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1 Kings 6:8

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 1 Kings 6:8 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “The door for the middle side-chambers was in the right side of the house: and they went up by winding stairs into the middle [story], and out of the middle into the third.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

The door for the middle side-chambers was in the right side of the house: and they went up by winding stairs into the middle [story], and out of the middle into the third.
1 Kings 6:8 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Kings 6

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
5And against the wall of the house he built stories round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle; and he made side-chambers round about.
6The nethermost story was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for on the outside he made offsets [in the wall] of the house round about, that [the beams] should not have hold in the walls of the house.
7And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
8The door for the middle side-chambers was in the right side of the house: and they went up by winding stairs into the middle [story], and out of the middle into the third.
9So he built the house, and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar.
10And he built the stories against all the house, each five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
11And the word of Jehovah came to Solomon, saying,
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“The door of the middle chamber [was] in the right side of the house, etc.] The south side of it: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle [chamber]; which were outside the chambers, and which winded about for the sake of taking up less room, and which led up to the door of the middle chamber, on the south of which they went into it; according to the Vulgate Latin and Tigurine versions, they went up in the forth of a cockle, or the shell of a snail; in like manner as was the ascent of the temple of Pan at Alexandria, as Strabo f96 relates: and out of the middle into the third; the third chamber, and by winding stairs up to that; and the like might be on the north side, though not…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The door for the middle chamber - i. e., the door which gave access to the mid-most “set of chambers.” The chambers on the ground-floor were possibly reached each by their own door in the outer wall of the lean-to. The middle and upper floors were reached by a single door in the right or south wall, from which a winding staircase ascended to the second tier, while another ascended from the second to the third. The door to the stairs was in the outer wall of the building, not in the wall between the chambers and the temple. That would have desecrated the temple far more than the insertion of beams. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“The door - That is, by which they entered to go up to the middle chamber or chambers; such as were in the middle story. Right side - That is, in the south - side, called the right side; because when a man looks towards the east, the south is on his right hand. There was another door on the left, or the north - side, leading to the chambers on that side. Winding stairs - Without the wall, leading up to the gallery out of which they went into the several chambers. Middle chamber - Or rather, into the middle story, or row of chambers; and so in the following words, out of the middle story: for these stair's could not lead up into each of the chambers; nor was it needful, but only into the…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“side: Heb. shoulder went up: Eze 41:6, Eze 41:7 3 Kings (1 Kings) 6:9”
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Sources and verification