Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 7:13
And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
13 22. Hiram a Tyrian worker in brass casts the pillars Jachin and Boaz (2Ch 2:4; 2Ch 3:15-17)
13. sent and fet ] ‘Fet’ is the old English past tense of the verb ‘fetch,’ and occurs several times in the version of 1611 (e.g. Gen 18:7) but the more modern form has been introduced into our Bibles since 1750.
Hiram out of Tyre ] The name of this workman is spelt Huram in 2Ch 4:11. He was highly esteemed by the Tyrian king who in 2Ch 2:13 calls him ‘Huram my father,’ and in a later verse (2Ch 4:16) it is said ‘the vessels thereof did Huram his father make for king Solomon.’ So that he became as much treasured by the one king as by the other. For the expression cp. Gen 45:8 where Joseph speaks of himself as a father to Pharaoh.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Hiram – A man who bore the same name as the king of Tyre, a master workman, known as Hiram Ab, i. e. Master Hiram 2Ch 2:13; 2Ch 4:16.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Ki 7:13-14
King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
Hiram, the master builder
I. Hiram was a born master builder. The influence of heredity needs no more signal illustration. He combines his mothers heart and his fathers mind. Strange, that in a correspondence between Eastern kings of antiquity, with whom womans fame was of less than cypher value, Hirams mother should be mentioned at all; stranger still, that the premier place is given to her, implying that, while both parents were eminent, the mother was pre-eminent. Who was she? A woman of the daughters of Dan (2Ch 2:13-14). The Danites bore the brunt of all the Sidonian incursions, until, driven from hearth and home for refuge to the hills, privation and isolation but varied the form of the disasters that dogged them. Finally, submitting to capture or surrender, they were taken across the border into Tyre to suffer further ignominy amid alien surroundings. But never did the sons and daughters of Dan forget their tribal ancestry or affinities. Their traditions and Pride became a splendid inheritance, and their faith sustained them under the sharpest persecution. Even their oppressors grew to respect them, and permitted them to thrive in their midst. Hirams mother had the tribal grit, the unswerving courage of her people, so that when named at the Tyrian Court, it is as a woman of the daughters of Dan. And, in his letter to Solomon, Hiram the King lets drop this bit of feminine biography that is a tribute to her fine fidelity to conscience. Do not think that this passes in the record as of no account. You can prophesy with tolerable certainty as to Hirams future when you read his mothers story, and you can as surely anticipate as much for every child of promise whose mother is true to the form of faith that holds her to the people of God–call it what you will, whether Danism or Methodism. Keep your eyes open for these embryo workers, who are, like poets, born, not made. It is the self-constituted man we want. It is character, and not birth, that mainly tells. The river has its source in the mountain torrent, but the true test of its strength is in the assimilative power with which, while preserving its identity, it absorbs its tributaries. Therefore we judge Hiram as we would judge ourselves, at the bar of self-examination–and he emerges from the ordeal admirable.
II. Hiram the master builder had a mastermind.
1. He was a cunning man. When the Saxons said a man was cunnen they meant that he was knowing–that he had his wits about him. And they implied more. The root of the word obtained amongst the Latins also. It means a wedge, and we get its signification in the word cuneated, which precisely hits off the disposition of the man Hiram. He was a wedge-shaped man. Let opportunity give him but the smallest conceivable opening, and in he went, especially if the hammer of necessity but tapped home the wedge. Every Christian worker should be of wedge-shaped character.
2. Hiram, the cunning man, was endued with understanding. To have an understanding is to be able to get to the bottom of things; and to Re endued with understanding, as Hiram was, is to exercise this faculty from circumference to centre. It means that he had not only a mental bias, but also a mental equipment, thoroughly comprehensive.
III. Hiram of the master mind was also a master craftsman.
1. Hiram wrought in gold, to him the most precious of metals; of supreme quality, of standard value, capable of sovereign impress, non-rusting, non-corroding. Gold is the one mineral that does not depreciate; it is immutable amid all change of time and circumstance; it is gold–always gold. This he used for overlay work, for the decoration of the holy place, and for the consecrated vessels. We, too, work in gold when we work in Divine truth. We cannot alter the material, but do we make its presentation attractive or repellant? Is the image and superscription of the King upon it? When we use it in the holy place, does it shine as the wings of a seraph or an overlaid panel would when Hiram wrought? Are the vessels unto honour sanctified, and meet for the Masters use?
2. Hiram wrought also in silver–fair and chaste. Silver is subject to market fluctuation, but it is increased manifold in value when it receives a sovereign impression. It is the rich mans plenty, and the poor mans wealth. We, too, work in silver, when we serve in human sympathy, that is brightened by use, and that, when beautified with the Divine likeness, as the liquid drops of tears that you have shed, brings ten times double gain of happiness. And, when you work your silver into the Gospel trumpet, the world will hear sounds that for thrill and cadence will rival the music of a thousand harps.
3. Hiram wrought in brass. The word is used technically for a compound of metals, that should be rendered bronze. It is a fusion of copper–the only alloy with gold–and tin. And our thoughts, like the sea, must be wide and deep, generous and cleansing. Join prayer and thought, and you will get a spiritual amalgam of the utmost use in temple service.
4. Hiram wrought in iron, that is rough, resistant, obdurate; but in his hands it became ductile, and exceeding serviceable. When we forge these our wills, we, too, toil in iron. Proud, repellant, unlovely they are; yet, when, by the grace of God, they become wrought-work, they are marvels of resource, strength, control, support.
5. He worked upon stone, rugged and hard; but, by patient continuance in well-doing, he formed the useful block that helped to make the temple, and brought out upon it the artistic form and beauty of the sculptured decoration. This is just what we do.
6. Hiram wrought upon timber, that supported the roof, that panelled the holy place, that formed the tables for the shewbread, which was the symbol for the bread of life.
7. Hiram wrought upon textiles, and in their subdued colours he could see mysteries. Perhaps only mysteries; whereas, to you and me, the mysteries seem revealed. But, small blame to the worker Hiram. It was the purpose of his dispensation to make the marvel, and sustain it.
IV. Hiram had the master spirit. He came to Solomon a man skilful to grave every manner of graving, and to find out every manner of device. Nothing issues from his master mind that is not a sublimely pure conception; the Divine touch glorifies everything he fashions. That is true sacrifice; it is the master art, and you know it to be true, for it is your Masters art.
V. For such service as Hirams, what was the reward? No man labours as he did without recognition, for no man serves God for naught. The upraised temple; its outer ornamentation; its inner splendour; its acknowledgment of the people; the accepted sacrifice, and the consummate approval of the Divine presence–surely these tokens were enough? Shall we each be a master builder? Then let us remember that he who would seek to fulfil this high calling must have a master mind; that he who would have the master mind must have the Masters spirit; that he who would have the Masters spirit must be much in the presence of the Master. There, amid the silences, he will hear the Masters voice: there are the hidden victories that overcome the world. (J. R. Jackson.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.] This was not the Tyrian king, mentioned before, but a very intelligent coppersmith, of Jewish extraction by his mother’s side, who was probably married to a Tyrian. In 2Ch 2:14, this woman is said to be of the daughters of Dan, but here of the tribe of Naphtali. The king of Tyre, who gives the account as we have it in Chronicles, might have made the mistake, and confounded the two tribes; or she might have been of Naphtali by her father, and of Dan by her mother, and so be indifferently called of the tribe of Naphtali or of the daughters of Dan. This appears to be the best solution of the difficulty. The versions and MSS. give no help here.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
13. Solomon sent and fetched Hiramout of TyreThe Tyrians and other inhabitants on thePhoelignician coast were the most renowned artists and workers inmetal in the ancient world.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. Not the king of Tyre, but an artificer in it, after described, whom Solomon had heard and upon his request Huram sent him to him, 2Ch 2:13 his name is called Hyperon by Clemens of Alexandria l.
l Stromat. l. 1. p. 332.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Metallic Vessels of the Temple (compare 2Ch 2:13-14, and 3:15-5:1). – 1Ki 7:13, 1Ki 7:14. To make these vessels king Hiram had sent to Solomon, at his request (2Ch 2:6), a workman named Hiram of Tyre. 1Ki 7:13 contains a supplementary remark, in which must be rendered in the pluperfect (compare the remarks on Gen 2:19). King Solomon had sent and fetched Hiram from Tyre. This artisan bore the same name as the king, or (1Ki 7:40), in 2Ch 2:13 (Huram), with the epithet , i.e., my father, being a title of honour equivalent to master or counsellor, as in Gen 45:8. He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was , i.e., a Tyrian by birth. According to 2Ch 2:13, his mother was “of the daughters of Dan,” i.e., of the tribe of Dan. Both statements may easily be united thus: she was a Danite by birth, and married into the tribe of Naphtali. When her husband died, she was married again as the widow of a Naphtalite, and became the wife of a Tyrian, to whom she bore a son, Hiram. This explanation is also adopted by Bertheau (on the Chronicles); and the conjecture of Lundius, Thenius, and others, that the mother was an Israelitish widow of the city of Dan in the tribe of Naphtali, which was quite close to Tyre, is less in harmony with the expression “of the daughters of Dan.” , “a brass-worker,” refers to (he), i.e., Hiram, and not to his father (Thenius). The skill of Hiram is described in almost the same terms as that of Bezaleel in Exo 31:3., with this exception, that Bezaleel’s skill is attributed to his being filled with the Spirit of God, i.e., is described rather as a supernatural gift, whereas in the case of Hiram the more indefinite expression, “he was filled with wisdom, etc.,” is used, representing it rather as a natural endowment. In the account given here, Hiram is merely described as a worker in brass, because he is only mentioned at the commencement of the section which treats of the preparation of the brazen vessels of the temple. According to 2Ch 2:14, he was able to work in gold, silver, brass, iron, stone, wood, purple, etc. There is nothing improbable in this extension of his skill to wood and to the art of weaving. Bezaleel also combined in himself all these talents. Of course Hiram was merely a foreman or leader of these different branches of art; and he certainly did not come alone, but brought several assistants with him, who carried out the different works under his superintendence. – The enumeration of them commences with the pillars of the temple-hall.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. 14 He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work. 15 For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about. 16 And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits: 17 And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter. 18 And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter. 19 And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits. 20 And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter. 21 And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz. 22 And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished. 23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. 24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast. 25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. 26 And it was a hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths. 27 And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it. 28 And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges: 29 And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work. 30 And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition. 31 And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and a half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round. 32 And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. 33 And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten. 34 And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself. 35 And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same. 36 For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about. 37 After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size. 38 Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver. 39 And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south. 40 And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD: 41 The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; 42 And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars; 43 And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases; 44 And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea; 45 And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass. 46 In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. 47 And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.
We have here an account of the brass-work about the temple. There was no iron about the temple, though we find David preparing for the temple iron for things of iron, 1 Chron. xxix. 2. What those things were we are not told, but some of the things of brass are here described and the rest mentioned.
I. The brasier whom Solomon employed to preside in this part of the work was Hiram, or Huram (2 Chron. iv. 11), who was by his mother’s side an Israelite, of the tribe of Naphtali, by his father’s side a man of Tyre, v. 14. If he had the ingenuity of a Tyrian, and the affection of an Israelite to the house of God (the head of a Tyrian and the heart of an Israelite), it was happy that the blood of the two nations mixed in him, for thereby he was qualified for the work to which he was designed. As the tabernacle was built with the wealth of Egypt, so the temple with the wit of Tyre. God will serve himself by the common gifts of the children of men.
II. The brass he made use of was the best he could get. All the brazen vessels were of bright brass (v. 45), good brass, so the Chaldee, that which was strongest and looked finest. God, who is the best, must be served and honoured with the best.
III. The place where all the brazen vessels were cast was the plain of Jordan, because the ground there was stiff and clayey, fit to make moulds of for the casting of the brass (v. 46), and Solomon would not have this dirty smoky work done in or near Jerusalem.
IV. The quantity was not accounted for. The vessels were unnumbered (so it may be read, v. 47, as well as unweighed), because they were exceedingly numerous, and it would have been an endless thing to keep the account of them; neither was the weight of the brass, when it was delivered to the workmen, searched or enquired into; so honest were the workmen, and such great plenty of brass they had, that there was no danger of wanting. We must ascribe it to Solomon’s care that he provided so much, not to his carelessness that he kept no account of it.
V. Some particulars of the brass-work are described.
1. Two brazen pillars, which were set up in the porch of the temple (v. 21), whether under the cover of the porch or in the open air is not certain; it was between the temple and the court of the priests. These pillars were neither to hang gates upon nor to rest any building upon, but purely for ornament and significancy. (1.) What an ornament they were we may gather from the account here given of the curious work that was about them, chequer-work, chain-work, net-work, lily-work, and pomegranates in rows, and all of bright brass, and framed no doubt according to the best rules of proportion, to please the eye. (2.) Their significancy is intimated in the names given them (v. 21): Jachin—he will establish; and Boaz—in him is strength. Some think they were intended for memorials of the pillar of cloud and fire which led Israel through the wilderness: I rather think them designed for memorandums to the priests and others that came to worship at God’s door, [1.] To depend upon God only, and not upon any sufficiency of their own, for strength and establishment in all their religious exercises. When we come to wait upon God, and find our hearts wandering and unfixed, then by faith let us fetch in help from heaven: Jachin—God will fix this roving mind. It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace. We find ourselves weak and unable for holy duties, but this is our encouragement: Boaz—in him is our strength, who works in us both to will and to do. I will go in the strength of the Lord God. Spiritual strength and stability are to be had at the door of God’s temple, where we must wait for the gifts of grace in the use of the means of grace. [2.] It was a memorandum to them of the strength and establishment of the temple of God among them. Let them keep close to God and duty, and they should never lose their dignities and privileges, but the grant should be confirmed and perpetuated to them. The gospel church is what God will establish, what he will strengthen, and what the gates of hell can never prevail against. But, with respect to this temple, when it was destroyed particular notice was taken of the destroying of these pillars (2Ki 25:13; 2Ki 25:17), which had been the tokens of its establishment, and would have been so if they had not forsaken God.
2. A brazen sea, a very large vessel, above five yards in diameter, and which contained above 500 barrels of water for the priests’ use, in washing themselves and the sacrifices, and keeping the courts of the temple clean, v. 23, c. It stood raised upon the figures of twelve oxen in brass, so high that either they must have stairs to climb up to it or cocks at the bottom to draw water from it. The Gibeonites, or Nethinim, who were to draw water for the house of God, had the care of filling it. Some think Solomon made the images of oxen to support this great cistern in contempt of the golden calf which Israel had worshipped, that (as bishop Patrick expresses it) the people might see there was nothing worthy of adoration in those figures they were fitter to make posts of than to make gods of. Yet this prevailed not to prevent Jerusalem’s setting up the calves for deities. In the court of the tabernacle there was only a laver of brass provided to wash in, but in the court of the temple a sea of brass, intimating that by the gospel of Christ much fuller preparation is made for our cleansing than was by the law of Moses. That had a laver, this has a sea, a fountain opened, Zech. xiii. 1.
3. Ten bases, or stands, or settles, of brass, on which were put ten lavers, to be filled with water for the service of the temple, because there would not be room at the molten sea for all that had occasion to wash there. The bases on which the lavers were fixed are very largely described here, v. 27, c. They were curiously adorned and set upon wheels, that the lavers might be removed as there was occasion but ordinarily they stood in two rows, five on one side of the court and five on the other, v. 39. Each laver contained forty baths, that is, about ten barrels, v. 38. Those must be very clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Spiritual priests and spiritual sacrifices must be washed in the laver of Christ’s blood and of regeneration. We must wash often, for we daily contract pollution, must cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. Plentiful provision is made for our cleansing; so that if we have our lot for ever among the unclean it will be our own fault.
4. Besides these, there was a vast number of brass pots made to boil the flesh of the peace-offerings in, which the priests and offerers were to feast upon before the Lord (see 1 Sam. ii. 14); also shovels, wherewith they took out the ashes of the altar. Some think the word signifies flesh-hooks, with which they took meat out of the pot. The basins also were made of brass, to receive the blood of the sacrifices. These are put for all the utensils of the brazen altar, Exod. xxxviii. 3. While they were about it they made abundance of them, that they might have a good stock by them when those that were first in use wore out and went to decay. Thus Solomon, having wherewithal to do so, provided for posterity.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Commentary on 1Ki 7:13-22; AND 2Ch 3:15-17 :
The Kings account now gives a better introduction of Hiram the artisan. It is said again that he was the son of a widow, but here that he was of the tribe of Naphtali. His father was a Tyrian. However, 2Ch 2:14 states that his mother was a “daughter of Da” It is to be remembered that a group of the Danites settled the city of Laish, renaming it Dan, in the days of the judges (Jdg 18:27-29). This town was just north of the tribal possession of Naphtali. Possibly Hiram’s mother was a Danite woman who lived in Naphtali. This half-Hebrew man was very skillful in bronze work, which skill he evidently also applied to work with other precious metals, and was well received in Israel.
Hiram’s work in construction of the great pillars which stood before the temple is minutely detailed, especially in Kings. It seems to have been one of the most imposing of his accomplishments. The pillars were each eighteen cubits, or twenty-seven feet long, though Chronicles gives the combined length of both pillars. Each pillar was also eighteen feet in circumference. These were constructed of molten brass (properly translated, bronze). Each pillar was embellished with chapiters, or capitals, of molten bronze also, on the tops of each. These capitals were seven and a half feet high and were decorated with checkered network and wreaths of chainwork, numbering seven for each capital. There were also rows of molten pomegranates, a hundred to each pillar, constructed on the capitals. Overall around the top was lily-work.
These beautiful columns, or pillars, had names. The one on the right was called Jachin, which means, “He shall establish”, while that on the left was Boaz, meaning, “In it is strength.” Some have joined these two meanings in the statement, “He shall establish it in strength.” This might have been implied for the house of God, or more precisely of Israel. This is what the Lord promised David and Solomon if they walked in obedience to His statutes and commands, and if their descendants did so after them. They failed to do this, but the Lord’s promise shall be fulfilled when Israel eventually turns to the Lord Jesus Christ in the end of the age (Isa 2:2-5).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.
1Ki. 7:13. Fetched Hiram out of TyreHe seems to have been eminent among the artists in metals for which Tyre and Phnicia were then renowned. This man (of like name with the king) is designated in 2Ch. 2:13, by the title of honour i.e., master, teacher, father (Keil). His genius was a natural gift of God (1Ki. 7:14). Note the difference between this phrase concerning Hiram, filled with wisdom. &c., and the statement as to the supernatural endowments of Bezaleel (Exo. 31:3), filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, &c.
1Ki. 7:15. Pillars of brass eighteen cubits highThese columns were 32 feet long, without the capitals, and 7 feet in diameter; the metal was about 3 inches thick (Jer. 52:21), and the total weight of each pillar must have been about 18 tons. The capitals were over 8 feet high (1Ki. 7:16), making a total height of 41 feet.
1Ki. 7:21. Jachin and Boaz means established (2Ch. 17:5); while is a compound of power, strength, and in himi.e., in God; ergo, strong in Him (Isa. 45:24).
1Ki. 7:23. Molten sea; colossal brazen basin 17 feet in diameter, over 8 feet in depth, capable of holding nearly 20,000 gallons of water.
1Ki. 7:25. Stood upon twelve oxenof enormous size necessarilysimilar to the Assyrian bulls; for the total combined weight of the vessel and water would be some 100 tons.
1Ki. 7:40. Lavers, for carrying away water; shovels, for removing ashes; basins for receiving the blood of sacrifices.
1Ki. 7:45. Bright brass, polished after the casting; brilliant, therefore.
1Ki. 7:46. In the plain of Jordan between Succoth and ZarthanHere the soil is stated to be entirely marl. Succoth, close by the mouth of the Jabbok; Zarthan (or Zaretan), whose site is uncertain, except that it was proximate to the Jordan, was near by Succoth. The distance from Jerusalem was considerable; but all the noxious smoke and vapours of the foundry would thereby be avoided; although the clay and sand found there doubtless determined the choice of the spot.
1Ki. 7:47. Solomon left all the vesselsThe word unweighed is wisely inverted in the translation, for means he let them be; the number was so great that their weight was not computed.
1Ki. 7:48. And Solomon made, &c.As Hiram was equally skilful to work in gold (2Ch. 2:14), it is most probable that the king entrusted this work also to him.
1Ki. 7:51. The things which David his father had dedicatedFrom 1Ch. 22:14-16; 1Ch. 29:2 sq., we find that Davids store of gold, silver, &c., was vast, including the valuable trophies of his victories (cf. 2Sa. 8:7; 2Sa. 8:11-12; 1Ch. 18:7; 1Ch. 18:10-11), and his own private treasures (1Ch. 28:13-18). So abundant was the supply of precious metal that, although the quantity used for the temple was immense, there was a large store in reserve.W. H. J.
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki. 7:13-51
RELIGION AND ART
Solomon determined to offer the best to Godthe best in material, the best in form. He desired to have real works of art, and he so little despised art as the handmaid of religion, that he even sent for a heathen and foreign artist. In his wisdom, he regarded the command, Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, not as the prohibition of every species of religious sculpture. As Hirams mother was an Israelite, we may well surmise that he was not unacquainted with the God whom his mother worshipped, and, therefore, would be better able than all other Tyrian artists to enter into the right spirit and meaning of the works which Solomon entrusted to him. The elaborate decoration of the Temple, and the exquisite finish of its furniture as detailed in these verses, suggest several reflections as to the relation of Religion and Art.
I. Art imbibes its best inspirations from religion. Hiram was filled with wisdom and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass (1Ki. 7:14). The genius of art is a divine endowment. The skill of Hiram is referred to nearly in the same terms as that of Bezaleel (Exo. 31:3); but in the case of the latter it was a supernatural inspiration for a special purpose, while in the case of Hiram it was a natural gift of God. Like all true genius, it possessed the soul of the artificer with an irrepressible passion for his particular work. He was filled with wisdom and ingenuity to work. It is a dangerous, and often fatal infatuation, when a man dreams he is a genius, and does nothing more but dream. The greatest genius is he who has the greatest capacity for hard work, and who finds his greatest pleasure in it. The artist is ever as enthusiast. When Macready acted Romeo for the first timebeing then only sixteen years of agehis success was so great that a host of friends crowded round him at the close, and shook his hand with fervent congratulations. A lady asked him, Well, sir, how do you feel now? and he, with a boyish ingenuousness, answeredI feel as if I should like to act it all over again! How much more pure and lofty should be the enthusiasm of the Christian artist!
II. Art fulfils its loftiest mission when it is consecrated to religious uses. All this wealth of metal and of talent was employed in building and embellishing the Temple of Jehovah. It is a sad and pitiful sight to see the leaders of art and science lending their great powers in antagonism to religion. And yet it is reassuring to know that the greatest minds, and those who have had the greatest influence in moulding the best thoughts of the world, have ever been among the most devout. Copernicus, whose system of the universe overthrew the delusion of many thousand years, was no enemy of religion. His tomb bears the following characteristic inscription:
I crave not the grace which Paul received,
Nor the favours with which Thou didst indulge Peter;
That alone which Thou bestowedst upon the thief on the cross,
That alone do I entreat.
Kepler, Newton, and many others who were giants in the realm of science, were humble and zealous Christians. Genius gains its most entrancing visions, glitters with its brightest radiance, wins its most resplendent victories, and scatters its choicest blessings, when it devotes its best powers to expound and adorn religion.
III. Religion combines what is beautiful in art with all that is vigorous and substantial in principle. The Temple was firmly founded, massive and durable in structure, graceful and brilliant in ornamentation. The great Creator has so exquisitely proportioned His external dwelling-place that there is everything about it to delight the eye and gratify and elevate the taste. He has stamped upon it all the glory of form, irradiated it with all the brilliance and softness of colour, and finely attuned it to all the rapture and harmony of sound. The masterpiece of the most gifted artist is but a dim, imperfect reflection of the native, peerless beauty of the universe. Jehovah is said to clothe Himself with light as with a garment; and what are all His created works but a garment, jewelled with stars, embroidered with constellations, and heavy with the riches of all worlds? The Being whose self-created Temple is so full of grandeur and beauty is worthy of the most gorgeous sanctuary that the hand of man can fashion. The ocean loses none of its power because it is silvered with fretted foam, or sparkling with the golden sheen of reflected sunbeams. The mountain is not less majestic because it is belted with the feathery-branched pines, garlanded with slender wild flowers, and clothed with a purple robe of blooming heather. Nor does the religious hero lose anything in strength and stature because he wears the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
IV. Art becomes dangerous and misleading when it usurps the place of religion. The principle laid down and developed by Neander is the true onethat the design of the Christian religion, which is to promote holiness of life, should be kept constantly in view; and whatever is beautiful in art should ever be subordinated to this design. When the beautiful becomes, or tends to become, supreme in worship and in Christian art, then it becomes unlawful. Whenever this principle is infringed, an intense desire to reform is apt to develop itself into a reckless, iconoclastic spirit. The men who denuded and dismantled the churches in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries regarded ornaments as snares to the conscience, and as the foster-nurses of superstition. Religion admits of no rival: she must be supreme, and all the meretricious graces of art must be subservient to her sway, and minister to her high and beneficent purpose. Art is one of the noblest and best gifts which God has bestowed on man; therefore, above all, it should be applied to the glorification of God, and not merely to the sanctification and pleasure of the world. To scorn and reject art in the service of religion is to reject Him who has given it. The aesthetics of the Christian life must not be permitted to mar or displace its spiritual power.
LESSONS:
1. The best talent should be employed for God.
2. A genuine Christian life is adorned with the beauty of many virtues.
3. Art without religion is idolatry and sin.
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki. 7:22
LILY WORK
While, for convenience sake, this is called Solomons Temple, it is much more Davids; but in the highest sense it is GodsGods thought, which He put into the soul of David, and fed by His holy aspirations and musings. And about this divinely-suggested Temple, with all its several items of grandeur and device, there is nothing more distinctly characteristic than the idea which gleams forth from this description of the pillars built by HiramUpon the top of the pillars was lily work; an illustration, moreover, of that work, also Davids, into which he threw his thought, not only about the material Temple, but about all Divine realitiesStrength and beauty are in His sanctuary. The pillars, how massively grand, towering, and sublime, yet fretted over and crowned with gracefulness! Even lily work of choicest artifice.
I. As we look at these pillars, we cannot fail to remember that the man who built them threw his soul into them. And his soul was inspired to do the best his hands could. How immensely it would relieve the drudgery of manual occupation if our workers were to feel that their true work was an inspirationthat the thought of it, and the power to do it, were alike from God, and that they were doing it for God? Would not this make them, also, do their daily duty as indeed for God? In that Temple all was to be good and sound. Men felt it was all for God, and so they put their souls into it. The one thought seemed to be, How shall we most fitly express our sense of the Divine worth? And to an age largely impressed by material signs and symbols this was a testimony of some value. It was looked upon as a Divine gift to have a faculty for skilful workmanship. In these days it is to be feared that our loose thought about what constitutes the soul of religion has led to some disparagement of these so-called natural gifts. It needs to be told with much plainness to the so-called Christian people of this day, that they are not honouring God if, however dovout and prayerful, they neglect their proper every-day work. To serve God is not simply to be rapt by religious emotions. He who makes a boot, or drives a nail, or executes a design skilfully, may do it religiously. And we might say to the workers, It is to be feared that we of the pulpit sometimes needlessly disparage your toil, and make it harder than needs be, because we do not sufficiently allow that a true glory rests about all honest, well-wrought toil. The true sanctification of labour will never be attained until we allow that a good work may be as truly wrought by painstaking and skill in the commonest engagements. We must do our best, because we are doing it for our Lord. Christ takes note of all conscientious, painstaking endeavour, and whatever is well done, conscientiously done, is done for Him. Believing that in the simple work-a-day matters of conscientiousness and painstaking about our daily calling it is within our power to please or grieve Him, let us give Him our best.
II. Following closely upon this is a thought about the soundness and honesty of service in Gods Spiritual Temple. All work that is worth doing at all is worth doing well. If a man has to give, let him give cheerfully, for God loveth a cheerful giver. If he has to teach, let him give himself in the teaching; if he has to rule a household, let him do so with diligence. Let his service be not by constraint, but willingly. A cup of cold water is not unacceptable, but meat may sometimes be more serviceable, therefore more acceptable. A prayer for the troubled is good, but a suffering patience is better. This high, grand principle would effectually rectify at least some of the wrongness of the Christian church. Well doing is in doing ones best. A really spiritual endeavour is an endeavour in which the spirit of a man shows itself, as in a good painting a mans soul peers through the canvas. Whether, therefore, in ones own soulculture, or in the culture of spiritual life in others, we should not present a maimed sacrifice, when we ought to and can offer an unblemished one. Let all our works be done in truth. Let them bear the inspection of the eye of Heaven. However laborious, let them be finished; if pillars, let the top be chased with lily-work.
III. But passing away from these general thoughts suggested by the scene of these varied works in the Temple, let us come to another. If upon the top of Hirams pillars was lily-work, so majesty, crowned with gracefulness, will be found in all the Divinest thoughts. Religion is one of these Divine thoughts. Revelation is to provoke religious life; and in religious life there is strength as well as beauty, beauty as well as strength. Upon the top of its pillar is lily-work. In Theophilus Trinal the words are applied to the frame of Nature, thus:How mighty and massive is Natures frame! Strong are the worlds pillars! Yet what profusion of things graceful, even sportively graceful, does the earth contain! Beautiful is the lily-work. This great Templethe world is like that old Templethe wonder of Solomons heart and time. Upon the top of the piliars is lily-work. In all Gods works will be found a perfect harmoniousness; so there is as truly in the sphere of the spiritual within man the same blending of the strong with the beautiful. The massiveness of the religious principle which it takes time to establish and to build up is adorned with many a grace, and crowned with many a flower-picture.
IV. The pillars must be before the florid ornamentation. That which is essentially Divine must have elements of strength and stability. The force which is to control a mans inner and outer being mustbeing a Divine forcebe an overcoming one. There is muscle and sinew and bone in all healthily embodied life. It must be able to resist and assert itself. Moral cowardice, e.g., cannot co-exist with a healthy spiritual life; hence the repeated exhortations in Scripture to be strong, to be very courageous. The muscular school of Christianity, as it is called, has done some good if it has only helped to explode the notion that religion is an effeminate thing; but it has not always chosen the best modes of exemplifying its principles.
Strong are the pillars of Gods spiritual temple, deeply laid the foundations, in force of principle, in power of life. Pity the man who is wanting in these, whose religion is sentiment and nothing more. Presently some blast will tear up the roots of such a life, and lay the lifeless trunk bare to the scorn of all beholders. But beauty is also in Gods sanctuary, and upon the top of the pillars was lily workone of its simplest illustrations. Nature in this respect furnishes us a series of types. Her vegetation which clothes those rugged peaks, climbing ever where it can to adorn and beautify, tells of some thought of God, to be applied to spiritual ideas. To the devout, all such contemplation of the works of God will result in an ever-deepening conviction that while God loves the strong, He also loves the graceful. Similarly, out of the settled, rock-like principles of religious faith spring many a beautiful plant of grace.
Attention to the minor moralities, the tender, graceful offices of Christian gentleness, is no unimportant phase of the sweetness of goodness. It is our joy when we can trace all things of worth to the Saviour; and, having taken the text from which to teach of the strength and beauty which God loves, we would turn with profound respect and gratitude to the Saviour of men as the source of all that is enduringly grand and vitally beautiful. Consider Christhow settled and stable are the grand principles upon which His religion is founded! What strength you have in the elementary principles of the Christian religion! Yet what beauty! As in His life, so also in the life that is nurtured by faith in Him, you will find force and fragrancewhatever can give sustenance to the more heroic virtues; whatever can give nurture to the gentler graces. The pictures representing the Saviour mostly err in the direction of effeminacy. So also Renans word-picture of Him is an exaggeration in this direction. And we are all apt, knowing how much of sweetness was in his nature, to forget the ruggeder virtues which dwelt within His manly breast. But we have only to come to the cross to get these effeminate notions corrected. He could even dare to die,of such stalwart sort was His inner soul, and yet even from that cross could turn a look of pitying love toward the weeping woman by it, and say to John, Behold thy mother.
And as in the human life and story of Christ, so also in the manifestations of Christ ever since; what brave endurance, what meek patience, have been seen! Strength, manly and courageous; beauty, touching, pathetic, graceful. Think of those pillars in Solomons Templebeautiful in their grandeur: they represent a true religious lifemassive, towering, sublime; yet crowned with the graceful, wrought upon the top in lily work. You are firm and true to principle: do not think you need be rude and ungainly. Let the beauty of holiness beam forth from you. Let not the sacredness of your life ever be forbiddingshine forth! Though possessed of the enduring vitalities of the hidden life, be also clothed in the comely garment of the Christian graces.
1stly. You, especially, who are seeking for something abidingwho yearn to be in your true place, a place not to be changedyou must overcome. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God. Have you overcome self-will, passion, worldly expediency? There is earnest work before you before this hope of heaven can be your enjoyment. In the strength of God and of his dear Son you will find the victory.
2ndly. You who love the beautifulwhere are you looking for it? You find much baseness, lowness in yourselfin society. Look for it in Christ, and in that which springs from the acceptance of His service and yoke. Come unto Me, all ye sons and daughters of pleasure, wearied with much seeking and never finding. Come unto Me, all searchers after true consolation and joy: I will give you rest.C. W. P.
THE SYMBOLIC TEACHING OF THE TEMPLE
WHEN the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews states that the Law had a shadow of good things to come, he does not undertake to show that the several institutions and ceremonies of that legal period have their exact counterparts, in every particular, in the institutions of Christian times. Shadows are very indefinite and insubstantial things, erratic and uncertain in their movements, so that it is only with great difficulty and much patient observation that we can succeed in defining the substance they so dimly forecast. The symbolic character of the Levitical ritual has been often exaggerated. Old Testament persons and places, sacred seasons and sacred things, down even to the very snuffers and tongs of the sanctuary, have been strained into meanings the most fantastic, and have afforded scope for the play of the most fanciful imagination. But while the typical and figurative teaching of the Bible is liable to be abused, it has ever been, and still is, a valuable and impressive medium of conveying the knowledge of the most important truths, especially if one of the fundamental rules of allegorical interpretation be observedthat which necessitates the rejection of everything inconsistent with the particular truth it is intended to unfold and illustrate. The Temple of Solomon, so far as it was a reproduction (on an enlarged scale) of the Tabernacle, was, like that more ancient structure, the pattern, example, and shadow of heavenly things. But Solomon introduced a number of additions to the ancient pattern shown to Moses in the Mount. The side-chambers, the colossal cherubim, the molten sea on twelve oxen in place of the more simple laver of the tabernacle court, the ten smaller lavers and their bases, the ten tables and the ten golden candlesticksall seem to have been the product and expression of theocratic ideas that had been maturing in the Israelitish mind for more than four hundred years, though many of them were probably demanded by the more extensive and elaborate service of Solomons time. The symbolic meaning of various parts of the Temple are worthy of consideration.
I. The Temple, as the dwelling place of Jehovah, localised the manifestation of His presence and power. Though Solomon was well aware the heaven and heaven of heavens could not contain the God of Israel, yet he built the Temple with the declared purpose of providing a house for Jehovah to dwell ina settled place for His abode (1Ki. 8:3). He could, therefore, have entertained no such thought as that by dwelling in the Temple God ceased to be omnipresent; but the Temple was specifically the place where Jehovah recorded His name, and therefore the visible sign and pledge of His covenant with Israel. It was the abode of His holiness, the place where He was to be consulted and understood by His peoplethe place of vision and of glorious manifestation and blessing.
II. The Temple was symbolic of Heaven. While the Temple was specifically the dwelling place of Jehovah, it also typified heaven itself, which the Apostle designates the true Tabernacle (Heb. 8:2; Heb. 9:24). Accordingly, in Solomons prayer at the dedication we find a continued contrast between this house, or this place, and heaven, Thy dwelling place, or simply heaven (chap. 1Ki. 8:30-49). And so the pious Israelite might ever see in the holy and beautiful house where Jehovah recorded His name a type and symbol of heaven itself. It was the Temple of His holiness (Psa. 5:7; Psa. 79:1; Psa. 138:2).
III. The Temple indicated the close relationship existing between God and man. This divine human relationship was symbolised in the two main apartments of the Temple. Why, in the Temple as in the Tabernacle, have two holy rooms, rather than three or more? Why, except to express the twofold relation that essentially exists between the worshipper and God? The holy of holies, with its profound symbols of Mercy covering wrath, showed Gods relation to His people; how, and on what terms, the Almighty and Holy One would dwell with man. The holy place, where the consecrated priests ministered, with its incense, altar, and tables and candlesticks, expressed the relation of the true worshipper to God. The devout worshippers, who offer before God the incense of continual prayer, are at once the salt of the earth and the light of the world. And this is the one great truth embodied in the several symbols of the holy place. Thus, in the two main apartments, were exhibited the two great branches into which the tree of Divine knowledge always of necessity runsnamely, the things to be believed concerning God, and the things to be done by His believing people.
IV. The Temple symbolised the gradual revelation of the Divine Holiness. When we come to observe the details of the structure we notice, first of all, the graduated sanctity of the three holy places. First, the court, where nothing unclean might enter; then the holy place, where only the consecrated priests might go to perform holy services; and, beyond this, vailed in thick darkness, the holy of holies, where only the high priest entered (and he but once a year) on the great day of atonement. Here was symbolised, not only the absolute holiness of Him who dwelt in the thick darkness, but also the gradual and progressive revelations of His name and Nature, which have been made known to men. Whilst the Temple and the priesthood remained, the Holy Ghost signified that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest (Heb. 9:8); but since Christ has rent the vail and entered heaven itself for us, we all may, with boldness and full assurance of faith, enter into the holiest, and have everlasting fellowship and communion with God (Heb. 9:24; Heb. 10:19-22).
V. The square form of all the apartments and courts of the Temple is not without significance. The oracle was a perfect square, the nave a double square, the porch half a square, &c. Nowhere do we find the form of the triangle, the pentagon, or the circle; but everything about the sanctuary seems, like the heavenly Jerusalem, to be quadrangular, as if to correspond with the four corners of heaven, the upper dwelling place of God (Jer. 49:36; Mat. 24:31).
VI. The Temple also had a symbolism of members. Especially noticeable is the predominance of the numbers ten and three. The length and breadth of all the apartments and the courts is a common multiple of tenthe number of the commandments written on the Tables of Testimony within the Ark. Ten is the number of the candlesticks and tables, the bases and the lavers; ten cubits was the height of the cherubim and the extent of their outstretched wings; ten cubits was the breadth of the molten sea. Then we note the three holy apartments, each with its type of expiationthe altar of burnt offerings, the altar of incense, and the mercy seat; the last within the most holy place, which bore the form of a perfect cube, the length and the breadth and the height of it being equal. Each apartment also had three principal kinds of articles of furniture. In the oracle were the cherubim, the ark, and the tables of the Law; in the nave were the candlesticks, the tables, and the altar of incense; and in the court were the brazen sea, the lavers, and the altar of burnt offerings. There were also the three stories of side-chambers. In this symbolism of numbers we may discern a mystic representation both of the variety and unity of all Divine revelation. What happens thrice is the genuine once; what is divided into three is a true unity. The one dwelling, by its division into three parts, is designated as one complete whole; and the three kinds of articles of use which are in the three parts, or in one of them, again form a complete whole, and belong under it to the one or the other relation. While the number (ten) gives the impress of finishing and completing to multiplicity, the number (three) is the signature of perfect unity, and thus also of the Divine Being.
VII. The decorations of the Temple symbolised the Divine source of all forms of life. The cherubim, lions, oxen, palms, flowers, and lily work were representative of all created life, and signified that, while Jehovah condescended to make the Temple His special dwelling place, His presence fills the universe with life. He upholds all things by the Word of His power. Angels and men, cattle and creeping things and fowl, and all inanimate creation, have their being from Him whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain. And thus was added to the various lessons of Jehovahs absolute holiness and infinite perfections, which the Temple symbolised, this ornamental expression of His universal providence (see Bahr on The Symbolism of the Mosaic Worship: Whedons Comm., and Lange).
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki. 7:1-51. In matter: all was here of the best. The wood was precious, sweet, lasting; the stones beautiful, costly, insensible of age; the gold pure and glittering. So are the graces of Gods children excellent in their nature, dear in their acceptation, eternal in their use: so are the ordinances of God in His church holy, comfortable, irrefragable: so is the perfection of His glorified saints incomparable, unconceivable. In situation: the outer parts were here more common; the inner more holy and peculiarly reserved. One court of the temple is open to the unclean, to the uncircumcised: within that another, open only to the Israelites, and, of them, to the clean: within that yet another, proper only to the priests and Levites, where was the brazen altar for sacrifice, and the brazen sea for washing. The eyes of the laity might follow their oblations in hither; their feet might not. Yet more, in the covered rooms of the Temple there is, whither the priests only may enter, not the Levites; there is, whither the high priest only may enter, not his brethren. It is thus in every renewed man, the individual temple of God: the outer parts are allowed common to God and the world; the inwardest and secretest, which is the heart, is reserved only for the God that made it. It is thus in the church visible: the false and foul-hearted hypocrite hath access to the holy ordinances of God, and treads in His courts: only the true Christian hath entire and private conversation with the Holy One of Israel, he only is admitted into the Holy of Holies, and enters within the glorious vail of heaven.Bp. Hall.
1Ki. 7:1-12. They who are great may appear so; it is as fit that a king should dwell in a palace, as a peasant in a cottage. They who are occupied in building should take care not to lose, in the stone and mortar, their solicitude to secure a better house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
The building of the house for the king followed immediately upon the building of the temple: they belong together. Altar and throne stand and fall together, even as we have the two commandments: Fear God: Honour the king (1Pe. 2:17; Pro. 24:2). In the kingdom where religion is cherished and highly honoured there royalty is most secure: a God-fearing people is the best, nay, the only support of the throne.Lange.
1Ki. 7:13. As the tabernacle was built with the wealth of Egypt, so the temple with the wit of Tyre: God will serve himself by the common gifts of men.
1Ki. 7:13-14. A wise prince, in the furtherance of his enterprise, which aims at the honour of God and the good of the nation, looks around for the best instruments, and in order to obtain them seeks them wherever he can find them (Pro. 26:10). He who has learned anything thoroughly, and brought it to perfection in its especial province, must be sought out and held in esteem, whatsoever be his position or country.
1Ki. 7:15-22. The pillars of Hiram emblematic of the church of God.
1. As to its stability. The names given to the pillars are suggestive. Jachin: He will establish, referring to the fact that Jehovahs dwelling place, hitherto movable and moving, was now firmly fixed in the midst of His people. Boaz: In him is strength, indicating the strength and power that would be put forth by God in the defence and establishment of His people. The church is stable
1. Because it is founded in truth;
2. Built up in truth; and
3. Sustained and encompassed by the God of truth. II. As to its beauty. The pillars were surmounted with ornamental capitals, shaped like a full-blown lily-cup, with fine checkered network thrown over the whole, and delicate chain work hanging in festoons outside, and decorated with circling rows of pomegranate. The church is adorned1, with the graces of the Holy Spirit; 2, with the beauty of holiness; 3, with the reflected glory of its risen and glorified head (2Co. 3:18). III. As to its eventful history. These famous pillars were broken in pieces by the Babylonians when they destroyed Jerusalem (2Ki. 25:13; Jer. 52:17). But the material remained and retained its value. So the church has often been persecuted, pierced, and broken by the violence of its foes, and often brought disaster on itself by its unfaithfulness to God; but it has not been utterly destroyed. It retains its vigour, and is ever increasing in value and preciousness.
1Ki. 7:18. The pomegranate was one of the commonest ornaments in Assyria. It was used on quivers, on spear-shafts and mace-heads, in patterns on doorways and pavements. It is doubtful whether a symbolical meaning attached to it, or whether it was merely selected as a beautiful natural form.Rawlinson.
1Ki. 7:22. The Hebrew named the lily simply the white; it is, therefore, a natural symbol of purity. The priests, as the holy ones (Exo. 3:5), were dressed in white (Num. 16:7); and the high priest, the holiest of the holy, wore on the great day of atonement white garments instead of his usual many coloured ones; and these white robes were called holy garments (Lev. 16:4; Lev. 16:32). Inasmuch as holiness was the characteristic and fundamental idea of the Israelitish religion, the white (i.e., the lily) seems to have been their religious flower, as the lotus was the well-known sacred flower of the Indian and Egyptian religions. Besides this, the lily is nowhere more indigenous than in Palestine (Mat. 6:28); and it may therefore be named the flower of the Promised Land, as the palm was its tree. If the capitals of the pillars were thus always and everywhere decorated with carvings of flowers, no more characteristic and suitable one could be chosen for the capitals before the holy temple than the lily.Lange.
And upon the pillars was lily-work. To show the beauty and sweetness of Christ and His people, those especially that are more eminent, the glory of the churches; such as were James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars (Gal. 2:9).
1Ki. 7:23. As a large laver for the priests to wash in (2Ch. 4:6). The Hebrews used to call the gathering together of much water a sea. It signifieth both the exceeding filthiness of sin, requiring a sea for the cleansing of it, and the infinite virtue of Christs blood.Trapp.
1Ki. 7:37. All of them had one casting. To teach the uniformity about things of God. It is a sweet thing when with one mind and one mouth God is glorified as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 15:6), and mens prayers come before Him as the sound of many waters.
1Ki. 7:40-51. What signification have the holy vessels of the temple for the church of the Lord, which is the true temple of God?
1. The pillars, Jachin and Boaz, in the porch, are, as it were, the superscription over the temple, and declare its strong foundation and its permanence. The Lord declares both to His people church: upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it (Mat. 16:18). Great, noble promise! II. The brazen sea and the vases in the porch are there, that the priests may purify themselves and the sacrifices which they bring there. The church of the Lord is that holy priesthood which offers spiritual sacrifices (1Pe. 2:5). Those who wish to perform such service the prophet summons: Wash ye (Isa. 1:16); and the apostle: I beseech you, &c. (Rom. 12:1). III. The altar, the candlesticks, and the table stand in the building itself, which is a type of heaven, and show that for them who offer themselves pure and holy sacrifices, a divine light and life are prepared before the throne of God, and no other sacrifice is rendered except the incense of prayer, of praise, and worship of God (Psa. 16:11; Rev. 5:8-14).Lange.
If, from the walls, we look into the furniture: what is the altar, whereon our sacrifices of prayer and praises are offered to the Almighty, but a contrite heart? What is the golden candlestick, but the illumined understanding, wherein the light of the knowledge of God and His divine will shineth for ever? What the tables of shew-broad, but the sanctified memory, which keepeth the bread of life continually? Yea, if we shall presume so far as to enter into the very closest of Gods oracle, even there, O God! do we find our unworthy hearts so honoured by thee, that they are made thy very ark, wherein thy royal law and thy pot of thy heavenly manna are kept for ever; and from whose propitiatory, shaded with the wings of thy glorious angels, thou givest the gracious testimonials of thy good Spirit, witnessing with ours that we are the children of the living God.Bp. Hall.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
II. THE METALWORK FOR THE TEMPLE 7:1351
In the remaining verses of chapter 7, the historian focuses his attention for the most part on the bronze metalwork produced by a Phoenician artisan in the Jordan valley. That the various items are described in such detail illustrates the wonderment with which the Hebrews viewed such craftsmanship. The great artisan himself is first introduced (1Ki. 7:13-14). Then the historian describes at length the massive bronze pillars which were such a striking feature of the Temple entrance (1Ki. 7:15-22). Next the attention shifts to the furnishings of the courtyard and the implements used in connection with them (1Ki. 7:23-47). The account of the Temple construction ends with a brief mention of the metalic objects which were used in the inner court (1Ki. 7:48-51).
A. HIRAM THE CRAFTSMAN 7:1314
TRANSLATION
(13) Now King Solomon had sent and secured Hiram from Tyre. (14) He was a widows son, from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze; and he was full of wisdom, understanding and knowledge of working all bronze work. And he came to King Solomon and did all of his work.
COMMENTS
To construct the metallic furnishings of the Temple, Hiram the king sent to Solomon, at this request (2Ch. 2:6), a workman who also bore the name Hiram.[194] He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a Tyrian by birth.
[194] The name is also spelled Huram (2Ch. 2:13; 2Ch. 4:11; 2Ch. 4:16) and Hirom (1Ki. 7:40). Because of his skills, in Chronicles he receives the title abh (father) which probably is equivalent to the English word master. Gray (OTL, p. 171) thinks Huram-abhi was the full name of the craftsman, thus regarding abhi as part of his name, rather than a title.
The Chronicler says his mother was of the daughters of Dan (2Ch. 2:14). The town of Dan was situated in the tribal region of Naphtali.[195] Apparently this Israelite widow had married a man of Tyre, and Hiram was the son of that second mixed marriage.
[195] Keil (BCOT, p. 96) has a more complicated explanation of this apparent Kings- Chronicles discrepancy: She was a Danite by birth, but had married into the tribe of Naphtali. Slotki (SBB, p. 49) thinks the phrase of the tribe of Naphtali describes Hiram because his father was of that tribe. His father subsequently became a resident of Tyre.
Hiram, like his father before him, was a skilled worker in bronze, a mixture of copper and tin. Chronicles extends his area of expertise to gold, silver, brass, iron, stone, timber, purple, etc. (2Ch. 2:14). Bronze alone is mentioned here because the following section is limited exclusively to the ornaments and furnishings of that metal. Like Bezalel, his counterpart in the days of Moses (Exo. 31:3), Hiram was filled with wisdom,[196] understanding and knowledge with regard to metallic works. It is perhaps significant that while Bezalel the Hebrew craftsman is said to be filled with the spirit of God, no such statement is made of Hiram. Thus Bezalels skill is regarded as a supernatural gift while Hirams wisdom was a natural endowment. Of course Hiram did not personally and singly produce the Temple furnishings, but rather acted as a superintendent of the various crews which worked on this ornamentation. No doubt he brought several assistants with him from Tyre.
[196] Wisdom (Heb., chokmah) is empirical wisdom, practical insight and sagacity and is used of the skill of the seaman (Psa. 107:27), the general (1Sa. 10:13) and the artisan (Exo. 28:3).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(13) And king Solomon sent.The record in the Chronicles (2Ch. 2:7; 2Ch. 2:13-14) gives what is evidently a more exact description of the facts here briefly alluded to. In Solomons first letter to King Hiram he asks for a man cunning to work, and with the answer the artificer Hiram is sent. His mixed parentage would enable him to enter into the spirit of the Israelite worship, and yet to bring to bear upon it the practical skill of the Tyrian artificer.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(13-50) The exceedingly graphic and elaborate description of the work of Hiram on the vessels and furniture of the Temple, and on the great pillars, bears on the very face of it the most evident marks of historical accuracy and of the use of contemporary documents, and it has, moreover, great antiquarian interest. Looked at in itself, it shows that the Temple (like many other buildings in the comparative infancy of architecture) depended for its effect, not so much on size or proportion, as on rich material, elaborate decoration, and costly furniture, on which all the resources both of treasure and art were lavished. But besides this, the sense of the especial sacredness attached to all the vessels of the Temple, which was hereafter to degenerate into a Pharisaic superstition (see Mat. 23:16-18), suggested the most careful record of every detail, and reverently traced to the Spirit of God the gift of wisdom of heart to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, as in Bezaleel and Aholiab for the Tabernacle (Exo. 35:31-32), so also in Hiram for the Temple. There is something especially remarkable in this broad comprehensiveness of conception which recognises the illuminating and inspiring power of the Spirit of God, not only in the moral and religious teaching of the prophet and the devotional utterances of the psalmist, but in the warlike enthusiasm of the Judge, the sagacity of the statesman, the imaginative skill of the artist, and the wisdom of the philosophic thinker. Nothing could more strikingly illustrate the Apostolic declaration: There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit (1Co. 12:4).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE METAL WORK AND VESSELS OF THE TEMPLE, 1Ki 7:13-51.
13. Hiram Called also (1Ki 7:40, margin) Hiram and Huram. 2Ch 4:11. So his name was subjected to the same variations of orthography as that of the Tyrian king.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Solomon Sends For A Tyrian Expert To Fashion The Embellishments And New Furnishings For The Temple ( 1Ki 7:13-14 ).
These two verses introduce the whole. They commence with Solomon sending for a man named Hiram (not the king) whom he fetches out of Tyre. There appears to be a deliberate attempt in the description of him to bring to mind Bezalel, the skilled worker who made the Tabernacle furnishings and embellishments (Exo 35:30-33), for he is described as being ‘filled with wisdom (chokmah), and understanding (tabuwn), and skill (da’ath) to work all works in bronze’. With this we can compare the description of Bezalel, ‘He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom (chokmah), and in understanding (tabuwn), and in knowledge (da’ath), and in all manner of workmanship –.’
But the differences are significant:
Bezalel was called by YHWH from among Israel, Hiram was sent for by Solomon out of Tyre, being only half Israelite.
Bezalel was ‘filled with the Spirit of God’ in wisdom, understanding and knowledge, Hiram was simply filled with wisdom, understanding and knowledge (mention of the Holy Spirit is consciously dropped).
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that in the first case God was to be seen as at work, and in the second case Solomon was at work, doing the best he could. It all fits in with the constant impression that somehow Solomon’s Temple falls short of the Tabernacle, even though that fact was probably not recognised by many at the time when it was built. People are always impressed by grandeur and splendour (we can compare the disciples’ reaction to Herod’s Temple, and Jesus’ verdict on it – Mar 13:1-2 and parallels).
1Ki 7:13
‘ And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.’
The Temple having been completed Solomon sought a skilled metalworker to fashion the embellishments that he had in mind for the Temple. The man he found was Hiram of Tyre (an artisan, not the king), called in Chronicles Hurum-abi (2Ch 2:13), which was an alternative for Hiram. It was not unusual for the name of an architect to be given when describing building work, for it is evidenced elsewhere. The -abi (my father) may well have been a title of honour given to Hiram because of his supreme skill as a master workman.
1Ki 7:14
‘ He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze, and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill, to work all works in bronze. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.’
Hiram was the son of a widow who was an Israelite of the tribe of Naphtali. She had married a Tyrian worker in bronze. Like Bezalel, the son of Uri, (Exo 35:30; Exo 36:1-2) he was skilled, competent and intelligent, and he was a specialist in working bronze, but there is no suggestion that (in the same way as Bezalel was) he was ‘filled with the Spirit of YHWH’. Nor was he a full Israelite. Thus in everything the Temple was seen to be second rate compared with the Tabernacle. It was man-impelled, not God-impelled. It was man-designed, not God-designed. The creator of its furnishings was only half-Israelite and living in a foreign country. And it will be noted that he is only mentioned in connection with work performed outside the inner sacred sanctuary. He was, however, an extremely highly skilled craftsman, and he came to Solomon and ‘wrought all his work’. Along with his assistants he did the best he could.
According to 2Ch 2:13, his mother was “of the daughters of Dan,” which would suggest that she was of the tribe of Dan. But there is no real problem with that, for Israelite women necessarily changed tribes when they married into another tribe, something which was a regular occurrence. Each woman was adopted by the tribe of her husband. Thus Hiram’s mother could simply be a Danite by birth, who had married into the tribe of Naphtali, prior to marrying the Tyrian who was Hiram’s father, once her first husband had died.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Furnishing And Embellishment Of The Temple ( 1Ki 7:13-51 ).
The passage is divided into two parts. The first part emphasises that what is described was the work of Hiram, a skilled metalworker and carpenter from Tyre who was half Israelite, half Tyrian. He was called on to complete the furnishing and embellishing of the Temple for the Inner court. It will be noted that there is a deliberate attempt to parallel him with Bezalel, the craftsman who made the original Tabernacle furnishings and embellishments (Exo 35:30-33), for he is described in similar terms. What is lacking is the idea that that he was filled with the Holy Spirit, or that he was a full-born Israelite. The second part describes all the furnishings for the new Sanctuary, for which overall credit is given to Solomon.
The whole passage is also divided into three subsections by the following closing phrases;
1). ‘So was the work of the pillars finished’ (1Ki 7:22). In the subsection up to this point we have described the making by Hiram of the two bronze pillars Yakin and Boaz which were clearly seen as of great importance. Interpreted they meant ‘He establishes’ and ‘with strength’.
2). ‘So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he had wrought for king Solomon for the house of YHWH’ (1Ki 7:40). In the subsection up to this point we have a description of the making by Hiram of the molten sea, together with the ten lavers and many accompanying implements.
3). ‘Thus all the work that king Solomon wrought in the house of YHWH was finished’ (1Ki 7:51). This completes the passage and in this subsection we have described the full variety of the embellishments and furnishings of the Temple, including the ones crafted by Hiram, which Solomon had arranged for, and what they consisted of material-wise.
We can compare with this how in chapter 6 the passage was divided into three parts by the references to ‘he built the house and finished it’ and its equivalents (1Ki 6:9; 1Ki 6:14; 1Ki 6:38).
The first part of the passage, which refers to the activities of Hiram the Metalworker is also carefully crafted and can be analysed as follows:
a And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze, and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill, to work all works in bronze (1Ki 7:13-14 a). .
b And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work (1Ki 7:14 b).
c The making of the two free standing pillars, Yakin and Boaz (1Ki 7:15-22).
d The making of the molten Sea (1Ki 7:23-26).
c The making of the ten large washing bowls of water (the lavers) (1Ki 7:27-39).
b And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins (1Ki 7:40 a).
a So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he wrought for king Solomon in the house of YHWH (1Ki 7:40 b).
Note how in ‘a’ Hiram wrought all Solomon’s work for him, and in the parallel he made an end of all the work that he wrought for king Solomon. In ‘b’ he came to king Solomon and wrought all his work, and in the parallel some of what he wrought is described. In ‘c’ he made the two free standing pillars, and in the parallel he made the ten lavers. Centrally in ‘d’ he made the molten Sea.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Metal Appointment Of The Temple
v. 13. And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre, v. 14. He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, v. 15. For he cast two pillars of brass, v. 16. And he made two chapiters, v. 17. and nets of checker-work, v. 18. And he made the pillars and two rows round about upon the one network to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates, v. 19. And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, v. 20. And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against, v. 21. And he set up the pillars in the porch of the Temple, v. 22. And upon the top of the pillars, v. 23. And he made a molten sea, v. 24. And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, v. 25. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east. And the sea was set above upon them, v. 26. And it was an hand breadth thick, v. 27. And he made ten bases of brass, v. 28. And the work of the bases was on this manner, v. 29. and on the borders that were between the ledges, v. 30. And every base had four brazen wheels and plates of brass, v. 31. And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit, v. 32. And under the borders, v. 33. And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot-wheel, v. 34. And there were four undersetters, v. 35. And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high, v. 36. For on the plates of the ledges thereof and on the borders thereof he graved cherubim, lions, and palm-trees, according to the proportion of every one, v. 37. After this manner he made the ten bases; all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size. v. 38. Then made he ten lavers of brass, v. 39. And he put five bases on the right, v. 40. And Hiram made the lavers and the shovels, v. 41. the two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars, v. 42. and four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars, v. 43. and the ten bases and ten lavers on the bases; v. 44. and one sea and twelve oxen under the sea; v. 45. and the pots and the shovels and the basins; and all these vessels which Hiram made to King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of bright brass, v. 46. In the Plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground, v. 47. And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many, v. 48. And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the Lord, v. 49. and the candlesticks of pure gold, v. 50. and the bowls, v. 51. So was ended all the work that King Solomon made for the house of the Lord. And Solomon brought in the things which David, his father, had dedicated; even the silver and the gold and the vessels did he put among the treasures of the house of the Lord.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
1Ki 7:13-14. King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre In former times there had been among the Hebrews very excellent workmen, who knew how to cut and engrave precious stones, to cast and work upon metals, &c. But this was before they came into the land of Canaan, in the time of Moses, when Bezaleel and Aholiab were excellent in many different arts which were necessary for the work of the temple; but, as the Scripture tells us that they had their skill by inspiration from God, it does not appear that they had any successors: and after they had got possession of Canaan, they neglected all manufactures, and applied themselves almost wholly to agriculture and the feeding of cattle; so that in the time of Solomon there were no professed artists who could undertake the work of the temple. But in Tyre and Sidon there were many; for both in his Iliad and Odyssey Homer gives the people of those two places this character; whom upon every occasion he calls, that is, excellent artists in several kinds of work.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(13) And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. (14) He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
This Hiram, we must remember, though called here by the same name, is not Hiram the king of Tyre, but an artist. In the Chronicles he is called Huram. See 2Ch 4:11 . It appears that he was by the mother’s side an Israelite, though his father a man of Tyre. How this mingling of the holy seed came to pass, is not noticed. High honour is conferred on him, in being employed in the service of building the temple.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 7:13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
Ver. 13. And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram. ] He had done so long since; viz., when he first set upon temple work, 2Ch 2:14 ; 2Ch 3:15 to the description whereof the history here returneth.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Pillars of Security and Strength
1Ki 7:13-26
Hiram, the artificer, was remarkably gifted. From his father he had inherited all the genius of Tyre, while on his mothers side he was of the tribe of Naphtali and thus inherited the religious genius of the Hebrew people. The twin pillars were made of the brass taken from the king of Zobah, 1Ch 18:8-9. Each would stand to a height of forty feet. Their names were symbolical, and indicated their strength and durability. Wreaths of golden chainwork hung from the capitals, while beautiful ornaments of lily-work adorned the heads of these noble columns. Jachin-he shall establish-and Boaz-in him is strength-combined with the beauty of the lily-work, remind us that strength and beauty are in Gods sanctuary and blend in the character of His people.
The molten sea was substituted for the ancient laver, Exo 30:18. It was an immense circular vase, holding 20,000 gallons of water. Its brim was in the form of a lily and it stood on twelve brazen oxen. Water in abundance was needed for the cleansing of the courts; and our Lord has taught us in Joh 13:1-38 the necessity for constant washing if we would walk with God.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Hiram: 1Ki 7:40, 2Ch 2:13, 2Ch 4:11, Huram
Reciprocal: Exo 35:30 – See 1Ki 3:1 – the house 2Ch 2:14 – The son 2Ch 4:16 – Huram Act 7:47 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 7:13-14. Solomon sent and fetched Hiram Though he was an Israelite by birth, yet he dwelt at Tyre; and, it is likely, had the privileges of that city, and so was one of King Hirams subjects. And therefore (2Ch 2:13) that king says he had sent him to Solomon, that is, had granted Solomons request, who had requested that this man might come and serve him. His father was a man of Tyre Whom his mother, when a widow, had married. A worker in brass And in gold, and stone, and purple, and blue, 2Ch 2:14. But his skill in brass is only mentioned here, because he speaks only of the brazen things which he made. And he was filled with wisdom, &c. He had an excellent genius for and great skill in this work.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4. The temple furnishings 7:13-51
The people also saw the glory of Yahweh reflected in the furnishings of the temple. These furnishings came from several sources but all contributed to the proper worship of Yahweh.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Furnishings outside the temple 7:13-47
The Hiram of 1Ki 7:13 was obviously a different person from the King of Tyre (1Ki 5:1). God evidently guided this Hiram as he fashioned the furnishings (cf. Exo 31:1-11). [Note: See Allen S. Maller, "Hiram from Tyre," Journal of Reform Judaism 29:2 (Spring 1982):41-42.]
The two pillars on the temple porch were common features that flanked the main entrances to temples in Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Assyria, and elsewhere in the ancient Near East at this time. [Note: Volkmar Fritz, "Temple Architecture," Biblical Archaeology Review 13:4 (July-August 1987):38-49.] Some of these pillars supported the porch roof, but others were freestanding, as these probably were. [Note: Albright, Archaeology of . . ., p. 144.] In various countries they symbolized various things. [Note: Idem, "Two Cressets From Marisa and the Pillars of Jachin and Boaz," Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 85 (February 1942):18-27.] In Israel their purpose seems to have been to remind the Israelites of Yahweh’s establishment of Israel and strength for Israel. Jachin means "He shall establish," and Boaz "In Him is strength" (1Ki 7:21). [Note: Cf. Auld, pp. 52-53.] Gray suggested that the pillars symbolized the presence and permanence of Yahweh and the king. [Note: Gray, p. 175.] Jones argued that they stood for the covenant between Yahweh and His people, especially between Him and the Davidic dynasty. [Note: Jones, 1:183.] The lily and pomegranate designs probably symbolized the fertility and fruitfulness of God’s blessing and presence.
The "sea" (1Ki 7:23-26) was a reservoir for the temple courtyard. It had a total capacity of 17,500 gallons (2Ch 4:5), but it normally held 11,500 gallons (1Ki 7:26). It rested on symbols of strength and service (cf. the priests), and symbols of fertility adorned it (1Ki 7:24; cf. 1Ki 6:18). [Note: See Albert Zuidhof, "King Solomon’s Molten Sea and (pi)," Biblical Archaeologist 45:3 (Summer 1982):179-84.] The 12 oxen may have represented the 12 tribes or Solomon’s 12 administrative districts. [Note: Jones, 1:184.]
The priests evidently used the 10 movable stands (1Ki 7:27-40 a) when they butchered sacrificial animals. Each one was six feet square, five and one-half feet high, and held up to 230 gallons of water.
The amount of detail the writer included gives us some appreciation of the external beauty, symmetry, glory, and value of the temple. All of this contributed to the greater glory of Yahweh and helped the Israelites appreciate His greatness.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
THE IDEAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE
1Ki 7:13-51; 1Ki 8:12-61
“The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”
– Joh 4:21; Joh 4:23.
FIVE long chapters of the First Book of Kings are devoted to the description of Solomon’s Temple, which occupies a still larger space in the Books of Chronicles. The Temple was regarded as the permanent form of the ancient Tabernacle, which is described with lengthy and minute detail in Exodus. It might seem, therefore, that there must be some clear explanation of the idea which this sacred building was intended to embody. Yet it is by no means easy to ascertain what this idea was, and those who have deeply studied the question have in age after age been led to widely different views.
1. Philo and Josephus, with certain variations of detail, regard it as a symbol of the universe-the world of idea and the world of sense. Thus the seven-branched candlestick represents the seven planets; the twelve cakes of shewbread are the twelve signs of the Zodiac; the court is the earth; the sanctuary the sea; and the oracle the heavens. The theory derives no importance from its authorship. Neither Philo nor Josephus, nor the Rabbis, nor the Fathers who adopted their views, have the least authority in such matters; and Philo, who led the way in mystical interpretation, abounds in fantasies which are ludicrously impossible, and are now universally rejected.
2. The Talmudists held that the Tabernacle was the exact copy of one in heaven, and that its services reflected those of the heavenly hierarchy. This view went into the extreme of literalism, as the other did into the extreme of spiritualization. It was based on the text, “Look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.” {Exo 25:40; Exo 26:30 Act 7:44 Heb 8:5} The Book of Chronicles goes so far in this direction as to say that David received from Jehovah the exact pattern of the Temple down to its minutest details, together with the entire priestly and Levitic organization of its services.
“All this,” says David to Solomon, “the Lord made me to understand in writing, by His hand upon me, even all the works in the pattern.”
3. Christian writers have seen in the Temple an emblem of the visible, the invisible, and the triumphant Church. Such symbolic interpretation depends on the most arbitrary combinations, and does not rise higher than an exercise of fancy. It has not the smallest exegetic importance.
4. Luther thought that the Tabernacle and Temple were emblems of human nature:-the court, the sanctuary, and the oracle corresponding to the body, the soul, and the spirit. Later writers have pushed this opinion, already sufficiently baseless, into the absurdest detail.
5. The much simpler view of Maimonides who is followed by our learned Spencer, is that the Temple was simply the palace of Jehovah, with its vestibule, its audience hall, its Presence-chamber, its attendant courtiers, its throne, and its offerings of food and wine and sacrifice. The simplicity of this conception seems to be in accordance with what we know of ancient forms of worship, and it is certain that in many heathen temples the offerings of food and wine were supposed to be consumed by the god. The name “palace” is, however, only given to the Temple in one chapter; {1Ch 29:1; 1Ch 29:19} and the Hebrew, or rather the Persian, word so rendered (birah) may also be rendered “fortress.”
6. In truth we cannot be sure that the idea of the Temple remained single and definite through so many ages. It was probably a composite and varying emblem, of which the original significance had become mingled with many later elements. It is, however, certain that many numbers and details were symbolical, and there was a deep insight and magnificent completeness in the manner in which certain truths were shadowed forth by its construction and its central service.
The book in which its symbolism is most thoroughly worked out is Bahrs Symbolik. He elaborates, in a simpler form, the opinion of Philo, that the Temple represented “the structure which God has erected, the house in which God lives.” So far the fact cannot be disputed for, in Exo 29:45 we are told that the Tabernacle is called the “House of God” because “I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will be their God.” But Bahr takes a great leap when he proceeds to explain the house of God as “the creation of heaven and earth.” If his views were true as a whole, it would indeed be strange that they are not indicated in a single passage either of the Old or New Testaments.
The Tabernacle was called “the Tabernacle of the Testimony” because its two tables of stone were a witness of the covenant between God and man. It was also called “the Tabernacle of Meeting,” by which is not meant the place where Israel assembled, but the place where God met Moses and the children of Israel. “For there will I meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat,” says Jehovah to Moses; {Exo 25:22} and “at the entrance of the tent of meeting I will meet with you to speak there unto thee, and there I will meet with the children of Israel.” {Exo 29:42-43} Thus, in its broadest idea, the Temple brought before the soul of every thoughtful Israelite the three great beliefs,
(1) that God deigned to dwell in the midst of His people;
(2) that, in His infinite mercy and condescension, He admitted a reciprocity between Himself and His human children; and
(3) that the most absolute expression of His will was the moral law, Obedience to which was the condition of heavenly favor and earthly happiness.
“In the Porch,” says Bishop Hall, “we may see the regenerate soul entering into the blessed society of the Church; in the Holy Place we may see a figure of the Communion of the true visible Church on earth; in the Holy of Holies the glories of Heaven opened to us by our true High Priest Christ Jesus, who entered once for all to make an Atonement betwixt God and man.”