מלכים א, פרק ז׳, פסוק ט״ו

At the front of the Temple built by Solomon stood two massive, magnificent copper pillars. Placed in the entrance hall, these famous structures, known as Jachin and Boaz, were designed purely for beauty and decoration, elevating the grandeur of the building [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Creating them required complex and impressive engineering. To shape the pillars, the artisan may have first crafted a miniature model out of clay, wood, or paper to secure the king's approval [אברבנאל]. Alternatively, the process involved digging massive molds directly into the earth, into which boiling copper was poured [רד״ק, רלב״ג, מצודת דוד].

Each pillar stood eighteen cubits tall, making a combined height of thirty-six cubits. However, the Book of Chronicles records their combined length as only thirty-five cubits. The primary approach among commentators to resolve this missing cubit is that half a cubit of each pillar was hidden inside the decorative capital placed on top of it, and thus was not counted in the other account. A different perspective suggests a difference between how they were cast and how they stood. Originally, the pillars were cast together as a single thirty-five-cubit unit lying on the ground. When they were separated and beaten with hammers to fit their capitals, each pillar stretched by an additional half a cubit, reaching eighteen cubits once upright [מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד, רד״ק]. Finally, some suggest the text is simply rounding the measurements rather than focusing on exact half-cubits [רלב״ג, אברבנאל].

A measuring rope was used to determine the size of the pillars, revealing a circumference of twelve cubits [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. From this, commentators calculate a diameter of about four cubits, or roughly two meters. Interestingly, a detail supplied by the Book of Jeremiah reveals that these enormous pillars were not solid blocks of metal. Instead, they were hollow inside, with copper walls measuring only four fingers thick [רש״י, מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד, רלב״ג, רד״ק]. The account here intentionally omits the fact that they were hollow to amplify the impression of Solomon's immense greatness and wealth [אברבנאל].

The description is uniquely brief, noting the height of the first pillar and the circumference of the second. Commentators agree that this concise phrasing is meant to show that the two structures were completely identical. The height of the first applies equally to the second, just as the circumference of the second applies to the first, proving they were perfectly equal in both size and design [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל].