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There are at least two places in the Old Testament that describes the building of a place of worship. In the Book of Exodus, Chapters 25-27, God direct Moses on the materials to be used and how the place of worship is to be built. The Book of First Kings, Chapter 6 describes the place of worship that King Solomon built.
There is no Command in the Old Testament as to how a place of worship should be built, and the two places described in Exodus and First Kings were generally not thought to be what God wanted in future places to be built. One distinction though is found in the Talmud, which is a collection of Rabbinical interpretations of what is in the Old Testament. By the Rabbis’ own reasoning, there are sections in the Old Testament that can be interpreted as implied commands. In this case, we have Daniel 6:10 which says, “When Daniel knew that the document [referred to in Verse 7, which penalizes anyone petitioning God instead of the King by throwing the offender in a den of lions] had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.” (Subsequently, Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den for praying to God instead of petitioning the King.)
Rabbis took this passage to mean that every place of worship should have windows. Some among the rabbis determined that the sanctuary for prayer be below ground, since Psalms 130:1 says “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!”
Exodus 25-27 and First Kings 6 describe specifications down to the minute detail, including the materials to be used on the structure, the dimensions of the structure in cubits, and the awnings, including images of angels. Regarding the materials, in Exodus 25:1-7, the Lord says to Moses to collect the following materials from the Hebrews: “gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.” The rest of Exodus 25, and exodus 26 and 27, describes in similar detail how the materials are to be used and formed, and exact dimensions in units of cubits.
There are some similarities between the Temple that Solomon built, and cathedrals such as Notre Dame. 1 Kings 6:6 says, “For around the outside of the house [of Worship, Solomon] made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house...” Can remind you of supports against the walls of the Cathedral. Perhaps the true object in either case is the architectural necessity of having such supports.
In a sense, at least as far as the Book of Exodus goes, God is a building contractor and an interior decorator. If only the goodness in people can last as long as these structures so made as the Bible describes...
There is no Command in the Old Testament as to how a place of worship should be built, and the two places described in Exodus and First Kings were generally not thought to be what God wanted in future places to be built. One distinction though is found in the Talmud, which is a collection of Rabbinical interpretations of what is in the Old Testament. By the Rabbis’ own reasoning, there are sections in the Old Testament that can be interpreted as implied commands. In this case, we have Daniel 6:10 which says, “When Daniel knew that the document [referred to in Verse 7, which penalizes anyone petitioning God instead of the King by throwing the offender in a den of lions] had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.” (Subsequently, Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den for praying to God instead of petitioning the King.)
Rabbis took this passage to mean that every place of worship should have windows. Some among the rabbis determined that the sanctuary for prayer be below ground, since Psalms 130:1 says “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!”
Exodus 25-27 and First Kings 6 describe specifications down to the minute detail, including the materials to be used on the structure, the dimensions of the structure in cubits, and the awnings, including images of angels. Regarding the materials, in Exodus 25:1-7, the Lord says to Moses to collect the following materials from the Hebrews: “gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.” The rest of Exodus 25, and exodus 26 and 27, describes in similar detail how the materials are to be used and formed, and exact dimensions in units of cubits.
There are some similarities between the Temple that Solomon built, and cathedrals such as Notre Dame. 1 Kings 6:6 says, “For around the outside of the house [of Worship, Solomon] made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house...” Can remind you of supports against the walls of the Cathedral. Perhaps the true object in either case is the architectural necessity of having such supports.
In a sense, at least as far as the Book of Exodus goes, God is a building contractor and an interior decorator. If only the goodness in people can last as long as these structures so made as the Bible describes...
