1 Kings 7:2

House of the forest of Lebanon. Since only meager information is available, much of what has been said by commentators concerning this house and the others mentioned in this chapter is largely conjecture. Some suppose that Solomon’s own house (v. 1), the house of the forest of Lebanon (v. 2), and the house of Pharaoh’s daughter (v. 8) were three entirely distinct and separate buildings, but others regard them as merely parts of a single structure. Not even the location is definitely known. It would seem more reasonable to conclude that there were three separate buildings situated near one another, and closely connected, and together constituting what is elsewhere termed “the king’s house” (1 Kings 9:10).

Some believe “the house of the forest of Lebanon” was in the Lebanon Mts. But the name given to this structure, seems to indicate its nature rather than its location. Built as it was with four rows of cedar pillars, it would have the appearance of a cedar forest, and from that resemblance probably achieved its name. Because of the statement in Kings 10:16, 17, some conclude that the building served chiefly, if not altogether, as an armory, for Solomon placed in it “two hundred targets of beaten gold,” each target made of 600 golden shekels, together with “three hundred shields of beaten gold,” 3 lb. of gold going into each shield. But such “targets” and “shields” certainly were hardly for the purpose of war. It would be unusual to have soldiers venture into battle bearing shields of gold. Furthermore, arms are not usually stored in halls such as this. The building seems to have been a grand festal hall of a type often found in Mesopotamian palaces. The hall was large, 146 by 73 ft. (44.5 by 22.3 m.), yet it was not as large as some of the great Assyrian palace halls unearthed by modern excavation. Portions of the house may, however, have been used for the storage of arms, for Isa. 22:8 speaks of the “armour of the house of the forest.”

Of the four rows of cedar pillars, the first and the fourth were probably set as pilasters against the walls, thus providing for three great aisles down the length of the building.