1 Kings 7
7
Solomon’s Palace Complex
1Solomon completed his entire palace complex after 13 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 150 feet # Lit 100 cubits long, 75 feet # Lit 50 cubits wide, and 45 feet # Lit 30 cubits 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 45 pillars, 15 per row. 4There were three rows of window frames, facing each other # Lit frames, window to window in three tiers. # Lit three times; = at 3 different places # 1Kg 10:16-17 5All the doors and doorposts had rectangular frames, the openings facing each other # Lit frames, opposing window to window in three tiers. # Lit three times; = at 3 different places 6He made the hall of pillars 75 feet # Lit 50 cubits long and 45 feet # Lit 30 cubits wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillars # 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. # 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. # 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 12 and 15 feet # 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 # = 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 hollow bronze pillars: # 2Kg 25:16-17; 2Ch 3:15 each 27 feet # Lit 18 cubits high and 18 feet # Lit 12 cubits in circumference. # 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; 7 1/2 feet # Lit five cubits was the height of the first capital, and 7 1/2 feet # Lit five cubits was also the height of the second capital. 17The capitals on top of the pillars had gratings of latticework, wreaths # 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 # Lit four cubits high. 20The capitals on the two pillars were also immediately above the rounded surface next to the grating, and 200 pomegranates # 2Ch 3:16; 4:13 were in rows encircling each # 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; # = He Will Establish then he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. # = 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 Reservoir
23He made the cast metal reservoir, # Lit sea # 2Kg 25:13; 1Ch 18:8; 2Ch 4:6 15 feet # Lit 10 cubits from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7 1/2 feet # Lit five cubits high and 45 feet # Lit 30 cubits in circumference. 24Ornamental gourds # 1Kg 6:18 encircled it below the brim, 10 every half yard, # Lit 10 per cubit completely encircling the reservoir. # 2Ch 4:3 The gourds were cast in two rows when the reservoir was cast. 25It stood on 12 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 reservoir was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center. 26The reservoir was three inches # Lit a handbreadth thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or of a lily blossom. It held 11,000 gallons. # Lit 2,000 baths
The Bronze Water Carts
27Then he made 10 bronze water carts. # Lit bronze stands # 2Kg 25:13; 2Ch 4:14 Each water cart was six feet # Lit four cubits long, six feet # Lit four cubits wide, and 4 1/2 feet # 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 # 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 18 inches # Lit a cubit wide. The opening was round, made as a pedestal 27 inches # 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 27 inches # 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 # 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 10 water carts using the same casting, dimensions, and shape for all of them.
Bronze Basins and Other Utensils
38Then he made 10 bronze basins # Ex 30:18; 2Ch 4:6 — each basin holding 220 gallons # Lit 40 baths and each was six feet # Lit four cubits wide — one basin for each of the 10 water carts. 39He set five water carts on the right side of the temple and five on the left side. He put the reservoir 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 400 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 10 water carts; # 1Kg 7:27 the 10 basins on the water carts; # 1Kg 7:38 44the reservoir; # 1Kg 7:23 the 12 oxen underneath the reservoir; # 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, # 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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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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