַמָּ֜ה (מירכותי) [מִֽיַּרְכְּתֵ֤י] הַבַּ֙יִת֙ בְּצַלְע֣וֹת אֲרָזִ֔ים מִן־הַקַּרְקַ֖ע עַד־הַקִּיר֑וֹת וַיִּ֤בֶן לוֹ֙ מִבַּ֣יִת לִדְבִ֔יר לְקֹ֖דֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִֽׁים׃

English:

Twenty cubits from the rear of the House, he built [a partition] of cedar planks from the floor to the walls;ewalls Septuagint reads “rafters.” he furnished its interior to serve as a shrine, as the Holy of Holies.

The Devir is partitioned: 20 cubits at the western (rear) end of the House are walled off floor-to-ceiling with cedar planks, designated the Holy of Holies. Rashi: this is the famous **Amah Traksin** — the partition between the Heichal's 40 cubits and the Devir's 20. Metzudat David: the Devir thus exactly mirrors the Mishkan's Kodesh HaKodashim, but at full scale.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אֶת עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה מִיַּרְכְּתֵי הַבַּיִת. עֶשְׂרִים שֶׁהֵן מִסּוֹף הַהֵיכָל וָהָלְאָה, וְהָעֶשְׂרִים שֶׁבְּסוֹף הַבַּיִת, הֵן שֶׁל בֵּית הַכַּפֹּרֶת (דְּהַיְנוּ קָדְשֵׁי הַקֳּדָשִׁים). עַד הַקִּירוֹת. עַד הַתִּקְרָה, עָשָׂה קִיר אֶרֶז לְכַסּוֹת קִיר הָאֶבֶן, לָטוּחַ עָלָיו זָהָב. וַיִּבֶן לוֹ. אוֹתָם עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה. מִבַּיִת לִדְבִיר. לִפְנִים מִמְּחִצַּת אַמָּה טְרַקְסִין, הַמַּפְסֶקֶת בֵּין אַרְבָּעִים לְעֶשְׂרִים, וְאוֹתָהּ מְחִצָּה קְרוּיָה דְּבִיר. לְקֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים. הִבְדִּילָן לְאוֹתָן עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה.
The twenty amohs at the end of the Beis Hamikdosh. The twenty [amohs] which were at the end of the Sanctuary and beyond, and the twenty [amohs] which were at the end of the building, they are the house containing the Ark cover (i.e., the Holy of Holies). To the ceiling. He made the walls of cedar until the ceiling to cover the walls of stone in order to coat it with gold. He built it. Those twenty amohs. On the inner side of the partition. Inward of the "Amma Traksin" [partition], which separated between the forty [amohs] and the twenty [amohs], and that partition is called "Dvir."25Also, "Dvir" sometimes means the Holy of Holies. See Rashi in v. 5 above and also the Metzudas Tzion there. For the Holy of Holies. He designated those twenty amohs.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וְאַרְבָּעִ֥ים בָּאַמָּ֖ה הָיָ֣ה הַבָּ֑יִת ה֖וּא הַהֵיכָ֥ל לִפְנָֽי׃

English:

fMeaning of vv. 17–22 is unclear in part. The front part of the House, that is, the Great Hall, measured 40 cubits.

The arithmetic: of the Temple's total 60-cubit length, 40 cubits constitute the Heichal proper (the front section, east of the Devir-partition). Rashi: 'lifnai' — 'before/in front of the Devir' — the outer area facing the Holy of Holies.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
הַהֵיכָל לִפְנָי. לִפְנֵי הַדְּבִיר לְצַד הַחוּץ.
That is the Sanctuary before it. In front of the partition towards the outside.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וְאֶ֤רֶז אֶל־הַבַּ֙יִת֙ פְּנִ֔ימָה מִקְלַ֣עַת פְּקָעִ֔ים וּפְטוּרֵ֖י צִצִּ֑ים הַכֹּ֣ל אֶ֔רֶז אֵ֥ין אֶ֖בֶן נִרְאָֽה׃

English:

The cedar of the interior of the House had carvings of gourds and calyxes; it was all cedar, no stone was exposed.

The interior cedar was carved with two repeating motifs: **mikla'at peka'im** (carvings shaped like gourds or knobs) and **peturei tzitzim** (open-flower calyxes). Rashi notes Targum Yonatan reads *peka'im* as egg-shaped designs. Together, the cedar surface is alive with ornate floral and rounded motifs — and crucially, no stone is visible: the entire interior is wood-clad.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְאֶרֶז אֶל הַבַּיִת פְּנִימָה מִקְלַעַת פְּקָעִים. פֵּרוּשׁ, וְאוֹתָם קִירוֹת אֲרָזִים שֶׁעָשָׂה אֶל הַבַּיִת פְּנִימָה, לְכַסּוֹת קִיר הָאֶבֶן, קָלוּעַ הָיָה בְּצִיּוּרֵי קְלִיעוֹת וְצוּרוֹת פְּקָעִים, כְּמִין כַּפְתּוֹרִים, פְּקָעִים, למויישייל"ש בְּלַעַ"ז (פְּקָעוֹת, כַּפְתוֹרֵי נוֹי). וּפְטוּרֵי צִצִּים. תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: וְאַטּוּנִין שׁוֹשַׁנִּין, צוּרַת שַׁלְשְׁלָאוֹת. פְּטוּרֵי. לְשׁוֹן חֲבָלִים, כִּלְשׁוֹן גְּמָרָא, כְּמוֹ כְּפִיטוּרֵי בְפִי וֵשֶׁט. צִצִּים. לְשׁוֹן פְּרָחִים, כְּמוֹ: וַיָּצֶץ צִיץ, חֲבָלִים וּפְרָחִים. וּמְנַחֵם חִבְּרוֹ: פְּטוּרֵי, לְשׁוֹן: פֶּטֶר רֶחֶם, וּכְמוֹ: יַפְטִירוּ בְשָׂפָה. הַכֹּל אֶרֶז אֵין אֶבֶן נִרְאָה. תַּרְגּוּם: כָּל בֵּיתָא חָפֵי נִסְרִין דְּאַרְזָא לֵית אַבְנָא מִתְחַזְיָא. מִקְלַעַת פְּקָעִים. תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: גְלַף חֵיזוּ בֵיעִין (פֵּרוּשׁ, חָקוּק כִּדְמוּת בֵּיצִים עֲגֻלִּים).
The cedar of the inside of the Beis Hamikdosh was carved with designs. This means, that those cedar boards which he made for the inside of the building to cover the stone walls, were carved with figured carvings and forms of fragments resembling knobs; פקעים are imosjjls, in O.F. Of buds and blossoming flowers. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, "and cords and flowers," in the form of chains. Buds. [פטורי is] an expression of cords in the language of the Talmud, as in, "as the rope through the loophole."26Maseches Berachos 8a. Blossoming flowers. [צצים is] an expression of flowers, as in, "and it bloomed [ויצץ] buds [ציץ],"27Bamidbar 17:23. cords and blossoms. But Menachem related פטורי as an expression of, "to open [פטר] of the womb,"28Shemos 13:12. and as in, "they open [יפטירו] the lip."29Tehillim 22:8. All was cedar [wood] no stone was visible. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] "the whole building was covered with cedar boards, no stone was visible." Carved with designs. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, "and engraved was a resemblance of eggs."30Alternatively, פקעים are designs of fruit.—Metzudas Tzion. (Meaning engraved in the shape of round eggs.)

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וּדְבִ֧יר בְּתוֹךְ־הַבַּ֛יִת מִפְּנִ֖ימָה הֵכִ֑ין לְתִתֵּ֣ן שָׁ֔ם אֶת־אֲר֖וֹן בְּרִ֥ית יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

In the innermost part of the House, he fixed a Shrine in which to place the Ark of GOD’s Covenant.

The purpose of the Devir is now stated: to house the **Aron Brit Hashem** — the Ark of the Covenant. Rashi/Radak preserve a remarkable Aggadic tradition: through ruach hakodesh Shlomo foresaw the Temple's eventual destruction and dug a hidden chamber in deep, winding tunnels under the Devir. Yoshiyahu (II Divrei Hayomim 35:3) eventually concealed the Aron there. The verb **hechin** ('he prepared') is read as preparing both the visible chamber and this hidden one.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וּדְבִיר בְּתוֹךְ הַבַּיִת. מְחִצַּת אַמָּה טְרַקְסִין. לְתִתֵּן. כְּמוֹ לָתֵת.
And the Holy of Holies within the Beis Hamikdosh. The "Amoh Traksin" partition. To place. [It has the same meaning] as לתת.31Knowing that the Beis Hamikdosh will eventually be destroyed Shlomo "prepared ]=[הכין" for the moment by excavating under the Sanctuary a chamber that was hidden in deep and winding tunnels. The chamber was large enough to accommodate the Ark which would be hidden there right before the destruction. See II Divrei Hayomim 35:3 and Maseches Yoma 52b.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וְלִפְנֵ֣י הַדְּבִ֡יר עֶשְׂרִים֩ אַמָּ֨ה אֹ֜רֶךְ וְעֶשְׂרִ֧ים אַמָּ֣ה רֹ֗חַב וְעֶשְׂרִ֤ים אַמָּה֙ קוֹמָת֔וֹ וַיְצַפֵּ֖הוּ זָהָ֣ב סָג֑וּר וַיְצַ֥ף מִזְבֵּ֖חַ אָֽרֶז׃

English:

The interior of thegThe interior of the Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Shrine was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high. He overlaid it with solid gold; he similarly overlaid [its] cedar altar.

The Devir is a perfect 20-cubit cube — though the Heichal is 30 cubits high, the Devir's ceiling sits 10 cubits lower (Bava Batra 98b: the upper 10 cubits formed an alit/upper-floor, or per other readings, the Aggadah counts only the area above the cherubim's wings). All overlaid with **zahav sagur** — pure gold (Rashi: literally 'closed gold,' so precious that when sold, all other gold-shops closed for lack of business). The cedar altar (the future incense altar, mizbach haketoret) is also gilded.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְלִפְנֵי הַדְּבִיר. לִפְנִים מֵאוֹתָהּ מְחִצָּה, חָלָל שֶׁל עֶשְׂרִים אֹרֶךְ, וְשֶׁל עֶשְׂרִים רֹחַב. וְעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה קוֹמָתוֹ. כְּלוֹמַר, עֲלִיַּת שֶׁל בֵּית קָדְשֵׁי הַקֳּדָשִׁים, נְמוּכָה מִשֶּׁל הֵיכָל. וַיְצַפֵּהוּ. לַדְּבִיר, הִיא הַמְּחִצָּה. זָהָב סָגוּר. פֵּרְשׁוּ בּוֹ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁנִּפְתָּח לִמָּכֵר, כָּל חֲנֻיּוֹת אֲחֵרוֹת נִסְגָּרוֹת. וְיוֹנָתָן תִּרְגֵּם: דְּהָב טָב, רוֹצֶה לוֹמַר: מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ מִמֶּנּוּ, סוֹגְרוֹ לְעַצְמוֹ. וַיְצַף מִזְבֵּחַ אָרֶז. הוּא מִזְבַּח הַקְּטֹרֶת. וְתָמֵהַּ אֲנִי, וְשֶׁל משֶׁה לָמָּה נִגְנַז.
The inside of the Holy of Holies. Within that partition was an area of twenty [amohs] long and twenty [amohs] wide. And twenty amohs high. I.e., the height of the Holy of Holies was lower than that of the Temple.32The height of the Holy of Holies was twenty amohs, and the height of the Temple was stated as thirty amohs in v. 2 above. He covered it. The Sanctuary, [i.e.,] the partition. Refined gold. Our Rabbis explained this [סגור], that at the time [this type of gold] was offered for sale, all other stores were closed [=נסגרות].33See Maseches Yoma 45a. The other stores were closed because no one would want to buy regular gold. But [Targum] Yonoson rendered this as "good gold," i.e., he who possesses this gold "locks" it [סוגרו] for himself.34It is so precious that he keeps it closed up all the time. [He] covered the altar with cedar wood. That is the [golden] altar of incense, but I am perplexed, why was Moshe's [golden altar] hidden?

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וַיְצַ֨ף שְׁלֹמֹ֧ה אֶת־הַבַּ֛יִת מִפְּנִ֖ימָה זָהָ֣ב סָג֑וּר וַיְעַבֵּ֞ר (ברתיקות) [בְּרַתּוּק֤וֹת] זָהָב֙ לִפְנֵ֣י הַדְּבִ֔יר וַיְצַפֵּ֖הוּ זָהָֽב׃

English:

Solomon overlaid the interior of the House with solid gold; and he inserted golden chains into the door ofhinto the door of Heb. “in front of.” the Shrine. He overlaid [the Shrine] with gold,

The Heichal too is fully gilded with zahav sagur. Across the entrance to the Devir, Shlomo installs **rattukot zahav** — golden chains/bolts (Rashi: berichim/shalshala'ot). Radak: there was a stone partition wall (the Amah Traksin) one cubit thick separating the Heichal from the Devir at the spot where the Mishkan's Parochet had hung; into that wall Shlomo set golden bars and gilded the wall itself.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אֶת הַבַּיִת. בֵּית קָדְשֵׁי הַקֳּדָשִׁים. וַיְעַבֵּר. לְשׁוֹן בְּרִיחִים. בְּרַתּוּקוֹת. שַׁלְשְׁלָאוֹת.
The [inside of the] Beis Hamikdosh. The room of the Holy of Holies. And he attached bars. [ויעבר] is an expression of bolts. Chains. Chains.

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וְאֶת־כׇּל־הַבַּ֛יִת צִפָּ֥ה זָהָ֖ב עַד־תֹּ֣ם כׇּל־הַבָּ֑יִת וְכׇל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֥חַ אֲֽשֶׁר־לַדְּבִ֖יר צִפָּ֥ה זָהָֽב׃

English:

so that the entire House was overlaid with gold; he even overlaid with gold the entire altar of the Shrine. And so the entire House was completed.

A summarizing flourish: the *entire* House is gilded — including, as Metzudat David notes, even the ceiling that was not previously mentioned. The mizbach haketoret stood opposite the Devir's entrance (between the Shulchan in the north and the Menorah in the south), all gilded on every face. Radak quotes Chazal that the silver-mention in Divrei Hayomim refers to the *value* of the gold — when sold, this gold made silver-dealers' shops close (m'chaseif kol ba'alei zehavim).
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְאֶת כָּל הַבַּיִת. כָּל הַהֵיכָל כֻּלּוֹ.
And the whole Beis Hamikdosh. [I.e.,] the entire Sanctuary.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וַיַּ֣עַשׂ בַּדְּבִ֔יר שְׁנֵ֥י כְרוּבִ֖ים עֲצֵי־שָׁ֑מֶן עֶ֥שֶׂר אַמּ֖וֹת קוֹמָתֽוֹ׃

English:

In the Shrine he made two cherubim of olive wood, each 10 cubits high.

The chapter's centerpiece: in the Devir, Shlomo placed two enormous **cherubim** carved from atzei shemen (olive wood, per Targum; Radak suggests possibly oleaster, since the verse-pair in Nechemia 8:15 distinguishes 'olive' from 'shemen'). Each cherub is 10 cubits tall (Rashi: feet on the ground, in contrast to the Mishkan's small kapporet-cherubim). They are entirely *new* — additions to, not replacements for, the original Aron-cherubim still atop the kapporet beneath them.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
עֲצֵי שָׁמֶן. (תַּרְגּוּם:) דְּאָעֵי זֵיתָא. עֶשֶׂר אַמּוֹת קוֹמָתוֹ. וְרַגְלֵיהֶם בַּקַּרְקַע עוֹמְדִים, אֶחָד מִצָּפוֹן לָאָרוֹן, וְאֶחָד מִן הַדָּרוֹם, סוֹכְכִים עַל הָאָרוֹן וְעַל בַּדָּיו, אֹרֶךְ הַכְּנָפַיִם מְכַסִּים מִקְצָת (רֹחַב הַבַּדִּים), שֶׁהָאָרוֹן הָיָה נָתוּן אָרְכּוֹ לְרָחְבּוֹ שֶׁל בַּיִת, וּבַדָּיו בּוֹלְטִין בְּפֶתַח הַדְּבִיר בַּפָּרֹכֶת שֶׁכְּנֶגֶד הַפֶּתַח, וּבַדָּיו נְתוּנִין בְּרָאשֵׁי אָרְכָּן, כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּהְיוּ שְׁנֵי לְוִיִּם יְכוֹלִים לִכָּנֵס בֵּינֵיהֶם, כְּשֶׁנּוֹשְׂאִין אוֹתוֹ בַּמִּדְבָּר.
Olive wood. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] "olive wood."35עצי שמן literally means "oil wood." Rashi indicates they are identical. However, in Nechemya 8:15 they are listed separately. Ten amohs high. And their legs were standing on the ground,36Unlike the cherubim that were made by Betzalel which were on the cover of the Ark and faced each other . See Shemos 37:9. one was on the north of the Ark and one on the south, covering the Ark and its poles. The length of the wings covered part (of the poles' width) since the Ark's length was set to the width of the Temple, and its poles were protruding at the entrance of the Holy of Holies into the curtain which was at the entrance. Its poles were set at the ends of the Ark's length, in order that two Leviyim should be able to enter between them, when they were carrying it in the wilderness.

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

וְחָמֵ֣שׁ אַמּ֗וֹת כְּנַ֤ף הַכְּרוּב֙ הָאֶחָ֔ת וְחָמֵ֣שׁ אַמּ֔וֹת כְּנַ֥ף הַכְּר֖וּב הַשֵּׁנִ֑ית עֶ֣שֶׂר אַמּ֔וֹת מִקְצ֥וֹת כְּנָפָ֖יו וְעַד־קְצ֥וֹת כְּנָפָֽיו׃

English:

[One] had a wing measuring 5 cubits and another wing measuring 5 cubits, so that the spread from wingtip to wingtip was 10 cubits;

Each cherub had two 5-cubit wings — one extending toward each direction — totaling a 10-cubit wingspan from tip to tip. Rashi: when both cherubs' wings were spread, all four wingtips together filled the full 20-cubit width of the Devir; the cherubs' bodies stood miraculously without taking measurable space (or, per other readings, the wings were sized so the bodies fit naturally — Bava Batra 99a).
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
עֶשֶׂר אַמּוֹת מִקְצוֹת כְּנָפָיו וְעַד קְצוֹת כְּנָפָיו. כְּשֶׁהֵן פְּרוּשׂוֹת, נִמְצָאוֹת כַּנְפוֹת שְׁנֵיהֶם שֶׁהָיוּ נוֹגְעוֹת זוֹ בָּזוֹ, מְמַלְּאוֹת כָּל חֲלַל עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה, וְגוּף הַכְּרוּבִים אֵינוֹ מִן הַמִּדָּה, וְעוֹמֵד בְּנֵס.
It was ten amohs from one end of its wings to the [other] end of its wings. When they are spread, the wings of both [cherubs], which touched one another, filled the entire space of twenty amohs; and the bodies of the cherubim are not included in the measurement, and stood miraculously.37See Maseches Bava Basra 99a. Alternatively, the wings were attached to the cherubs in such a way that the two wings of each cherub touched each other without any space between them. Thus a miracle was not necessary.—Radak.

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

וְעֶ֙שֶׂר֙ בָּֽאַמָּ֔ה הַכְּר֖וּב הַשֵּׁנִ֑י מִדָּ֥ה אַחַ֛ת וְקֶ֥צֶב אֶחָ֖ד לִשְׁנֵ֥י הַכְּרֻבִֽים׃

English:

and the wingspread of the other cherub was also 10 cubits. The two cherubim had the same measurements and proportions:

The second cherub mirrored the first exactly — same 10-cubit wingspan. Together their four 5-cubit wings spanned the entire 20-cubit width of the Holy of Holies. Metzudat David: an astonishing geometric perfection, as the room's dimensions are exactly fitted to the wing-arrangement.

פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

קוֹמַת֙ הַכְּר֣וּב הָאֶחָ֔ד עֶ֖שֶׂר בָּאַמָּ֑ה וְכֵ֖ן הַכְּר֥וּב הַשֵּׁנִֽי׃

English:

the height of the one cherub was 10 cubits, and so was that of the other cherub.

Both cherubs are identical in height: 10 cubits — exactly half the Devir's 20-cubit ceiling. Metzudat David: the verse confirms the symmetry. Their towering presence, half the height of the chamber, transforms the Holy of Holies into a setting both human-scale and angelic.

פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

וַיִּתֵּ֨ן אֶת־הַכְּרוּבִ֜ים בְּת֣וֹךְ ׀ הַבַּ֣יִת הַפְּנִימִ֗י וַֽיִּפְרְשׂוּ֮ אֶת־כַּנְפֵ֣י הַכְּרֻבִים֒ וַתִּגַּ֤ע כְּנַף־הָאֶחָד֙ בַּקִּ֔יר וּכְנַף֙ הַכְּר֣וּב הַשֵּׁנִ֔י נֹגַ֖עַת בַּקִּ֣יר הַשֵּׁנִ֑י וְכַנְפֵיהֶם֙ אֶל־תּ֣וֹךְ הַבַּ֔יִת נֹג��עֹ֖ת כָּנָ֥ף אֶל־כָּנָֽף׃

English:

He placed the cherubim inside the inner chamber.iinner chamber I.e., the Shrine. Since the wings of the cherubim were extended, a wing of the one touched one wall and a wing of the other touched the other wall, while their wings in the center of the chamber touched each other.

The cherubs are installed in the Devir with wings outstretched: one cherub's outer wingtip touches the north wall, the other cherub's outer wingtip touches the south wall, and their inner wings meet in the center of the room — perfectly spanning all 20 cubits. Rashi: their wings cover the Aron and its poles below them. Radak: their faces look toward the Heichal (per Divrei Hayomim II 3:13: 'their faces toward the House').
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וַתִּגַּע כְּנַף הָאֶחָד בַּקִּיר. צָפוֹן. וּכְנַף הַכְּרוּב הַשֵּׁנִי נֹגַעַת בַּקִּיר. הַדָּרוֹם, סוֹכְכִים עַל הָאָרוֹן וְעַל בַּדָּיו. וְכַנְפֵיהֶם אֶל תּוֹךְ הַבַּיִת. וְרָאשֵׁי הַכְּנָפַיִם אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶמְצַע הַבַּיִת. נֹגְעֹת כָּנָף אֶל כָּנָף. שֶׁכָּל חֲלַל הַבַּיִת עֶשְׂרִים.
The wing of one touched the wall. The north[ern wall]. And the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall. The southern [wall]; they covered the Ark and its poles. And their wings which were inside the chamber. The tips of the wings which were [towards] the center of the room. Were touching wing to wing. Because the entire space of the room [i.e., the Holy of Holies] was twenty [amohs].

פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28

Hebrew:

וַיְצַ֥ף אֶת־הַכְּרוּבִ֖ים זָהָֽב׃

English:

He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

פסוק כ״ט · Verse 29

Hebrew:

וְאֵת֩ כׇּל־קִיר֨וֹת הַבַּ֜יִת מֵסַ֣ב ׀ קָלַ֗ע פִּתּוּחֵי֙ מִקְלְעוֹת֙ כְּרוּבִ֣ים וְתִמֹרֹ֔ת וּפְטוּרֵ֖י צִצִּ֑ים מִלִּפְנִ֖ים וְלַחִיצֽוֹן׃

English:

All over the walls of the House, of both the inner area and the outer area, he carved reliefs of cherubim, palms, and calyxes,

The walls of both the Devir (inner) and the Heichal (outer) are surrounded with carved reliefs in three motifs: **keruvim** (cherubs), **timorot** (palms), and **peturei tzitzim** (open-flower calyxes). Rashi: engraved (not raised) figures of cherubs, palm-trees, cords, and flowers. The decorative vocabulary — angelic, paradisal-vegetal, blooming — adorns every interior wall.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְאֵת כָּל קִירוֹת הַבַּיִת. קִירוֹת הָעֵץ. מֵסַב קָלַע. מֻקֶּפֶת צִיּוּרִין. פִּתּוּחֵי מִקְלְעוֹת כְּרוּבִים. חֲקוּקֵי צוּרַת כְּרוּבִים וּדְקָלִים וַחֲבָלִים וּפְרָחִים. מִלִּפְנִים וְלַחִיצוֹן. לְבֵית הַכַּפֹּרֶת הַפְּנִימִי, וְלַהֵיכָל הַחִיצוֹן.
And all the walls of the Beis Hamikdosh. The wooden walls. He encircled with figures. Surrounded with drawings. Carved figures of cherubim. Engraved forms of cherubim, and [palm] trees, cords, and flowers. From within and without. [I.e.,] for the inner room of the Ark cover [i.e., the Holy of Holies], and for the Sanctuary, the "one without."38Even though the Sanctuary was also located "within" the Beis Hamikdosh, however, relative to the Holy of Holies it is the "one without."

פסוק ל׳ · Verse 30

Hebrew:

וְאֶת־קַרְקַ֥ע הַבַּ֖יִת צִפָּ֣ה זָהָ֑ב לִפְנִ֖ימָה וְלַחִיצֽוֹן׃

English:

and he overlaid the floor of the House with gold, both the inner and the outer areas.

The cypress floor — both the Devir's and the Heichal's — is overlaid with gold. Metzudat David: gold over the cypress floorboards. Walls and floor and ceiling: the entire interior is gold-clad.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְאֶת קַרְקַע הַבַּיִת. כָּל הָרִצְפָּה. לִפְנִימָה וְלַחִיצוֹן. לְבֵית הַכַּפֹּרֶת וְלַהֵיכָל.
And the floor of the Beis Hamikdosh. The entire floor. In the inner and outer [chambers]. For the room of the Ark cover [i.e., the Holy of Holies] and for the Sanctuary.

פסוק ל״א · Verse 31

Hebrew:

וְאֵת֙ פֶּ֣תַח הַדְּבִ֔יר עָשָׂ֖ה דַּלְת֣וֹת עֲצֵי־שָׁ֑מֶן הָאַ֥יִל מְזוּז֖וֹת חֲמִשִֽׁית׃

English:

For the entrance of the Shrine he made doors of olive wood, the pilasters and the doorposts having five sides.jthe pilasters and the doorposts having five sides Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

The doors of the Devir (entering the Holy of Holies) are made of atzei shemen (olive wood). The phrase **ha-ayil mezuzot chamishit** is famously obscure. Rashi gives two readings: (1) the doorframe had five components — threshold + two side-posts + a two-piece lintel; (2) the doorposts (mezuzot) themselves had five sides, not the standard four — pentagonal cross-section. Metzudat David follows reading (2): pentagonal mezuzot, an unusual and ornate detail.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
עֲצֵי שָׁמֶן. עֲצֵי זַיִת. הָאַיִל. אֵילֵי הַפֶּתַח, הֵם הַמְּזוּזוֹת שֶׁמִּכָּאן וּמִכָּאן, עֲשׂוּיוֹת עֲגֻלּוֹת, כְּמִין אֵילִים אֵילָיו וְאֵילַמָּיו (נֻסְחָה אַחֶרֶת: אֵלָה וְאַלּוֹן) וְכֵן בְּכָל בִּנְיַן יְחֶזְקֵאל, סִפּוֹת הַפְּתָחִים קְרוּיִים אֵילִים. מְזוּזוֹת חֲמִשִׁית. הַמִּפְתָּן הָאֶחָד, וְהַמְּזוּזוֹת מִכָּאן וּמִכָּאן שְׁתַּיִם, הֲרֵי שָׁלשׁ, וְהַמַּשְׁקוֹף שֶׁעָלָיו עָשׂוּי כִּשְׁתַּיִם כָּזֶה כָּךְ שָׁמַעְתִּי. וַאֲנִי אוֹמֵר, מְזוּזוֹת חֲמִישִׁית, חֲמִשָּׁה צְלָעוֹת הָיוּ לִמְזוּזוֹת, וְלֹא הָיְתָה מְרֻבַּעַת, וְאֵינוֹ מְדַבֵּר לֹא בַּמִּפְתָּן וְלֹא בַּמַּשְׁקוֹף, שֶׁלֹּא מָצִינוּ מִפְתָּן וּמַשְׁקוֹף קְרוּיִין אֵילִים.
Olive wood. Olive wood. The lintel. These are the lintels [=אילי] of the entrance, these are the doorposts from each side that were made round, similar to אילים,39Yechezkeil 40:21. איליו,40Ibid. 40:9. ואילמיו41Ibid. 40:10. (other texts: אלה' ואלון), and similarly in all of Yechezkeil's structure[s],42See Ibid. 40. the doorposts at the entrance are called אילים.43See Rashi Ibid. 40:9. The door-posts. [The door frame consisted of five parts.] The threshold is one, and the side posts on each side are two, totaling three, and the lintel which is on it was made in two, like this. Thus have I heard.44Alternatively, it was the fifth of a series of doorways of the Beis Hamikdosh encountered by one entering from the outside.—Ralbag. But I say, מזוזות חמישית [refers to the] five sides that each of the door posts had, and it was not four-sided; and [the verse] is speaking neither about the threshold nor about the lintel, because we find neither the threshold nor the lintel called "אילים."

פסוק ל״ב · Verse 32

Hebrew:

וּשְׁתֵּי֮ דַּלְת֣וֹת עֲצֵי־שֶׁ֒מֶן֒ וְקָלַ֣ע עֲ֠לֵיהֶ֠ם מִקְלְע֞וֹת כְּרוּבִ֧ים וְתִמֹרֹ֛ת וּפְטוּרֵ֥י צִצִּ֖ים וְצִפָּ֣ה זָהָ֑ב וַיָּ֛רֶד עַל־הַכְּרוּבִ֥ים וְעַל־הַתִּמֹר֖וֹת אֶת־הַזָּהָֽב׃

English:

The double doors were of olive wood, and on them he carved reliefs of cherubim, palms, and calyxes. He overlaid them with gold, hammering the gold onto the cherubim and the palms.

The Devir's olive-wood doors are carved with the same triple motif (cherubs, palms, calyxes) and gilded. Rashi: the gold is hammered into the carvings ('vayared al ha-keruvim') so the figures remain recessed where the wood is recessed and protrude where the wood protrudes — preserving the carved relief beneath the gold. Radak (Yoma 54a): there were actually four doors (two outer, two inner), with a separating Parochet still maintained per Divrei Hayomim, since the doors couldn't fully close (the Aron's poles protruded against them).
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וַיָּרֶד עַל הַכְּרוּבִים. הָיָה מְרַדֵּד הַזָּהָב טַסִּין דַּקִּין לְשָׁקְעָן בְּפִתּוּחֵי הַצּוּרוֹת, לִהְיוֹת שׁוֹקֵעַ בּוֹ בִּמְקוֹם הַחֲקָק, וּבוֹלֵט עַל הַבְּלִיטָה, שֶׁלֹּא יְהֵא הַזָּהָב מְבַטֵּל אֶת הַצּוּרוֹת, וְיִהְיוּ צוּרוֹת הָעֵץ נִכָּרוֹת בַּזָּהָב.
He hammered upon the cherubim. He spread the gold in thin sheets [in order] to sink them into the engraved forms, so that it be recessed into the engraved places and protrude on the protrusions, so that the gold does not ruin the figures, and so that the figures in the wood are distinguishable under the gold.

פסוק ל״ג · Verse 33

Hebrew:

וְכֵ֥ן עָשָׂ֛ה לְפֶ֥תַח הַהֵיכָ֖ל מְזוּז֣וֹת עֲצֵי־שָׁ֑מֶן מֵאֵ֖ת רְבִעִֽית׃

English:

For the entrance of the Great Hall, too, he made doorposts of oleaster wood, having four sides,khaving four sides Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

The Heichal's entrance also has olive-wood doorposts, but **rivi'it** rather than chamishit — four-sided rather than five-sided. Rashi: the Heichal's doorposts were square (four-sided), Targum: 'from their four sides squared.' Metzudat David: a parallel-and-contrast with the Devir's pentagonal mezuzot (verse 31) — the Holy of Holies more ornate, the Heichal more conventional.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
מֵאֵת רְבִעִית. מְזוּזוֹת הַהֵיכָל הָיוּ רְבוּעוֹת, וְכֵן תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: מִן אַרְבָּעָה סִיטְרֵיהוֹן מְרַבְּעִין.
Consisting of four parts. The side posts [i.e., the entire door frames] of the Sanctuary were square, and so did [Targum] Yonoson translate, "from their four sides squared."

פסוק ל״ד · Verse 34

Hebrew:

וּשְׁתֵּ֥י דַלְת֖וֹת עֲצֵ֣י בְרוֹשִׁ֑ים שְׁנֵ֨י צְלָעִ֜ים הַדֶּ֤לֶת הָ��ַחַת֙ גְּלִילִ֔ים וּשְׁנֵ֧י קְלָעִ֛ים הַדֶּ֥לֶת הַשֵּׁנִ֖ית גְּלִילִֽים׃

English:

and the double doors of cypress wood, each door consisting of two rounded planks.

The Heichal's double doors are made of cypress (berosh), not olive — each door covering half the entrance. Each door has 'two tzela'im' and 'two kela'im' — Rashi/Targum: two pivot-hinges (upper and lower) of *gelilim* — round/cylindrical posts that turn in sockets. Metzudat David adds: each face of each door bears its own carved decoration of round/wheel motifs (gelilim).
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וּשְׁתֵּי דַלְתוֹת. כָּל אַחַת כְּדֵי חֲצִי רֹחַב הַפֶּתַח. שְׁנֵי צְלָעִים. תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: תְּרֵין צִירִין, צִיר הָעֶלְיוֹן, וְצִיר הַתַּחְתּוֹן. גְּלִילִים. (תַּרְגּוּם:) סְגַלְגַּלִּין. וּשְׁנֵי קְלָעִים. אַף זֶה מְתֻרְגָּם צִירִין, לְשׁוֹן קְלָעִים. אוֹמֵר אֲנִי, שֶׁהוּא לָשׁוֹן אֲרַמִּי, לְשׁוֹן כְּנִיסָה, שֶׁהוּא נִכְנָס בְּחוֹר הַמִּפְתָּן.
And two doors. Each [door] was half the width of the entrance. Two [rounded] hinges. [Targum] Yonoson rendered "two hinges," an upper hinge and a lower hinge.45Alternatively, צלעים means "sides," i.e., both the inner and outer sides of the doors were overlaid with carvings.—Radak. Rounded. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] oval. Two [rounded] hinges. Also this is rendered [by Targum Yonoson] "hinges." The expression קלעים, I maintain, is of Aramaic derivation, an expression meaning "entrance," because the hinge enters into the cavity of the threshold.46Alternatively, קלעים are curtains, meaning that the doors folded in the same manner a curtain does.

פסוק ל״ה · Verse 35

Hebrew:

וְקָלַ֤ע כְּרוּבִים֙ וְתִ֣מֹר֔וֹת וּפְטֻרֵ֖י צִצִּ֑ים וְצִפָּ֣ה זָהָ֔ב מְיֻשָּׁ֖ר עַל־הַמְּחֻקֶּֽה׃

English:

On them he carved cherubim, palms, and calyxes, overlaying them with gold applied evenly over the carvings.

The Heichal's cypress doors also bear the standard triple iconography: cherubs, palms, calyxes — gilded with **zahav meyushar al hamechukeh** ('gold straightened upon the engraving'). Rashi: the gold sheets were hammered to follow the precise contours of the carvings beneath — recessed where the wood was recessed, protruding where it protruded — so the relief-figures remained visible *through* the gold.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְקָלַע כְּרוּבִים. עַל הַדְּלָתוֹת. מְיֻשָּׁר עַל הַמְּחֻקֶּה. הַזָּהָב מְכֻוָּן עַל חִקּוּק הַצּוּרוֹת, שׁוֹקֵעַ בִּמְקוֹם שִׁקּוּעוֹ, וּבוֹלֵט בִּמְקוֹם בְּלִיטָתוֹ, שֶׁיִּהְיוּ הַצּוּרוֹת נִכָּרוֹת בּוֹ.
And he carved upon them cherubim. On the doors. Fitting precisely upon the carvings. The gold was fitted onto the carved forms; recessed in the place of its engraving, and protruding in its place of protrusion so that the carved forms are [clearly] distinguishable [in the gold overlay].

פסוק ל״ו · Verse 36

Hebrew:

וַיִּ֙בֶן֙ אֶת־הֶחָצֵ֣ר הַפְּנִימִ֔ית שְׁלֹשָׁ֖ה טוּרֵ֣י גָזִ֑ית וְט֖וּר כְּרֻתֹ֥ת אֲרָזִֽים׃

English:

He built the inner enclosure of three courses of hewn stones and one course of cedar beams.

The inner courtyard (chatzer hapenimit) — Rashi identifies as Ezrat Kohanim and Ezrat Yisrael, called 'inner' relative to the women's court (Ezrat Nashim) outside it — is built in distinctive masonry: three courses of hewn stone topped by one course of cedar beams. Metzudat David: this layered pattern (3 stone + 1 cedar) repeats up the height of the wall. Radak: this method later sparked the Talmudic discussion of 'meriz hagazul' (the stolen beam built into a structure).
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
הֶחָצֵר הַפְּנִימִית. הִיא עֶזְרַת הַכֹּהֲנִים וְעֶזְרַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְהִיא הָיְתָה לִפְנֵי הָאוּלָם, וְקוֹרֵא אוֹתָהּ פְּנִימִית, לְפִי שֶׁהָיְתָה לִפְנִים מֵעֶזְרַת נָשִׁים (וּבַמִּקְרָא לֹא מָצִינוּ כָּתוּב 'עֶזְרַת', כִּי אִם בַּמִּשְׁנָה). וְטוּר כְּרֻתֹת אֲרָזִים. נִדְבָּךְ שֶׁל קִירוֹת (מְחֻטָּבוֹת) עָשָׂה בַּחוֹמָה.
The inner court. This was the court of Kohanim and the court of Yisroel, and it was [located] before the entrance hall, yet he calls it "the inner one" because it was inward of the women's court. (In the Biblical text we do not find written "עזרת" except for in the Mishnah.47See Mishnayos Midos 2:5,6.) And a row of cut cedar beams. A tier of (cut) beams made [part of] the wall.

פסוק ל״ז · Verse 37

Hebrew:

בַּשָּׁנָה֙ הָרְבִיעִ֔ית יֻסַּ֖ד בֵּ֣ית יְהֹוָ֑ה בְּיֶ֖רַח זִֽו׃

English:

In the fourth year, in the month of Ziv, the foundations of the House of GOD were laid;

The chronological bookend: in Shlomo's fourth year, in the month of Ziv (Iyar — verse 1), the Beit Hashem's foundation was laid. Rashi/Radak: this echoes the chapter's opening date, framing the entire construction-account between two precise temporal markers.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
בַּשָּׁנָה הָרְבִיעִת. לַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה. יֻסַּד בֵּית ה'. הוּחַל יְסוֹדוֹ.
In the fourth year. Of Shlomo Hamelech['s reign]. The foundation was laid— of the Beis Hamikdosh house of Adonoy. Its foundation was begun.48I.e., construction of Beis Hamikdosh began.

פסוק ל״ח · Verse 38

Hebrew:

וּבַשָּׁנָה֩ הָאַחַ֨ת עֶשְׂרֵ֜ה בְּיֶ֣רַח בּ֗וּל ה֚וּא הַחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י כָּלָ֣ה הַבַּ֔יִת לְכׇל־דְּבָרָ֖יו וּלְכׇל־מִשְׁפָּטָ֑ו וַיִּבְנֵ֖הוּ שֶׁ֥בַע שָׁנִֽים׃

English:

and in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul—that is, the eighth month—the House was completed according to all its details and all its specifications. It took him seven years to build it.

The closing date: Shlomo's eleventh year, the month of Bul (the eighth month — later called Mar-Cheshvan). Rashi: 'Bul' from *bal* (decay) — the field-grass has decayed, and household-stored fodder must be 'bolelim' (mixed) for cattle. The Temple's construction took **seven years** total — Radak: the verse stresses 'seven years' to emphasize Shlomo never paused or grew lazy during the build. With this completion, chapter 6 closes; chapter 7 will turn to the palace and the Temple vessels.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
בְּיֶרַח בּוּל. הוּא מַרְחֶשְׁוָן, שֶׁהָעֵשֶׂב בָּלָה בַשָּׂדֶה, וּבוֹלְלִין לַבְּהֵמָה מִן הַבַּיִת, מִלְּשׁוֹן: וַיָּבָל לַחֲמוֹרִים.
In the month of Bul. This is [the month of] Mar Cheshvan;49The Flood [מבול] during Noach's time began in the month of Marcheshvan. [when] the grass in the field decays, and cattle is given fodder from what is stored, from the expression "and he gave fodder [ויבל] to the donkeys."50Shoftim 19:21.

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