Chapiter

Chapiter is the archaic English term for the ornamental capital — the decorated head — of a pillar. Three distinct Hebrew words are translated this way in the Old Testament, referring to different architectural features. The chapiters of the two great bronze pillars Jachin and Boaz at the entrance of Solomon's temple were five cubits high and elaborately adorned with lily-work, network, and pomegranates (1 Kgs. 7:16–22; 2 Chr. 4:12–13). Their splendor made them among the most notable features of the temple façade. When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple, these chapiters were among the items specifically catalogued as taken to Babylon (2 Kgs. 25:17; Jer. 52:22).