What Do We Know about Solomon’s Temple?
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Solomon's temple was an incredible building, surpassing the great craft put into the tabernacle and marking a new point in Israel's history. However, the journey to the temple being made was not what you would expect.
Where Does the Bible Mention Solomon’s Temple?
Solomon’s temple is mentioned in 1 Kings 5 and 6. Solomon sent to King Hiram of Tyre, saying, “I purpose to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build a house unto my name” (1 Kings 5:5).
Solomon told King Hiram that he wanted his servants to partner with King Hiram’s servants to build the temple. This would require King Hiram to give him cedar trees out of Lebanon. King Solomon even said no one was as skilled as the Sidonians in sewing timber.
Cedar trees from Lebanon symbolize power and longevity. Solomon wanted to build the temple out of the best materials possible. His father, David, had also set aside materials for the building of the temple.
King Hiram rejoiced at this news and said, “Blessed be the Lord this great day, which hath given unto David a wise son over his great people” (1 Kings 5:7). Hiram sent to Solomon, saying he had considered what Solomon requested. Hiram confirmed that he would do all Solomon required concerning the cedar and fir timber. Hiram said his servants would bring these supplies down from Lebanon to the sea. He would then send the timber by the sea in floats wherever King Solomon wanted them. In exchange, Solomon would provide food for Hiram’s household.
King Solomon gave Hiram “twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil; thus gave Solomon year by year” (1 Kings 5:11). There was peace between King Solomon and King Hiram, and they made a treaty.
Why Did Solomon Build the Temple Instead of David?
God had instructed the prophet, Nathan, to tell David that his heir would build His house: 2 Samuel 7 describes King David’s desire to build a temple for the Ark of the Covenant. At this point, God had given David rest from all his enemies. Nathan even encouraged David to do what was in his heart because the Lord was with him. Later that night, God spoke to Nathan. God reminded Nathan that He had not dwelt in any house since the time that He brought the children of Israel out of bondage. Instead, the Spirit of the Lord has dwelt in a tent and a tabernacle (2 Samuel 7:6).
God asked, “Why build ye not me a house of cedar?” (2 Samuel 7:7). The Lord discussed how he had set judges over the children of Israel and made David’s name great. He would plant the children of Israel, and they would not have to move anymore. Neither would wicked people afflict them. In v. 12-13, God says, “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up they seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
Nathan told David all God said (2 Samuel 7:17). 1 Chronicles 28:3 explains what happened next. God told David that he would not build a house for His name; David had been a man of war and shed much blood. Of course, being the servant that he was and a man after God’s own heart, David went into prayer. He thanked God for His grace and mercy and was humble about what God had done through him. David continued to bless the name of the Lord through the end of 2 Samuel 7:18-29.
What Did Solomon Make His Temple From?
David did a lot of Solomon’s groundwork. He purchased a threshing floor which would be the temple’s foundation (you can read about how it happened in 1 Chronicles 21:18). David commanded masons to make stones for the temple, prepared iron for the nails of the doors of the gates, and gathered cedar trees (1 Chronicles 22).
David charged Solomon that he would build the temple—God wanted Solomon to build the temple, and David explained all that he had gathered to assist Solomon. In 1 Chronicles 22:14, David discussed some items in detail—such as timber and stone, 100,000 talents of gold, and 100,000 talents of silver and brass and iron without weight. In 1 Chronicles 23, David made Solomon king of Israel.
In 2 Chronicles 1:7, God visited Solomon and asked Him, “What shall I give thee?” Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge. God was pleased because Solomon did not ask for riches, wealth, or honor. Nor did Solomon ask God to kill his enemies or give him long life. God said that he would give him not only wisdom and knowledge but also riches, wealth, and honor (2 Chronicles 1:12). There had not been kings like this before Solomon. None would come after him that surpassed what God did with him.
In 2 Chronicles 2, King Solomon prepared to build the temple. As mentioned earlier, he teamed up with King Hiram for labor and materials. 2 Chronicles 3 describes how construction began at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah—where the Lord had appeared unto David.
After four years as king, Solomon began to build. This is somewhere around 966 B.C. (480 years after the Exodus). Biblical scholars date the Exodus around 1446 B.C., according to 1 Kings 6:1. According to the KJV Study Bible, the temple was 90 feet by 30 feet wide, twice the size of the tabernacle.
Solomon added beautiful touches to the temple. The walls and the floors were made of cedar (again, some of the most magnificent materials of that day). Within the oracle, he made two cherubim from olive tree wood—about 15 feet high for each of them. King Solomon set the cherubim within the inner house, and their wings stretched forth so that the wing of one touched the wall and the other’s wing touched the opposite wall, with their second wings touching in the middle of the house. He carved all the walls with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.
There was gold everywhere (1 Kings 6:14-15). Solomon made a partition using chains of gold before the oracle (and he overlaid the oracle, including the cherubim inside, with gold). He laid the whole altar by the oracle with gold. He overlaid the floors of the house with gold within and without. Solomon overlaid the whole house with gold until he finished it. You can read all the excellent details in 1 Kings 6.
If you go back to 2 Chronicles 4, you will see more items Solomon added inside the temple. There were candlesticks of gold and 10 tables (five on the right, five on the left). He even made 100 basins of gold.
What Happened to Solomon’s Temple?
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed Solomon’s temple around 586 or 587 B.C. when he and his men attacked Jerusalem (read 2 Kings 25). During this time, the Jews were also taken away into Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar’s captain of the guard set fire to the temple, the king’s houses, and all the houses of Jerusalem. The temple stayed in ruin for years. Nebuchadnezzar’s men broke brass pillars, bases, and the bronze sea, taking the brass with them to Babylon. They also removed the temple’s treasures. They took pots, shovels, snuffers, spoons, firepans, bowls, and everything made of gold.
Around 538 B.C., Cyrus II issued an order allowing exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The book of Ezra contains all the facts concerning the temple’s restoration. Cyrus King of Persia gave a decree to free the children of Israel from Babylon after a word came to him from the prophet Jeremiah. God charged Jeremiah to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 1:2). The Jews were allowed to return to Judah and rebuild the temple. The work on the second temple was completed around 515 B.C.
When they returned, King Cyrus also returned items that Nebuchadnezzar took. The returned items included 30 gold chargers, 1,000 silver chargers, 20 knives, and 30 gold and silver basins. All told, there were 5,400 vessels returned.
Further Readings:
Judgment of King Solomon - Bible Story
King Solomon in the Bible: His Story and Words of Wisdom
What Is the Significance of the First Temple in Jerusalem?
Photo Credit: Getty Images/BibleArtLibrary
