Question

solomon was famous for building a temple in jerusalem. read the following hebrew bible passage about the temple. then answer the question below.

when solomon had completed the construction of the house, he paneled the walls of the house on the inside with planks of cedar. . . . the cedar of the interior of the house had carvings of gourds and flowers; it was all cedar, no stone was exposed.

in the innermost part of the house, he fixed a shrine in which to place the ark of the lord’s covenant. . . . he overlaid the shrine with gold, so that the entire house was overlaid with gold.

house: temple
shrine: a holy place
ark of the lord’s covenant: a large chest containing the ten commandments

from 1 kings 6:14-21, hebrew-english tanakh, jewish publication society

based on the passage, which of the following statements are true? select all that apply.

solomon and his descendants lived in the temple.
the temple was meant to be a holy building.
the temple was built in a sacred place outside the city.
the temple was richly decorated.

Explanation:

• The passage mentions that the Temple had carvings of gourds and flowers and was overlaid with gold, indicating it was richly decorated.
• The Shrine (a holy place) was part of the Temple, and the Ark of the Lord's Covenant (a sacred object) was placed there, suggesting the Temple was meant to be a holy building.
• There is no information in the passage about Solomon and his descendants living in the Temple.
• The passage does not mention the Temple being built outside the city.

Answer:

• B. The Temple was meant to be a holy building.
• D. The Temple was richly decorated.