Commentary for I Kings 6:39

In the month of Ziv. This is Iyar because the trees have blossoms. And [Targum] Yonoson translated this similarly, “the bloom of the buds.”

Which is the second month. When numbering the months, because Nissan is the beginning of the year for [counting] months.

Of the reign of Shlomo. Referring to “the fourth year.”¹I.e., it does not mean “the second month of Shlomo’s reign,” rather it means the second month of the fourth year of Shlomo’s reign. It was the fourth year of Shlomo’s reign. And similarly it is stated in Divrei Hayomim, “And he began to build in the second month [on the second day] in the fourth year of his reign.”²II Divrei Hayomim 3:2.

Sixty amohs. The Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies together.³The length of the Sanctuary was 40 amos and the Holy of Holies was 20 amos.

The entrance hall along the front. In front of the entrance to the Sanctuary.

[Twenty amohs] long along the front of the width of the Beis Hamikdosh. The length of the entrance hall was along the width of the Sanctuary, from north to south. All larger measurements are referred to as the length, and the lesser are referred to as the width. Since in the Sanctuary, the measurement from east to west was greater,⁴It measured 40 amos versus 20 amos from north to south. it was called the length, but since the entrance hall’s measurement from north to south was greater,⁵It measured 20 amos versus 10 amos from east to west. [that which is] called the length, [is the measurement] from north to south and [the measurement] from east to west was called the width.

Along the front of the house. Was in front of the house on the eastern side, on the outside.⁶I.e., it was in addition to the 60 amos mentioned in v. 2 above.

That were open [wide] on the outside and closed [narrow] on the inside. Our Rabbis explained [שקופים] as an expression of looking, an opening, an observation;⁷It was made of a glass-like substance.—Metzudas Dovid. open on the outside and closed on the inside, narrow on the inside, not in the usual manner of other windows⁸Alternatively, חלוני means “sockets” into which שקפים [=“horizontal beams”] were inserted. The sockets were open only on the inside and did not go all the way through the wall, i.e., they were אטומים [=sealed] and not visible from the outside of the building. which are made for illumination,⁹They are therefore constructed narrow on the outside and widening towards the inside to allow the light to spread out as it enters. to indicate that it was not in need of illumination.¹⁰See Maseches Menachos 86b.

A chamber. Apentec, in O.F. It has three names, יציע' תא' צלע, thus is this explained in [Maseches] Bava Basra.¹¹ 61a.

Around the walls of the Beis Hamikdosh circling all around. I.e., against the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies, which is the דביר, he made chambers on the outside at the south, west, and north. And the end of the verse explains its beginning. “He built against the wall of the Beis Hamikdosh, [meaning] near the wall of the Beis Hamikdosh, a chamber round about. How did he make it? “Against the walls of the Beis Hamikdosh, [i.e., against] the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies, he made chambers.”

And he made. He made. And similarly, “He was [ויהי] my salvation,”¹²Shemos 15:2. means the same as “He was [היה] my salvation.”¹³The word ‘יהי’ is in the future tense but the ‘vav’ converts it [="ו" המהפך] to the past tense.

The bottom chamber. One each side there were three [tiers of] chambers, one on the other. The measurement of its length is not stated here, but in Maseches Midos¹⁴ 4:3. we learned that there were thirty-eight chambers, fifteen in the north, five on top of five and five on top of them, and the same was in the south. And eight in the west, three on top of three and two on top of them. The bottom ones were five [amohs wide] and the middle ones six, and the top ones seven. Why? Because he made depressions in the wall of the house round about on the outside. The height of the chamber was five amohs, and as the height of the wall of the Sanctuary reached five amohs, he decreased its thickness and recessed it one amoh inward, and on that recess he placed the ends of the beams of the roof at the top of the chamber which served as the floor of the middle one. And as the wall reached [the height of] ten [amohs], he recessed it [another] amoh to place the ends of the beams of the roof of the middle [chamber] which served as the floor of the upper [chamber]. Thus we find the middle [chamber] is wider than the lower one by one amoh, and the upper [chamber] is wider than the middle one by one amoh.

So that [the beams] would not be attached to the walls of the Beis Hamikdosh. In order that the ends of the beams do not attach [to the walls] through perforations in the walls of the house, since this deteriorates the wall and it diminishes its beauty.

When [the Beis Hamikdosh] was being constructed it was built of whole stones carried [from the quarry]. As it was removed from the mountain, through the worm [=a שמיר],¹⁵See Mishnayos Avos 5:6. Radak indicates that Shlomo sent an eagle to bring him the shamir which was in the Garden of Eden. [i.e.,] as it came from there they set it into the wall of the structure,¹⁶That is why it is called אבן שלמה [=whole stones], because they were used exactly as they arrived, without being cut or chiseled. and they did not chisel it with any metal tools. And the “stone” mentioned above,¹⁷ 5:31. is a controversy in [Maseches] Sotah.¹⁸ 48b.

Hammer. Delutta, in Russian.

The entrance of the bottom chamber was in the right side of the house. [Targum] Yonoson rendered תיכונה as the “bottom,”¹⁹It cannot mean the middle story because you would not have an entrance to a building that is one story above ground level. and not as “between” the upper and lower [ones], because the five chambers on the southern side had an opening to the outside in the bottom story. And this (is the meaning) “and by a winding stairway they went up to the middle [chamber].”²⁰Thus indicating that תיכונה was the “bottom” story.

The bottom. [Targum] Yonoson rendered “the middle,” because these chambers were not open to the outside. There were three openings to each. Thus is this taught in Maseches Midos,²¹ 4:3. “One was to the chamber on the right and one was to the chamber on the left and one to the chamber above.” And it teaches us here that one of the lower [chambers] on the southern wall had an opening to the outside and through that opening²²The southern side is called the “right” side, because a person standing inside the Beis Hamikdosh at its entrance and looking out would be facing east and the southern side would be to the right. they entered all the chambers. And the “middle chamber” of the verse, is not the middle one between the upper and the lower [ones], but the middle one of the five chambers on the southern side which had an opening to the outside in the bottom story. And this is the meaning of, “and by a winding stairway they went up to the middle [chamber],” which was above it, signifying that the תיכונה chamber was below.

And by a winding stairway. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, a winding staircase [=מסיבתא], and that is called in our language [O.F.] vis, and in German, vindelstein, and the commonly used name is schvindel stieg. It is a structure of stone pillars made [in the form] of many stairs, and one who goes on them is likened to one spiraling around a column, ascending many amohs on it without needing the inclination of an ordinary ladder, because its spiral serves as its incline.

To the third. [שלישים means the same] as to the third [=שלישיים]

And [he] covered. An expression of a ceiling covering.

With decorated boards and connected planks of cedar. [There were] two ceilings, the one made for beauty was below, and the one of cedar planks was above; that of paneling was the lower one. And [Targum] Yonoson rendered [גבים as] בהנתוכין, but I do not know what they are. I heard in the name of Rabbi Menachem, blessed be the memory of the righteous, that they are boards woven beautifully in the form of a design, and it is called in our language [O.F.] celed, and in German, gehimmelt, and that is an expression of “heavenly,” [meaning] the highest part of the beam. But I say, they are hollowed bricks, and they are like half a round reed, which are used as coverings for houses. (In German, dek tzigel.)

Paneling. In Aramaic it is גובתא דקניא which were (above) and the planks (below).

And connected planks. Planks of cedar arranged above the paneling upon which they walk when they go up to repair the building. And similarly, [Targum] Yonoson rendered ושדרות בארזים as, “above them (i.e., the paneling) was an arrangement of a succession [דרכפת] of cedar wooden planks,” and “&רכפת“ is an expression of a succession, comparable to, “clouds of heaven,”²³II Shmuel 22:12. which [Targum] Yonoson rendered, “a succession [=מריכפת] of light clouds.”

Five amohs high. Of each one. Therefore, their total height was fifteen amohs besides the thickness of the ceiling.

And he covered the Beis Hamikdosh. That is the upper covering of the roof, and the covering [=והספון] mentioned above that was the ceiling of the upper story.

With panels of cedar. Boards of cedar against the stone wall in order to coat it with gold, as it states below, “And Shlomo covered the inside of the Beis Hamikdosh with refined gold,”²⁴Below, v. 21. and it is impossible to coat gold on top of the stones, without wood and nails.

Beams of the ceiling. The boards of the attic.

The floor of the Beis Hamikdosh. The entire floor.

The twenty amohs at the end of the Beis Hamikdosh. The twenty [amohs] which were at the end of the Sanctuary and beyond, and the twenty [amohs] which were at the end of the building, they are the house containing the Ark cover (i.e., the Holy of Holies).

To the ceiling. He made the walls of cedar until the ceiling to cover the walls of stone in order to coat it with gold.

He built it. Those twenty amohs.

On the inner side of the partition. Inward of the “Amma Traksin” [partition], which separated between the forty [amohs] and the twenty [amohs], and that partition is called “Dvir.”²⁵Also, “Dvir” sometimes means the Holy of Holies. See Rashi in v. 5 above and also the Metzudas Tzion there.

For the Holy of Holies. He designated those twenty amohs.

That is the Sanctuary before it. In front of the partition towards the outside.

The cedar of the inside of the Beis Hamikdosh was carved with designs. This means, that those cedar boards which he made for the inside of the building to cover the stone walls, were carved with figured carvings and forms of fragments resembling knobs; פקעים are imosjjls, in O.F.

Of buds and blossoming flowers. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, “and cords and flowers,” in the form of chains.

Buds. [פטורי is] an expression of cords in the language of the Talmud, as in, “as the rope through the loophole.”²⁶Maseches Berachos 8a.

Blossoming flowers. [צצים is] an expression of flowers, as in, “and it bloomed [ויצץ] buds [ציץ],”²⁷Bamidbar 17:23. cords and blossoms. But Menachem related פטורי as an expression of, “to open [פטר] of the womb,”²⁸Shemos 13:12. and as in, “they open [יפטירו] the lip.”²⁹Tehillim 22:8.

All was cedar [wood] no stone was visible. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] “the whole building was covered with cedar boards, no stone was visible.”

Carved with designs. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, “and engraved was a resemblance of eggs.”³⁰Alternatively, פקעים are designs of fruit.—Metzudas Tzion. (Meaning engraved in the shape of round eggs.)

And the Holy of Holies within the Beis Hamikdosh. The “Amoh Traksin” partition.

To place. [It has the same meaning] as לתת.³¹Knowing that the Beis Hamikdosh will eventually be destroyed Shlomo “prepared ]=[הכין” for the moment by excavating under the Sanctuary a chamber that was hidden in deep and winding tunnels. The chamber was large enough to accommodate the Ark which would be hidden there right before the destruction. See II Divrei Hayomim 35:3 and Maseches Yoma 52b.

The inside of the Holy of Holies. Within that partition was an area of twenty [amohs] long and twenty [amohs] wide.

And twenty amohs high. I.e., the height of the Holy of Holies was lower than that of the Temple.³²The height of the Holy of Holies was twenty amohs, and the height of the Temple was stated as thirty amohs in v. 2 above.

He covered it. The Sanctuary, [i.e.,] the partition.

Refined gold. Our Rabbis explained this [סגור], that at the time [this type of gold] was offered for sale, all other stores were closed [=נסגרות].³³See Maseches Yoma 45a. The other stores were closed because no one would want to buy regular gold. But [Targum] Yonoson rendered this as “good gold,” i.e., he who possesses this gold “locks” it [סוגרו] for himself.³⁴It is so precious that he keeps it closed up all the time.

[He] covered the altar with cedar wood. That is the [golden] altar of incense, but I am perplexed, why was Moshe’s [golden altar] hidden?

The [inside of the] Beis Hamikdosh. The room of the Holy of Holies.

And he attached bars. [ויעבר] is an expression of bolts.

Chains. Chains.

And the whole Beis Hamikdosh. [I.e.,] the entire Sanctuary.

Olive wood. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] “olive wood.”³⁵עצי שמן literally means “oil wood.” Rashi indicates they are identical. However, in Nechemya 8:15 they are listed separately.

Ten amohs high. And their legs were standing on the ground,³⁶Unlike the cherubim that were made by Betzalel which were on the cover of the Ark and faced each other . See Shemos 37:9. one was on the north of the Ark and one on the south, covering the Ark and its poles. The length of the wings covered part (of the poles’ width) since the Ark’s length was set to the width of the Temple, and its poles were protruding at the entrance of the Holy of Holies into the curtain which was at the entrance. Its poles were set at the ends of the Ark’s length, in order that two Leviyim should be able to enter between them, when they were carrying it in the wilderness.

It was ten amohs from one end of its wings to the [other] end of its wings. When they are spread, the wings of both [cherubs], which touched one another, filled the entire space of twenty amohs; and the bodies of the cherubim are not included in the measurement, and stood miraculously.³⁷See Maseches Bava Basra 99a. Alternatively, the wings were attached to the cherubs in such a way that the two wings of each cherub touched each other without any space between them. Thus a miracle was not necessary.—Radak.

The wing of one touched the wall. The north[ern wall].

And the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall. The southern [wall]; they covered the Ark and its poles.

And their wings which were inside the chamber. The tips of the wings which were [towards] the center of the room.

Were touching wing to wing. Because the entire space of the room [i.e., the Holy of Holies] was twenty [amohs].

And all the walls of the Beis Hamikdosh. The wooden walls.

He encircled with figures. Surrounded with drawings.

Carved figures of cherubim. Engraved forms of cherubim, and [palm] trees, cords, and flowers.

From within and without. [I.e.,] for the inner room of the Ark cover [i.e., the Holy of Holies], and for the Sanctuary, the “one without.”³⁸Even though the Sanctuary was also located “within” the Beis Hamikdosh, however, relative to the Holy of Holies it is the “one without.”

And the floor of the Beis Hamikdosh. The entire floor.

In the inner and outer [chambers]. For the room of the Ark cover [i.e., the Holy of Holies] and for the Sanctuary.

Olive wood. Olive wood.

The lintel. These are the lintels [=אילי] of the entrance, these are the doorposts from each side that were made round, similar to אילים,³⁹Yechezkeil 40:21. איליו,⁴⁰Ibid. 40:9. ואילמיו⁴¹Ibid. 40:10. (other texts: אלה' ואלון), and similarly in all of Yechezkeil’s structure[s],⁴²See Ibid. 40. the doorposts at the entrance are called אילים.⁴³See Rashi Ibid. 40:9.

The door-posts. [The door frame consisted of five parts.] The threshold is one, and the side posts on each side are two, totaling three, and the lintel which is on it was made in two, like this. Thus have I heard.⁴⁴Alternatively, it was the fifth of a series of doorways of the Beis Hamikdosh encountered by one entering from the outside.—Ralbag. But I say, מזוזות חמישית [refers to the] five sides that each of the door posts had, and it was not four-sided; and [the verse] is speaking neither about the threshold nor about the lintel, because we find neither the threshold nor the lintel called “אילים.”

He hammered upon the cherubim. He spread the gold in thin sheets [in order] to sink them into the engraved forms, so that it be recessed into the engraved places and protrude on the protrusions, so that the gold does not ruin the figures, and so that the figures in the wood are distinguishable under the gold.

Consisting of four parts. The side posts [i.e., the entire door frames] of the Sanctuary were square, and so did [Targum] Yonoson translate, “from their four sides squared.”

And two doors. Each [door] was half the width of the entrance.

Two [rounded] hinges. [Targum] Yonoson rendered “two hinges,” an upper hinge and a lower hinge.⁴⁵Alternatively, צלעים means “sides,” i.e., both the inner and outer sides of the doors were overlaid with carvings.—Radak.

Rounded. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] oval.

Two [rounded] hinges. Also this is rendered [by Targum Yonoson] “hinges.” The expression קלעים, I maintain, is of Aramaic derivation, an expression meaning “entrance,” because the hinge enters into the cavity of the threshold.⁴⁶Alternatively, קלעים are curtains, meaning that the doors folded in the same manner a curtain does.

And he carved upon them cherubim. On the doors.

Fitting precisely upon the carvings. The gold was fitted onto the carved forms; recessed in the place of its engraving, and protruding in its place of protrusion so that the carved forms are [clearly] distinguishable [in the gold overlay].

The inner court. This was the court of Kohanim and the court of Yisroel, and it was [located] before the entrance hall, yet he calls it “the inner one” because it was inward of the women’s court. (In the Biblical text we do not find written “עזרת” except for in the Mishnah.⁴⁷See Mishnayos Midos 2:5,6.)

And a row of cut cedar beams. A tier of (cut) beams made [part of] the wall.

In the fourth year. Of Shlomo Hamelech[’s reign].

The foundation was laid— of the Beis Hamikdosh house of Adonoy. Its foundation was begun.⁴⁸I.e., construction of Beis Hamikdosh began.

In the month of Bul. This is [the month of] Mar Cheshvan;⁴⁹The Flood [מבול] during Noach’s time began in the month of Marcheshvan. [when] the grass in the field decays, and cattle is given fodder from what is stored, from the expression “and he gave fodder [ויבל] to the donkeys.”⁵⁰Shoftim 19:21.