I Kings 7:48-50 · Bible study
1 Kings 7:48-50 Commentary: Gold in the Temple
Hebrew · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Study the golden altar, showbread table, and lampstands of Solomon's temple. What do these furnishings mean for Christian faith?
Research Summary
- Meaning: These verses complete the inventory of gold items inside Solomon’s temple, showing continuity with the tabernacle and a multiplication of its furnishings.
- Key words: “gold” (zā·hāḇ, H2091), “pure gold” (zā·hāḇ sā·ḡūr), “oracle” (də·ḇîr, H1687, the holy of holies), “lampstands” (mə·nō·rōṯ, H4501).
- Main debate: Whether the increase from one to ten tables/lampstands is purely symbolic (pointing to Christ) or reflects historical/practical changes in temple worship.
- Theological theme: God’s presence and provision, light for His people, bread for His covenant, and intercession through the priestly ministry of incense.
- Best use: Preaching or teaching on how the temple foreshadows Christ’s work, especially as the bread of life, the light of the world, and our great high priest.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
48Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;
49the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;
50the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
WEB World English Bible 2000
48Solomon made all the vessels that were in Yahweh’s house: the golden altar and the table that the show bread was on, of gold;
49and the lamp stands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;
50the cups, the snuffers, the basins, the spoons, and the fire pans, of pure gold; and the hinges, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, of the temple, of gold.
KJV King James Version 1769
48And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread was,
49And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,
50And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
48And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of Jehovah: the golden altar, and the table whereupon the showbread was, of gold;
49and the candlesticks, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, of pure gold; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;
50and the cups, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple, of gold.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
48And Solomon maketh all the vessels that are in the house of Jehovah: the altar of gold, and the table--on which is the bread of the Presence--of gold,
49and the candlesticks, five on the right, and five on the left, before the oracle, of refined gold, and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold,
50and the basins, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and the censers, of refined gold, and the hinges for the doors of the inner-house, for the holy of holies, for the doors of the house of the temple, of gold.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
48And Solomon made all the vessels that were [in] the house of Jehovah: the golden altar; and the table of gold, whereon was the shewbread;
49and the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right, and five on the left, before the oracle; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,
50and the basons, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, for the folding-doors of the inner house, the most holy place, [and] for the doors of the house, of the temple.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
48And Solomon made all the vessels for the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, upon which the loaves of proposition should be set:
49And the golden candlesticks, five on the right hand, and five on the left, over against the oracle, of pure gold: and the flowers like lilies, and the lamps over them of gold: and golden snuffers,
50And pots, and fleshhooks, and bowls, and mortars, and censers, of most pure gold: and the hinges for the doors of the inner house of the holy of holies, and for the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · I Kings 7:48
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree these verses complete the temple’s interior furnishings, listing the gold items made for the house of the Lord. The golden altar is the altar of incense (1 Kings 6:20; Exodus 30:1), the table held the bread of the presence (Exodus 25:30), and the ten lampstands replace the single one from the tabernacle (Exodus 25:31, 38). Barnes and the Cambridge Bible note the close correspondence with Exodus 25, 30, while Gill observes that Solomon ordered the making of these vessels, they were new except the ark, mercy seat, and cherubim. A key point of consensus: the multiplication of tables and lampstands (from one to ten) marks the temple as a place of greater provision and light than the tabernacle. Matthew Henry suggests this points to the fuller spiritual food and heavenly light of the gospel. The hinges of gold on the doors of the most holy place and the main hall (v. 50) are mentioned to show that even the smallest fittings were made of pure gold, underscoring the lavishness of the house.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The passage lists the gold vessels and furnishings inside Solomon’s temple, drawing on the pattern given to Moses and expanding it for this new house of God.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Composition of the golden altar | It is the altar of incense, made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. | Some traditions (Gill, Henry) emphasize its typological link to Christ’s intercession; others (Cambridge, Barnes) focus on the historical correspondence to Exodus. |
| Number of tables and lampstands | The temple had ten tables and ten lampstands, whereas the tabernacle had one of each. | Matthew Henry reads this as a sign of increased spiritual light and food in the gospel. Other commentators (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) see it as a practical expansion for the larger temple building, without pressing a typological meaning. |
| Significance of the golden hinges | The hinges were made of gold and served the doors of the most holy place and the main hall. | Some Christians see the hinges as a detail emphasizing that even the smallest parts of God’s house are precious. Others do not assign symbolic weight to them, treating the mention as a completeness-of-inventory detail. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The temple of Solomon was the first permanent sanctuary for the Lord in Israel, replacing the mobile tabernacle. Its construction took seven years, and the golden furnishings described here were made under the supervision of Hiram of Tyre (1 Kings 7:13, 14). The inner sanctuary, the holy of holies, was lined with cedar and overlaid with gold. These verses sit within a longer account of the temple’s vessels (1 Kings 7:13, 51), which moves from the bronze work in the courtyard (the sea, basins, and shovels) to the gold work inside the house itself.
The altar of gold stood before the veil, where the priest burned incense daily. The table of showbread held twelve loaves representing the twelve tribes, replaced each Sabbath. Ten lampstands, arranged five on a side, provided light in the holy place, a significant increase from the single seven-branched lampstand of the tabernacle. Gill and the Jewish sources he cites say the lampstands were placed not on the right and left sides of the temple but on the right and left of Moses’ original lampstand, emphasizing continuity.
The word translated “oracle” (də·ḇîr H1687) refers to the innermost room, the holy of holies. “Pure gold” (zā·hāḇ sā·ḡūr) appears twice (vv. 49, 50), indicating gold that was refined and closed (poured or hammered) rather than plated. Even the hinges (pō·t H6596) for the doors, both leading into the holy of holies and into the main hall, were made of gold, showing that no detail was too small for God’s house. The listing of these items echoes the tabernacle pattern (Exodus 25, 30) while expanding it, fulfilling David’s preparations (1 Chronicles 28:11, 19) and Solomon’s vision for a house worthy of the Lord.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for 1 Kings 7:48, 50. The verse sequence in the Hebrew and Greek witnesses is stable. The Bibles referenced (WEB, KJV, ASV, BSB, YLT, Darby, Douay) agree in content, with only minor differences in English rendering of terms such as “basins” vs. “bowls” vs. “cups,” and the placement of the phrase “of gold.”
Reception History
Early Christian readers saw the temple furnishings as prefiguring the church and Christ. Origen and later interpreters in the Alexandrian tradition read the golden altar as a type of prayer and the showbread as a type of Scripture. The multiplication of lampstands was connected to the seven churches of Revelation (Revelation 1:12, 20). Medieval commentators like Hugh of St. Victor expanded these allegories. Protestant Reformers (Calvin, Luther) were more cautious about allegory but still read the temple as a shadow of the heavenly reality (Hebrews 9). Matthew Henry and Gill, writing in the 18th century, strongly emphasize the typological meaning: the golden altar for Christ’s intercession, the showbread for spiritual nourishment, and the ten lampstands for the fuller light of the gospel. Modern scholarship (Cambridge, Barnes) often focuses on the historical continuity with the tabernacle and the architectural context, while many evangelical and Pentecostal preachers continue the typological tradition.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Gold speaks of worth. Every listed item, altar, table, lampstands, utensils, hinges, is made of gold. This shows that God is worthy of the best we have. The material points to the value of worship and the glory of God’s presence.
- Increase speaks of abundance. The temple has ten lampstands and ten tables where the tabernacle had one. This multiplication pictures the greater light and provision that comes through Christ. John’s Gospel calls Jesus the light of the world (John 8:12) and the bread of life (John 6:35).
- Even the hinges are gold. The smallest, most easily overlooked parts of the house are made of pure gold. Nothing in service to God is insignificant. The work of your hands, however ordinary, is precious when offered to Him.
Five-point outline
- The golden altar: incense and intercession (Exodus 30:1, 10). The priest’s daily offering of incense prefigures Christ’s ongoing intercession for His people (Hebrews 7:25).
- The table of showbread: the bread of the presence (Exodus 25:30). Twelve loaves, renewed weekly, speak of God providing for His covenant people. Jesus is the true bread from heaven.
- The ten lampstands: multiplied light. The one lampstand of Moses becomes ten, suggesting that the light of God’s truth shines more brightly in the new covenant (Revelation 1:12, 13).
- The tools of gold: basins, snuffers, spoons, censers. Even the utensils used to maintain the lamps and handle the incense are pure gold, every task in God’s house is holy.
- The golden hinges on the doors: access into God’s presence. The hinges of the most holy place open the way into the place of atonement. Christ’s sacrifice tore the veil and opened that way for all (Hebrews 10:19, 22).
Illustration hooks
- The fine print. A builder’s invoice lists screws and hinges alongside major materials. God’s Word lingers on the hinges of the temple doors, an encouragement that nothing we do for Him is too small to matter.
- Room by room. When renovating a house, some rooms get more attention than others. In the temple, every inch inside was covered in gold, a picture of whole-hearted dedication, not just the public-facing parts of a life.
- Ten lights instead of one. A single candle lights a room; ten lamps on ten stands flood it. The increase from tabernacle to temple points forward to the fuller revelation of God in Christ.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why did Solomon make ten lampstands and ten tables instead of one? What does that change mean for us?
- Does the gold in the temple have a symbolic meaning, or is it just historical description?
- How does the altar of incense and the table of showbread point to Jesus?
Leading a Discussion
This passage describes the gold furnishings inside Solomon’s temple. The account is detailed, every utensil, every hinge, and it deliberately echoes the tabernacle patterns from Exodus 25, 30. At the same time, the scale and quantity are larger: ten lampstands, ten tables, all of gold. Christian readers have long seen these items as pointing forward to Christ and the abundance of grace in the new covenant. As you discuss, pay attention to what the text emphasizes and how it connects to the story of redemption.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What items are listed in these verses? Which ones appear in the Exodus tabernacle instructions, and which are new or multiplied?
- Observation: The word “gold” appears repeatedly. What does the repetition suggest about the temple and about worship in general?
- Interpretation: Why do you think the writer mentions the hinges (v. 50)? What does that detail tell us about the care taken with the temple?
- Interpretation: Matthew Henry says the ten lampstands and ten tables point to “the much greater plenty both of spiritual food and heavenly light” in the gospel. Do you agree? Where else in Scripture do you see this progression?
- Application: The golden altar represents intercession (incense rising to God) and the table represents provision (bread of the presence). How does Jesus fulfill both of these roles for believers today?
- Application: If even the hinges were made of gold, what might that say about how we approach our own daily work and service for God?
- Connection: In what ways does the temple’s gold furniture give you hope about God’s desire to dwell with His people, and about the access we have through Christ?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 25:23 | “You shall make a table of acacia wood. Its length shall be two cubits, and its width a cubit, and its height one and a half cubits. |
| Exodus 25:30 | You shall set bread of the presence on the table before me always. |
| Exodus 30:1 | “You shall make an altar to burn incense on. You shall make it of acacia wood. |
| Exodus 30:5 | You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. |
| Exodus 37:10 | He made the table of acacia wood. Its length was two cubits, and its width was a cubit, and its height was a cubit and a half. |
| Exodus 37:16 | He made the vessels which were on the table, its dishes, its spoons, its bowls, and its pitchers with which to pour out, of pure gold. |
| Exodus 37:25 | He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. It was square: its length was a cubit, and its width a cubit. Its height was two cubits. Its horns were of one piece with it. |
| Exodus 37:29 | He made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, after the art of the perfumer. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes identifies the bowls mentioned here as the large oil vases for the lampstands, the same ones described for the tables in Exodus. His point is that these were not ordinary bowls but specific vessels holding oil for the lamps, a detail that connects the temple furnishings.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible commentary draws attention to specific translation improvements in the Revised Version, which adjusts familiar renderings like "the golden altar" instead of "the altar of gold" and "cups" instead of "bowls" to better reflect the original Hebrew distinctions. It also notes that what was called "censers" is more accurately "fire pans" when referring to altar equipment.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes underscore that Solomon spared no expense in furnishing the temple, applying pure gold even to the smallest and most hidden items like the door hinges. This thorough use of gold in every vessel, lamp, and fastener shows the perfect care demanded for worship in God's house.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasises the increased scale and splendor of Solomon's temple vessels compared to the tabernacle. He reads the ten tables and ten candlesticks as pointing to greater spiritual provision and light under the Gospel, and the seventy lamps as a foreshadowing of the seventy disciples, the first lights of the church.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB observes that Solomon did not use the original tabernacle furnishings in the temple, though they were kept as sacred relics. Instead, he made new items, including ten candlesticks and ten tables, likely modeled on the originals but provided in greater number for the larger temple service.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange insists that the temple's pillars, Jachin and Boaz, are not borrowed from pagan cultures but are uniquely Israelite monuments. Their names declare that God establishes and strengthens His dwelling, marking a new, fixed period of the theocracy, not a mere imitation of heathen obelisks or phallic symbols.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that Solomon made ten gold tables and ten gold candlesticks instead of the single ones in the tabernacle. This multiplication, he argues, points to the greater abundance of spiritual food and heavenly light that the gospel brings compared to the law of Moses.