Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 7:3
And [it was] covered with cedar above upon the beams, that [lay] on forty five pillars, fifteen [in] a row.
3. And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams ] The word here rendered ‘beams’ is the same which has been rendered ‘side-chambers’ in 1Ki 6:5. In two descriptions which are so closely related as that chapter and this, it is difficult to suppose that the word has a different sense in the two places. And we have here an account of a series of side-chambers which ran all round the inside walls of this house of the forest of Lebanon, as the others did round the outside wall of the Temple. Taking the word as = ‘side-chambers,’ the text says that they were supported upon the pillars already mentioned in 1Ki 7:2, and then adds that these chambers were forty-five in number, fifteen in a row. This seems to mean that the whole three tiers of rooms numbered forty-five, each of the three stories being divided into fifteen chambers. If we suppose that the chambers were only on three sides like those surrounding the Temple, then six on each side and three at each end would exactly make up the number, and would suit with the dimensions of the house, which was twice as long as it was broad. The whole verse then may be translated ‘And it was covered with cedar above, over the forty and five side-chambers, which were upon the pillars, fifteen in a row.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
So in this second story were only three rows of pillars, which was sufficient for the ornament of the second, and for the support of the third story.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And it was covered with cedar above the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row. On the second floor were three rows of pillars, fifteen in a row, which made forty five, that stood to east, north, and south; and upon these pillars beams, which were the floor of the third story, over which was a roof of cedar wood.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
3. Upon the beams Rather, Upon the chambers; for , here rendered beams, is the same word that is rendered chambers in 1Ki 6:5; 1Ki 6:8. The meaning here is, that he covered over or wainscotted with cedar the chambers, which in the stories above rested upon the four rows of pillars previously described. The whole verse should be translated thus: And above he covered over with cedar the side-chambers which were upon the pillars, forty-five, (in number,) fifteen in a row. That is, the chambers, not the pillars, were forty-five in number.
Fifteen in a row That is, fifteen chambers on each story, running in a row around the sides. , a row, may be used of a layer of stones (1Ki 6:36) or a series of chambers, as here, as well as of a range of pillars. 1Ki 7:2. A single row or tier of these chambers is represented in the annexed cut, one chamber at the end being the place of the stairway.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ki 7:3 And [it was] covered with cedar above upon the beams, that [lay] on forty five pillars, fifteen [in] a row.
Ver. 3. Upon the beams. ] Heb., Ribs: for beams are to a building what ribs are to a living creature. In Africa they make, if not beams, yet rafters for houses, of the whale’s ribs.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
beams: Heb. ribs, 1Ki 6:5, *marg.
Reciprocal: Num 5:3 – without Pro 9:1 – pillars
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 7:3-5. Fifteen in a row So in this second story there were only three rows of pillars, which were sufficient for the ornament of the second and for the support of the third story; and we may conjecture from hence that there were threescore pillars below. Light was against light One directly opposite to another, as is usual in well-contrived buildings. In three ranks One exactly under another in three rows. All the doors, &c., were square with the windows That is, the figures of the doors and windows were one and the same, namely, square. And light was against light, &c. This is meant of the smaller windows or lights which were over the door, and which were also square.