1 Kings 6:6

6 The lowest floor was five cubits^[a] wide, the middle floor six cubits^[b] and the third floor seven.^[c] He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.

1 Kings 6:6 in Other Translations

6 The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

6 The lowest story was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.

6 The complex was three stories high, the bottom floor being 7 feet wide, the second floor 9 feet wide, and the top floor 10 feet wide. The rooms were connected to the walls of the Temple by beams resting on ledges built out from the wall. So the beams were not inserted into the walls themselves.

6 The lower floor was seven and a half feet wide, the middle floor nine feet, and the third floor ten and a half feet. He had projecting ledges built into the outside Temple walls to support the buttressing beams.

6 The lowest chamber was seven and a half feet wide, the middle was nine feet wide, and the third was 10 and a half feet wide. He also provided offset ledges for the temple all around the outside so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.

1 Kings 6:6 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 6:6

And the nethermost chamber [was] five cubits broad
The nethermost row of them, which were upon the first floor:

and the middle [was] six cubits broad, and the third [was] seven cubits
broad;
so that the middlemost was a cubit larger than the lowest, and the highest a cubit larger than that: the reason of which was,

for without [in the wall] of the house he made narrowed rests round
about;
or rebatements; the thickness of the wall, as it was raised, became narrower at the height of every five cubits; thus the wall being supposed to be six cubits broad, as in ( Ezekiel 41:5 ) ; when it came to be five cubits high, it was narrowed a cubit, which left a projection, rebatement, or bench for the beams of the first chambers to be laid upon, which made the second row of chambers broader by a cubit; and the same being observed in the next story, made the highest a cubit broader than the middlemost: and this was done,

that [the beams] should not be fastened in the walls of the house;
or be inserted into them, which could not be done without making holes in it; and these holes could not be made without an iron instrument, and which was not to be used, as the next words show; whereas by the above method the beams of the chambers could be laid upon the buttresses, benches, or rebatements left, without the use of any: the gradual enlargement of these chambers, as they rose higher, may denote the enlargement of the church of God, both as to numbers, gifts, and grace, the nearer it comes to the heavenly state, as in the spiritual and personal reign of Christ.

1 Kings 6:6 In-Context

4 He made narrow windows high up in the temple walls.

5 Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.

6 The lowest floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits and the third floor seven. He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.

7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

8 The entrance to the lowest floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third.

Footnotes

• [a]. That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verses 10 and 24
• [b]. That is, about 9 feet or about 2.7 meters
• [c]. That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters