⁷He overlaid also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubim on the walls. =7.= _cherubim_] The _cherubim_ (plural of _cherub_) were the Hebrew adaptation of the winged bulls which are so striking a figure in Babylonian and Assyrian art. Nothing, however, can be ascertained as to the exact form in which they were depicted in the Temple. In the Old Testament they appear as guardians of sacred things (Genesis iii. 24; Ezekiel xxviii.) and as sustainers of the Deity (e.g. Psalms lxxx. 1 “Thou that sittest upon the cherubim”; compare Psalms xviii. 10). The figures were therefore emblematic of the presence of Jehovah. The graving of the cherubim was not felt to be a breach of the Second Commandment, for they were not put up to “bow down to” or to “serve.” =8, 9= (compare 1 Kings vi. 16‒20). THE HOLY OF HOLIES. ⁸And he made the most holy house; the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. ⁹And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. =8.= _the most holy house_] Called _the oracle_ in 1 Kings vi. 16, 19, etc., Hebrew _dĕbīr_, which means rather the _hinder part_. The Lord “dwells” in the inmost recess of the house. _amounting to six hundred talents_] This detail is not found elsewhere. The weight of gold would be over 64,000 lbs., or, on a less probable reckoning, 27,000 lbs.; incredible quantities in either case, but in keeping with the vast amounts stated in 1 Chronicles xxix. 4. =10‒13= (compare 1 Kings vi. 23‒28). THE CHERUBIM. ¹⁰And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work; and they overlaid them with gold. ¹¹And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: the wing of the one _cherub_ was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was _likewise_ five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. ¹²And the wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits _also_, joining to the wing of the other cherub. =10.= _of image work; and they overlaid_] The phrase “of image work” is meaningless. Following the LXX. ἔρηον ἐκ ξύλων καὶ ἐχρύσωσεν, render =woodwork, and he overlaid=. ¹³The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house¹. ¹ Or, _inward_. =13.= _twenty cubits_] Extending across the width of the whole house. _on their feet_] Not “couchant” nor “rampant” but standing, as the winged bulls of Assyria stand. _toward the house_] as though to protect the Holiest Place from violation by anyone advancing through the house.