The furnishings of the sanctuary proper and its surrounding courts all contributed to the grandeur of the worship of the Lord. The sanctuary proper, including the Holy of Holies, contained the ark of the covenant, the lampstands the altar of incense, and the table of shewbread. The great altar of sacrifice stood in the court, outside the sanctuary, together with the bronze sea.
The Sanctuary Furnishings
The ark, with its mercy seat, from the tabernacle, was placed at the back of the Holy of Holies, under the cherubim, which were made of olive wood (1 Kings 6:23–27) and were gold plated. These were ten cubits high, and their wings extended to ten cubits, half the width of the room. They functioned symbolically as guardians of the way to God, solemnizing the heart of the worshiper in this approach to God. Their faces were turned toward the dividing partition. They were composite figures well known to the people of that day, requiring no description of their form. They may have been similar to the four-faced cherubim of Ezekiel and were usually represented with hands and feet, therefore having a basic human body.
In the Holy Place, before the door to the Holy of Holies, was placed the altar of incense (1 Kings 6:20; 7:48; cf. Exod. 30:1–10), probably new and made of cedar, since it was overlaid with gold. Presumably, the table for the shewbread was also new, overlaid with gold, and placed on the right side of the room as in the tabernacle (cf. Exod. 40:22). In this room were the ten candlesticks (or lampstands, RSV), five on the right side and five on the left, all of gold, with their oil cups and ornamentation, to give light in the Holy Place (1 Kings 7:49).
Before the temple, on the platform surrounding the temple, stood the two brass pillars, Jachin and Boaz; Jachin means “sustainer,” stressing the positive side of God’s character, and Boaz means “smiter,” giving the negative aspect of the character of Yahweh as keeper of Israel.
It is questionable that these pillars were for incense burning since their height would make it difficult to reach their tops to replenish the incense. They were approximately four cubits in diameter and eighteen cubits high (1 Kings 7:15) for the shaft, with chapters (capitals, RSV) five cubits high on each. The chronicler (2 Chron. 3:15) gives the total height of both pillars as 35 cubits, apparently just the shaft length. The additional cubit of length most likely was a separate, cast base similar to some that have been found. The capitals are described as “in the shape of lilies” (1 Kings 7:19) and having a bowl-shaped member (1 Kings 7:42; cf. 7:20, belly); lily petals were below, four cubits broad (1 Kings 7:19), probably set downward as examples from this period show. Second Kings 25:17 states them to be three cubits high, but this refers to the chain network; it would appear that this measurement refers to the upper portion of the capital, leaving two cubits for the height of the lily decoration.
The bowls (1 Kings 7:41) had a network (checker work, 1 Kings 7:17) of chains supporting two rows of pomegranates. The chains were seven in number (1 Kings 7:17) and were divided, that is, four chains draped down from the center point at the top and three strands set around the bowl with the pomegranates attached to the bottom strand, fastened one below the other.
Furnishings in the Temple Courts
The prominent feature of the court was the molten sea (1 Kings 7:23), ten cubits in diameter, 30 cubits in circumference, and five cubits high—thus bowl-shaped, with sides about as thick as the hand, and containing two thousand “baths” (1 Kings 7:24–26; 2 Chron. 4:5 gives the number as three thousand “baths”). The figures are possible if one assumes (Ezek. 41:8) the use of the great cubit (royal cubit). On this basis the capacity would have been about ten thousand gallons, using the usual formula for spherical volume. In Chronicles, another method of computation seems to have been used, the volume of a cylinder, which in this case turns out to be three thousand baths. Thus the problem is one of the methods by which the writers viewed the shape of the sea, not an essential contradiction in the text. The sea was located in the altar court to the southeast (2 Chron. 4:10).
The rim was finished off with the petal (lily) work familiar from the pillar capitals. It also had knops (1 Kings 7:24), or knobs, under the brim in two rows of ten per cubit. The sea stood on a base composed of twelve oxen in sets of three, one set toward each of the compass points (1 Kings 7:25). These corresponded to the twelve tribes of Israel bearing the sanctifying witness of God.
The wheeled stands for movable lavers (1 Kings 7:27ff. RSV) were ten in number, formed of boxes four cubits square and three cubits high, the sides made up of divided panels and having ornamental work. The boxes were worked onto short columns (undersetters, 1 Kings 7:30 KJV), to which axles were attached for wheels one and one-half cubits in diameter. The wheels were like chariot wheels, six-spoked as archaeological remains show. As indicated in 1 Kings 7:34, the undersetters extended upward to form the corners of the boxes. The plates of 1 Kings 7:30 were parts of the sides of the box.
Into the stands at the top were fitted lavers containing the water for washing the sacrificial animals (2 Chron. 4:6), for the great laver (sea) was for the ablutions of the priests. These lavers held about forty baths or two hundred gallons of water. They could be moved about as the washings required. Normally they were distributed five on the north side and five on the south side of the court before the temple. In addition, there were ten tables (2 Chron. 4:8) for the flaying of the sacrifices brought by the people. These were placed in the same court as the lavers, probably five on each side.
The focal point in the court was the great brass altar (2 Chron. 4:1). It was twenty cubits square and ten cubits high. Its transportation from the Jordan required its sides to be of panel construction with corner pieces and a grate through which the ashes could fall; some method for removing these also was provided, either by the removal of the grating or through the side panels. Ezekiel’s description (Ezek. 43:13ff.) does not shed much light on the Solomonic altar because too many events occurred between.
Other implements are listed (1 Kings 7:38ff.; 2 Chron. 4:6, 19ff.).There were basins for water and basins to catch the blood of sacrifices, tongs, picks, snuffers, spoons of one sort or another with which to ladle and handle the meat offerings, as well as flat implements such as cake turners for cooking the cake offerings. Likewise, the incense containers for the priests are listed.
The Courts Surrounding the Temple
Little is said in Kings or Chronicles concerning the courts surrounding the temple building. First Kings 6:36 lists an inner court, which, due to the slope of the site, was the upper court (Jer. 36:10 RSV). The latter was formed by an enclosing wall of three courses of cut stone and a row of cedar beams to tie it together (cf. 2 Chron. 4:9, the court of the priests). With the temple on a base of six cubits, the whole presented a terraced scene exposing the temple building for an easy view of its imposing character. The great court, or outer court (1 Kings 7:9, 12), enclosed both the temple and the palace works of Solomon.
The outer court was accessed through gates; though they are not specifically listed, the door leaves for them are enumerated (2 Chron. 4:9). From the outer court, the inner court was also accessed by gates to which the layperson had access (Jer. 36:10). Ezekiel 44:1 mentions the east gate, and because of the departure and return of the glory of God from this gate, it was the principal gate to the outer court of the temple, probably the gate of 2 Chronicles 4:9. Between the temple court (inner) and Solomon’s palace, there was access from the palace court to the inner court through a gate, presumably in the south wall of the inner court, the gate of the guard (2 Kings 11:19). A north gate also existed, known as Sur (2 Kings 11:6).