Bible Strands
1 Kings 6:16
He partitioned off the twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports Solomon’s temple construction as he divides the rear section of the building. This architectural account follows the description of the cedar wall paneling and cypress flooring in the main hall.
The words — וַ/יִּבֶן (va.yiven) translates literally as "and he built," while מִֽ/יַּרְכְּתֵי (mi.yarkotei) means "from the innermost parts" or rear. These terms specify the action of erecting a partition at the far end of the sanctuary structure.
The thread — The enclosed inner sanctuary matches the dimensions and purpose recorded in 1 Kings 8:6 and 2 Chronicles 3:8. Its restricted nature aligns with the access regulations outlined in Leviticus 16:2.
Why it lands — The text states that a physical barrier of cedar boards separated the twenty-cubit rear section to create the Most Holy Place. The reader must first acknowledge this concrete architectural division before drawing conclusions about sacred separation or priestly access.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 8:6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
- 2 Chronicles 3:8 Then he made the Most Holy Place; its length corresponded to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. And he overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold.
- Leviticus 16:2 And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
- Hebrews 9:3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,
- Ezekiel 45:3 From this holy portion, you are to measure off a length of 25,000 cubits and a width of 10,000 cubits, and in it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.
- Exodus 25:21 Set the mercy seat atop the ark and put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark.
- Exodus 26:23 and two frames for the two back corners of the tabernacle,
- Exodus 26:33 And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
- 1 Kings 6:5 Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, Solomon built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms.
- 1 Kings 6:19 Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there.