1 Kings 7:21

21 Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, ^[a] and the pillar to the north he named Boaz. ^[b]

1 Kings 7:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 7:21

And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple
Not at the door or entrance into the temple, as Jarchi, but at the entrance into the porch:

and he set up the right pillar;
or the pillar on the right hand as you went in, which was on the north, the front being east:

and called the name thereof Jachin;
which signifies "he will establish", i.e. the house to which here was an entrance, so long as the pure worship of God should continue in it:

and he set up the left pillar;
or the pillar on the left hand, which was to the south, unless the position of them was as you come out:

and called the name thereof Boaz;
which signifies "in him", or "it is strength", namely, in the Lord that dwelt there; for this has no respect to Boaz, a prince of the house of Judah, from whom all its kings sprung, as the Targum, in ( 2 Chronicles 3:17 ) suggests. These names were given them not by Hiram the artificer, but by Solomon, and which were very expressive; not so much of the nobility of the kingdom of the house of David, as the Targum intimates; or of the church of God, the pillar and ground of truth; as of Christ himself, and the two natures in him, and of his royal dignity, signified by the crowns or chapiters on them, decorated as they were, whose legs are as pillars of marble, and in whom are righteousness and strength; which is no small encouragement to those who are entering into the church of God the temple was a type of; who, should they fear, being feeble and weak, that they should totter and fall, here stands Jachin, to let them know the Lord will establish and settle them; or that they should never hold out to the end, here is Boaz to direct them to Christ, in whom their strength lies, see ( Song of Solomon 4:15 ) ( Isaiah 45:24 ) . Allusion is had to these, ( Revelation 3:12 ) .

1 Kings 7:21 In-Context

19 And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high.

20 On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital.

21 Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, and the pillar to the north he named Boaz.

22 And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work of the pillars was completed.

23 He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference.

Footnotes

• [a] Jachin probably means He establishes.
• [b] Boaz probably means in Him is strength.