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1 Kings 6:23-30
Focus shifts to the inner-room figures and their positioning, then widens to wall and floor decoration and gold covering throughout.
Meaning in context
Two cherub are made for the inner room from olive wood, each ten cubits high. Each has two wing segments of five cubits, giving a total span of ten cubits; the second figure matches the first in measurement and form.
The figures are set inside the inner house so that the outer wings reach the side walls and the inner wings meet at the center, creating a wall-to-wall spread.
The figures are overlaid with gold. The walls are carved with motifs including cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and the floor is also overlaid with gold, described with the repeated phrase “inside and outside.”
Section 5 of 6
Cherubim placement and carved designs
Focus shifts to the inner-room figures and their positioning, then widens to wall and floor decoration and gold covering throughout.
Movement
From Solomon to division
Artifact
Temple, throne, and division
Biblical Timeline
Kingdom
1 Kings context: 1000 BC - 586 BC
Biblical Timeline
Kingdom
1 Kings context
Kingdom / 1000 BC - 586 BC
1 Kings context is set in the kingdom period, where Israel's monarchy from David and Solomon to exile.
Scripture Text
Thesis
Focus shifts to the inner-room figures and their positioning, then widens to wall and floor decoration and gold covering throughout.
Plain Meaning
Two cherub are made for the inner room from olive wood, each ten cubits high. Each has two wing segments of five cubits, giving a total span of ten cubits; the second figure matches the first in measurement and form.
The figures are set inside the inner house so that the outer wings reach the side walls and the inner wings meet at the center, creating a wall-to-wall spread.
The figures are overlaid with gold. The walls are carved with motifs including cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and the floor is also overlaid with gold, described with the repeated phrase “inside and outside.”
Literary Context
This unit belongs to the extended temple-construction report in 1 Kings 6, moving from structural dimensions to interior furnishings and finishes. The narration proceeds in a crafted sequence—fabrication, measurement, placement, then overlay and carving—highlighting ordered workmanship and the completion of the most restricted interior space.
Historical Context
The description reflects a royal building program in Solomon’s era, when centralized administration could mobilize skilled labor and expensive materials. Monumental composite works—wood forms with gold overlay and carved wall panels—fit broader ancient Near Eastern palace-temple artistic practice, adapted to Jerusalem’s sanctuary setting.
Theological Significance
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second (haš·šê·nî)