1 Kings 7
7
Solomon’s Palace
1King Solomon also built a palace for himself. It took 13 years to build Solomon’s palace. 2He also built the building called the “Forest of Lebanon.” It was 100 cubits#7:2 100 cubits 170' 5/8" (51.83 m). long, 50 cubits#7:2 50 cubits 85' 5/16" (25.92 m). Also in verse 6. wide, and 30 cubits#7:2 30 cubits 51' 3/16" (15.55 m). Also in verses 6, 23. high. It had four rows of cedar columns. On top of each column was a cedar capital. 3There were cedar beams going across the rows of columns. There were 15 beams for each section of columns, making a total of 45 beams. On top of these beams there were cedar boards for the ceiling. 4There were three rows of windows across from each other on the side walls. 5There were three doors at each end. All the door openings and frames were square.
6Solomon also built the Porch of Columns. It was 50 cubits long and 30 cubits wide. Along the front of the porch, there was a covering supported by columns.
7He also built a throne room where he judged people. He called this the Judgment Hall. The room was covered with cedar from floor to ceiling.
8Behind the Judgment Hall was a courtyard. The palace where Solomon lived was built around that courtyard and looked like the Judgment Hall. He also built the same kind of palace for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.
9All these buildings were made with expensive blocks of stone. The stones were cut to the right size with a saw and then smoothed on front and back. These expensive stones went from the foundation all the way up to the top layer of the wall. Even the wall around the yard was made with expensive blocks of stone. 10The foundations were made with large, expensive stones. Some of the stones were 10 cubits#7:10 10 cubits 17' 1/16" (5.18 m). Also in verse 23. long and the others were 8 cubits#7:10 8 cubits 13' 7 1/4" (4.2 m). long. 11On top of these stones there were other expensive stones and cedar beams. 12There were walls around the palace yard and around the yard and porch of the Lord’s Temple. The walls were built with three rows of stone and one row of cedar timbers.
13King Solomon sent for a man named Huram#7:13 Huram Or “Hiram.” Also in verses 15, 23, 27, 37, 38, 40-45. who lived in Tyre and brought him to Jerusalem. 14Huram’s mother was an Israelite from the tribe of Naphtali. His dead father was from Tyre. Huram made things from bronze. He was a very skilled and experienced builder. So King Solomon asked him to come, and Huram accepted. King Solomon put him in charge of all the bronze work, and Huram did all the work he was given to do.
15Huram made two bronze columns for the porch. Each column was 18 cubits#7:15 18 cubits 30' 7 5/16" (9.33 m). tall and 12 cubits#7:15 12 cubits 20' 4 7/8" (6.22 m). around. The columns were hollow and their metal walls were 3 inches#7:15 3 inches Literally, “1 handbreadth” (7.4 cm). Also in verse 26. thick.#7:15 The columns … 3 inches thick This is from the ancient Greek version. 16He also made two bronze capitals that were 5 cubits#7:16 5 cubits 8' 6" (2.6 m). Also in verses 19, 23. tall. He put these capitals on top of the columns. 17He made two nets of chain to cover the capitals on top of the two columns. 18Then he made two rows of bronze pomegranates. He put the bronze pomegranates on the nets of each column to cover the capitals at the top of the columns. 19The capitals on top of the columns were shaped like flowers. 20The capitals were on top of the columns, above the bowl-shaped net. There were 200 pomegranates in rows all around the capitals. 21Huram put these two bronze columns at the porch of the Temple. One column was put on the south side of the entrance and one was put on the north side of it. The column on the south was named Jakin. The column on the north was named Boaz. 22They put the flower-shaped capitals on top of the columns, and the work on the two columns was finished.
23Then Huram melted bronze and poured it into a huge mold to make a tank,#7:23 tank A very large container for water. which was called “The Sea.” The tank was about 30 cubits around. It was 10 cubits across and 5 cubits deep. 24There was a rim around the outer edge of the tank. Under this rim there were two rows of bronze gourds all around the tank. The bronze gourds were made in one piece as part of the tank. 25The tank rested on the backs of 12 bronze bulls. All 12 of the bulls were looking out, away from the tank. Three were looking north, three east, three south, and three west. 26The sides of the tank were 3 inches thick. The rim around the tank was like the rim of a cup or like the petals on a flower. The tank held about 11,000 gallons#7:26 11,000 gallons Literally, “2000 baths” (44,000 l). of water.
27Then Huram made ten bronze carts. Each cart was 4 cubits#7:27 4 cubits 6' 9 5/8" (2.1 m). Also in verse 38. long, 4 cubits wide, and 3 cubits#7:27 3 cubits 5' 1 3/16" (1.55 m). high. 28The carts were made with square panels set in frames. 29On the panels and frames were bronze bulls, lions, and Cherub angels. There were designs of flowers hammered into the bronze above and below the bulls and lions. 30Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the corners there were bronze supports for a large bowl. The supports had designs of flowers hammered into the bronze. 31There was a frame around the top with an opening for the bowl. The frame was 1 cubit#7:31 1 cubit 20 3/8" (51.83 cm). tall, and the opening was 1 1/2 cubits#7:31 1 1/2 cubits 30 5/8" (77.75 cm). in diameter. There were designs carved into the bronze on the frame. The frame was square, not round. 32There were four wheels under the frame. The wheels were 1 1/2 cubits in diameter. The axles between the wheels were made as one piece with the cart. 33The wheels were like the wheels on a chariot. Everything on the wheels—the axles, the rims, the spokes, and the hubs were made from bronze.
34There were supports at each of the four corners of the carts. They were made as one piece with the cart. 35There was a strip of bronze around the top of each cart. It was made as one piece with the cart. 36The sides of the cart and the frames had pictures of Cherub angels, lions, and palm trees carved into the bronze. These pictures were carved all over the carts—wherever there was room. And there were flowers carved on the frame around the cart. 37Huram made ten carts, and they were all the same. Each cart was made from bronze. The bronze was melted and poured into a mold. So all the carts were the same size and shape.
38Huram also made ten bowls. There was one bowl for each of the ten carts. Each bowl was 4 cubits across and could hold about 230 gallons.#7:38 230 gallons Literally, “40 baths” (880 l). 39He put five carts on the south side of the Temple and five carts on the north side. He put the large tank in the southeast corner of the Temple. 40-45Huram also made pots, small shovels, and small bowls. He finished making all the things King Solomon wanted him to make. This is a list of the things that Huram made for the Temple of the Lord:
2 columns;
2 capitals shaped like bowls for the top of the columns;
2 nets to go around the capitals;
400 pomegranates for the two nets (two rows of pomegranates for each net to cover the two bowls for the capitals on top of the columns);
10 carts with a bowl on each cart;
the large tank with 12 bulls under it;
the pots, small shovels, small bowls, and all the dishes for the Lord’s Temple.
Huram made everything King Solomon wanted. They were all made from polished bronze. 46-47Solomon never weighed the bronze that was used to make these things. There was too much to weigh. So the total weight of all the bronze was never known. The king ordered these things to be made near the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan. They made them by melting the bronze and pouring it into molds in the ground.
48-50Solomon also commanded that all these things be made from gold for the Temple:
the golden altar;
the golden table that held the special bread offered to God;
the lampstands of pure gold (five on the south side and five on the north side in front of the Most Holy Place);
the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;
the pure gold bowls, lamp snuffers, small bowls, pans, and dishes for carrying coals;
the gold hinges for the doors to the inner room (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors to the main room of the Temple.
51So King Solomon finished all the work he wanted to do for the Lord’s Temple. Then he took everything his father David had saved for this special purpose and put them in the Temple. He put the silver and gold in the special storage rooms in the Lord’s Temple.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
1 Kings 7
7
Solomon Builds His Palace
1Solomon was #ch. 3:1; 9:10; 2 Chr. 8:1building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.
2He built #ch. 10:17, 21the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits#7:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four#7:2 Septuagint three rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars. 3And it was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. 4There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers. 5All the doorways and windows#7:5 Septuagint; Hebrew posts had square frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers.
6And he made #[ver. 12] the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits. There was a porch in front with pillars, and #Ezek. 41:25, 26a canopy in front of them.
7And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. #ch. 6:15, 16It was finished with cedar from floor to rafters.#7:7 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew floor
8His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter #ch. 3:1; 2 Chr. 8:11whom he had taken in marriage.
9All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court. 10The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits. 11And above were costly stones, cut according to measurement, and cedar. 12#ch. 6:36 The great court had three courses of cut stone all around, and a course of cedar beams; so had the inner court of the house of the Lord and #[ver. 6]the vestibule of the house.
The Temple Furnishings
13And King Solomon sent and brought #[2 Chr. 2:14]Hiram from Tyre. 14He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And #[Ex. 31:3-5; 35:31]he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.
15 # For ver. 15-21, see 2 Chr. 3:15-17 He cast #2 Kgs. 25:17; 1 Chr. 18:8; 2 Chr. 4:12; Jer. 52:21-23 two pillars of bronze. #ver. 41Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same.#7:15 Targum, Syriac (compare Septuagint and Jeremiah 52:21); Hebrew and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of the second pillar 16He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and #[See ver. 15 above]the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice#7:17 Septuagint; Hebrew seven; twice in this verse for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital. 18Likewise he made pomegranates#7:18 Two manuscripts (compare Septuagint); Hebrew pillars in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same with the other capital. 19Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four cubits. 20The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection which was beside the latticework. There were #[ver. 42; 2 Chr. 3:16; 4:13; Jer. 52:23]two hundred pomegranates in two rows all around, and so with the other capital. 21#2 Chr. 3:17He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz. 22And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished.
23 # For ver. 23-26, see 2 Chr. 4:2-5 Then he made #2 Kgs. 16:17; 25:13; 1 Chr. 18:8; Jer. 52:17; [Ex. 30:18]the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 24Under its brim were #[ch. 6:18]gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 25It stood on #Jer. 52:20twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. 26Its thickness was a handbreadth,#7:26 A handbreadth was about 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.#7:26 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters
27He also made the #2 Kgs. 25:13; 2 Chr. 4:14; Jer. 52:17ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high. 28This was the construction of the stands: they had panels, and the panels were set in the frames, 29and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work. 30Moreover, each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each. 31Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit. Its opening was round, as a pedestal is made, a cubit and a half deep. At its opening there were carvings, and its panels were square, not round. 32And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the stands, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34There were four supports at the four corners of each stand. The supports were of one piece with the stands. 35And on the top of the stand there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the stand its stays and its panels were of one piece with it. 36And on the surfaces of its stays and on its panels, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around. 37After this manner he made #[See ver. 27 above]the ten stands. All of them were cast alike, of the same measure and the same form.
38And he made #2 Chr. 4:6; [Ex. 30:18]ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands. 39And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.
40 # For ver. 40-51, see 2 Chr. 4:11–5:1 Hiram also made #Ex. 27:3; 38:3the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord: 41the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two #ver. 17, 18latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars; 42and the #[ver. 20]four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars; 43the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands; 44and #ver. 23, 25the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath the sea.
45Now #Ex. 27:3; 38:3the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels in the house of the Lord, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished bronze. 46In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between #Josh. 13:27 Succoth and #Josh. 3:16Zarethan. 47And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them; #[1 Chr. 22:3, 14]the weight of the bronze was not ascertained.
48So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the Lord: #See Ex. 37:25-29 the golden altar, #[2 Chr. 4:8]; See Ex. 37:10-16 the golden table for #Ex. 25:30; See Lev. 24:5-8the bread of the Presence, 49#2 Chr. 4:7 the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; #See Ex. 25:31-38the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; 50the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and #Ex. 27:3 fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, #See ch. 6:16the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple.
51Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in #2 Sam. 8:11the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.
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