1 Kings 7
7
1 SOLOMON WAS building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all of it.
2 He built also the Forest of Lebanon House; its length was a hundred cubits, its breadth fifty, and its height thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
3 And it was covered with cedar above the side chambers that were upon the forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row.
4 There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers.
5 All the doorways and windows were square cut, and window was opposite window in three tiers.
6 He also made the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits and its breadth thirty cubits. There was a porch in front, and pillars and a cornice before them.
7 He made the porch for the throne where he was to judge, the Porch of Judgment; it was covered with cedar from floor to ceiling.
8 His house where he was to dwell had another court behind the Porch of Judgment of similar work. Solomon also made a house like this porch for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married.
9 All were of costly stones hewn according to measure, sawed with saws back and front, even from foundation to coping, and from the outside to the great court.
10 The foundation was of costly stones, even great stones of eight and ten cubits.
11 And above were costly stones hewn according to measure, and cedar timbers.
12 Also the great encircling court had three courses of hewn stone and a course of cedar beams, like was around the inner court of the house of the Lord and the porch of the house.
13 King Solomon brought Hiram from Tyre.
14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. He was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill to do any kind of work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and did all his [bronze] work.
15 He fashioned the two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference.
16 He made two capitals of molten bronze to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of each capital was five cubits.
17 Nets of checkerwork and wreaths of chainwork for the capitals were on the tops of the pillars, seven for each capital.
18 So Hiram made the pillars. There were two rows of pomegranates encircling each network to cover the capitals that were upon the top.
19 The capitals that were upon the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily work [design], four cubits.
20 The capitals were upon the two pillars and also above the rounded projection beside the network. There were 200 pomegranates in two rows round about, and so with the other capital.
21 Hiram set up the pillars of the porch of the temple; he set up the right pillar and called its name Jachin [he will establish], and he set up the left pillar and called its name Boaz [in strength].
22 On the tops of the pillars was lily work [design]. So the work of the pillars was finished.
23 He made a round molten Sea, ten cubits from brim to brim, five cubits high and thirty cubits in circumference. [Exod. 30:17-21; II Chron. 4:6.]
24 Under its brim were gourds encircling the Sea, ten to a cubit; the gourds were in two rows, cast in one piece with it.
25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three facing north, three west, three south, and three east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their rears pointed inward.
26 It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held 2,000 baths [Hebrew liquid measurement].
27 Hiram made ten bronze bases [for the lavers]; their length and breadth were four cubits, and the height three cubits.
28 This is the way the bases were made: they had panels between the ledges.
29 On the panels between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and upon the ledges there was a pedestal above. Beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.
30 And every base had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a laver. Beneath the laver the supports were cast, with wreaths at the side of each.
31 Its mouth within the capital projected upward a cubit, and its mouth was round like the work of a pedestal, a cubit and a half. Also upon its mouth were carvings, and their borders were square, not round.
32 Under the borders were four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were one piece with the base. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.
33 The wheels were made like a chariot wheel: their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast.
34 There were four supports to the four corners of each base; the supports were part of the base itself.
35 On the top of the base there was a circular elevation half a cubit high, and on the top of the base its stays and panels were of one piece with it.
36 And on the surface of its stays and its panels Hiram carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths round about.
37 Thus he made the ten bases. They all had one casting, one measure, and one form.
38 Then he made ten lavers of bronze; each laver held forty baths and measured four cubits, and there was one laver on each of the ten bases.
39 He put the bases five on the south side of the house and five on the north side; and he set the Sea at the southeast corner of the house.
40 Hiram made the lavers, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord:
41 The two pillars; and the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the two pillars; and the two networks to cover the two bowls;
42 And the 400 pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars;
43 The ten bases and the ten lavers on the bases;
44 One Sea, and the twelve oxen under it;
45 The pots, the shovels, and the basins. All these vessels which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the Lord were of burnished bronze.
46 In the Jordan plain the king cast them, in clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.
47 Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were so many; the weight of the bronze was not found out.
48 Solomon made all the other vessels of the Lord's house: the [incense] altar of gold; the table of gold for the showbread;
49 The lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the Holy of Holies; with the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold;
50 The cups, snuffers, basins, spoons, firepans–of pure gold; and the hinges of gold for the doors of the innermost room, the Holy of Holies, and for the doors of the Holy Place.
51 So all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was completed. Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated–the silver, the gold, and the vessels–and put them in the treasuries of the Lord's house.
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1 Kings 7: AMPC
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
1 Kings 7
7
Solomon's Palace Is Built
1Solomon's palace took 13 years to build.
2-3Forest Hall was the largest room in the palace. It was 44 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high, and was lined with cedar from Lebanon. It had 4 rows of cedar pillars, 15 in a row, and they held up 45 cedar beams. The ceiling was covered with cedar. 4Three rows of windows on each side faced each other, 5and there were three doors on each side near the front of the hall.
6Pillar Hall was 22 meters long and 13.5 meters wide. A covered porch supported by pillars went all the way across the front of the hall.
7Solomon's throne was in Justice Hall, where he judged cases. This hall was completely lined with cedar.
8 #
1 K 3.1. The section of the palace where Solomon lived was behind Justice Hall and looked exactly like it. He had a similar place built for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.
9From the foundation all the way to the top, these buildings and the courtyard were made out of the best stones#7.9 From … best stones: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. carefully cut to size, then smoothed on every side with saws. 10The foundation stones were huge, good stones—some of them four and a half meters long and others three and a half meters long. 11The cedar beams and other stones that had been cut to size were on top of these foundation stones. 12The walls around the palace courtyard were made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams, just like the front porch and the inner courtyard of the temple.
Hiram Makes the Bronze Furnishings
(2 Chronicles 3.15-17; 4.1-10)
13-14Hiram was a skilled bronze worker from the city of Tyre.#7.13,14 Hiram … city of Tyre: This is not the same person as “King Hiram of Tyre” (see 5.1). His father was now dead, but he also had been a bronze worker from Tyre, and his mother was from the tribe of Naphtali.
King Solomon asked Hiram to come to Jerusalem and make the bronze furnishings to use for worship in the Lord's temple, and he agreed to do it.
15Hiram made two bronze columns eight meters tall and almost two meters across. 16For the top of each column, he also made a bronze cap just over two meters high. 17The caps were decorated with seven rows of designs that looked like chains,#7.17 seven rows … chains: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. 18with two rows of designs that looked like pomegranates.#7.18 pomegranates: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 18. A pomegranate is a bright red fruit that looks like an apple. In ancient times, it was a symbol of life.
19The caps for the columns of the porch were almost two meters high and were shaped like lilies.#7.19 lilies: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 19.
20The chain designs on the caps were right above the rounded tops of the two columns, and there were 200 pomegranates in rows around each cap. 21Hiram placed the two columns on each side of the main door of the temple. The column on the south side was called Jachin,#7.21 Jachin: Or “He makes secure.” and the one on the north was called Boaz.#7.21 Boaz: Or “He is strong.”
22The lily-shaped caps were on top of the columns.
This completed the work on the columns.
23Hiram also made a large bowl called the Sea. It was just over two meters deep, about 4.5 meters across, and 13.5 meters around. 24Two rows of bronze gourds were around the outer edge of the bowl, ten gourds to every 45 centimeters. 25The bowl itself sat on top of twelve bronze bulls with three bulls facing outward in each of four directions. 26The sides of the bowl were 75 millimeters thick, and its rim was like a cup that curved outward like flower petals. The bowl held about 40,000 liters.
27Hiram made ten movable bronze stands, each one over a meter high, almost two meters long, and almost two meters wide. 28-29The sides were made with panels attached to frames decorated with flower designs. The panels themselves were decorated with figures of lions, bulls, and winged creatures. 30-31Each stand had four bronze wheels and axles and a round frame 68 centimeters across, held up by four supports 45 centimeters high. A small bowl rested in the frame. The supports were decorated with flower designs, and the frame with carvings.
The side panels of the stands were square, 32and the wheels and axles were underneath them. The wheels were about 68 centimeters high 33and looked like chariot wheels. The axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were made out of bronze.
34-35Around the top of each stand was a 22-centimeter strip, and there were four braces#7.34,35 braces: Or “handles.” attached to the corners of each stand. The panels and the supports were attached to the stands, 36and the stands were decorated with flower designs and figures of lions, palm trees, and winged creatures. 37Hiram made the ten bronze stands from the same mold, so they were exactly the same size and shape.
38 #
Ex 30.17-21. Hiram also made ten small bronze bowls, one for each stand. The bowls were almost two meters across and could hold about 800 liters.
39He put five stands on the south side of the temple, five stands on the north side, and the large bowl at the southeast corner of the temple.
40Hiram made pans for hot ashes, and also shovels and sprinkling bowls.
A List of Everything inside the Temple
(2 Chronicles 4.11—5.1)
This is a list of the bronze items that Hiram made for the Lord's temple: 41two columns; two bowl-shaped caps for the tops of the columns; two chain designs on the caps; 42400 pomegranates#7.42 pomegranates: A pomegranate is a bright red fruit that looks like an apple. In ancient times, it was a symbol of life. for the chain designs; 43ten movable stands; ten small bowls for the stands; 44a large bowl; twelve bulls that held up the bowl; 45pans for hot ashes, and also shovels and sprinkling bowls.
Hiram made these bronze things for Solomon 46near the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan by pouring melted bronze into clay molds.
47There were so many bronze things that Solomon never bothered to weigh them, and no one ever knew how much bronze was used.
48 #
Ex 30.1-3;
Ex 25.23-30. Solomon gave orders to make the following temple furnishings out of gold: the altar; the table that held the sacred loaves of bread;#7.48 sacred loaves of bread: This bread was offered to the Lord and was a symbol of the Lord's presence in the temple. It was put out on a special table, and was replaced with fresh bread each week (see Leviticus 24.5-9). 49#Ex 25.31-40. ten lampstands that went in front of the most holy place; flower designs; lamps and tongs; 50cups, lamp snuffers, and small sprinkling bowls; dishes for incense; fire pans; and the hinges for the doors to the most holy place and the main room of the temple.
51 #
2 S 8.11; 1 Ch 18.11. After the Lord's temple was finished, Solomon put into its storage rooms everything that his father David had dedicated to the Lord, including the gold and the silver.
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