MPV Commentary

The united height of the pillars is now specified; although their exact dimensions would be thirty-six cubits, each column was actually seventeen and a half cubits tall, with the capital or base taking up an additional half cubit. It's likely that they were described as they appeared together in the mold before being set upright [Poole]. The circumference of these pillars, or obelisks, would have been around eighteen to twenty-one feet, standing at an impressive forty feet high. Highly ornamented, they formed a grand entrance fitting for the temple's magnificent interior.