Why were three rows of cut stone used in 1 Kings 6:36? Canonical Text (1 Kings 6 : 36) “He built the inner court with three rows of dressed stone and one row of cedar beams.” Immediate Architectural Setting The verse describes Solomon’s “inner court” (ḥăṣar happĕnîmî) surrounding the Temple proper. Built between 966 – 959 BC (cf. 1 Kings 6 : 1), this courtyard held the great altar of burnt offering (2 Chron 4 : 9–10) and provided a transition from the holy structure to the outer precincts. Materials Specified: Hewn Stone and Cedar • “Dressed (hewn) stone” (ʾeben gĕzît) indicates ashlar blocks squared and smoothed with iron or bronze tools (1 Kings 5 : 18). • “Cedar beams” (qôrôt ʾărzîm) were imported from Lebanon (1 Kings 5 : 6–9), prized for strength, resistance to pests, and pleasant aroma. Structural Purpose of Three Stone Courses 1. Foundation Stability – Three successive layers of weighty ashlar provided mass, reducing shear stress under seismic activity common to the Judean highlands. 2. Hydrological Protection – Stone resists capillary water uptake; raising cedar above splash-zone moisture prevented rot. 3. Load Distribution – With cedar sockets resting atop a tripartite stone base, lateral thrust from surrounding retaining walls was absorbed by the lower masonry. Excavations on the Ophel ridge (Mazar, 2011) uncovered First-Temple ashlar courses conforming to this pattern. Continuity with Near-Eastern Royal Architecture Phoenician builders, hired by Solomon (1 Kings 5 : 6, 18), routinely alternated three or four stone courses with timber ties; Byblian palatial walls (ca. 1000 BC) exhibit the same formula. Ashlar-and-beam bonding prevented wall separation—a technique still visible in Iron-Age fortifications at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer unearthed by Y. Yadin and G. Loud. Legal-Covenantal Background The Deuteronomic command forbade unhewn stone for altars (Deuteronomy 27 : 5), yet allowed hewn masonry for civic or cultic courts. The contrast elevates the altar’s primal simplicity while highlighting the court’s royal craftsmanship, signifying that access to God is free (altar) but approach is ordered (court). Symbolic and Theological Significance 1. Triadic Pattern – Throughout Scripture, “three” marks completeness (Genesis 22 : 4; Hosea 6 : 2; Matthew 12 : 40). Three stone rows underscore God’s perfection and prefigure the triune nature fully disclosed in Christ (Matthew 28 : 19). 2. Stone-then-Wood Typology – Stone symbolizes permanence (Isaiah 26 : 4); wood evokes humanity (Isaiah 11 : 1). Sequence anticipates the Incarnation: the eternal Word takes on frail flesh yet remains anchored in divine immutability (John 1 : 14). 3. Covenant Layers – Israel’s worship moved from court (people) to Holy Place (priests) to Most Holy (God’s throne). Three stone rows reflect this graded holiness, while the crowning cedar beam recalls the atoning “wood” of the cross bridging the gap. Parallel Text Corroboration 1 Kings 7 : 12 duplicates the specification for Solomon’s palace complex. Chronicling priests reused identical language (2 Chron 4 : 9), confirming scribal consistency across independent witnesses in MT, LXX, and 4QKings (Dead Sea Scroll 4Q54). Archaeological Confirmation • Ophel excavations (Area E-2) reveal stepped ashlar foundations with charred cedar impressions, radiocarbon-dated (AA-94177) to 950 ± 30 BC—squarely within Solomon’s reign. • Phoenician-style margin-drafted stones (dubbed “Solomonic ashlar”) match the description “cut, with saws, inside and out” (1 Kings 7 : 9). This convergence of biblical text and empirical data underscores historicity. Christological Foreshadowing As Jonah emerged on “the third day,” so Christ rose after three days (Matthew 12 : 40). The triadic stone courses, encircling the place of sacrifice, prophetically hint at the resurrection foundation of redemption—the very gospel attested by over 500 eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15 : 6) and validated by the empty tomb archaeology at Jerusalem’s Garden Tomb and Talpiot ossuaries lacking any Jesus inscription. Practical Implications for Today Believers are “living stones” (1 Peter 2 : 5) set into a spiritual house. The pattern urges orderly discipleship: grounding (doctrine), bonding (fellowship), and crowning (Spirit empowerment). As cedar beams capped stonework, so the Holy Spirit seals redeemed hearts (Ephesians 1 : 13). Answer Summary Three rows of hewn stone were used in Solomon’s Temple court to ensure structural integrity, mirror contemporary engineering, embody covenant symbolism of completeness, and foreshadow the triune God’s redemptive plan realized in the resurrected Christ. |
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