1 Kings 6:27

27 Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one's wing touched [one] wall while the second cherub's wing touched the other^[a] wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing.^[b]

1 Kings 6:27 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 6:27

And he set the cherubim within the inner house
The holy of holies:

and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims;
the carvers that framed them, they wrought them in that form; or impersonally, the wings of the cherubim were stretched out; this was the position of them, they overshadowed and covered the mercy seat and ark, and even the other two cherubim that were at the ends of the mercy seat:

so that the wing of the one touched the one wall;
the southern wall:

and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall;
the northern wall; they reached from wall to wall, even the whole breadth of the house, which was twenty cubits, as their wings thus spread were, ( 1 Kings 6:24 1 Kings 6:25 ) ( 2 Chronicles 3:11 ) ;

and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house;
which was ten cubits, and that was the spread of the wings of each of them; so that the wing of the right side of the one, stretched out, touched the wing of the left side of the other fit the same position; in ( 2 Chronicles 3:13 ) ; their faces are said to be "inward", or "toward the house"; either toward the holy place, and so faced those that came into that and saw them; or towards the inner part of the holy of holies, their backs being to the holy place, or their faces were inward, and looked obliquely to each other.

1 Kings 6:27 In-Context

25 The second cherub also was 15 feet; both cherubim had the same size and shape.

26 The first cherub's height was 15 feet and so was the second cherub's.

27 Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one's wing touched [one] wall while the second cherub's wing touched the other wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing.

28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 He carved all the surrounding temple walls with carved engravings-cherubim, palm trees and flower blossoms-in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit the second
• [b]. 2 Ch 3:8-13