מלכים א, פרק ו׳, פסוק ג׳

The architecture of the Temple was carefully designed to create a gradual transition from the outside world into the sacred space. Visitors did not step directly into the main sanctuary; instead, they first passed through an entrance hall that served as a front corridor or gatehouse [מצודת ציון, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Positioned on the eastern side of the Temple right at the main doorway [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם], this hall was not a freestanding structure. It was built flush against the main building without any gap between them [רד״ק].

The measurements of this entrance hall reflect a specific rule in Biblical architecture, where the longer side of a space is always defined as its length and the shorter side as its width, regardless of its physical orientation. Running from north to south, the hall measured twenty cubits. Because this was its longest dimension, it is classified as its length, and it perfectly matched the width of the main sanctuary to which it was attached. Extending outward toward the east, the hall projected ten cubits, which served as its width [רש״י, מצודת דוד].

When adding this ten-cubit outward projection to the rest of the building, the entire footprint of the Temple stretched to a total of seventy cubits [מלבי״ם, רלב״ג]. Furthermore, parallel records indicate that this entrance hall towered to a height of one hundred and twenty cubits, making it twice as high as the inner holy spaces of the Temple [רלב״ג].