1 Kings 6:18

18 The cedar within the house had carvings of gourds and open flowers; all was cedar, no stone was seen.

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 of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the rafters, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the most holy place.

17 The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long.

18 The cedar within the house had carvings of gourds and open flowers; all was cedar, no stone was seen.

19 The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

20 The interior of the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high; he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar with cedar.