1 Kings 7

1 Kings 7:1

Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.

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1 Kings 7:2

He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams.

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The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars—forty-five beams, fifteen per row.

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1 Kings 7:4

There were three rows of high windows facing one another in three tiers.

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light was against light Heb. sight against sight

1 Kings 7:5

All the doorways had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers.

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1 Kings 7:6

Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico.

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before them or , according to them

1 Kings 7:7

In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.

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from one side of the floor to the other Heb. from floor to floor

1 Kings 7:8

And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

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1 Kings 7:9

All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard.

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1 Kings 7:10

The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long.

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stones of ten cubits Reckoning the cubit at 21 inches , the ten cubits are 17 feet and a half , and the eight cubits are 14 feet. The magnitude of these stones was certainly extraordinary; but let us hear M. Volney , and our surprise will no longer be fixed on these stones , but transferred from Solomon's house to the ruins of Balbec . "What is still more astonishing is the enormous stones which compose the sloping wall. To the west , the second layer is formed of stones which are from 28 to 35 feet long , by about 9 in height. Over this layer , at the north-west angle , there are three stones , which alone occupy a space of 175 feet and a half; viz. the first , 58 feet 7 inches; the second , 58 feet 11 inches; and the third , exactly 58 feet; and each of these is 12 feet thick. These stones are of white granite , with large shining flakes , like gypsum . there is a quarry of this kind of stone under the whole city , and another in the adjacent mountains , which is open in several places. On the right , as we approach the city , there is still lying there a stone hewn on three sides , which is 69 feet 2 inches long , 12 feet 10 inches broad , and 13 feet 3 inches in thickness.

1 Kings 7:11

Above these were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.

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1 Kings 7:12

The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.

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1 Kings 7:13

Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram from Tyre.

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1 Kings 7:14

He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.

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a widow's son Heb. the son of a widow woman

tribe The mother of Hiram . not the Tyrian king mentioned before , but an intelligent coppersmith , of Jewish extraction by his mother's side in Chronicles , is said to have been of "the daughters of Dan;" and she might have been of Naphtali by her father , and of Dan by her mother; or she might originally be of the tribe of Dan , and have been first married to a man of the tribe of Naphtali; and , in either case , she might be indifferently called "of the tribe of Naphtali ," or of "the daughters of Dan."

1 Kings 7:15

He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.

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cast Heb. fashioned

eighteen cubits That is , nearly thirty feet , English measure. But in the parallel place in Chronicles , these pillars are said to thirty-five cubits high. Tremellius reconciles this difference by observing , that the common cubit was but one-half of the cubit of the sanctuary; so that eighteen of the one would make thirty-six of the other; from which , if we deduct one cubit for the base , there will remain thirty-five. Notwithstanding the names of these pillars , they seem to have supported no part of the building , and appear to have been formed for ornament; and were no doubt also emblematical. The right pillar was called Jachin , which signifies , "He will establish;" while that on the left was named Boaz , "In it is strength." Some think they were intended for memorials of the pillars and cloud of fire , which led Israel through the wilderness; but Henry supposes them designed for memorandums to the priests and others that came to worship at God's door.

1st. To depend upon God only , and not upon any sufficiency of their own , for strength and establishment in all their religious exercises.

2nd. It was a memorandum to them of the strength and establishment of the temple of God among them.

1 Kings 7:16

He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, each capital five cubits high.

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1 Kings 7:17

For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital.

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1 Kings 7:18

Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars.

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1 Kings 7:19

And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high.

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1 Kings 7:20

On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital.

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1 Kings 7:21

Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, and the pillar to the north he named Boaz.

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1 Kings 7:22

And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work of the pillars was completed.

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1 Kings 7:23

He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference.

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the one brim to the other Heb. his brim to his brim

1 Kings 7:24

Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.

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1 Kings 7:25

The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center.

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1 Kings 7:26

It was a handbreadth thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.

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1 Kings 7:27

In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.

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1 Kings 7:28

This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights,

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1 Kings 7:29

and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work.

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1 Kings 7:30

Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side.

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had undersetters It is probable that these undersetters were so many strong legs , somewhat shorter than the wheels , and were intended to prevent the laver from tilting , or falling , in case of any accident.

1 Kings 7:32

There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter.

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1 Kings 7:33

The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.

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1 Kings 7:36

He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around.

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proportion Heb. nakedness

1 Kings 7:38

He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands.

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1 Kings 7:39

He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

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side Heb. shoulder

1 Kings 7:40

Additionally, Huram made the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD:

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1 Kings 7:41

the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars;

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the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars);

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1 Kings 7:43

the ten stands; the ten basins on the stands;

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1 Kings 7:44

the Sea; the twelve oxen underneath the Sea;

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1 Kings 7:45

and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze.

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bright brass Heb. brass made bright , or scoured

1 Kings 7:46

The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.

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the clay ground Heb. the thickness of the ground

1 Kings 7:47

Solomon left all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.

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1 Kings 7:48

Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;

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1 Kings 7:49

the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;

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1 Kings 7:50

the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

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1 Kings 7:51

So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed. Then Solomon brought in the items his father David had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

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Solomon brought It appears , therefore , that Solomon did not use any of the gold and silver in the structure of the temple which his father had provided.