מלכים א, פרק ז׳, פסוק מ״ט

The interior design of King Solomon's Sanctuary expanded upon the original vessels of the Tabernacle while strictly maintaining their traditional placement and material purity. When arranging the Menorahs, Solomon placed five on the right and five on the left. The primary approach among commentators is that this division does not refer to the right and left sides of the Sanctuary entrance. Since the original command required the Menorah to be placed exclusively on the southern side, all of Solomon's Menorahs were positioned in the south. The original Menorah crafted by Moses stood in the center, with the ten new Menorahs flanking it, five on each side. According to [רד״ק], every one of these Menorahs was actively lit.

These Menorahs were positioned directly in front of the Holy of Holies. [רלב״ג] points out that although the tables were also located in the Sanctuary, the specific placement of the Menorahs is emphasized to show their closer proximity to the inner sanctum. They stood closer to the Holy of Holies than the tables did, positioned directly before God and opposite the Ark.

Every element of these Menorahs was crafted from a special, highly precious, and refined gold. [רלב״ג] explains that the nature of this gold derives from its refining process, in which the metal was enclosed in a fiery crucible alongside materials that extracted every trace of impurity. The detailed listing of the Menorah's parts, including its decorative flowers, lamps, and tongs, serves a specific purpose. As [רלב״ג] notes, it emphasizes that from the base to the highest tip, including all accompanying tools, absolutely everything was made of pure gold. Furthermore, [מלבי״ם] adds that the very fact the Menorahs were made of gold legally required them to be fashioned with these specific floral decorations.

The lamps themselves were small cups designed to hold the poured oil and the wicks. Just like the original Menorah made by Moses, each of Solomon's Menorahs featured exactly seven lamps ([רש״י], [רד״ק], [מצודות]). To maintain these lamps, special tongs were used, which were simple pincers designed to lift, pull, and arrange the wicks perfectly within the oil.