Were the pillars of brass eighteen cubits high, or thirty-five?
Kings gives each pillar, “eighteen cubits high apiece”; Chronicles, the two together.
The Passages
1 Kings 7:15
2 Chronicles 3:15
See Also
Jeremiah 52:21
The Difficulty
Of the two pillars Hiram cast for the porch of the temple, Kings says, “he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece” (1 Kings 7:15). Chronicles says, “he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high” (2 Chronicles 3:15).
The Answer
Preferred: Kings gives each pillar by itself, “eighteen cubits high apiece”; Chronicles doesn’t say “apiece,” and gives the two together. Thirty-five cubits shared between two is seventeen and a half each, which Kings gives in the whole number, eighteen (Gill). Jeremiah gives the same: “the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits” (Jeremiah 52:21).
Haley adds that the two may have been cast as one piece thirty-five cubits long and then cut in two, which would account for Chronicles giving their length together.
Sources
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In 2 Chron. iii. 15. they are said to be 35 cubits high, which must be understood of the length or heighth of them both; and whereas that would allow but 17 cubits and a half to a pillar, either the round number of 18 is used, or half a cubit in each may be allowed
Checked against: Internet Archive scan of the first edition, 2026-10-28 -
Pillars’ length, 18 cubits, 1 Kings vii. 15; 35 cubits, 2 Chron. iii. 15 (possibly the two were cast in one piece 35 cubits long, which, cut in two, made two pillars, in round numbers 18 cubits long).
Checked against: Internet Archive scan of the 1874 edition, 2026-10-28
