This last week we considered the building and filling of Solomon’s temple in very broad strokes. In 1 Kings 7:13-51, the two pillars which stood at the entrance of the temple are the first works noted within the section on the filling, ornamenting, or extending of the temple building project. But what did these two pillars communicate or symbolize? In this article I will suggest that they symbolized the oath of God to dwell with His people in the temple.

Although there is debate about the meanings of the words, most commentators state concerning the names of the twin pillars that Jachin means “He will establish”, and Boaz, “In Him is strength.” Even in these names there is the idea of things enduring and foundational which fit with the broader symbolism we find connected to pillars in Scripture.

There Hebrew word translated “pillar” in 1 Kings 7:15 is ammud, but it is not the only word translated “pillar” in the ESV. Lot’s wife was turned into a nesib of salt (Gen 19:26), a word usually translated as garrison (eg. 1 Sam 10:5, 13:3). Hannah, in her prayer of thanksgiving, states that the pillars (masuq) of the earth are the Lord’s (1 Sam 2:8). Jacob set up a pillar at Bethel (Gen 28:18, 22) and the word here (massebah), quite common in the OT, is often translated as “memorial stone.” Ammud and massebah have significant overlap in meaning, but the former tends to refer more to architectural pillars, usually (but not always) used as a support, while the latter almost always refers to a free-standing stone connected to religious or memorial purposes (2 Kings 17:10, Hos 10:2). Both, however, I think, are useful in understanding the symbolism of Solomon’s twin pillars.

Several ideas or symbols co-inhere in the idea of the pillar. Firstly, in the idea of the pillar as a memorial stone, there is the idea of endurance and oath. The stone pillar, in many cases a large, simple, undressed stone, erected to stand upright, was used to provide a remembrance to those who would view it. Because of its enormity and permanence, it would function in this way for years and even generations: “Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.” (Ge 35:20)

Secondly, connected more with the architectural pillars, is the idea of support and connection between the spheres of the world. The earth, figuratively, has pillars (1 Sam 2:8, Job 9:6, Ps 75:3). But so does the heavens (Job 26:11). The picture is that within the three-story house of heaven, earth, and (seas) under the earth, each is set upon the lower level.

Among the passages the most pertinent to our exploration here are those which speak of pillars in connection with temples. And there are plenty of examples. In Exodus alone, I count 31 explicit examples, especially in chapters 27 and 38. Some were gold, some were silver, and some were bronze, with their fillets, hooks, and capitals often being of a more valuable metal than their bases. This is instructive, because it confirms the idea of the pillar connecting different spheres. the lower parts referred to the earth relative to the heavens, or perhaps the outer regions to the holy place (and these symbols overlap).

This is why Peter Leithart suggests that pillars are simplified “temples” in and of themselves. Just as the temple with its outer court, holy place, and most holy place symbolized the three-story house moving inward, so too pillars symbolized the same movement upwards. Given that temples were almost always on mountains, both inward and upward coincide.

I have sometimes mentioned that the first use of a word in the Bible often sets its significance for the rest of the Bible. That may be the case with the word massebah. It is first used in the account of Jacob at Bethel (Gen 28). During the night he dreams of a ladder set on earth that reached to heaven (v12) and the angels of God ascend and descend upon it. God reiterates his covenant with Jacob who concludes, “This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (v17). He then sets up a pillar with a vow, stating, “this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house.”

Here we have an explicit identification of the pillar with the house of God and of heaven touching earth. The pillar serves a dual function–it illustrates the “ladder” to heaven and it serves as a memorial of God’s oath, a promise of course that is itself from heaven for earth.

The basic symbolism, therefore, seems certain. But perhaps we should also ask the question, “why two?” There was one pillar here at Bethel, and in the tabernacle there were very many, in varying groups. I think two reasons can be given in answer. The first is that two is the number of witness. Every matter must be established by at least two witnesses. Solomon’s silent stones speak powerfully: “He will establish”, “In Him is strength.” It is the same basic message, expressed two different ways, each corroborating the veracity of the other.

There is one final possible answer as to the twin nature of these towers. And here I speculate. The first use of the word ammud is Exodus 13:21 and here two pillars are mentioned: the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. The former led Israel by day, while the light was with them. The latter led them by night so that even when the light was gone, yet they were safely directed. Is it possible that these twin pillars foreshadow the twin witnesses of God–the Son and the Holy Spirit? They together establish the testimony of God in our our hearts–the Son by His open proclamation and the Spirit by His hidden persuasion. It is a tantalizing suggestion.