Bible Strands
1 Kings 7:4
There were three rows of high windows facing one another in three tiers.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records architectural specifications to the reader during the chronological account of Solomon’s palace construction. The description follows the detailing of the cedar roof and pillars in the House of Lebanon.
The words — The Hebrew שְקֻפִים (she.ku.Fim) means window frames, and מֶחֱזָה (me.che.Zah) denotes the view or sight from an opening. The phrase אֶל־ מֶחֱזָה (el me.che.Zah) literally translates to "toward the sight," indicating the windows were aligned to face one another.
The thread — This tiered, facing window arrangement mirrors the narrow, high windows framed in the temple (1 Kings 6:4) and the doorways with openings facing one another in three tiers (1 Kings 7:5). The structural symmetry anticipates the prophetic imagery of a fortified city with aligned, precious materials (Isaiah 54:12).
Why it lands — The verse states the exact number of tiers and the facing alignment of the windows to document the building's precise craftsmanship. A reader must note how the physical layout establishes the order and scale of the royal project without symbolic embellishment.
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 there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 6:4 He also had narrow windows framed high in the temple.
- 1 Kings 7:5 All the doorways had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers.
- Isaiah 54:12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones.
- Ezekiel 40:16 The gate chambers and their side pillars had beveled windows all around the inside of the gateway. The porticos also had windows all around on the inside. Each side pillar was decorated with palm trees.
- Ezekiel 40:22 Its windows, portico, and palm trees had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.
- Ezekiel 40:25 Both the gateway and its portico had windows all around, like the other windows. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
- Ezekiel 40:29 Its gate chambers, side pillars, and portico had the same measurements as the others. Both the gateway and its portico had windows all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
- Ezekiel 40:33 Its gate chambers, side pillars, and portico had the same measurements as the others. Both the gateway and its portico had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
- Ezekiel 40:36 as did its gate chambers, side pillars, and portico. It also had windows all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
- Ezekiel 41:26 There were beveled windows and palm trees on the sidewalls of the portico. The side rooms of the temple also had canopies.