1 Kings 6:18

1Ki 6:18 And the cedar of the house within [was] carved with knops and open flowers: all [was] cedar; there was no stone seen.

Ver. 18. Carved with knops and open flowers.] To show the multifarious flourishing graces that are in Christ and Christians. For in this piece of Scripture, by a specialty, we may say with Possevine, Tot esse sacramenta quot literas, tot mysteria quot puncta, tot arcana quot apices; { a} there are so many words, so many mysteries.

{a} Biblioth. Select.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki_6:18

No stone seen.

The temple of God flawless

All was cedar; there was no stone seen. Take stone in the type for that which was really so, and in the antitype for that which is so mystically, and then it may import to us, that in heaven, the antitype of this holiest, there will never be anything of hardness of heart in them that possess it for ever. All imperfection ariseth from the badness of the heart, but there will be no bad hearts in glory. No shortness in knowledge, no crossness of disposition, no workings of lusts, no corruptions will be there. Here, alas, they are seen, and that in the best of saints, because here our light is mixed with darkness; but there will be no night there, nor any stone seen (John Bunyan.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, wild cucumbers.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

18. And the cedar of the house within] Better more literally, with R.V. ‘And there was cedar upon the house within.’ He is now describing the wainscot of the holy place.

carved with knops] There is a feminine form of the word here rendered ‘knops,’ which in 2Ki_4:39 is used of ‘wild gourds.’ Hence ‘gourds’ is put on the margin of A.V. and R.V. The ornaments were in relief, and were perhaps somewhat of that shape. The Targum describes them as ‘egg-shaped.’ The Vat. LXX. (not Alex.) omits the verse altogether.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the oracle he prepared in the house within,.... In the innermost part of the house he fitted up the oracle, or speaking place, from whence the Lord spake and gave answer, to receive what was to be put into it: particularly

to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord; even the very same that Moses made, Exo 37:1, for which David had pitched a tent in Zion, Ch1 15:1, and where it now was; for Solomon made no new ark.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Knops and open flowers - Rather, “gourds and opening flower-buds.” Imitations of the vegetable world are among the earliest of architectural ornaments. They abound in the architecture of Egypt and Persia. In that of Assyria they occur more sparingly.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

CHAPTER VI.

Out. Hebrew, "and the cedar boards of the house within, were carved with knops (fruits) and open flowers," (Haydock) alternately. (Calmet) --- At all. So the bones in the human body, though concealed, strengthen it; and monks, in their deserts, fortify the Church. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

All was cedar, i.e. all the house was covered with cedar.

Quest. How was this true, when it was covered with fir, 2Ch 3:5?

Answ. 1. It was done with cedar and fir; of which See Poole "1Ki 6:15".

2. It may be said to be all cedar, because the greatest part was so, universal particles being oft so used.

3. Cedar is here named, not to exclude all other wood, but stone only, as the following words show.

4. Or, all was of cedar; that is, all the carving was of cedar.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. Carved with knops — Or, gourds, as in margin, and as the kindred word is rendered in 2Ki_4:39. The carving was an artificial imitation of wild gourds or cucumbers.

Open flowers — Flowers in full bloom. Hence probably a carved imitation of festoons or garlands.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the cedar of the house within lit. cedar (wood) was placed against the house inside was carved with knops Heb. sculpture of gourds. The sculpture is in apposition to cedar. The authorities are divided as to the kind of sculpture intended. Keil thinks they were bassi relievi; Bahr contends that, like those of the Egyptian monuments, they were sunken, is generally assumed to be synonymous with tOquP "squirting cucumbers". (2Ki_4:39, note) Bahr, however, justly observes that a deadly fruit, such as this is described to have been, was hardly likely to be employed in the decoration of the sanctuary, and he would render the word "buds." Keil thinks the gourds were oval ornaments, something like the wild gourd, which ran in rows along the walls. See the illustration, "Slab from Kouyunjik," Dict. Bib. 2 p. 49) and open flowers lit. burstings of flowers. These words again are very variously interpreted. Thenius: festoons of flowers; Keil: open flower buds; Gesen.: expanded flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. Really, the cedar was no more seen than the stone, for this in turn was overlaid with gold (ver. 22.)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Cedar - Cedar is here named, not to exclude all other wood, but stone only; as the following words shew.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The cedar of the inside of the Beis Hamikdosh was carved with designs. This means, that those cedar boards which he made for the inside of the building to cover the stone walls, were carved with figured carvings and forms of fragments resembling knobs; פקעים are imosjjls, in O.F.

Of buds and blossoming flowers. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, “and cords and flowers,” in the form of chains.

Buds. [פטורי is] an expression of cords in the language of the Talmud, as in, “as the rope through the loophole.”

Blossoming flowers. [צצים is] an expression of flowers, as in, “and it bloomed [ויצץ] buds [ציץ],” cords and blossoms. But Menachem related פטורי as an expression of, “to open [פטר] of the womb,” and as in, “they open [יפטירו] the lip.”

All was cedar [wood] no stone was visible. [Targum Yonoson rendered,] “the whole building was covered with cedar boards, no stone was visible.”

Carved with designs. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, “and engraved was a resemblance of eggs.” (Meaning engraved in the shape of round eggs.)

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.