¹² He also composed 3,000 proverbs and his songs were 1,005. ¹³ He also spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall, and he spoke about beasts, birds, creeping things and fish. ¹⁴ People came from everywhere to hear the wisdom of Solomon—from all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Hiram Offers Materials

¹⁵ Then King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram was always a friend of David. ¹⁶ So Solomon sent word to Hiram saying: ¹⁷ “You know how my father David could not build a House for the Name of Adonai his God because of the wars around him on every side, until Adonai put them under the soles of my feet. ¹⁸ But now Adonai my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor bad incident. ¹⁹ So behold, I intend to build a House for the Name of Adonai my God, as Adonai spoke to my father David saying: ‘Your son, whom I will set upon your throne in your place, he will build the House for My Name.’

²⁰ “So now, command that they cut cedars from Lebanon for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will give you wages for your servants according to whatever you say; for as you know, there is none among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

²¹ When Hiram heard Solomon’s words, he rejoiced greatly and said: “Blessed be Adonai today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” ²² So Hiram sent word to Solomon saying: “I have heard the message that you sent to me. I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber. ²³ My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that you indicate to me. There I will break them up and you will carry them away. Then you will accomplish my desire by giving food for my household.”

²⁴ So Hiram kept providing Solomon with cedar and cypress timber, as much as he desired, ²⁵ and Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 measures of wheat for food for his household and 20 measures of beaten oil. Thus Solomon would give to Hiram year by year. ²⁶ Adonai gave Solomon wisdom as He promised him, so there was shalom between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them cut a covenant.

²⁷ King Solomon also imposed forced laborers from all Israel—the levy was 30,000 men. ²⁸ He sent them to Lebanon, in shifts of 10,000 a month: they would stay a month in Lebanon, then two months at home. Adoniram was over the forced labor. ²⁹ Solomon had 70,000 porters, and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, ³⁰ besides Solomon’s chief officers that were over the work—3,300 who supervised the people who were doing the work. ³¹ Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the House with cut stones. ³² So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders along with the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the House.

Building the Temple

6 Now it came to pass, 480 years after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv (which is the second month), that he began to build Adonai’s House. ² Now the House that King Solomon built for Adonai was 60 cubits^[a] long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. ³ The porch in front of the Sanctuary of the House was 20 cubits in length—corresponding to the breadth of the House—and its depth was ten cubits from the front of the House. ⁴ Also for the House he made windows with artistic frames. ⁵ Against the wall of the House he built a side-structure surrounding both the Temple and the inner Sanctuary; thus he made side-chambers all around. ⁶ The lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide. All around on the outside he provided offset ledges in the wall of the House, so that the beams would not be inserted into the walls of the House. ⁷ For the House, while being constructed, was built of stone finished at the quarry; with neither hammer, axe nor any iron tool heard in the House during its construction.

⁸ The doorway to the lowest story of the side chambers was on the right side of the House. They went up by winding stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. ⁹ When he finished building the House, he covered the House with beams and planks of cedar. ¹⁰ He built the stories of the side-structure against the whole House, each five cubits high, and they were fastened to the House with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ Then the word of Adonai came to Solomon saying: ¹² “As for this House which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes, execute My ordinances and keep all My mitzvot by walking in them, then I will establish My word with you, which I spoke to your father David, ¹³ I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”^[b]