The works of the Reverend and learned John Lightfoot D. D., late Master of Katherine Hall in Cambridge such as were, and such as never before were printed : in two volumes : with the authors life and large and useful tables to each volume : also three maps : one of the temple drawn by the author himself, the others of Jervsalem and the Holy Land drawn according to the author's chorography, with a description collected out of his writings.

SECT. III. The Holy place it self.

THIS place was forty cubits long and twenty broad: and in Solomons Temple it* 1.1 was thirty cubits high, having no floor at all on this side the roof, b 1.2 but in Herods Temple it was sixty: For the the Children of the captivity building their Temple sixty cubits high, they floored it not over, but left it open to the roof in the Holy place as Solomons Temple had been, and according to the same height was the floor laid, when it was floored over in the time of Herod.

And here two things are to be remembred; 1. That whereas the lower leads of the building which were over the side Chambers, were but fifty cubits high, as hath been described, and there was a passage off those leads into the upper Chamber over the Holy place, and it was by steps of ten cubits high, partly without the Wall, and partly within the thickness of the Wall it self. 2. That there was an inequality of the height of the floors in the three parts of the House, the Porch, the Holy place and the Most Holy. The first floor of the Porch was ninety cubits high, the Holy place sixty, and the most Holy but twenty. And therefore whereas there was a floor over the most Holy place, even with the floor over the Holy place, viz. at sixty cubits height, that was not the first floor over it, but there was another floor forty cubits beneath that.

The beauty and richness of this place was exceeding great: The floor of it upon which they trod was planked with Firr boards, and they gilt with gold; and the Walls were also cieled or wainscoted with Cedar, and that gilt likewise: This gilding was from the ground floor, even to the floor over head, all the sixty cubits high up the Walls; and this is meant when the Text saith, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 He built the Walls of the House within with boards of Cedar from the floor of the House to the Walls of the covering: that is, up to the very Walls of the floor over head, as it is well expounded by the Rab∣bins upon that place.

For fifty cubits height of the Walls was the imbroidery of Branches and open Flowers, &c. and for the ten cubits above, it was the place of the Windows: for the side Cham∣bers without the House, in three stories, did take up the height of fifty cubits high, so that for so high no Windows could be made into the House, but the space of ten cubits above, was the place for the Windows which were made narrow without and broad within.

The deckage or carving of the Wainscot of the Walls is said to be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 The carving of knops and open flowers, as our English renders it: but the Hebrew Doctors are somewhat nice about the construction of these words. The Chaldee expounds it, the ingraving of the likeness of Eggs (Ovals) and wreaths of Lillies: as if he meant that he wrought the Walls with the work of Lilly garlands▪ and an Oval in the midst of a garland: c 1.3 Levi Gershom understands 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Ovals, as the Chaldee doth, but he takes them to be such Ovals as are the buds of Flowers, and that out of them came 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the flowers spreading and opening as in their maturity. d 1.4 David Kimchi takes 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for wild Gourds, and so our English hath it also in the Margin; and this I take to be the pro∣per construction of the words, and this the imbroidery of the Walls: That there was the carving of Cherubims and Palm-trees, and the carving of Gourds and open Flowers in∣terchanged thus: first a border of Gourds or Pompions or such like Apple-fashioned sculpture intermixed with Marigolds, Gilliflowers, and such opening flowers, and this border or wreath went round about the House: upon this wreath as upon a base, were set the feet of Cherubims, and the rooting of Palm-trees both which stood up from this wreath e 1.5 a Cherub and a Palm-tree, a Cherub and a Palm-tree round about: above the Heads of the Cherubims and Palm-trees was such another wreath, and Cherubims and Palm-trees set upon that again, and so interchangeably to the top. By all which was sig∣nified the attendance of Ministers, Heb. I. 14. and flourishing condition, Psal. XCII. 12, 13. of those that serve the Lord and wait upon him. Every one of the Cherubims was pictured with two faces, one of a man that looked toward the Palm-tree on one hand, and the other of a Lion that looked toward the Palm-tree on the other.

Whereas it is said that twenty cubits were built on the sides of the House with boards of Cedar from the floor to the Walls, 1 Kings VII. 16. the Jews do expound these twenty cu∣bits by way of breadth and not of height, as thinking that they mean, that besides the sides of the House on either Hand, which were forty cubits long, he also made the like work upon either end of the room, which was twenty cubits broad: But the Text doth speak it more peculiarly of the most Holy place, and sheweth what was the height of that, which was different from the outer room or Holy place, as we shall see hereafter.

Notes

• * 1.1

  a 1 King. VI. 2▪ 17.
• b 1.2

  Ioseph. ubi supr.
• c 1.3

  Levi Gers. in 1 King. VI.
• d 1.4

  Kimch. ib.
• e 1.5

  1 King. VI. 2•• Ezek. XLI. 18, 19.