Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical architecture, porches are significant structures often associated with temples and places of worship. They serve as transitional spaces between the sacred and the secular, providing areas for gathering, teaching, and reflection. The concept of porches in the Bible is most prominently illustrated in the descriptions of Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple.
Solomon's TempleThe first notable mention of a porch in the Bible is in the construction of Solomon's Temple. The "Porch of the Temple" or "Ulam" was an essential part of the temple's design. According to
1 Kings 6:3 , "The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple extended twenty cubits in length, across the width of the temple, and ten cubits in depth." This porch served as an entrance to the temple and was a place where people could gather before entering the more sacred areas.
The Second TempleThe Second Temple, rebuilt after the Babylonian exile, also featured significant porches. One of the most notable was Solomon's Colonnade, or Solomon's Porch, mentioned in the New Testament. In
John 10:23 , it is recorded, "And Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade." This area was a covered walkway supported by columns, providing a space for teaching and discussion. It was here that Jesus taught and where the early church gathered, as seen in
Acts 3:11 : "While the man clung to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and ran to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade."
Function and SymbolismPorches in biblical times were not merely architectural features but held symbolic and functional significance. They were places of judgment, teaching, and proclamation. In Ezekiel's vision of the temple, the porch is part of the detailed measurements and descriptions, emphasizing its importance in the temple's structure (
Ezekiel 40:48-49).
The porch served as a place where the divine and human realms intersected. It was a space where people could prepare themselves spiritually before entering the holy areas of the temple. The presence of porches in temple architecture underscores the importance of preparation and reverence in approaching God.
New Testament ContextIn the New Testament, porches continue to be significant as places of teaching and healing. The Pool of Bethesda, described in
John 5:2 , had five porches where the sick and infirm gathered, hoping for healing. "Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda."
These porches provided shelter and a gathering place for those seeking physical and spiritual restoration. The healing of the man at Bethesda by Jesus highlights the porches as places where divine intervention and miracles occurred.
ConclusionPorches in the Bible are more than architectural elements; they are spaces of transition, teaching, and divine encounter. They reflect the importance of preparation and reverence in worship and serve as reminders of the intersection between the sacred and the secular in the lives of believers.
Strong's Hebrew
361. elam -- a porch... 360, 361. elam. 362 . a porch. Transliteration: elam Phonetic Spelling:
(ay-lawm') Short Definition:
porches. Word Origin from ayil
...197. ulam -- a porch
... Definition: porch. Word Origin from the same as ul Definition a porch NASB
Word Usage hall (5), porch (28),porches (1). porch. Or...
Library
Again in John v. 2, Etc. , on the FivePorches, Where Lay a Great...
... Sermon LXXV. Again in John v. 2, etc., on the fiveporches, where lay a great multitude
of impotent folk, and of the pool of Siloa. [CXXV. Ben.]...
Description of the Inner Court, the Arcades andPorches.
... Book III. Chapter XXXIX."Description of the Inner Court, the Arcades and
Porches. In the next place he enclosed the atrium which...
John Chapter iv. 18-Jan
... 2. Of this pool, which was surrounded with fiveporches, in which lay a great multitude
of sick folk, I remember that I have very often treated; and most of...
Bethesda and the Sanhedrin
... [This chapter is based on John 5..] "Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market
a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having fiveporches....
Teaching in the Temple on the Octave of the Feast of Tabernacles.
... Christ, first in The Treasury,' [4029] and then [4030] in some unnamed part of the
sacred building, in all probabilities one of thePorches,' Greater freedom...
In Jerusalem when Herod Reigned
... time, engaged on it. [540] But what a heterogeneous crowd thronged its
porches and courts! Hellenists; scattered wanderers from...
The Third Miracle in John's Gospel
... pool which possessed, or was supposed to possess, curative energy; and round which
the kindness of some forgotten benefactor had built five rudeporches....
On the Words of the Gospel, John v. 2, "Now There is in Jerusalem...
... That water was the Jewish people; the fiveporches were the Law.... Therefore was the
water enclosed by fiveporches as that people was held in by the Law....
Psalm LXXXIV.
... Accordingly, my brethren, did those fiveporches of Solomon, in the middle
of which the pool lay, heal the sick at all? The sick...
At the Unknown' Feast in Jerusalem, and by the Pool of Bethesda.
... All we know is, that it was a pool enclosed within fiveporches, by the sheep-market,
presumably close to the Sheep-Gate.' [2218] This, as seems most likely...
Thesaurus
Porches (13 Occurrences)...Porches (13 Occurrences). John 5:2 Now in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, there is
a pool, which is called in Hebrew, "Bethesda," having five
porches.
...Bethesda (1 Occurrence)
... kolumbethra, "a swimming bath") with fiveporches, close to the sheep-gate or Market
(Nehemiah 3:1; John 5:2). Eusebius the historian (AD 330) calls it "the...
Gallery (2 Occurrences)
... and meaning uncertain; among the more probable suggestions are "pillar," "column,"
"walk with pillars," "colonnades," "passageway," "porches," "galleries" of...
Porcius (1 Occurrence)
Yard (8 Occurrences)
... separate place which was at its back, and its galleries on the one side and on the
other side, one hundred cubits; and the inner temple, and theporches of the...
Nave (19 Occurrences)
... separate place which was at its back, and its galleries on the one side and on the
other side, one hundred cubits; and the inner temple, and theporches of the...
Galleries (4 Occurrences)
... separate place which was at its back, and its galleries on the one side and on the
other side, one hundred cubits; and the inner temple, and theporches of the...
Portal (1 Occurrence)
... By analogy with the French portail, used by recent writers for the whole architectural
composition which surrounds and includes the doorways andporches of a...
Porticoes (1 Occurrence)
... Porticoes (1 Occurrence). John 5:2 and there is in Jerusalem by the sheep-'gate'
a pool that is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having fiveporches, (See NAS RSV)....
Pinnacle (2 Occurrences)
... A little wing, (Matthew 4:5; Luke 4:9). On the southern side of the temple court
was a range ofporches or cloisters forming three arcades....
Resources
What was Solomon's Porch? | GotQuestions.orgBible Concordance •
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