מלכים א, פרק ו׳, פסוק ו׳

The side chambers surrounding the Temple walls present a unique architectural design. Wrapping around the north, south, and west sides of the main building, these chambers were stacked in three stories—a lower, middle, and upper level—with each floor standing five cubits tall [רש״י, מלבי״ם].

In most conventional buildings, the lower floors are built wider than the upper ones to provide a solid base. The Temple's design reversed this standard, making the upper floors progressively wider than the ground level [שטיינזלץ]. This upward expansion was achieved through a clever use of ledges, created by systematically reducing the thickness of the wall [מצודת ציון]. The outer walls of the main hall were built in a stepped manner. After the first five cubits of height, the wall became one cubit thinner, creating a step. This process was repeated at the height of ten cubits [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. Because of these receding steps, the bottom floor of the side chambers was five cubits wide, the middle floor expanded to six cubits by utilizing the step in the wall, and the top floor widened to seven.

The primary reason for this stepped construction was to protect the structural integrity of the main Temple building. Typically, builders construct adjoining rooms by carving holes into a taller main wall to anchor the ceiling beams of the lower structure [מצודת דוד]. In the Temple, however, the ceiling beams of the side chambers simply rested directly on these built-in wall steps. This innovative method eliminated the need to puncture the sacred walls, preventing any structural damage and preserving the flawless beauty and majesty of the building [רש״י, שטיינזלץ].