Bible Strands
1 Kings 6:3
The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple was twenty cubits long, extending across the width of the temple and projecting out ten cubits in front of the temple.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Solomon’s temple construction details immediately after listing the main hall’s overall dimensions.
The words — וְהָאוּלָם (ve-ha’ulam) translates to “and the porch,” while אָרְכּוֹ (’arekho) means “its length,” directly tying the twenty-cubit measurement to the front structure.
The thread — The focus on the temple’s front entrance aligns with the foundational dimensions in 2 Chronicles 3:3 and reflects the architectural plans David handed to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:11.
Why it lands — The text specifies exact measurements for the portico’s length and outward projection, establishing a concrete architectural standard before any theological inference.
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 the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 28:11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, storehouses, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat.
- 2 Chronicles 3:3 The foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, according to the old standard.
- Ezekiel 41:15 Next he measured the length of the building facing the temple courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleries on each side; it was a hundred cubits. The outer sanctuary, the inner sanctuary, and the porticoes facing the court,
- Matthew 4:5 Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple.
- John 10:23 and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade.
- Acts 3:10 they recognized him as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.