1 Kings 6:23–28 (ESV)

23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high.

We will handle 1 Kings 6:23 together, since these verses concern the fashioning of the images of the two cherubim that were to stand in the inner sanctuary. They were to be made out of olivewood, standing ten cubits high (approximately 5 metres).

They were to be fashioned each having two wings of five cubits each so that spread out at full extension the wings would be from the tip of one to the tip of the other ten cubits. This means that the wingspan was equal to the height of each cherub.

The one wing of each cherub was to touch the wall of the Most Holy Place. The tip of the inner wing of each cherub was to touch the tip of the inner wing of the other. This indicates that the span of the wings of both images of the cherubim was the entire width of the inner sanctuary.

The two cherubim were to be overlaid with gold. The meaning of the gold in the temple has been covered in the comments on previous verses.

We should remember that images of two cherubim were already on the covering of the ark, which was to be set in the inner sanctuary. We should also remember that the two cherubim spoken of in this verse had no counterparts in the arrangement of the tabernacle as Moses was directed to build it. Why, we may ask, were these two figures placed there? Scripture does not inform us, but we may be reminded, whether this was God’s intention in having them so placed or not, that the Lord's presence in heaven is surrounded by a multitude of angelic beings. This supposition may be strengthened by the information we are given in a number of verses that follow (1 Kings 6:29, 1 Kings 6:32, 1 Kings 6:35). These narratives report that in various places in the temple, cherubim were carved upon the walls.