Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Solomon builds the temple.
Vulgate Text: 3 Kings 6:1-38
1. It came to pass therefore in the four hundred and eightieth year after the departure of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year, in the month of Zio (that is the second month), of the reign of Solomon over Israel, the house of the Lord began to be built. 2. And the house which King Solomon built for the Lord had sixty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in height. 3. And the porch before the temple was twenty cubits long, according to the measure of the breadth of the temple, and it had ten cubits of breadth before the face of the temple. 4. And he made in the temple oblique windows. 5. And he built upon the wall of the temple galleries round about, in the walls of the house round about the temple and the oracle, and he made side chambers round about. 6. The lowest gallery was five cubits broad, and the middle gallery was six cubits broad, and the third gallery was seven cubits broad. And he placed beams in the house round about on the outside, so that they would not be fastened into the walls of the temple. 7. And the house, when it was being built, was built of hewn and finished stones; and neither hammer, nor axe, nor any iron tool was heard in the house while it was being built. 8. The door of the middle side chamber was on the right side of the house, and by a winding staircase they went up to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. 9. And he built the house and finished it; he also covered the house with ceilings of cedar. 10. And he built the gallery over the whole house five cubits in height, and covered the house with cedar wood. 11. And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: 12. This house which you are building — if you walk in My precepts, and execute My judgments, and keep all My commandments, walking in them — I will establish My word with you which I spoke to David your father. 13. And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and I will not forsake My people Israel. 14. So Solomon built the house and finished it. 15. And he built the walls of the house on the inside with cedar boards, from the floor of the house to the top of the walls, and to the ceiling; he covered them with cedar wood on the inside, and covered the floor of the house with boards of fir. 16. And he built twenty cubits at the rear part of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the upper parts, and made the inner house of the oracle as the Holy of Holies. 17. And the temple itself before the doors of the oracle was forty cubits long. 18. And all the house was clothed inside with cedar, having turnings and joinings skillfully wrought, and prominent carvings; all was covered with cedar boards, nor could any stone at all appear in the wall. 19. And the oracle in the middle of the house, in the inner part, he had made, to place there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 20. And the oracle had twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in height, and he covered it and clothed it with the purest gold; and he also clothed the altar with cedar. 21. He also covered the house before the oracle with the purest gold, and fastened on the plates with golden nails. 22. And there was nothing in the temple that was not covered with gold; and he also covered the whole altar of the oracle with gold. 23. And he made in the oracle two cherubim of olive wood, ten cubits in height. 24. One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub was five cubits; that is, they measured ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other wing. 25. And the second cherub was also ten cubits; both were the same measure and the same work. 26. That is, one cherub was ten cubits in height, and likewise the second cherub.
27. And he placed the cherubim in the middle of the inner temple; and the cherubim spread their wings, and one wing touched the wall, and the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall; and the other wings in the middle part of the temple touched one another. 28. He also covered the cherubim with gold. 29. And he carved all the walls of the temple round about with various carvings and lathe-work, and he made in them cherubim and palms, and various pictures, as though projecting from the wall and coming forth. 30. And he also covered the floor of the house with gold, both within and without. 31. And at the entrance of the oracle he made small doors of olive wood, and posts of five angles. 32. And two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them figures of cherubim, and forms of palms, and carvings very prominent; and he covered them with gold; and he covered both the cherubim and the palms and the rest with gold. 33. And he made in the entrance of the temple posts of olive wood, four-sided, 34. and two doors of fir wood on either side, and each door was double and opened by folding back upon itself. 35. And he carved cherubim, and palms, and carvings very prominent; and he covered all with plates of gold applied with square work to the rule. 36. And he built the inner court with three rows of polished stones, and one row of cedar beams. 37. In the fourth year the house of the Lord was founded in the month of Zio, 38. and in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul (that is the eighth month) the house was completed in all its work and in all its furnishings, and he built it in seven years.
Design of the Temple
The Temple of Solomon was modeled after the tabernacle of Moses: for the tabernacle was like a mobile temple of the Hebrews wandering in the desert, while the temple was like a fixed and permanent tabernacle of the same people dwelling peacefully in the promised land. Therefore just as God gave the plan of the tabernacle to Moses, in Exodus chapter 25 and following, so He also gave the plan for building the temple to David, so that he might pass it on to Solomon, as is clear from 1 Chronicles chapter 28, verse 19. The temple therefore, like the tabernacle, properly had two parts: the front one was called the Holy Place, the rear one was called the Holy of Holies, that is, the most holy, as the choir is in our churches. In the Holy Place there were three things: first, a seven-branched lampstand shining with as many lamps placed upon it. Second, the table of the showbread, containing twelve loaves, which the twelve tribes offered to God in thanksgiving, as though professing that they were nourished by God in the promised land. Third, the altar of incense near and facing the Holy of Holies, on which every day morning and evening incense was offered to God dwelling in the Holy of Holies. Now in the Holy of Holies was the ark of the covenant with its cover, that is, the propitiatory, supporting two Cherubim, who with joined wings formed as it were a seat and throne for God, from which He gave oracles and answers concerning those things which the high priest, vested with the Rational of Urim and Thummim, inquired of Him. For no one could enter the Holy of Holies except the high priest, and no one could enter the Holy Place except a priest: and for the people before the Holy Place a court was added in the open air, which served as the temple of the people or laity, so that they might pray there and watch the sacrifices.
This court was twofold. For the front part of it near the Holy Place was reserved for the priests: for in it was the altar of burnt offerings, on which the priests sacrificed the victims, and the basin or bronze sea, in which the priests washed both themselves and the victims. The rear part of the court, more remote from the Holy Place, was reserved for the laity, who from there watched the sacrifices that took place in the court of the priests; hence it was distinguished from it by a wall only three cubits high, so that the laity could look over it and see the priests and their actions. In this court Christ taught. For He could not enter the Holy Place, because He was not a Levitical priest. Into either court no one could enter unless ritually clean. Therefore for the unclean and for the Gentiles, Herod added a third court, which was the outermost and most remote from the Holy Place, and separated from the court of the ritually clean Jews.
Moreover, along the walls or sides of these courts there were chambers, which are also called treasuries and pastophoria, that is, rooms for the priests and for the furnishings of the temple, such as the sacred vestments, which the priests here put on and afterwards took off and stored away.
The temple was larger and more magnificent than the tabernacle. For the tabernacle was thirty cubits long (the Holy Place being twenty cubits long, the Holy of Holies ten) and the same in height; but ten cubits wide. Therefore both in the tabernacle and in the temple, the Holy Place was rectangular, because it was twice as long as it was wide, while the Holy of Holies was square, because it was as wide as it was long. But the temple was sixty cubits long (the Holy Place being forty cubits long, and the Holy of Holies twenty), twenty cubits wide, thirty cubits high up to the first floor, and from there upward it extended through the stories to ninety cubits, so that altogether in height it had one hundred and twenty cubits.
Again, in the tabernacle there was one lampstand and one table, but in the temple there were ten tables and as many lampstands.
Moreover, the courts of the temple were larger than those of the tabernacle. For the courts were like very spacious open areas, partly open and exposed under the sky, partly covered with porticos on the sides — whence they are also called porticos — so that in time of rain the people could take shelter in them. That the Levites also entered the court of the priests, because they assisted the priests in the sacrificing of victims, is the opinion of Theodoret, Question 22, Angelomus, chapter 1, and Serarius; who holds the same regarding the Nethinim, for they had to carry a great deal of wood and water for the sacrificing of so many victims, which took place in the court of the priests. John Budinius, Book I of the Glory of Christ the Lord, chapter 5, holds that the single court of the priests was four stadia, so that the total circuit of the temple was five stadia. Adrichomius, in his book On Jerusalem, number 101, says the profane court was four stadia.
Allegorically, the temple represented the Church Militant; anagogically, the Church Triumphant in heaven; tropologically, the holy soul, which through faith in this life, and through direct vision in the next, contemplates God face to face, and is made blessed by this contemplation.
The construction of the temple is described at length and accurately by Josephus, Book VIII of the Antiquities, chapter 2; Pineda, Book V on the Affairs of Solomon; Francisco Ribera, in his book On the Temple; Juan Bautista Villalpando, Abulensis, Arias Montanus, Christian Adrichomius, Richard of Saint Victor, and Cajetan. The mystical explanation of the temple is amply provided by Bede in his three books On the Tabernacle, Eucherius, Angelomus, Rupert, and Francisco Ribera, Book V On the Temple. See also, if you wish, what I have annotated on Exodus 25 and following, where I explained the tabernacle and all its parts both literally and mystically. I have also added much on Ezekiel chapter 40 and following.
How great and how extraordinary the magnificence of the temple was can be gathered from various considerations. First, because the temple was the work of Solomon, who was the wisest, richest, and most magnificent of kings.
Second, because the temple was built according to a plan not of man, but of God Himself, who gave it to David so that he might pass it on to Solomon, as I have said. For God willed that for the Jews and for uncultured men, who do not know how to appreciate and weigh God and divine things, the divine majesty should be represented in the magnificence of the temple, so that from it they might learn to esteem, revere, and admire Him. Solomon gives this reason in 2 Chronicles 2:5, saying: 'The house which I desire to build is great. For great is our God above all gods.'
Third, from the fact that this temple was considered by all to be a wonder of the world. Moreover, its walls and ceilings were covered with gold, so that everything shone with gold, and the splendor meeting the eyes of those entering from every side dazzled them, says Josephus, Book VIII, chapter 2.
Fourth, from the number of workers and overseers: for more than two hundred thousand men labored on it for seven continuous years, as I showed in chapter 5, verse 15.
Fifth, from the riches left to Solomon for the building of the temple. For his father David left him, as is said in 1 Chronicles 22:14, one hundred thousand talents of gold, which reduced to our currency make one thousand two hundred millions. I call a million ten times one hundred thousand gold pieces. In addition he left him one thousand thousand talents of silver, which amount to the same, namely one thousand two hundred millions in gold value. For one pound of gold was formerly worth ten pounds of silver. In total therefore he left him two thousand four hundred millions in gold, besides bronze, wood, stones, and other innumerable building materials. Hence in 1 Chronicles 22:14, it is added: 'And of bronze and iron there is no weight, for its abundance surpasses reckoning.'
Sixth, 'neither hammer, nor axe, nor any iron tool was heard in the house while it was being built.' Josephus adds at the end of Book XV that 'during the whole time' the temple was under construction, it never rained during the day, the rains falling only at night, so that the construction would not be interrupted — although Josephus there is properly speaking of the temple of Herod.
Seventh, the Hebrews list ten wonders and quasi-miracles of the temple — take their word for it. First, 'No woman ever miscarried because of the smell of meat in the sanctuary. Second, the flesh of the sanctuary never became foul. Third, no fly was ever seen in the slaughter house. Fourth, no nocturnal emission befell the high priest on the Day of Atonement. Fifth, the rains did not extinguish the fire that was on the pile of wood. Sixth, the wind did not overpower the column of smoke. Seventh, no defect was ever found in the Omer, nor in the two loaves, nor in the showbread. Eighth, they stood crowded together and worshipped with ample room. Ninth, no serpent or scorpion ever harmed anyone in Jerusalem. Tenth, no man said to his companion: the place is too narrow for me to lodge in Jerusalem.'
Verse 1: The Temple Began to Be Built in the 480th Year
Verse 1. IT CAME TO PASS THEREFORE IN THE FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTIETH YEAR AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT, IN THE FOURTH YEAR, IN THE MONTH OF ZIO (THAT IS THE SECOND MONTH) OF THE REIGN OF SOLOMON OVER ISRAEL, THE HOUSE OF THE LORD BEGAN TO BE BUILT. — Therefore Josephus erroneously counts 592 years from the departure of the Hebrews to the building of the temple (for so it should be read in Josephus, as Ribera shows, Book I On the Temple, chapter 1, not 612 as the Latin codices of Josephus now have). And Bede counts 490 years, Sulpitius 588, Theophilus 602, Cedrenus 672, Philastrius 713, and Serarius here on chapter 7 counts 680 years. For all these contradict this passage, where the Hebrews, the Septuagint, the Chaldean, and the Latin consistently count only 480 years, the reckoning of which I have precisely assigned through the years of the Judges in Judges chapter 3, verse 13.
Note here that the Roman Septuagint has only 440 years, but they do not count the 40 years during which the Hebrews wandered in the desert; therefore they understand the departure from Egypt as completed, and include under it the entry into the promised land, which occurred in the fortieth year after the departure from Egypt. But the Septuagint, Complutensian, and Royal editions have as our Vulgate and the Hebrews, namely 480 years.
Solomon therefore began to build the temple in the fourth year of his reign, in the second month; but he completed it in the eleventh year in the eighth month, as is stated in verse 37. From which it follows that this construction lasted seven years and seven months exactly. But Scripture passes over the seven months as something minor, and assigns only the round number of years. Therefore the temple began to be built in the year of the world 2933, which was 1276 years from the flood, and 1017 years before the birth of Christ, according to the Chronological table which I prefixed to the Pentateuch.
Moreover, Josephus says the temple was built in the twelfth year of Hiram king of Tyre, and from there he counts 143 years until the founding of Carthage, which Dido accomplished by sailing from Tyre to Africa. But an error has crept into Josephus's calculation, for not 143 but only 125 years elapsed, as Salianus arithmetically demonstrates from the number of years of the kings of Tyre who succeeded Hiram, which Josephus records, in the year of the world 3166, at the end of which he asserts Carthage was founded — that being the tenth year of Joash king of Judah, and the twenty-eighth of the prophet Elisha, although various authors write various things on this matter.
Moreover, as to why the years of the temple's construction are counted here from the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, the reason is given by Bede, Abulensis, and from them Pineda, Book V, chapter 5: because it was then for the first time that God organized His people under the form of a republic and fortified them with definite rites and with definite laws of holy religion and faith. Therefore, when the most spacious and most holy temple of that very religion was being built — by whose erection and establishment other altars and religious sites were to cease — and finally, since religion and the republic were to receive the greatest increase, it was fitting that the beginnings of that same religion and republic be designated.
The site of the temple's construction is described in 2 Chronicles chapter 3, verse 1, where it is said: 'And Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah (where Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac, Genesis 22), which had been shown to David his father, in the place which David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.' Hence also Christ, in the same place, namely on Mount Calvary, which is part of Mount Moriah, crucified, offered Himself as a victim to God for the salvation of the world. For the sacrifice of Isaac foreshadowed this, as did all the sacrifices in the temple. Finally, the temple was built in a place belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, as all interpreters teach, and is clear from Deuteronomy 33:12. So also Plato, Book VII of the Republic, and Aristotle, Book VI On Laws, teach that temples should be built on mountains, so that they may be visible from afar, and closer to heaven and to God.
In the month of Zio — the Hebrews now read 'in the month of Zif,' because instead of the vav as a vowel with the cholem point, they read it as a consonantal vav without the point. The same month is called in Hebrew Iyyar, from or, that is, light, splendor. Hence the Chaldean translates it as 'in the month of the opening or splendor of flowers,' because in that month buds and flowers open, and their freshness and beauty then shine forth.
THAT IS THE SECOND MONTH — which partly corresponds to our April, partly to May, just as the first month of the Hebrews called Nisan partly corresponds to our March, partly to April — which season is most suitable for construction.
Verse 2: The House Was Sixty Cubits Long
Verse 2. AND THE HOUSE (temple), etc., HAD SIXTY CUBITS IN LENGTH, AND TWENTY CUBITS IN BREADTH, AND THIRTY CUBITS IN HEIGHT. — You will say: in 2 Chronicles 4:4, it is stated: 'And the height was one hundred and twenty cubits.' I respond that the height of the temple up to the first floor, or up to the first story, was thirty cubits, as is said here; but the height of the same up to the uppermost floor, or up to the highest roof and pinnacle, was 120 cubits, as is said in the book of Chronicles. For there was, as it were, another building above the temple, where the treasures of the temple were stored — offerings, votive gifts, and likewise the old tabernacle of Moses and the altar of David, etc. So Eucherius, Angelomus, Abulensis, and interpreters generally. See Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter 5, and Villalpando, page 267. Here also the boy Joash, later king, hid, says Cajetan, fleeing from Athaliah who was killing the king's sons, 2 Kings 11:3. Such great height and mass of the temple was supported by the thick walls, upon which it rested. The walls were also buttressed by their pilasters (commonly called pilastres) and buttresses, on which see Villalpando.
Moreover, from this temple one ascended to the upper stories by a winding staircase, about which verse 8 says: 'And by the winding staircase they went up to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.'
Finally, when the Jews after their return from Babylon rebuilt the temple that had been burned by the Chaldeans, they raised it to only sixty cubits in height, because Cyrus forbade it to be built higher, fearing that the Jews, if they rebelled, would make a fortress out of the temple, as is clear from 1 Ezra chapter 6, and from Josephus.
Again, in 2 Chronicles 3:3, it is said that Solomon built sixty cubits of length in the first measurement, that is, before the division of the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies: the first measurement of the length of the whole temple was sixty cubits, which measurement was then divided and separated in such a way that the Holy Place had 40 cubits of it, and the remaining twenty cubits belonged to the Holy of Holies. So Vatablus; differently Abulensis. The first measurement of the temple, he says, was the length, because they first built both walls of the temple lengthwise, then the transverse walls widthwise.
Allegorically, Angelomus says: 'The length of the house of God signifies the long-suffering of the Church, which in the exile of its pilgrimage patiently endures all adversities, until it arrives at the homeland which it awaits. The breadth suggests charity, which with an expanded heart delights in loving not only friends in God, but also enemies for God's sake — until the time comes when, whether all enemies have been converted to its peace or utterly destroyed, it may rejoice with friends alone in God. The height proclaims the hope of future reward, in view of which it gladly despises all lowly things, whether those that flatter or those that oppose — until, having transcended both, it alone may merit to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.'
Verse 3: The Porch Before the Temple
Verse 3. AND THE PORCH WAS BEFORE THE TEMPLE, TWENTY CUBITS IN LENGTH, ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF THE BREADTH OF THE TEMPLE; AND IT HAD TEN CUBITS OF BREADTH BEFORE THE FACE OF THE TEMPLE — that is, so that these ten cubits of the porch's breadth were joined not to the breadth but to the length of the temple, because the breadth of the porch was less — being only ten cubits — than the breadth of the temple, which was twenty cubits, and therefore could not be joined to and made equal to it. It was therefore joined to the length of the temple. Now the length of the porch was the same as the breadth of the temple, namely twenty cubits; therefore the former was joined to and made equal to the latter. But the breadth of the porch, which was ten cubits, was joined to the length of the temple, which was sixty cubits, so that with the breadth of the porch added, the temple with its porch had seventy cubits in length and twenty cubits in breadth. So Ribera and others.
This porch was the vestibule of the temple, added to the Holy Place — that is, to the front part of the temple — for elegance and magnificence as well as for practical use. The early Christians imitated this, adding porticos to their churches for the same reasons, such as can be seen in Rome at the Basilica of St. Peter, St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran, St. Lawrence, St. Cecilia, etc., and for multiple purposes. For in the porticos remained the excommunicated, penitents, and catechumens, who were not permitted to enter the church or attend Mass. Likewise the poor, beggars, and pilgrims, who after mealtime or at night when the basilica was closed, prayed and spent the night in the portico. Furthermore, those who received letters and messages in the church about domestic or secular affairs would leave the church — where it was not fitting to handle and transact such business — and go out to the portico, and there attend to them. In the portico also were prepared seats, benches, ornaments, and other things to be brought into the church.
Moreover, the temple, say Angelomus and Eucherius, 'was oriented toward the East, as also the tabernacle, and it had the door of the porch from the East facing the door of the temple, as the Jewish historian Josephus most clearly teaches, so that the equinoctial sun rising could, by the direct lines of its rays through the three doors — namely of the porch, of the temple, and of the oracle — flood the ark of the testimony with light.'
Hence allegorically this porch signifies the saints who preceded Christ, namely the Patriarchs and Prophets, who first received the rising Sun of Justice for this world, and gave testimony to the Lord being born in the flesh, whether by living, or by preaching, or by being born, or even by dying, says Angelomus and Eucherius.
Finally, some think this was the Porch of Solomon, in which Christ and the Apostles taught; so Abulensis, Titelmann, Jansenius, chapter 93 of the Concordance of the Gospels. But they are mistaken: for this porch was adjacent to the Holy Place before the court of the priests, into neither of which Christ and the Apostles were permitted to enter, because they were not priests of the old law. See what I said about the Porch of Solomon in Acts chapter 3, verse 11.
Verse 4: Oblique Windows in the Temple
Verse 4. AND HE MADE OBLIQUE WINDOWS IN THE TEMPLE. — In Hebrew schekuphim atumim, that is, 'looking out, closed,' that is, as the Chaldean says, open on the inside, closed on the outside — namely wider on the inside, narrower on the outside (perhaps also covered with lattices: hence the Septuagint translates 'latticed' or 'with netting') and therefore 'oblique,' as our Vulgate translates, so that they would admit more light. Because, as opticians or perspectivists teach, in these oblique windows the solar rays coming from outside intersect at the outermost surface of the window where the space is narrower, and then widen out and spread themselves far and wide through the house (hence Symmachus translates 'oblique' as 'arrow-like,' which shoot light like an arrow) — for thus the light of the sun enters the house in the form of an inverted pyramid. So St. Jerome on chapter 41 of Ezekiel, Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter 13, Eucherius, Angelomus, and others. Hear St. Jerome on chapter 41 of Ezekiel: 'The windows also were made in the form of a net, like lattices, so that they were closed not with transparent stone nor with glass, but with openwork and inlaid wood (for which in the Hebrew you have oblique windows), which were in only three parts of the temple — namely on the right and on the left and behind, that is toward the South and toward the North and toward the West. But the eastern part had no windows, because the entrance itself admitted clear light within, and all the interior of the temple was filled with light from the doors, so that through each window and through the openings of the lattices one could look inside.'
These windows were in the Holy Place only. For the Holy of Holies lacked windows out of reverence for itself: for God dwells in darkness invisible to us. However, some light was admitted into the Holy of Holies through the door. See what was said on Leviticus chapter 16, verse 13.
Allegorically, these oblique windows represent the holy Doctors, through whom God teaches and enlightens the faithful, 'who, as Angelomus says, when they publicly reveal to the faithful what they see in secret, fill the inner recesses of the temple like windows receiving the light of the sun. Hence these same windows are rightly said to have been oblique, that is wider on the inside, because it is indeed necessary that whoever has perceived even for a moment the radiance of heavenly contemplation should at once enlarge the bosom of his heart by purifying it, and prepare himself by diligent exercise for grasping greater things.' See what was said on Ezekiel 12:17.
Verse 5: Galleries Round About the Temple
Verse 5. AND HE BUILT UPON THE WALL OF THE TEMPLE GALLERIES ROUND ABOUT, IN THE WALLS OF THE HOUSE ROUND ABOUT THE TEMPLE (that is, the Holy Place) AND THE ORACLE (that is, the Holy of Holies, from which God gave oracles) AND HE MADE SIDE CHAMBERS ROUND ABOUT. — He describes here the chambers built around the temple: for this is what 'he made side chambers round about' means. For these chambers were lateral to the temple, and surrounded it on three sides, that is on three compass directions — namely to the West, South, and North. For the eastern side, where the door and entrance were, could not have chambers around it. Therefore when it says 'upon the wall,' it means the same as alongside the wall, or around the wall of the temple. For in a similar way it is said of Christ in Luke 4:39: 'Standing over,' that is, beside 'her, He rebuked the fever.' And Psalm 137:1: 'By,' literally 'upon,' 'the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept,' etc. The meaning therefore is: Solomon built alongside and around the three walls of the temple facing the three compass directions a series of chambers, and erected internal galleries around them and divided them up — and he did this both for beauty and for the strength and protection of the temple. For in these chambers the priests could pray and look into the temple itself through windows. In the same chambers the riches of the temple were stored. Hence they are called by the Septuagint 'storerooms,' and by our Vulgate, in 1 Chronicles 28:11, 'cellars.' This is clear from Josephus, Book VIII of the Antiquities, chapter 2.
AND HE MADE SIDE CHAMBERS ROUND ABOUT. — He calls the galleries of the chambers 'side chambers,' as is clear from the Hebrew and the Septuagint. For explaining these 'side chambers' he adds: The lowest gallery was five cubits in breadth, and the middle gallery six cubits in breadth, and the third gallery seven cubits in breadth. Where instead of 'gallery' the Hebrew and Septuagint have 'side,' so he calls the galleries 'sides,' both because they laterally surrounded three sides of the temple, and more importantly because one projected laterally over the other and was prominent above it, and the upper was wider than the lower — hence the Chaldean calls them 'extensions.'
The meaning therefore is: These chambers, or rows of chambers, had three stories, that is, three galleries round about, of which the lowest story or gallery was five cubits in breadth; the second was six, and the third seven cubits. That is, there were three rows of chambers in their three stories, of which the second row was wider than the first, and the third wider than the second, because of the projecting beams, about which he immediately adds: 'And he placed beams,' etc. So Salianus, Ribera, Cajetan, and others.
Moreover, the cause of this inequality of the stories was the narrowness of the building area on Mount Moriah: for this caused the lowest chambers to be narrow, and therefore it was necessary to make the upper ones wider by means of projecting beams. So Ribera.
Verse 6: The Lowest Gallery Was Five Cubits Broad
6. AND HE PLACED BEAMS IN THE HOUSE ROUND ABOUT ON THE OUTSIDE, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE FASTENED INTO THE WALLS OF THE TEMPLE. — 'Beams,' that is, the ends of beams extending and projecting beyond the walls on which they rested. Hence in Hebrew they are called migrot, that is, 'falling short,' because they did not reach the neighboring wall of the temple, but fell short of it, and only the ends of the beams projected. The meaning is: He caused the beams to extend beyond their own wall and project through their ends, so that upon them crossbeams might be placed, and thus the upper stories would be larger and have greater breadth than the lower stories. For these beams and galleries were not fastened to the walls of the temple, but these chambers and their galleries were separated, though by a small interval, from the walls of the temple. Hence it is necessary that these chambers had windows facing the windows of the temple, so that they might transmit their light into them. From this it is clear that these chambers and galleries did not project from the temple itself, as Bede, Angelomus, Lyranus, and Abulensis would have it, but were separated from the wall of the temple, as Scripture here expressly states.
Moreover, in the lowest row, that is, on the floor level covered by its own ceiling, there were 14 chambers or rooms, the same number in the second row or middle story, and the same in the third or uppermost — so that altogether there were 42 chambers, all of which were interconnected, so that one could pass from one to another without a door, and thence to the next, and so on. Although Josephus asserts that in each row there were thirty chambers or small rooms, which had five cubits in length and the same in breadth. But he is mistaken in this, as in many other things, as Salianus shows.
Tropologically, the three rows of chambers, or their three stories, denote the three states and degrees of the faithful in the Church — namely the lowest of the married, the middle or second of the continent, and the third and highest of virgins. So Bede, Rupert, and others. See what was said on Ezekiel 41:7.
Verse 7: No Iron Tool Was Heard in the House
Verse 7. AND THE HOUSE (temple), WHEN IT WAS BEING BUILT, WAS BUILT OF HEWN AND FINISHED STONES (which had already been hewn and finished on Mount Lebanon or elsewhere, before they were brought to Zion for the construction of the temple), AND (that is, therefore) NEITHER HAMMER, NOR AXE, NOR ANY IRON TOOL WAS HEARD IN THE HOUSE WHILE IT WAS BEING BUILT — because, as he said, the stones had already been hewn, so there was no need for hammer, axe, or iron to hew and fit them, but only lime to bind them together — and this out of reverence for the building, and so that the ears of Solomon and the others watching the construction would not be offended by the din of hammers and iron tools. The Rabbis fable that the hammer was not heard in the temple because the Hebrews cut the stones with the blood of a worm, which they call Shamir. Theodoret, Questions 21 and 22, Procopius and Glycas think that all the stones, by God's arrangement, were so formed or quarried in the mountains that iron was not needed. More correctly, Lyranus, Abulensis, and Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter 12, respond that the hammer or axe was not heard — namely for hewing or cutting stones, which had already been hewn and cut in the mountain, as I said.
Anagogically, the temple here represents heaven, where there will be no suffering or affliction, because, as Eucherius and Angelomus say, 'here we are struck by adversities, and exercised by the discipline of truth, so that there we may be disposed in a manner worthy of God according to our merits, and when chastisement ceases, we may be joined together solely by the bond of love, filled and permeated with one Spirit. For here we are struck outwardly, so that there we may be found without blame. Here the hammer, here the axe, here all the instruments of striking resound: but in the house of God no blows are heard, because in the eternal homeland all the din of blows falls silent.'
This is what the Church sings in the Dedication of a Church: 'Stones polished by blows and pressures are fitted to their places; by the hand of the Master Builder they are arranged to remain in sacred edifices.'
Verse 8: The Door of the Middle Side Chamber
Verse 8. THE DOOR OF THE MIDDLE SIDE CHAMBER WAS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE HOUSE; AND BY A WINDING STAIRCASE THEY WENT UP TO THE MIDDLE STORY, AND FROM THE MIDDLE TO THE THIRD. — Here is described the winding staircase by which one ascended to the upper stories both of the temple itself and of the chambers adjacent to the temple, about which was said in verse 5 and following, as well as the staircase's door, which was in the wall of the temple itself. For the wall of the temple was nine or ten cubits thick. Hence a winding staircase could be built in it without damage to the wall, just as in Rome in the Basilica of St. Peter and elsewhere — indeed in the column of Trajan, as also that of Antoninus, we see spiral staircases by which one ascends from bottom to top by 185 steps on the inside. He calls this 'the door of the middle side chamber,' that is, of the middle story, because through this door and its staircase one ascended to the middle or second story of both the temple and the chambers, and from the second to the third or uppermost. For the lowest part of the temple, as also of the chambers, did not need a staircase or ascent, since it was situated on the floor level itself. This door therefore with its staircase was 'on the right side of the house,' that is, in the right wall of the temple, which is the southern wall; for to those facing East, the south is on the right, the north on the left. In the southern wall therefore of the temple was this staircase and its door, which rose from below by steps up to the top of both the temple and the chambers. For there were three rows of chambers, as I said, as also of the temple, and three stories — namely lowest, middle, and highest. Of the door of the lowest row and story nothing is said here, because it was on the ground level, and hence needed no ascent or steps of the staircase. 'On the right side of the house' therefore — that is, within the thickness of the southern wall of the temple itself — from below, that is from the floor, the staircase rose with its door, and ascended within the thickness of the wall, that is the wall, up to the middle, that is the second story or row of chambers. From which it is clear that although these chambers were separated from the temple, they were nonetheless connected to it by the staircase: for the staircase was adjacent to the chambers which were near the temple, and from the second story it extended and ascended to the third and highest story or row of chambers. One door and one entrance sufficed for each story, because the chambers were interconnected, as I said. So Cajetan, Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter 15, and others.
Moreover, whether there was one and the same staircase by which one ascended to the stories of the temple itself and simultaneously to the stories of the chambers adjacent to the temple, or whether there were two, is not entirely clear. It is probable that there were two. First, because in Hebrew the word for staircase is lulim, in the plural, that is, staircases. Second, because this was more convenient and contributed to the greater majesty of the temple. Third, because Josephus, Book VIII, chapter 2, who frequently visited the temple, implies this. So Salianus. Therefore by one staircase one ascended to the stories of the temple, by the other to the stories of the chambers.
Tropologically, the winding staircase ascending in a spiral signifies that only through the tortuous path of labors and sorrows does one ascend to the perfection of virtue and to the glory of the Blessed in heaven. So Eucherius and Angelomus — an apt illustration of which is found in the vision in the Life of St. Perpetua, who saw Satyrus, her companion in prison, ascending to heaven by a ladder beset with knives, and through this vision received the omen of martyrdom. So her Life has it as found in Surius under March 7.
Verse 10: The Gallery over the Whole House
10. AND HE BUILT THE GALLERY OVER THE HOUSE FIVE CUBITS IN HEIGHT. — This seems to be understood of the stories of the chambers; for the story of the temple was 90 cubits high, as I said. Indeed it seems to speak of only the uppermost story of the chambers, say Abulensis and Cajetan; for Josephus asserts that the total height of the chambers was sixty cubits.
Verse 15: He Built the Walls Inside with Cedar
15. AND HE BUILT THE WALLS OF THE HOUSE ON THE INSIDE WITH CEDAR BOARDS. — 'Built' means covered, clothed, adorned: for the walls had been built of stone; the stones he then covered with cedar boards, just as he covered the floor with boards of fir, as follows. That this is so is clear from verse 18, where he explains: 'all was covered with cedar boards, nor could any stone at all appear in the wall.'
Verse 16: The Inner House of the Oracle
16. AND HE BUILT TWENTY CUBITS AT THE REAR PART OF THE TEMPLE WITH CEDAR BOARDS — that is, just as he covered the front part of the temple with cedar boards, as I said at verse 15, so also he covered the rear part of the temple with the same, that is, the oracle or Holy of Holies, from which God gave oracles. For here is described the Holy of Holies, which was the inner or rear part of the temple, and had in length twenty cubits, the same in breadth, but only twenty cubits in height was built; because it was covered with cedar boards from the floor upward only to twenty cubits (so that in this respect the ceiling would appear to be square, as it had been in the tabernacle of Moses); while for the remaining ten cubits in height there rose bare wall. So Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter 6. However, some think the Holy of Holies had only twenty cubits in height, just as it had the same in length and breadth, so that it would be a perfect cube or square, and that the whole was covered with ceilings. That this is so is clearly evident from chapter 7, verse 48, as I will show there.
It seems more correct that the Holy of Holies was perfectly square in all respects with regard to the cedar ceiling, yet rose beyond this ceiling for ten cubits, so that absolutely it was thirty cubits high, just as the Holy Place was. But upon this ceiling, twenty cubits high and covered with cedar boards — both in the Holy Place and in the Holy of Holies — there was placed a cedar vault, which imitated and represented the form of the heavens: and this vault rose for ten cubits, which extended above the remaining twenty up to the ceiling, as Villalpando solidly demonstrates in his commentary on chapter 41 of Ezekiel, and Azor, Book VI, chapter 53; nor does Ribera, Book I On the Temple, chapter 6, and Barradius, volume II, Book XII, chapter 13, mean anything different.
AND HE MADE THE INNER HOUSE OF THE ORACLE AS THE HOLY OF HOLIES — that is, He made the inner house, which was called the oracle, to be the Holy of Holies, that is, the most holy part of the temple. For this is now called the oracle, now the inner house, now the second tabernacle, now the Holy of Holies.
Verse 17: The Temple Before the Oracle Was Forty Cubits
17. AND THE TEMPLE ITSELF BEFORE THE DOORS OF THE ORACLE WAS FORTY CUBITS — that is, the front part of the temple, which was before the oracle or Holy of Holies, and which was called the Holy Place, had forty cubits in length.
Moreover, the doors of the oracle, that is of the Holy of Holies, were large and always open: hence the projecting ends of the carrying poles of the ark of the covenant, covered by the veil, appeared to those standing nearby — either because the veil was transparent, or more likely because they projected beyond the veil. Hence also when this veil was torn in the Passion of Christ, the Holy of Holies appeared: for otherwise, if the doors of the oracle had been shut, it would not have been visible. So Ribera, Book I, chapter 6.
Verse 19: The Oracle to Place the Ark of the Covenant
19. AND THE ORACLE (the Holy of Holies) IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HOUSE (that is, in the house itself, or in the temple itself) HE HAD MADE — for the oracle was not in the middle but at the end of the temple; this is a Hebraism.
Verse 20: The Oracle Had Twenty Cubits in Each Dimension
20. AND HE ALSO CLOTHED THE ALTAR WITH CEDAR — understand the altar of incense, which was in the Holy Place facing the Holy of Holies, so that from it the smoke of incense would rise to God dwelling upon the ark in the Holy of Holies. Hence it appears that Solomon made a new altar of incense, for it is said that he clothed it with cedar boards, which he then covered with gold in verse 21, just as he fabricated a new table of the showbread and a new, larger lampstand: for the Mosaic ones were smaller and less valuable than was fitting for the size and magnificence of his new temple. Therefore Solomon removed them from the temple and stored them with the tabernacle of Moses in the upper stories of cedar. The Holy Place alone had thirty cubits in height, and was therefore ten cubits higher than the Holy of Holies — just as in Rome in many churches the apse or choir is lower than the rest of the church. This opinion is favored by this verse, which assigns twenty cubits to the Holy of Holies, and by the fact that it would have been unsightly if one part of it were covered with cedar and the other bare.
Verse 21: He Covered the House with the Purest Gold
Verse 21. AND HE FASTENED ON THE PLATES WITH GOLDEN NAILS — which could scarcely be done without a hammer and noise. Therefore what he said in verse 7, that hammer, axe, and iron were not heard in the temple, should be understood as referring to cutting or hewing, as preceded there, but not to the fastening of nails: for since these were very numerous they had to be fastened with a hammer, says Ribera, Book I, chapter 12 — unless one were to say that the nails were screw-type and the holes were threaded, into which they were to be inserted, so that by simply turning them without hammering they were fixed in their places. For thus at Cyzicus, says Pliny, Book 36, chapter 15: 'The Bouleuterion (council house) was built without an iron nail, the construction being so arranged that the beams could be removed without supports and replaced.'
Verse 23: Two Cherubim of Olive Wood
Verse 23. AND HE MADE IN THE ORACLE (in the Holy of Holies) TWO CHERUBIM OF OLIVE WOOD. — So the Hebrew, the Chaldean, and the rest. Therefore the Royal and Complutensian editions are wrong in having 'of cypress wood': hence the Roman Septuagint deletes that reading.
Note that the two Cherubim fabricated by Moses at God's command in Exodus 25:18 were two statues having the appearance and form of a beardless, winged youth: for they signified angels attending upon God. For the ark of the covenant was like a chest, whose lid was the propitiatory: upon the propitiatory stood erect two Cherubim, who by extending and joining their wings formed as it were a throne on which God would sit, with the ark as His footstool. They were therefore placed in such a position as though two men with faces turned toward each other were looking at one another, and holding and embracing each other with their hands, as with wings.
This ark with the propitiatory and Cherubim (for these could not be separated from one another) Solomon placed in the Holy of Holies: for God had commanded Moses that they be placed there. But Solomon, to enhance the majesty of the ark, the propitiatory, and the Mosaic Cherubim, added in his temple two other Cherubim far larger, which would cover and overshadow the ark with its Cherubim (being small and scarcely three cubits high) with their bodies and wings, like a canopy. Therefore with their faces they looked toward the ark and toward the East, but with their backs toward the wall of the Holy of Holies and toward the West. Moreover, they had a different position from that of the Cherubim which Moses had made: for the Mosaic ones were above the ark with wings spread on both sides grasping and embracing each other: but these Cherubim of Solomon stood with feet erect on the floor of the Holy of Holies, and one stood next to the other on the same side, as his companion. Each stood with wings extended lengthwise, so that one touched the tip of the other Cherub's wing with the tip of his own wing, while with the other tip of his other wing he touched the wall of the temple. Thus one touched one wall of the temple with the tip of his wing, and the other touched the other wall of the temple — that is, of the Holy of Holies — with the tip of his wing. For each wing was five cubits, so the two wings of one Cherub were ten cubits, and the two wings of the other Cherub were likewise ten cubits; therefore both sets of wings spread out were twenty cubits, which was both the length and the breadth of the Holy of Holies: for it was twenty cubits long and equally wide. So Bede, Abulensis, Adrichomius, Ribera, and others.
Hence God, responding from the propitiatory to the high priest's inquiries and giving oracles, was said to sit upon the Cherubim — that is, the wisest spirits — and to transcend even the Cherubic Angels far in knowledge, and to press them as it were beneath His feet. Hence also God is here called the Lord of Sabaoth, that is, of hosts — namely of Angels, of whom He has very many, indeed innumerable, and these most wise and most powerful.
Anagogically, the Holy of Holies represented the empyrean heaven; the ark, the blessed Church or blessed human beings; the golden propitiatory, the glorious humanity of Christ; the two Cherubim, the holy Angels supremely united in the service and praise of God. Above them and seated upon them is the Divinity, invisible to us, and to the blessed — both Angels and human beings burning with the highest mutual charity (which is signified by the number two and by the faces of the Cherubim turned toward each other) — He shows Himself to be seen and enjoyed, and by this glorious vision He makes them blessed for eternity. So Bede, Angelomus, and from them Ribera, Book II On the Temple, chapter 7. See what I said about the Cherubim on Exodus chapter 25:18, Ezekiel chapter 1:5 and following, and Revelation 4:6-7 — although these Cherubim of Solomon differed from those of Moses and Ezekiel in both form and stature, as well as in position and posture, as is clear from what has been said. From these things, what follows up to verse 29 is clear.
Finally, the Jews turning toward the Holy of Holies to worship God dwelling in it turned toward the West; but Christians pray turned toward the East — hence their churches also face the East, for the reasons I have stated elsewhere. See Bellarmine, Book III On the Saints, chapter 6. So also Vitruvius, Book IV, chapter 5, teaches that the Gentiles built their temples facing the direction from which the earth is illuminated, that is, toward the rising of the sun.
Verse 24: One Wing of the Cherub Was Five Cubits
24. MEASURING TEN CUBITS FROM THE TIP OF ONE WING TO THE TIP OF THE OTHER WING. — He calls the 'tip' the extremity, meaning: The extremity of one wing of the Cherub was distant from the extremity of the other wing by ten cubits: for each wing was five cubits, and both were stretched out in a straight line. Therefore understand the body or back of the Cherub as interposed between the wings: for otherwise the distance would have been more than ten cubits, as is evident. So Abulensis.
Verse 27: He Placed the Cherubim in the Inner Temple
27. AND HE PLACED THE CHERUBIM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INNER TEMPLE (namely, of the oracle or Holy of Holies): AND THE CHERUBIM SPREAD THEIR WINGS, AND ONE WING TOUCHED THE WALL, AND THE WING OF THE SECOND CHERUB TOUCHED THE OTHER WALL; AND THE OTHER WINGS IN THE MIDDLE PART OF THE TEMPLE TOUCHED ONE ANOTHER. — For the Cherubim spread their wings across the entire breadth of the oracle, so that one Cherub touched the southern wall of the oracle with the tip of one wing, and the other touched the opposite northern wall with the tip of one wing. For the breadth of the oracle was twenty cubits, and the four wings of the two Cherubim were equally twenty cubits, since each wing was five cubits. Therefore these two Cherubim in the middle of the oracle touched each other by the tips of two of their wings, and with those wings they covered the ark with the propitiatory and the Mosaic Cherubim standing upon it, so that the ark was enclosed by the two wings of the Cherubim extended over the ark by Moses, as under a canopy, says Josephus, Book VIII, chapter 4. That the Cherubim made of gold by Moses had been placed with the ark in the temple by Solomon, under the wings of the two larger Cherubim fabricated by him, is taught by Bede, Abulensis, Cajetan, and others. And the very connection of the Cherubim with the ark demands this.
Moreover, in 2 Chronicles 3:13, it is added: 'They (the two Cherubim of Solomon) stood on their feet, and their faces were turned toward the outer house,' that is, toward the Holy Place. From which the position of these Cherubim is clear — namely, that they were placed by Solomon against the outermost wall of the Holy of Holies, so that with their faces they looked both upon the ark, which was before them, and upon the Holy Place facing them — so that they would graciously look upon and, as it were, greet with upturned face the high priest entering the Holy of Holies through the Holy Place, as well as the people praying in the court before the Holy Place. With their faces therefore they looked toward the East, and with their backs toward the West. For the Holy Place was to the East, and the Holy of Holies — especially its outermost part — was at the westernmost wall. So Ribera, Book II, chapter 6, and others.
Ten cubits in height — that is, the two Cherubim were fifteen feet tall, for a cubit is a foot and a half. They were therefore of gigantic size. For what giant is fifteen feet tall? And this was in order to represent the greatness and majesty, both angelic and divine.
Verse 29: He Carved All the Walls with Various Carvings
29. AND HE CARVED ALL THE WALLS OF THE TEMPLE ROUND ABOUT WITH VARIOUS CARVINGS AND LATHE-WORK — that is, turning or lathe-work, by which things are turned on a lathe into a round shape and are rounded. However, under 'lathe-work' understand any carving and sculpture whatever. Hence Vatablus translates 'with carvings and sculptures.' For 'tornus' (lathe) is sometimes the same as 'cælum' (chisel) or 'scalprum' (graving tool) — that is, an instrument by which things are engraved and sculpted. For thus Virgil, in Eclogue 3, speaks of a vine worked on a lathe, although a vine is clearly not round but of varying shape. And Horace, in his Art of Poetry, asserts that verses are 'turned,' that is, polished and perfected, when he says:
'And return badly turned verses to the anvil.'
So Sanchez; and explaining further he adds:
AND HE MADE IN THEM CHERUBIM (that is, he sculpted on the walls of the temple images of the Cherubim already described), AND PALMS (figures of palms), AND VARIOUS PICTURES. — In Hebrew, 'openings of flowers'; in Chaldean, 'of lilies.'
Verse 30: He Covered the Floor with Gold
30. AND HE ALSO COVERED THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE (temple) WITH GOLD WITHIN AND WITHOUT — that is, both in the Holy of Holies and in the Holy Place. For the Holy Place was 'without,' that is, the outer house; and the Holy of Holies was 'within,' that is, the inner house, as I have said. Therefore Solomon paved the floor of the entire temple with fir boards, which he then covered with gold, just as he overlaid the walls of the temple with cedar boards, which he then clothed with gold. So Vatablus, Sanchez, and others.
Verse 31: Small Doors of Olive Wood at the Oracle
31. AND AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE ORACLE HE MADE SMALL DOORS OF OLIVE WOOD, AND POSTS OF FIVE ANGLES. 32. AND TWO DOORS OF OLIVE WOOD, AND HE CARVED ON THEM FIGURES OF CHERUBIM, AND FORMS OF PALMS, AND CARVINGS VERY PROMINENT — that is, Solomon at the entrance of the oracle, that is the Holy of Holies, made two 'small doors,' that is, little doors of the same wood, pentagonal — that is, having five angles and as many posts. And on them he carved images of Cherubim, palms, and 'anaglyphs.' 'Anaglyph' is a Greek word, meaning images and pictures projecting and standing out from the surface of a wall, board, or door. So much for the doors of the Holy of Holies; now concerning the doors of the Holy Place he adds:
Verse 33: Posts of Olive Wood at the Temple Entrance
33. AND HE MADE IN THE ENTRANCE OF THE TEMPLE POSTS OF OLIVE WOOD, FOUR-SIDED. 34. AND TWO DOORS OF FIR WOOD ON EITHER SIDE; AND EACH DOOR WAS DOUBLE, AND OPENED BY FOLDING BACK UPON ITSELF — that is, Solomon at the entrance of the Holy Place made four-sided posts of olive wood, and attached to them two doors of fir, 'on either side' — so that one door was on one side, the other on the other side, corresponding to and facing the first. AND EACH DOOR WAS DOUBLE, AND OPENED BY FOLDING BACK UPON ITSELF — that is, each door was foldable and had hinges by which one part held the other, and there were in them, as it were, two folds, as the Septuagint translates. In Hebrew, they were gelilim, that is, revolving or folding leaves.
Josephus adds that to this door of the Holy Place there was also hanging a veil, similar to the veil that hung before the Holy of Holies. Moreover, the porch, which was before the Holy Place, had no veil, but was entirely open in front, and without any ceiling rose to a height of 120 cubits, which was the height of the temple: only its sides were enclosed by walls. For this porch was like a vestibule added to the temple to increase its beauty, majesty, and reverence.
Note: There were three principal parts of the temple. The first was called in Hebrew debir, or as the Septuagint renders it, dabir, that is, the oracle — namely the Holy of Holies. The second was called in Hebrew hechal, that is, the temple — namely the Holy Place. The third, ulam, that is, the court, about which see verse 36. The first two had a roof, not pointed but flat, so that one could walk on it: for the other houses in Palestine were also flat-roofed, but had all around a parapet or low wall, according to the law of Deuteronomy 22:8, so that no one walking on the roof might inadvertently slip from the roof to the ground and be injured. Into the Holy of Holies only the high priest entered, and that only once a year, namely on the Feast of Expiation, Leviticus 16; into the Holy Place the other priests; into the court the people — hence Christ and the Apostles taught there. Therefore the Holy of Holies was the last, innermost, and most sacred part of the temple, after which came the Holy Place, after the Holy Place the porch, after the porch the court of the priests, after this the court of the ritually clean laity, and after this last was the court of the unclean and the Gentiles.
Verse 36: The Inner Court with Three Rows of Stones
36. AND HE BUILT THE INNER COURT WITH THREE ROWS OF POLISHED STONES AND ONE ROW OF CEDAR BEAMS — that is, Solomon built between the court of the priests and the court of the laity a wall three cubits high, according to Josephus, so that the laity could not enter the court of the priests, but could see over the wall the sacrifices that took place there. And this wall had three rows of polished stones, one placed upon the other, and above all the rows of stones he placed one row of cedar beams.
The court of the priests was higher than the court of the laity, so that the priests in it would be elevated above the people and receive due reverence from them. Likewise the court of the laity was higher than the court of the Gentiles; therefore from the court of the Gentiles to the court of Israel one ascended by seven steps, from the court of Israel to the court of the priests by eight steps, and thence to the Holy Place by ten steps, as Villalpando teaches, page 248, and as is clear from Ezekiel 40:6. Therefore from the court of the Gentiles to the Holy Place the ascent was twenty-five steps, but to the court of the priests fifteen, on which they chanted the fifteen Psalms of Ascent or Gradual Psalms, as the Hebrews, St. Jerome, and others relate.
Within these courts — namely in the porticos of the courts themselves, along their walls or sides — there were chambers, 1 Chronicles 28:12. A 'chamber' (exedra) was a room supported by columns and multiple architraves, in which there were open spaces providing a view of the road. In these chambers the priests partly resided during the time they were ministering in the temple — here they put on and took off their sacred vestments — and partly the furnishings, offerings and gifts of the temple were stored. Hence they were also called 'treasuries,' because in them was kept the gaza, that is, the wealth of the temple, and in them were chests into which the people cast the money they offered to the temple. Hence we understand the passage in John, chapter 8, verse 20: 'And these words Jesus spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple.' For 'treasury' (gazophylacium) signifies now a chamber, now a chest or box which contains the treasure.
These chambers were also called pastophoria, as the Septuagint translates, from pastos, that is, bridal chamber, because the priests lived in them when they served the temple — and they were therefore called pastophori. So St. Jerome, Book VII on Isaiah.
Allegorically, the court represents the life of those beginning to serve God, the Holy Place the life of those progressing, and the Holy of Holies that of the perfect. Hence in the court was the altar of burnt offerings, which signifies the mortification of desires, and the bronze sea or basin, which is a symbol of penance. See what was said on Exodus 26, at the beginning of the chapter.
Verse 37: The House Was Founded in the Month of Zio
37. IN THE FOURTH YEAR (of Solomon's reign) THE HOUSE OF THE LORD WAS FOUNDED. — To the foundations of the temple, says Villalpando, Book IV, chapters 71 and following, belong very many underground spaces constructed with the strongest workmanship, and accurately corresponding to the structures above — including covered passages, kitchens, treasuries, granaries, wine cellars and oil cellars, chambers, workshops, and other places of that kind, which were so spacious and capacious that all the first-fruits and tithes of all Israel could be brought into them and stored, so that at their proper times they could be distributed to the many thousands of priests and Levites.
We see similar things in Rome in the ancient crypts of the Martyrs, Popes, and faithful, to such an extent that subterranean Rome is a wonder not only of the City but of the whole world.
WITH THREE ROWS OF POLISHED STONES AND ONE ROW OF CEDAR BEAMS — that is, Solomon built between the court of the priests and the court of the laity a wall three cubits high, according to Josephus, so that the laity could not enter the court of the priests, but could see over the wall the sacrifices that were performed in it. And this wall had three rows of polished stones, one placed upon the other, and above all the rows of stones he placed one row of cedar beams.
The ulam, or court, as already said, was twofold — namely, the inner one near the Holy Place, which was the court of the priests and Levites, and in which was the altar of burnt offerings, on which the priests sacrificed the victims. The other court was the outer one, in which the people and laity gathered, prayed, and watched the sacrifices that took place in the court of the priests — and therefore it was very spacious, and encompassed several stadia in its circuit, to hold such a great multitude of people. Hence in 2 Chronicles 4:9 it is called 'the great court.' Both courts were under the open sky, both so that the smoke of so many victims could disperse into the air, and because they were so vast that they could not be roofed. However, they had covered porticos on the sides, so that the people could take shelter there during rain and heat.
This court of the laity, or of the people of Israel, surrounded the court of the priests not only from the front, as Ribera thinks, but from three directions — namely from the East, South, and North — for on the West the court of the priests was enclosed by the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. So Josephus, Theodoret, Serarius, Salianus, and Villalpando. Hence the court of the laity was divided into seven sections or square areas, as Villalpando and Salianus say; and in them there was a place for women separate from men, for the sake of propriety and chastity, as is done in Rome in most churches. Moreover, no Gentile was permitted to enter the court of the laity, but only Jews who were ritually clean. Therefore for the unclean, Herod — or Solomon himself, as Villalpando claims, page 206 — added a third court or portico of the Gentiles; because Josephus teaches that Solomon filled in the ravine of Millo and surrounded it with an outer wall, since otherwise people could have fallen into the ravine. This wall therefore was the wall of the court of the Gentiles, about which see also Ezekiel chapter 40:5. From which it is clear that this wall was square and on each side was six hundred cubits long — that is, as Josephus says, a stadium and a half. For a stadium contains 400 cubits; while the wall of the court of Israel, separating it from the court of the Gentiles, was 500 cubits long on each side.
From this third court of the Gentiles one ascended by steps to the second court of Israel or of the Jews, and between them was a barrier of stone lattice-work three cubits high, on which was inscribed: 'Let no Gentile cross this under penalty of death.' So Josephus. Hence we understand the passage in Acts 21:28, how and why the Jews murmured against St. Paul, because they thought he had brought Trophimus, his companion, who was a Gentile, into the temple — that is, into the court of Israel.
These courts had many gates, among which one was named the Beautiful Gate, Acts 3:2.
Verse 38: The House Was Completed in Seven Years
38. AND IN THE ELEVENTH YEAR (of Solomon), IN THE MONTH OF BUL (so it should be read with the Hebrew, Septuagint, and Roman editions; the Royal edition wrongly has Elul), THAT IS THE EIGHTH MONTH — which partly corresponds to our October, partly to November. For the Hebrews used lunar months, while we use solar ones. October is called Bul from nabal, that is, 'to fall,' because in October the leaves fall and the rains pour down. So Serarius. The Chaldean translates: 'in the month when the new fruits are gathered.'
AND HE BUILT IT IN SEVEN YEARS. — Add: and seven months, as is clear to anyone counting from the second month of the fourth year of Solomon to the eighth month of his eleventh year. But Scripture records only the round number of years, omitting the fractions.
Allegorically, Ralph in the Preface to Book XVII on Leviticus says: The Temple of Solomon was built in seven years and seven months, because from the coming of Christ until His return for judgment the Church is being built by the sevenfold grace of the Spirit, until at the end it is completed. And this will take place throughout this entire age, which runs its course in seven days, says Eucherius; and so also Angelomus.