1 Kings 6:36-38·~1 min
The Courtyard
Solomon builds the inner courtyard, and the chapter marks both the laying of the foundation and the final completion of the house, which takes seven years in all.
S36olomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams. 37The foundation of the house of the LORD was laid in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, in the month of Ziv. 38In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification. So he built the temple in seven years.
Section summaryThe chapter ends by widening the view to the inner courtyard and by returning to the temple’s dates. What began in Solomon’s fourth year reaches completion in his eleventh, with the house finished in every detail after seven years of work.
Role in the chapterThis closing section draws the account to completion. It gives the outer setting of the temple and then seals the chapter with the careful duration and completeness of the whole project.