1 Kings 7:6

1Ki 7:6 And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof [was] fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch [was] before them: and the [other] pillars and the thick beam [were] before them.

Ver. 6. Were before them.] Or, According to them: all was suitable, and sightly.

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_7:6

And he made a porch of pillars.

The porch

Since this porch was the common place of reception for all worshippers, and the place also where they laid the beggars, it looks as if it were to be a type of the churchs bosom for charity. Here the proselytes were entertained, here the beggars were relieved, and received alms. These gates were seldom shut; and the houses of Christian compassion should be always open. This therefore beautified this gate, as charity beautifies any of the churches. Largeness of heart, and tender compassion at the church door, is excellent; it is the bond of perfectness (1Co_12:31; 1Co_13:1-4; Joh_5:5; Joh_5:7; Col_3:14). (John Bunyan.)

The pillars of the house of Lebanon

(1Ki_7:6-22):--These pillars were sweet-scented pillars, for they were made of cedar; but what cared the enemy for that, they were offensive to him, for that they were placed for a fortification against him. Nor is it any allurement to Satan to favour the mighty ones in the church in the wilderness for the fragrant smell of their sweet graces; nay, both he and his angels are the more beset to oppose them because they are so sweet scented. The cedars, therefore, got nothing because they were cedars at the hands of the barbarous Gentiles--for they would burn the cedars--as the angels or pillars get nothing of favour at the hands of Antichrist, because they are pillars and angels for the truth, yea, they so much the more by her are abhorred. Well, but they are pillars for all that, yea, pillars to the church in the wilderness, as the others were in the house of the forest of Lebanon. The glory of the temple lay in one thing, and the glory of this house lay in another; the glory of the temple lay in that she contained the true form and modes of worship, and the glory of the house of Lebanon lay in her many pillars and thick beams, by which she was made capable, through good management, to give check to those of Damascus when they should attempt to throw down her worship. (John Bunyan.)

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

1Ki 7:6. And he made a porch of pillars — That is, supported by divers pillars: this was for his guard, and for people to walk in who came upon business, as well as for the more magnificent entrance into the house. Upon this also it is probable there were other rooms built as in the house. The porch was before them — That is, before the pillars of the great house before spoken of. And the other pillars, &c. — Or, and pillars, that is, fewer and lesser pillars for the support of the porch. Were before them — Or, according to them; (see the margin;) that is, they were directly opposite one to another.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:6-8 The Hall of Pillars was apparently a colonnaded entry to the Hall of Justice, where Solomon sat to hear legal matters (see also 10:18-20). Similar throne rooms have been found in Syria and Mesopotamia. • Solomon erected separate living quarters for Pharaoh’s daughter (see 3:1; 9:24; 2 Chr 8:11).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Before the pillars of the house.

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

(6) A porch of pillars, although by some authorities it is held to be a separate building, seems by the exact agreement of dimensions—its “length” being just the breadth of the hall—to have been a propylæon, or entrance vestibule, to the hall of state (like the porch, or vestibule, of the Temple), probably corresponding in the general arrangement of its pillars, and perhaps also in height. It had also a porch of its own, with a threshold (for the last clause of the verse should be rendered, “and a porch before it with pillars, and a threshold before them,”) forming a kind of plinth, or, possibly, a flight of steps.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. And he made a (R.V. the) porch of pillars] This would seem to have been a separate building not connected with the house of the forest. In the same manner the porch for the throne in the next verse was unconnected with any other building. What was the purpose of the porch of pillars is not stated.

and the porch was before them] It is better to make this clause dependent on the first verb. Thus ‘he made the porch of pillars … and a porch before them,’ i.e. before the pillars.

and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them] The word translated ‘thick beam’ seems most likely to have been a threshold or step work by which the porch was entered. The twice repeated ‘before them’ must refer to the same thing, viz. to the pillars of the first named porch, of which they formed the striking feature. So the sense of the verse would be ‘he made the porch of pillars and in front of them also another porch with its pillars and a staircase or set of steps to approach it by.’

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.

Then he made a porch for the throne,.... The ivory throne on which he sat to hear and try causes, Kg1 10:18,

where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: which had its name from thence; this was either in his house in the forest of Lebanon, or in his palace at Jerusalem; the former seems best:

and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor unto the other; that is, the whole floor.

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

Probably the porch of the “House of the Forest.” Porches of columns immediately in front of columnar chambers were a favorite feature of Persian architecture. The whole verse should be translated, “And he made the porch of the pillars in length 50 cubits, and in breadth 30 cubits, and a porch before them (i. e., the pillars), and pillars, and a base (or step) before them.” Most of the Persepolitan porches had small pillared chambers at some little distance in front of them.

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

Porch. Septuagint seem to retain the original word ulam, as they read Greek: ailam; whence our hall, and the Latin aula, may be derived. (Haydock) --- It was a court surrounded by pillars and galleries, in from of the palace. (Calmet) --- Another. Hebrew, "the porch before them, (pillars) and the pillars, and the thick beam before them."

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).

A porch of pillars, i.e. supported by divers pillars, for the more magnificent entrance into the house; upon which also it is thought there were other rooms built, as in the house.

The porch, now mentioned, which is said to be

before them, i.e. before the pillars on which the house of Lebanon stood, or before the doors and posts mentioned 1Ki 7:5; or, a porch, i.e. another and a lesser porch, which was before them, i.e. before the pillars of the greater porch now mentioned.

And the other pillars, or, and pillars, i.e. fewer and lesser pillars for the support of the lesser porch.

The thick beam; which was laid upon these pillars, as the others were, 1Ki 7:2.

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

6. A porch of pillars — The exact position of this porch is not stated, but as the description of the palace began with the house of the forest of Lebanon, we naturally suppose, in the absence of any thing that appears to the contrary, that it follows the order of the successive buildings, and accordingly this porch was situated between the house of the forest of Lebanon and the porch of judgment described in the next verse. (B in plan.) It served as a majestic colonnade leading to the throne-chamber.

The porch was before them — Rather, a porch. A portico of lesser dimensions was built before the pillars. (a in plan.)

Pillars and the thick beam — The pillars here mentioned were probably a sort of peristyle to the great porch of pillars; that is, a range of noticeable pillars running round the outside of the porch. The עב, thick beam, is to be understood of the threshold, or rather the ascent by steps into the porch, which was, of course, before or in front of the pillars, and probably ran around the entire porch.

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

And he made a porch of pillars Heb. the porch of pillars. This was no doubt a covered colonnade, i.e., it had a roof but no sides. The pillars were its only walls. But here the question presents itself, Was this porch the vestibule of the house of the forest of Lebanon, just described? From the correspondence between its width and that of this palace, Rawlinson infers that it was (cf. 1Ki_6:2, 1Ki_6:3) Bahr believes it to have been the porch or entrance to the hall of judgment mentioned in the next verse, while Fergusson again assigns it an independent position, separate from either. The term porch ( the meaning of which is surely determined by its use in ch. 6., almost implies that it must have served as the entrance or vestibule to some building. But the size, and the fact that it had itself a porch (see below), favour the idea that it was an independent structure, though Rawlinson shows that "most of the Persepolitan porches had small pillared chambers at some little distance in front of them," and refers to the Egyptian propylaea. Keil argues that this pillar hall, as he calls it, stood between the house of the forest of Lebanon and the judgment hall. Bahr, as remarked above, sees in it the anterior part of the judgment hall, which latter, he adds, bore to it the same relation that the oracle did to the temple house. He observes that as the ark was in the oracle, so the throne (1Ki_10:18) found a place in the hall of judgment. This structure, therefore, with its porch, mentioned presently, would reproduce the main features of the temple arrangement. We see, consequently, that both the house of the forest of Lebanon and the porch of pillars followed in their outline the ground plan of the temple. Nor is this at all surprising, considering that all these edifices probably had the same architect or designer; the length thereof was fifty cubits the length, i.e., according to the view last advanced of the two divisions of the building, viz., the porch of pillars and the porch of judgment. But the correspondence of the length or width the same word is used of the width of the temple porch (1Ki_6:3) of this porch with the width of the house of the forest of Lebanon is, to say the least, remarkable, and suggests that after all it may have been the porch of that building. If so, the resemblance to the temple would be still more striking, and the breadth depth? thereof thirty cubits: and the porch Heb. a porch was before them i.e., the pillars. The words can only mean that a smaller porch stood before the porch of pillars, or colonnade): and the other omit pillars i.e. , the pillars of the minor vestibule or fore porch and the thick beam Heb. threshold were before them. The broad threshold, approached by steps, and the pillars which it supported, together with the roof which covered them, formed the front part and approach to the larger porch or colonnade.

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

A porch - Supported by divers pillars, for the more magnificent entrance into the house; upon which also it is thought there were other rooms built, as in the house. The porch - Now mentioned which is said to be before them; before the pillars on which the house of Lebanon stood. Pillars - Or, and pillars; That is, fewer and lesser pillars for the support of the lesser porch. Beam - Which was laid upon these pillars, as the others were ver. 2.

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

General Information:

The author writes about the structure of the Hall of Pillars.

colonnade

a series of columns, all the same distance apart

fifty cubits ... thirty cubits

A cubit is 46 centimeters. AT: "23 meters ... 13.8 meters" (See: Biblical Distance)

portico

an area of a building made of columns and a roof that leads to and connects with the building's entrance door. See how you translated this in 1 Kings 6:3

translationWords

column

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

An entrance hall of columns. He made an entrance before these columns as an entrance to the house. Its length was fifty amohs along the width of the house, which was fifty amohs, and thirty amohs its width before the extent of the length of the house, only that the longer measurement is always called the length and the shorter one is called the width.

There was [another] entrance hall above them. He made a high entrance [around] the entire house.

And columns and support beams upon them. And on the cut beams of cedar which were on the lower columns he erected on (should read “additional”) columns and beams from column to column, the columns to connect boards from one to another, and the beams for the ceiling. “עב” is a beam [=מריש], as we learned, “And the עבים, these are the beams.”

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.