1 Kings 6:27
And he placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple. Since their wings were spread out, the wing of the first cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and in the middle of the room their wingtips touched.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The biblical narrator describes the furnishing of Solomon’s temple at the precise moment the innermost chamber is equipped with the two cherubim.
The words — וַ/יִּתֵּ֨ן (va.yitten) translates literally as "and he put," while בְּ/ת֣וֹךְ (be.tokh) means "in the middle of" or "within." These verbs establish the exact interior placement of the carved figures.
The thread — Similar winged figures appear in Exodus 25:20 and Exodus 37:9 covering the mercy seat, and in 2 Chronicles 5:8 overshadowing the ark.
Why it lands — The passage records the physical span and contact points of the cherubim without allegorical commentary. A reader observes how the narrative treats sacred space as a measured, architectural reality rather than a metaphor.
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 set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
Cross-references
- Exodus 25:20 And the cherubim are to have wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the mercy seat.
- Exodus 37:9 And the cherubim had wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the mercy seat.
- 2 Chronicles 5:8 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles.
- 1 Kings 8:7 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles.
- 2 Chronicles 3:11 The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and touched the wall of the temple, and its other wing was five cubits long and touched the wing of the other cherub.