Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 7:18
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.
18. upon the top, with pomegranates ] The Hebrew text means ‘upon the top of the pomegranates.’ But some authorities give ‘upon the top of the pillars,’ which has been adopted by the R.V. The first words of the verse must however surely be wrong. ‘And he made the pillars’ is utterly out of place here. It had been noticed before; and the present verse is a description of the capitals. What appears to have happened is this. The words for ‘pillars’ and ‘pomegranates’ have changed places. The LXX. gives no help. But assuming this interchange of words we may render (nearly with R.V.) ‘ So he made the pomegranates, and there were two rows about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars; and so made he for the other chapiter.’ The words ‘to cover pillars’ explaining the purpose of the work, come in a little awkwardly, but a sense is made out of what before was incomprehensible.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The pomegranate was one of the most common ornaments in Assyria. It was used on quivers, on spear-shafts, and maceheads, in patterns on doorways and pavements, etc. It is doubtful whether a symbolic meaning was attached to it, or whether it was merely selected as a beautiful natural form.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
And he made; or, so he made, or framed, or perfected.
Two rows; either of pomegranates, by comparing this with 1Ki 7:20, or of some other curious work.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he made the pillars,…. Or adorned them in this manner:
and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates; that is, there were two rows of figures like pomegranates upon the net or branch work that covered the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars; and Kimchi owns, that some copies so read, on the top of the pillars, instead of pomegranates, though he thinks it a mistake:
and so did he for the other chapiter; put two rows about that also.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
18. He made the pillars Rather, he made pomegranates, for in the Masoretic text the words pillars and pomegranates have evidently become transposed. So below, where our version has upon the top, with pomegranates, we should read, upon the top of the pillars. “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.
Two rows These rows of pomegranates were probably set upon the upper and lower edges of the network, so that there were two rows for each pillar, and one hundred pomegranates in each row. See on 1Ki 7:20.
To cover the chapiters More fully in 1Ki 7:42, “to cover the two bowls of the chapiters;” that is, as we take it, to cover the upper and lower edges of the bowls or pommels of each capital.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ki 7:18. And he made the pillars, &c. Thus he made the pillars; and there were two rows round about by the branch-work, which was to cover the chapiter, even that [part] which was above the pomegranates: [See Light. vol. i. 1075.] and so did he, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Ki 7:18 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.
Ver. 18. And he made the pillars. ] That is, He thus decked them. Peter Martyr saith that these pillars resembled a man, the nether part setting forth his feet, the second the trunk of his body, the third his head, and the fourth his hat: and that they signified God’s protection over this house, as of old the pillar of fire, and pillar of smoke, showed his protection over them in the wilderness.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 28:14, Exo 28:22, Exo 28:24, Exo 28:25, Exo 39:15-18, 2Ki 25:17
Reciprocal: Exo 28:33 – pomegranates 1Ki 7:41 – two networks