Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Kings 6:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech: “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “The temple shell and side chambers are built.”
The house is dated from the exodus, then measured
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Kings 6:1–10. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Kings 6:1–10
Read 1 Kings 6:1 with 6:1–10. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Dates the temple's foundation by Israel's exodus memory, Solomon's fourth year, and the month Zif; returns to the surrounding chambers and their cedar attachment to the house.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “The temple shell and side chambers are built,” 1 Kings 6:1 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech through the wording “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The construction account follows the labor system by showing what the organized timber and stone workforce begins to build.
Read 1 Kings 6:1–10 together
Why these verses belong together: The temple shell and side chambers are built is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 6:1–6:10.
Verse 1. 1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
Verse 2. 2 And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
Verse 3. 3 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.
Verse 4. 4 And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.
Verse 5. 5 And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:
Verse 6. 6 The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.
Verse 7. 7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
Verse 8. 8 The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.
Verse 9. 9 So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.
Verse 10. 10 And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
Follow the Context
- Dates the temple's foundation by Israel's exodus memory, Solomon's fourth year, and the month Zif
- Returns to the surrounding chambers and their cedar attachment to the house
What This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Kings 6:1 does not permit the wording “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The unit does not contain God inside architecture, make building scale proof of spiritual health, or hide the labor, extraction, political power, and covenant conditions behind sacred splendor.
What Remains True
Sacred beauty and public worship remain subordinate to God's freedom, covenant faithfulness, justice, and the dignity of people who build and serve. This unit tests that truth through dates the temple's foundation by Israel's exodus memory, Solomon's fourth year, and the month Zif; returns to the surrounding chambers and their cedar attachment to the house. In 1 Kings 6:1, the concrete line “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 1 Kings 6:1's role in 6:1–10. Paraphrase “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Kings 6:1–10 — The temple shell and side chambers are builtSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 6:1–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 6:1–10
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 594–596, translation and translator notes for 6:1–10
Open source ↗