2 Chronicles 3:1-9

How does the beginning of construction connect Solomon’s work with David’s preparations?

Berean Standard Bible

1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 Solomon began construction on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. 3 The foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, according to the old standard. 4 The portico at the front, extending across the width of the temple, was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. 5 He paneled the main room with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold and decorated with palm trees and chains. 6 He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and its gold was from Parvaim. 7 He overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls. 8 Then he made the Most Holy Place; its length corresponded to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. And he overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold. 9 The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

What is the context?

The house is begun in Jerusalem at the place David prepared on Ornan’s threshing floor. The account identifies Mount Moriah and dates the start within Solomon’s fourth year.

The foundation, portico, main room, and Most Holy Place are described with measurements and costly materials. The gold and decorated wood convey the care and splendor given to the work.

The location connects with David’s encounter and altar rather than appearing as an unrelated new royal site. The narrative is describing its significance, not reporting a modern excavation of the entire structure.

How is this passage commonly understood?

The USCCB notes discuss Moriah and a textual difference in the portico’s height. Wesley’s older text gives one hundred twenty cubits, while the BSB quoted here gives twenty. 1 Kings 6 provides a related building account. These sources can be compared without treating an uncertain reconstruction of the porch as a measured surviving artifact.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

Where can I study this further?

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