1 Kings 7
7
1#The account of Solomon’s building of the Temple (the Lord’s “house”) is interrupted by an account of his building of the palace (Solomon’s “house”), which contained also the main buildings of public administration. The passage is anachronistic, since 6:38–7:1 and 9:10 imply that the palace was not begun until the Temple was completed. By placing the account here, the narrator highlights the fact that Solomon spent almost twice as long on his own “house” as on the Lord’s. #1 Kgs 9:10. To finish the building of his own house Solomon took thirteen years. 2He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon one hundred cubits long, fifty wide, and thirty high; it was supported by four rows of cedar columns, with cedar beams upon the columns. 3Moreover, it had a ceiling of cedar above the rafters resting on the columns; these rafters numbered forty-five, fifteen to a row. 4There were lattices in three rows, each row facing the next, 5and all the openings and doorposts were squared with lintels, each facing across from the next. 6He also made the Porch of Columns, fifty cubits long and thirty wide. The porch extended across the front, and there were columns with a canopy in front of them. 7He also made the Porch of the Throne where he gave judgment—that is, the Porch of Judgment; it was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling beams. 8#1 Kgs 3:1; 9:24. The house in which he lived was in another court, set in deeper than the Porch and of the same construction. (Solomon made a house like this Porch for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.)#Solomon did not build the house for Pharaoh’s daughter until Temple and palace were finished (3:1). By mentioning this marriage, the narrator keeps before the reader a developing theme in the Solomon story: the king’s building activities for his foreign wives, which eventually implicate him in idolatry (3:1; 7:8; 9:24; 11:1–8). 9All these buildings were of fine stones, hewn to size and trimmed front and back with a saw, from the foundation to the bonding course and outside as far as the great court. 10The foundation was made of fine, large blocks, some ten cubits and some eight cubits. 11Above were fine stones hewn to size, and cedar wood. 12The great court had three courses of hewn stones all around and a course of cedar beams. So also were the inner court of the house of the Lord and its porch.
13King Solomon brought Hiram#Hiram: a craftsman, not the king of Tyre (5:15–26). from Tyre. 14He was a bronze worker, the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali; his father had been from Tyre. He was endowed with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge for doing any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his metal work.
15#The two bronze columns were called Jachin and Boaz (v. 21; also 2 Chr 3:17); the significance of the names is unclear. The columns stood to the right and left of the Temple porch, and may have been intended to mark the entrance to the building as the entrance to God’s private dwelling. Their extraordinary size and elaborate decoration would have made them the most impressive parts of the Temple visible to the ordinary viewer, who was not permitted into the nave, let alone into the innermost sanctuary. According to Jer 52:21, the columns were hollow, the bronze exterior being “four fingers thick.” #Jer 52:21–23. He fashioned two bronze columns, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. 16He also made two capitals cast in bronze, to be placed on top of the columns, each of them five cubits high. 17There were meshes made like netting and braid made like chains for the capitals on top of the columns, seven for each capital. 18#The Hebrew text is corrupt in many places here, and alternative readings attested in the ancient versions are secondary attempts to make sense of the text. A clearer description of the columns and their decoration is found in vv. 41–42. He also cast pomegranates, two rows around each netting to cover the capital on top of the columns. 19The capitals on top of the columns (in the porch) were made like lilies, four cubits high. 20And the capitals on the two columns, both above and adjoining the bulge where it crossed out of the netting, had two hundred pomegranates in rows around each capital. 21He set up the columns at the temple porch; one he set up to the south, and called it Jachin, and the other to the north, and called it Boaz.#Jachin…Boaz: see note on 7:15. 22The top of the columns was made like a lily. Thus the work on the columns was completed.
23Then he made the molten sea;#The molten sea: this was a large circular tank containing about twelve thousand gallons of water. it was made with a circular rim, and measured ten cubits across, five in height, and thirty in circumference. 24Under the brim, gourds encircled it for ten cubits around the compass of the sea; the gourds were in two rows and were cast in one mold with the sea. 25This rested on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east, with their haunches all toward the center; upon them was set the sea. 26It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim resembled that of a cup, being lily-shaped. Its capacity was two thousand baths.#Baths: see note on Is 5:10.
27He also made ten stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four wide, and three high. 28When these stands were constructed, panels were set within the framework. 29On the panels within the frames there were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the frames likewise, above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths in hammered relief. 30Each stand had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. The four legs of each stand had cast braces, which were under the basin; they had wreaths on each side. 31The mouth of the basin was inside, and a cubit above, the crown, whose opening was round, made like a receptacle, a cubit and a half in depth. There was carved work at the opening, on panels that were square, not circular. 32The four wheels were below the paneling, and the axletrees of the wheels and the stand were of one piece. Each wheel was a cubit and a half high. 33The wheels were constructed like chariot wheels; their axletrees, rims, spokes, and hubs were all cast. 34The four braces reached the four corners of each stand, and formed part of the stand. 35At the top of the stand there was a raised collar half a cubit high, and the handles and panels on top of the stand formed part of it. 36On the flat ends of the handles and on the panels, wherever there was a bare space, cherubim, lions, and palm trees were carved, as well as wreaths all around. 37This was how he made the ten stands, all of the same casting, the same size, the same shape. 38He made ten bronze basins, each four cubits in diameter with a capacity of forty baths, one basin atop each of the ten stands.
39He placed the stands, five on the south side of the house and five on the north. The sea he placed off to the southeast from the south side of the house.
40When Hiram had made the pots, shovels, and bowls, he finished all his work for King Solomon in the house of the Lord: 41two columns; two nodes for the capitals on top of the columns; two pieces of netting covering the two nodes for the capitals on top of the columns; 42four hundred pomegranates in double rows on both pieces of netting that covered the two nodes of the capitals on top of the columns; 43ten stands; ten basins on the stands; 44one sea; twelve oxen supporting the sea; 45pots, shovels, and bowls. All these articles which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the Lord were of burnished bronze. 46The king had them cast in the neighborhood of the Jordan, between Succoth and Zarethan, in thick clay molds. 47Solomon did not weigh all the articles because they were so numerous; the weight of the bronze, therefore, was not determined.
48Solomon made all the articles that were for the house of the Lord: the golden altar; the table on which the showbread lay; 49the lampstands of pure gold, five to the right and five to the left before the inner sanctuary; their flowers, lamps, and tongs of gold; 50basins, snuffers, bowls, cups, and firepans of pure gold; hinges of gold for the doors of the innermost part of the house, or holy of holies, and for the doors of the outer room, the nave. 51#2 Sm 8:9–12. When all the work undertaken by King Solomon in the house of the Lord was completed,#The account of the Temple’s construction has been punctuated by references to “building” (banah) or “finishing” (killah) it (6:1b, 9a, 14, 38; 7:40). Here, at the end of the account, the narrator uses a different verb for its “completion,” shillem, which allows him to play on the name of Solomon (shelomo). he brought in the votive offerings of his father David, and put the silver, gold, and other articles in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.
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1 Kings 7: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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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