מלכים א, פרק ז׳, פסוק כ׳

The architectural design of the pillars in Solomon’s Temple featured intricate and highly specific decorations at their peaks. Rather than sitting as hollow rings around the edges of the pillars, the tops were crowned with solid, dome-like caps that completely covered the upper space [מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The positioning of these caps relates to a central area often described as the belly. Commentators offer different ways to picture this feature. One perspective suggests it refers to the thick, hollow inner space of the pillar itself, which the cap entirely enclosed [אברבנאל, מצודת דוד]. Another approach understands this middle section as the center point of the cap itself [רש״י, רד״ק]. Building on this, some explain that the cap was divided into an upper and lower section, with the belly acting as the seam joining them just below the midpoint [מלבי״ם, רלב״ג]. It was precisely in this middle area that a decorative lattice was positioned.

Surrounding this central lattice was an elaborate arrangement of pomegranates. The primary approach among commentators is that there were two hundred pomegranates in total, threaded onto chains and arranged in two circular rows, with one hundred pomegranates in each row [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רלב״ג, רד״ק, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The placement within each row was highly precise and geometric. Twenty-four pomegranates faced each of the four main directions, totaling ninety-six, while four additional pomegranates were set into the corners between these directions to complete the hundred [מלבי״ם, רד״ק, אברבנאל].

This grand design was not limited to just one pillar. The primary approach among commentators is that the exact same detailed craftsmanship found on the first pillar was mirrored perfectly on the second [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, an alternative view suggests a more complex structure, proposing that each pillar actually held two distinct caps, or a single cap split into two different halves. According to this idea, the pomegranates specifically adorned the lower cap, while the upper cap was covered by the lattice [רלב״ג, מלבי״ם]. This complex interpretation is strongly rejected by others, who argue that a straightforward reading clearly indicates there was only a single, unified cap on each pillar [אברבנאל].