1 Kings 7
7
Solomon Builds His Palace
1Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.
2One of Solomon’s buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.#7:2 Hebrew 100 cubits [46 meters] long, 50 cubits [23 meters] wide, and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] high. There were four rows of cedar pillars, and great cedar beams rested on the pillars. 3The hall had a cedar roof. Above the beams on the pillars were forty-five side rooms,#7:3 Or 45 rafters, or 45 beams, or 45 pillars. The architectural details in 7:2-6 can be interpreted in many different ways. arranged in three tiers of fifteen each. 4On each end of the long hall were three rows of windows facing each other. 5All the doorways and doorposts#7:5 Greek version reads windows. had rectangular frames and were arranged in sets of three, facing each other.
6Solomon also built the Hall of Pillars, which was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide.#7:6 Hebrew 50 cubits [23 meters] long and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] wide. There was a porch in front, along with a canopy supported by pillars.
7Solomon also built the throne room, known as the Hall of Justice, where he sat to hear legal matters. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.#7:7 As in Syriac version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads from floor to floor. 8Solomon’s living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall, and they were constructed the same way. He also built similar living quarters for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
9From foundation to eaves, all these buildings were built from huge blocks of high-quality stone, cut with saws and trimmed to exact measure on all sides. 10Some of the huge foundation stones were 15 feet long, and some were 12 feet#7:10 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] . . . 8 cubits [3.7 meters]. long. 11The blocks of high-quality stone used in the walls were also cut to measure, and cedar beams were also used. 12The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple with its entry room.
Furnishings for the Temple
13King Solomon then asked for a man named Huram#7:13 Hebrew Hiram (also in 7:40, 45); compare 2 Chr 2:13. This is not the same person mentioned in 5:1. to come from Tyre. 14He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. Huram was extremely skillful and talented in any work in bronze, and he came to do all the metal work for King Solomon.
15Huram cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference.#7:15 Hebrew 18 cubits [8.3 meters] tall and 12 cubits [5.5 meters] in circumference. 16For the tops of the pillars he cast bronze capitals, each 7-1/2 feet#7:16 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters]. tall. 17Each capital was decorated with seven sets of latticework and interwoven chains. 18He also encircled the latticework with two rows of pomegranates to decorate the capitals over the pillars. 19The capitals on the columns inside the entry room were shaped like water lilies, and they were six feet#7:19 Hebrew 4 cubits [1.8 meters]; also in 7:38. tall. 20The capitals on the two pillars had 200 pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework. 21Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.#7:21 Jakin probably means “he establishes”; Boaz probably means “in him is strength.” 22The capitals on the pillars were shaped like water lilies. And so the work on the pillars was finished.
23Then Huram cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7-1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference.#7:23 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] across. . . . 5 cubits [2.3 meters] deep and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] in circumference. 24It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot#7:24 Or 20 gourds per meter; Hebrew reads 10 per cubit. all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.
25The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen,#7:25 Hebrew 12 oxen; compare 2 Kgs 16:17, which specifies bronze oxen. all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. 26The walls of the Sea were about three inches#7:26a Hebrew a handbreadth [8 centimeters]. thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 11,000 gallons#7:26b Hebrew 2,000 baths [42 kiloliters]. of water.
27Huram also made ten bronze water carts, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4-1/2 feet tall.#7:27 Hebrew 4 cubits [1.8 meters] long, 4 cubits wide, and 3 cubits [1.4 meters] high. 28They were constructed with side panels braced with crossbars. 29Both the panels and the crossbars were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations. 30Each of these carts had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. There were supporting posts for the bronze basins at the corners of the carts; these supports were decorated on each side with carvings of wreaths. 31The top of each cart had a rounded frame for the basin. It projected 1-1/2 feet#7:31a Hebrew a cubit [46 centimeters]. above the cart’s top like a round pedestal, and its opening was 2-1/4 feet#7:31b Hebrew 1-1/2 cubits [69 centimeters]; also in 7:32. across; it was decorated on the outside with carvings of wreaths. The panels of the carts were square, not round. 32Under the panels were four wheels that were connected to axles that had been cast as one unit with the cart. The wheels were 2-1/4 feet in diameter 33and were similar to chariot wheels. The axles, spokes, rims, and hubs were all cast from molten bronze.
34There were handles at each of the four corners of the carts, and these, too, were cast as one unit with the cart. 35Around the top of each cart was a rim nine inches wide.#7:35 Hebrew half a cubit wide [23 centimeters]. The corner supports and side panels were cast as one unit with the cart. 36Carvings of cherubim, lions, and palm trees decorated the panels and corner supports wherever there was room, and there were wreaths all around. 37All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold.
38Huram also made ten smaller bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was six feet across and could hold 220 gallons#7:38 Hebrew 40 baths [840 liters]. of water. 39He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple. 40He also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls.
So at last Huram completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of the Lord:
41the two pillars;
the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals;
42the 400 pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on top of the pillars);
43the ten water carts holding the ten basins;
44the Sea and the twelve oxen under it;
45the ash buckets, the shovels, and the bowls.
Huram made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the Lord, just as King Solomon had directed. 46The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. 47Solomon did not weigh all these things because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be measured.
48Solomon also made all the furnishings of the Temple of the Lord:
the gold altar;
the gold table for the Bread of the Presence;
49the lampstands of solid gold, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place;
the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs—all of gold;
50the small bowls, lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and incense burners—all of solid gold;
the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, with their fronts overlaid with gold.
51So King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the Lord. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the various articles—and he stored them in the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple.
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1 Kings 7
7
The Palace Built in 13 Years
1Solomon took 13 years to finish building his palace. 2He built a hall ⌞named⌟ the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar pillars supporting cedar beams. 3The hall was covered with cedar above the side rooms, which were supported by 45 pillars (15 per row). 4The windows were in three rows facing each other on opposite sides ⌞of the palace⌟. 5All the doors and doorframes were square. There were three doors facing each other on opposite sides ⌞of the palace⌟.
6Solomon made the Hall of Pillars 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. In front of the hall was an entrance hall with pillars.
7He made the Hall of Justice, where he sat on his throne and served as judge. The hall was covered with cedar from floor to ceiling.#7:7 Latin, Syriac; Masoretic Text “floor to floor.”
8His own private quarters were in a different location than the Hall of Justice, but they were similar in design. Solomon also built private quarters like this for his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter.
9From the foundation to the roof, all these buildings, including the large courtyard, were built with high-grade stone blocks. The stone blocks were cut to size and trimmed with saws on their inner and outer faces. 10The foundation was made with large, high-grade stones (some 12 feet long, others 15 feet long). 11Above ⌞the foundation⌟ were cedar beams and high-grade stone blocks, which had been cut to size. 12The large courtyard had three layers of cut stone blocks and a layer of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple and the entrance hall.
The Temple Furnishings
(2 Chronicles 2:13–14; 3:15–5:1)
13King Solomon had Hiram brought from Tyre. 14Hiram was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father, a native of Tyre, was a skilled bronze craftsman. Hiram was highly skilled, resourceful, and knowledgeable about all kinds of bronze craftsmanship. He came to King Solomon and did all his ⌞bronze⌟ work.
15He made two bronze pillars. Each was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. 16He made two capitals of cast bronze to put on top of the pillars. Each capital was 7½ feet high. 17He also made seven rows of filigree and chains for each capital. 18After he made the pillars, he made two rows ⌞of decorations⌟ around the filigree to cover the capitals which were above the pillars.#7:18 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Greek, Syriac; other Hebrew manuscripts “pomegranates.” He made the capitals identical to each other. 19The capitals on top of the pillars in the entrance hall were lily-shaped. ⌞Each⌟ was six feet high. 20Two hundred pomegranates in rows were directly above the bowl-shaped parts around the filigree on the capitals on both pillars.
21Hiram set up the pillars in the temple’s entrance hall. He set up the pillar on the right and named it Jachin [He Establishes]. Then he set up the pillar on the left and named it Boaz [In Him Is Strength]. 22There were lily-shaped capitals at the top of the pillars. He finished the work on the pillars.
23Hiram made a pool from cast metal. It was 15 feet in diameter. It was round, 7½ feet high, and had a circumference of 45 feet. 24Under the rim were two rows of gourds all around the 45-foot circumference of the pool. They were cast in metal when the pool was cast. 25The pool was set on 12 metal bulls. Three bulls faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. The pool was set on them, and their hindquarters were toward the center ⌞of the pool⌟. 26The pool was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, shaped like a lily’s bud. It held 12,000 gallons.
27He made ten bronze stands. Each stand was 6 feet square and 4½ feet high. 28The stands were made this way: They had side panels set in frames. 29On the panels set in frames were lions, oxen, and angels.#7:29 Or “cherubim.” These were also on the frames. Above and below the lions and the cattle were engraved designs. 30Each stand had four bronze wheels on bronze axles and four supports beneath the basin. The supports were made of cast metal with designs on the sides. 31Each had a 1½-foot-deep opening in the center to the circular frame on top. The opening was round, formed like a pedestal, and was two feet ⌞wide⌟. Around the opening there were engravings. But the panels were square, not round. 32The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles were attached to the stand. Each wheel was two feet high. 33The wheels were made like chariot wheels. The axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all cast metal. 34The four supports at the four corners of each stand were part of the stand. 35The top of each stand had a round, nine-inch-high band. Above the stand were supports which were part of the panels. 36Hiram engraved angels, lions, palm trees, and designs in every available space on the supports and panels. 37This is the way he made the ten stands. All of them were cast in the same mold, identical in size and shape.
38Hiram also made ten bronze basins. Each basin held 240 gallons. Every basin was six feet ⌞wide⌟. There was one basin on each of the ten stands. 39He put five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north side of the temple. He set the pool on the south side of the temple in the southeast ⌞corner⌟. 40Hiram also made pots, shovels, and bowls.
So Hiram finished all the work for King Solomon on the Lord’s temple: 412 pillars, the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the 2 pillars, and 2 sets of filigree to cover the 2 bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars, 42400 pomegranates for the 2 sets of filigree (2 rows of pomegranates for each filigree to cover the 2 bowl-shaped capitals on the pillars), 4310 stands and 10 basins on the stands, 441 pool, 12 bulls under the pool, 45pots, shovels, and bowls. Hiram made all these utensils out of polished bronze for the Lord’s temple at King Solomon’s request. 46The king cast them in foundries in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. 47Solomon left all the products unweighed because so much bronze was used. No one tried to determine how much the bronze weighed.
48Solomon made all the furnishings for the Lord’s temple: the gold altar, the gold table on which the bread of the presence was placed, 49lamp stands of pure gold (five on the south side and five on the north in front of the inner room), flowers, lamps, gold tongs, 50dishes, snuffers, bowls, saucers, incense burners of pure gold, the gold sockets for the doors of the inner ⌞room⌟ (the most holy place), and the doors of the temple.
51All the work King Solomon did on the Lord’s temple was finished. He brought the holy things that had belonged to his father David—the silver, gold, and utensils—and put them in the storerooms of the Lord’s temple.
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