1 Kings 6:6

6 The building of boards, that was under, had five cubits of breadth; and the middle building of boards was of six cubits of breadth; and the third building of boards was having seven cubits of breadth (The bottom story, made out of boards, was five cubits in breadth; and the middle story, also made out of boards, was six cubits in breadth; and the third story, also made out of boards, was seven cubits in breadth). And he put beams in the house by compass withoutforth, (so) that those cleaved not to the walls of the temple.

1 Kings 6:6 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 6:6

And the nethermost chamber [was] five cubits broad
The nethermost row of them, which were upon the first floor:

and the middle [was] six cubits broad, and the third [was] seven cubits
broad;
so that the middlemost was a cubit larger than the lowest, and the highest a cubit larger than that: the reason of which was,

for without [in the wall] of the house he made narrowed rests round
about;
or rebatements; the thickness of the wall, as it was raised, became narrower at the height of every five cubits; thus the wall being supposed to be six cubits broad, as in ( Ezekiel 41:5 ) ; when it came to be five cubits high, it was narrowed a cubit, which left a projection, rebatement, or bench for the beams of the first chambers to be laid upon, which made the second row of chambers broader by a cubit; and the same being observed in the next story, made the highest a cubit broader than the middlemost: and this was done,

that [the beams] should not be fastened in the walls of the house;
or be inserted into them, which could not be done without making holes in it; and these holes could not be made without an iron instrument, and which was not to be used, as the next words show; whereas by the above method the beams of the chambers could be laid upon the buttresses, benches, or rebatements left, without the use of any: the gradual enlargement of these chambers, as they rose higher, may denote the enlargement of the church of God, both as to numbers, gifts, and grace, the nearer it comes to the heavenly state, as in the spiritual and personal reign of Christ.

1 Kings 6:6 In-Context

4 And Solomon made in the temple narrow windows withoutforth and large within.

5 And he builded on the wall of the temple, buildings of boards by compass, in the walls of the house, by compass of the temple, and of God's answering place; and he made [the] sides in the compass. (And he made chambers, or rooms, out of boards, against the walls of the Temple, all around the Temple, and the Inner Temple, that is, the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies, on the sides, and at the back.)

6 The building of boards, that was under, had five cubits of breadth; and the middle building of boards was of six cubits of breadth; and the third building of boards was having seven cubits of breadth (The bottom story, made out of boards, was five cubits in breadth; and the middle story, also made out of boards, was six cubits in breadth; and the third story, also made out of boards, was seven cubits in breadth). And he put beams in the house by compass withoutforth, (so) that those cleaved not to the walls of the temple.

7 And when the house was builded, it was built of perfect(ly) hewn stones; and hammer, and ax, and all thing made of iron, were not heard in the house, while it was in building (while it was being built).

8 The door of the middle side was in the wall of the right half of the house; and by a vice men went up into the middle solar, and from the middle solar into the third solar. (The door for the bottom story was in the wall for the right side of the House of the Lord; and by a stairway, men went up to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third story.)