1 Kings 7
7
Solomon’s Palace Complex
1Solomon completed his entire palace complex after thirteen years of construction.#1Kg 9:10; 2Ch 8:1 2He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon.#1Kg 10:21; 2Ch 9:16 It was one hundred fifty feet#7:2 Lit 100 cubits long, seventy-five feet#7:2 Lit 50 cubits, also in v. 6 wide, and forty-five feet#7:2 Lit 30 cubits, also in vv. 6,23 high on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on top of the pillars. 3It was paneled above with cedar at the top of the chambers that rested on forty-five pillars, fifteen per row. 4There were three rows of window frames, facing each other#7:4 Lit frames, window to window in three tiers.#7:4 Lit three times; = at 3 different places, also in v. 5#1Kg 10:16–17 5All the doors and doorposts had rectangular frames, the openings facing each other#7:5 Lit frames, opposing window to window in three tiers. 6He made the hall of pillars seventy-five feet long and forty-five feet wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillars#7:6 Hb obscure was in front of them. 7He made the Hall of the Throne where he would judge#1Kg 3:16–28 — the Hall of Judgment. It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.#7:7 Syr, Vg; MT reads floor 8Solomon’s own palace where he would live, in the other courtyard behind the hall, was of similar construction. And he made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, his wife.#7:8 Lit daughter he had taken#1Kg 3:1; 9:24; 2Ch 8:11
9All of these buildings were of costly stones, cut to size and sawed with saws on the inner and outer surfaces, from foundation to coping and from the outside to the great courtyard. 10The foundation was made of large, costly stones twelve and fifteen feet#7:10 Lit ten cubits and eight cubits long. 11Above were also costly stones, cut to size, as well as cedar wood. 12Around the great courtyard, as well as the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple and the portico of the temple, were three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams.#1Kg 6:36
13King Solomon had Hiram#7:13 = Huram in 2Ch 4:11#1Kg 5:1–11; 2Ch 2:13–14 brought from Tyre. 14He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze craftsman. Hiram had great skill,#Ex 31:2–5 understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.#2Ch 4:11
The Bronze Pillars
15He cast two bronze pillars,#2Kg 25:16–17; 2Ch 3:15 each 27 feet#7:15 Lit 18 cubits high and 18 feet#7:15 Lit 12 cubits in circumference.#7:15 LXX adds and the thickness of the pillar was four fingers hollowed and similarly the second pillar#1Kg 7:41 16He also made two capitals#1Kg 7:42; 2Kg 25:17 of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars; 7½ feet#7:16 Lit five cubits, also in v. 23 was the height of the first capital, and 7½ feet was also the height of the second capital. 17The capitals on top of the pillars had gratings of latticework, wreaths#7:17 Lit tassels made of chainwork — seven for the first capital and seven for the second.
18He made the pillars with two encircling rows of pomegranates on the one grating to cover the capital on top; he did the same for the second capital. 19And the capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, six feet#7:19 Lit four cubits, also in vv. 27,38 high. 20The capitals on the two pillars were also immediately above the rounded surface next to the grating, and two hundred pomegranates#2Ch 3:16; 4:13 were in rows encircling each#7:20 Lit encircling the second capital. 21He set up the pillars at the portico#1Kg 6:3 of the sanctuary: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin;#7:21 = He Will Establish then he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.#7:21 = In Him Is Strength#2Ch 3:17 22The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. Then the work of the pillars was completed.#2Kg 25:17
The Basin
23He made the cast metal basin,#7:23 Lit sea#2Kg 25:13; 1Ch 18:8; 2Ch 4:6 15 feet#7:23 Lit 10 cubits from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet high and 45 feet in circumference. 24Ornamental gourds#1Kg 6:18 encircled it below the brim, ten every half yard,#7:24 Lit 10 per cubit completely encircling the basin.#2Ch 4:3 The gourds were cast in two rows when the basin was cast. 25It stood on twelve oxen,#2Kg 16:17; 2Ch 4:4–5; Jr 52:20 three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center. 26The basin was three inches#7:26 Lit a handbreadth thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or of a lily blossom. It held eleven thousand gallons.#7:26 Lit 2,000 baths
The Bronze Water Carts
27Then he made ten bronze water carts.#7:27 Lit bronze stands#2Kg 25:13; 2Ch 4:14 Each water cart was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4½ feet#7:27 Lit three cubits high. 28This was the design of the carts: They had frames; the frames were between the cross-pieces, 29and on the frames between the cross-pieces were lions, oxen, and cherubim.#1Kg 6:29,32 On the cross-pieces there was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging#7:29 Or hammered-down work. 30Each cart#2Kg 16:17 had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Underneath the four corners of the basin were cast supports, each next to a wreath. 31And the water cart’s opening inside the crown on top was eighteen inches#7:31 Lit a cubit wide. The opening was round, made as a pedestal twenty-seven inches#7:31 Lit one and a half cubits wide. On it were carvings, but their frames were square, not round. 32There were four wheels under the frames, and the wheel axles were part of the water cart; each wheel was twenty-seven inches#7:32 Lit was one and a half cubits tall. 33The wheels’ design was similar to that of chariot wheels: their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal. 34Four supports were at the four corners of each water cart; each support was one piece with the water cart. 35At the top of the cart was a band nine inches#7:35 Lit half a cubit high encircling it; also, at the top of the cart, its braces and its frames were one piece with it. 36He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees#1Kg 6:29 on the plates of its braces and on its frames, wherever each had space, with encircling wreaths. 37In this way he made the ten water carts using the same casting, dimensions, and shape for all of them.
Bronze Basins and Other Utensils
38Then he made ten bronze basins#Ex 30:18; 2Ch 4:6 — each basin held 220 gallons#7:38 Lit 40 baths and each was six feet wide — one basin for each of the ten water carts. 39He set five water carts on the right side of the temple and five on the left side. He put the basin near the right side of the temple toward the southeast.#2Ch 4:10 40Then Hiram made#2Ch 4:11–5:1 the basins, the shovels, and the sprinkling basins.
Completion of the Bronze Works
So Hiram finished all the work that he was doing for King Solomon on the Lord’s temple: 41two pillars;#1Kg 7:15 bowls for the capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars;#1Kg 7:17 42the four hundred pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillars#1Kg 7:20); 43the ten water carts;#1Kg 7:27 the ten basins on the water carts;#1Kg 7:38 44the basin;#1Kg 7:23 the twelve oxen underneath the basin;#1Kg 7:25 45and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling basins.#Ex 27:3 All the utensils that Hiram made for King Solomon at the Lord’s temple were made of burnished bronze. 46The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth#Gn 33:17 and Zarethan.#Jos 3:16; 1Kg 4:12 47Solomon left all the utensils unweighed because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.#1Ch 22:3,14
Completion of the Gold Furnishings
48Solomon also made all the equipment in the Lord’s temple: the gold altar; the gold table that the Bread of the Presence was placed on;#Ex 25:30; 30:1–3; 2Ch 29:18 49the pure gold lampstands in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left;#Ex 25:31–36 the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; 50the pure gold ceremonial bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles,#7:50 Or dishes, or spoons; lit palms and firepans;#2Kg 25:15 and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the most holy place) and for the doors of the temple sanctuary.
51So all the work King Solomon did in the Lord’s temple was completed.#1Kg 6:37–38 Then Solomon brought in the consecrated things of his father David#2Sm 8:9–12; 2Ch 5:1 — the silver, the gold, and the utensils — and put them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.#2Ch 36:18
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
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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