The pattern of the porch, to wit, of the temple; which is necessarily to be understood. The houses thereof; either,
1. The houses of the porch, so called because they went through the porch into them. Or rather,
2. The houses of the temple, manifestly understood in the next foregoing clause of this verse, to wit, the holy place, and the holy of holies; which may well pass for two houses, because they were separated by a partition; and because they were of differing dimensions, as appears by 1 Kings 6:2,20, especially seeing the holy place is called the greater house, 2 Chronicles 3:5, comparatively to the holy of holies, which was the lesser house, and so you have two houses. The inner parlours thereof; by these he seems to understand all those rooms which were made against the wall of the house round about, as it is said, 1 Kings 6:5, which are here called by divers names, according to the difference of their situation or use. The place of the mercy-seat, i.e. in what particular part of the holy of holies it was to be placed.