The Meaning of 1 Kings 6:29 Explained

1 Kings 6:29

KJV: And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.

YLT: and all the walls of the house round about he hath carved with openings of carvings, cherubs, and palm trees, and openings of flowers, within and without.

Darby: And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved sculptures of cherubim, and palm-trees, and half-open flowers, within and without.

ASV: And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers, within and without.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he carved  all the walls  of the house  round about  with carved  figures  of cherubims  and palm trees  and open  flowers,  within  and without. 

What does 1 Kings 6:29 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 6:29-38 - Carved Overlaid Finished
The meaning of 1 Kings 6:31 is uncertain. We gather that the door of the inner shrine was made of wild-olive wood and in two parts, and that it occupied a fifth of the cedar partition which separated the two chambers. This wooden door was carved with cherubim, palm-trees, and open flowers, and was overlaid with gold. One part was always open, but the interior was concealed from view by a veil of blue, purple, and crimson, 2 Chronicles 3:14. In front of this were hung festoons of golden chains. Thus it was signified that the way into the Holiest was not then open. But we have boldness to enter, through the new and living way which Jesus consecrated for us. The surrendered will, the cleansed life, the meek and humble faith-these are the path, Hebrews 10:19-20.
The erection occupied seven and a half years, and the completed Temple stood for upward of four centuries, until destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. The construction of character, after God's ideal, may take long, but it advances to completion. First the stone, hewn with difficulty; then cedar and olive; lastly gold.
1 Kings 6:1-38 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 6

1  The building of Solomon's temple
5  The chambers thereof
11  God's promise unto it
15  The ceiling and adorning of it
23  The cherubim
31  The doors
36  The court
37  The time of building it

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 6:29 mean?

And all the walls of the temple all around he carved carved with figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers from the inner and to the outer [sanctuaries]
וְאֵת֩ כָּל־ קִיר֨וֹת הַבַּ֜יִת מֵסַ֣ב ׀ קָלַ֗ע פִּתּוּחֵי֙ מִקְלְעוֹת֙ כְּרוּבִ֣ים וְתִֽמֹרֹ֔ת וּפְטוּרֵ֖י צִצִּ֑ים מִלִּפְנִ֖ים וְלַחִיצֽוֹן

קִיר֨וֹת  the  walls 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: קִיר  
Sense: wall, side.
הַבַּ֜יִת  of  the  temple 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
מֵסַ֣ב ׀  all  around 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מֵסַב 
Sense: round thing, surroundings, round about, that which surrounds, that which is round.
קָלַ֗ע  he  carved 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָלַע 
Sense: to sling, hurl forth.
פִּתּוּחֵי֙  carved 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: פִּתּוּחַ  
Sense: engraving, carving.
מִקְלְעוֹת֙  with  figures 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: מִקְלַעַת  
Sense: carving.
כְּרוּבִ֣ים  of  cherubim 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: כְּרוּב  
Sense: cherub, cherubim (pl).
וְתִֽמֹרֹ֔ת  and  palm  trees 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural
Root: תִּמֹרָה  
Sense: palm tree figure (as ornament).
וּפְטוּרֵ֖י  and  open 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural construct
Root: פָּטַר  
Sense: opened.
צִצִּ֑ים  flowers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: צִיץ 
Sense: flower, bloom.
מִלִּפְנִ֖ים  from  the  inner 
Parse: Preposition-m, Preposition-l, Adverb
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
וְלַחִיצֽוֹן  and  to  the  outer  [sanctuaries] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חִיצֹון  
Sense: outer, external, outward.