1 Kings 6:18

18 with the cedar within the inner house [having] carvings of gourds and buds of flowers. It [was] entirely of cedar; there was not a stone visible.

1 Kings 6:18 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 6:18

And the cedar of the house within
With which the inside of the place was lined:

[was] carved with knops;
of an oval form; so the Targum says, they had the appearance of eggs; and Ben Gersom likewise, that they were in the form of eggs:

and open flowers;
not in the figure of buds, but flowers blown, and open, as lilies and others; so the Targum:

all [was] cedar;
the wainscotting of the house, the sides of it at least, if not the floor, and the carved work of it; and this was done, that the gold might be laid upon it, which could not be done on stone as on wood: and all was so covered, that

there was no stone seen;
of which the outward walls were built: all this denotes the inward beauty of the church, and the curious workmanship of the Spirit of God in the hearts of his people, whereby they become all glorious within, adorned with the graces of the blessed Spirit, their stony hearts being kept out of sight, yea, taken away.

1 Kings 6:18 In-Context

16 He built twenty cubits from the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor up to the ceiling, and he built for it an inner sanctuary on the inside, as the {most holy place}.

17 The main hall of the temple was forty cubits {in front of the inner sanctuary},

18 with the cedar within the inner house [having] carvings of gourds and buds of flowers. It [was] entirely of cedar; there was not a stone visible.

19 Now [in] the inner sanctuary in the middle of the temple he prepared the inside to place the ark of the covenant of Yahweh there.

20 In front, the inner sanctuary [was] twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it [with] pure gold and covered the altar [with] cedar.