Hiram’s Building Materials

5 King Hiram of Tyre^(A) sent his emissaries to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father’s place,^(B) for Hiram had always been friends with David.^(C)

² Solomon sent this message to Hiram: ³ “You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of the Lord his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.^{(D) 4} The Lord my God has now given me rest on every side; there is no enemy or misfortune.^{(E) 5} So I plan to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God,^(F) according to what the Lord promised my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the temple for my name.’^(G)

⁶ “Therefore, command that cedars from Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants’ wages according to whatever you say, for you know that not a man among us knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”^(H)

⁷ When Hiram heard Solomon’s words, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord today!^(I) He has given David a wise son to be over this great people!” ⁸ Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying, “I have heard your message; I will do everything you want regarding the cedar and cypress timber. ⁹ My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will break them apart there, and you can take them away. You then can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”^(J)

¹⁰ So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, ¹¹ and Solomon provided Hiram with one hundred twenty thousand bushels^[a] of wheat as food for his household and one hundred twenty thousand gallons^[b] of oil from crushed olives.^(K) Solomon did this for Hiram year after year.

¹² The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he had promised him.^(L) There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.^(M)

Solomon’s Workforce

¹³ Then King Solomon drafted forced laborers from all Israel;^(N) the labor force numbered thirty thousand men. ¹⁴ He sent ten thousand to Lebanon each month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon, two months they were at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. ¹⁵ Solomon had seventy thousand porters and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains,^{(O) 16} not including his thirty-three hundred^[c] deputies^(P) in charge of the work. They supervised the people doing the work. ¹⁷ The king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.^{(Q) 18} So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders,^(R) along with the Gebalites,^(S) quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the temple’s construction.

Building the Temple

6 Solomon began to build the temple for the Lord in the four hundred eightieth year^(T) after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month.^{[d](U) 2} The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord^(V) was ninety feet^[e] long, thirty feet^[f] wide, and forty-five feet^[g] high.^{(W) 3} The portico in front of the temple sanctuary was thirty feet long extending across the temple’s width, and fifteen feet deep^[h] in front of the temple.^{(X) 4} He also made windows with beveled frames^[i] for the temple.^(Y)

⁵ He then built a chambered structure^[j] along the temple wall, encircling the walls of the temple, that is, the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary.^(Z) And he made side chambers^[k] all around.^{(AA) 6} The lowest chamber was 7½ feet^[l] wide, the middle was 9 feet^[m] wide, and the third was 10½ feet^[n] wide. He also provided offset ledges for the temple all around the outside so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. ⁷ The temple’s construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.^(AB)

⁸ The door for the lowest^[o] side chamber was on the right side of the temple. They^[p] went up a stairway^[q] to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third. ⁹ When he finished building the temple,^(AC) he paneled it with boards and planks of cedar. ¹⁰ He built the chambers along the entire temple, joined to the temple with cedar beams;^(AD) each story was 7½ feet high.

¹¹ The word of the Lord came to Solomon:^{(AE) 12} “As for this temple you are building—if you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep all my commands by walking in them,^(AF) I will fulfill my promise to you, which I made to your father David.^{(AG) 13} I will dwell among the Israelites and not abandon my people Israel.”^(AH)

¹⁴ When Solomon finished building the temple,^{[r](AI) 15} he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards.^{(AJ) 16} Then he lined thirty feet of the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the surface of the ceiling,^[s] and he built the interior as an inner sanctuary, the most holy place.^{(AK) 17} The temple, that is, the sanctuary in front of the most holy place,^[t] was sixty feet^[u] long. ¹⁸ The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds^(AL) and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar;^(AM) not a stone could be seen.

¹⁹ He prepared the inner sanctuary^(AN) inside the temple to put the ark of the Lord’s covenant^(AO) there. ²⁰ The interior of the sanctuary was thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty feet high; he overlaid it with pure gold.^(AP) He also overlaid the cedar altar. ²¹ Next, Solomon overlaid the interior of the temple with pure gold, and he hung^[v] gold chains^(AQ) across the front of the inner sanctuary^(AR) and overlaid it with gold. ²² So he added the gold overlay to the entire temple until everything was completely finished, including the entire altar^(AS) that belongs to the inner sanctuary.

²³ In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim^(AT) 15 feet^[w] high out of olive wood. ²⁴ One wing of the first cherub was 7½ feet long, and the other wing was 7½ feet long. The wingspan was 15 feet from tip to tip. ²⁵ The second cherub also was 15 feet; both cherubim had the same size and shape. ²⁶ The first cherub’s height was 15 feet and so was the second cherub’s. ²⁷ Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one’s wing touched one wall while the second cherub’s wing touched the other^[x] wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing.^{(AU) 28} He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ He carved all the surrounding temple walls with carved engravings—cherubim,^(AV) palm trees, and flower blossoms—in the inner and outer sanctuaries. ³⁰ He overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and the outer sanctuaries.

³¹ For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made olive wood doors.^(AW) The pillars of the doorposts were five-sided.^{[y] 32} The two doors were made of olive wood. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold, hammering gold over the cherubim and palm trees. ³³ In the same way, he made four-sided^[z] olive wood doorposts for the sanctuary entrance. ³⁴ The two doors^(AX) were made of cypress wood; the first door had two folding sides, and the second door had two folding panels. ³⁵ He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold applied evenly over the carving. ³⁶ He built the inner courtyard^(AY) with three rows of dressed stone^(AZ) and a row of trimmed cedar beams.

³⁷ The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year in the month of Ziv. ³⁸ In his eleventh year in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month,^[aa] the temple was completed in every detail and according to every specification.^(BA) So he built it in seven years.^(BB)

Solomon’s Palace Complex

7 Solomon completed his entire palace complex after thirteen years of construction.^{(BC) 2} He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon.^(BD) It was one hundred fifty feet^[ab] long, seventy-five feet^[ac] wide, and forty-five feet^[ad] high on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on top of the pillars. ³ It was paneled above with cedar at the top of the chambers that rested on forty-five pillars, fifteen per row. ⁴ There were three rows of window frames, facing each other^[ae] in three tiers.^{[af](BE) 5} All the doors and doorposts had rectangular frames, the openings facing each other^[ag] in three tiers. ⁶ He made the hall of pillars seventy-five feet long and forty-five feet wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillars^[ah] was in front of them. ⁷ He made the Hall of the Throne where he would judge^(BF)—the Hall of Judgment. It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.^{[ai] 8} Solomon’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.^[aj](BG)

⁹ All 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. ¹⁰ The foundation was made of large, costly stones twelve and fifteen feet^[ak] long. ¹¹ Above were also costly stones, cut to size, as well as cedar wood. ¹² Around 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.^(BH)

¹³ King Solomon had Hiram^[al](BI) brought from Tyre. ¹⁴ He 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,^(BJ) understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.^(BK)

The Bronze Pillars

¹⁵ He cast two bronze pillars,^(BL) each 27 feet^[am] high and 18 feet^[an] in circumference.^{[ao](BM) 16} He also made two capitals^(BN) of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars; 7½ feet^[ap] was the height of the first capital, and 7½ feet was also the height of the second capital. ¹⁷ The capitals on top of the pillars had gratings of latticework, wreaths^[aq] made of chainwork—seven for the first capital and seven for the second.

¹⁸ He 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. ¹⁹ And the capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, six feet^[ar] high. ²⁰ The capitals on the two pillars were also immediately above the rounded surface next to the grating, and two hundred pomegranates^(BO) were in rows encircling each^[as] capital. ²¹ He set up the pillars at the portico^(BP) of the sanctuary: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin;^[at] then he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.^{[au](BQ) 22} The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. Then the work of the pillars was completed.^(BR)

The Basin

²³ He made the cast metal basin,^[av](BS) 15 feet^[aw] from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet high and 45 feet in circumference. ²⁴ Ornamental gourds^(BT) encircled it below the brim, ten every half yard,^[ax] completely encircling the basin.^(BU) The gourds were cast in two rows when the basin was cast. ²⁵ It stood on twelve oxen,^(BV) three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center. ²⁶ The basin was three inches^[ay] thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or of a lily blossom. It held eleven thousand gallons.^[az]

The Bronze Water Carts

²⁷ Then he made ten bronze water carts.^[ba](BW) Each water cart was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4½ feet^[bb] high. ²⁸ This was the design of the carts: They had frames; the frames were between the cross-pieces, ²⁹ and on the frames between the cross-pieces were lions, oxen, and cherubim.^(BX) On the cross-pieces there was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging^[bc] work. ³⁰ Each cart^(BY) had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Underneath the four corners of the basin were cast supports, each next to a wreath. ³¹ And the water cart’s opening inside the crown on top was eighteen inches^[bd] wide. The opening was round, made as a pedestal twenty-seven inches^[be] wide. On it were carvings, but their frames were square, not round. ³² There were four wheels under the frames, and the wheel axles were part of the water cart; each wheel was twenty-seven inches^[bf] tall. ³³ The wheels’ design was similar to that of chariot wheels: their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal. ³⁴ Four supports were at the four corners of each water cart; each support was one piece with the water cart. ³⁵ At the top of the cart was a band nine inches^[bg] high encircling it; also, at the top of the cart, its braces and its frames were one piece with it. ³⁶ He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees^(BZ) on the plates of its braces and on its frames, wherever each had space, with encircling wreaths. ³⁷ In this way he made the ten water carts using the same casting, dimensions, and shape for all of them.

Bronze Basins and Other Utensils

³⁸ Then he made ten bronze basins^(CA)—each basin held 220 gallons^[bh] and each was six feet wide—one basin for each of the ten water carts. ³⁹ He set five water carts on the right side of the temple and five on the left side. He put the basin near the right side of the temple toward the southeast.^{(CB) 40} Then Hiram made^(CC) 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: ⁴¹ two pillars;^(CD) 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;^{(CE) 42} the four hundred pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillars^(CF)); ⁴³ the ten water carts;^(CG) the ten basins on the water carts;^{(CH) 44} the basin;^(CI) the twelve oxen underneath the basin;^{(CJ) 45} and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling basins.^(CK) All the utensils that Hiram made for King Solomon at the Lord’s temple were made of burnished bronze. ⁴⁶ The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth^(CL) and Zarethan.^{(CM) 47} Solomon left all the utensils unweighed because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.^(CN)

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

⁴⁸ Solomon 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;^{(CO) 49} the pure gold lampstands in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left;^(CP) the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; ⁵⁰ the pure gold ceremonial bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles,^[bi] and firepans;^(CQ) 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.

⁵¹ So all the work King Solomon did in the Lord’s temple was completed.^(CR) Then Solomon brought in the consecrated things of his father David^(CS)—the silver, the gold, and the utensils—and put them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.^(CT)

Solomon’s Letter to Hiram

2 Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself,^{(A) 2} so he assigned 70,000 men as porters, 80,000 men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as supervisors over them.^(B)

³ Then Solomon sent word to King Hiram^[a](C) of Tyre:^(D)

Do for me what you did for my father David. You sent him cedars to build him a house to live in.^{(E) 4} Now I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God in order to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him,^(F) for displaying the rows of the Bread of the Presence continuously,^(G) and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening,^(H) the Sabbaths^(I) and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is ordained for Israel permanently. ⁵ The temple that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than any of the gods.^{(J) 6} But who is able to build a temple for him, since even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain him?^(K) Who am I then that I should build a temple for him except as a place to burn incense before him? ⁷ Therefore, send me an artisan who is skilled in engraving to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with the artisans who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem,^(L) appointed by my father David.^{(M) 8} Also, send me cedar, cypress, and algum^[b](N) logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut the trees of Lebanon. Note that my servants will be with your servants^{(O) 9} to prepare logs for me in abundance because the temple I am building will be great and wondrous. ¹⁰ I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the trees, one hundred twenty thousand bushels^[c] of wheat flour, one hundred twenty thousand bushels of barley, one hundred twenty thousand gallons^[d] of wine, and one hundred twenty thousand gallons of oil.

Hiram’s Reply

¹¹ Then King Hiram of Tyre wrote a letter^[e] and sent it to Solomon:

Because the Lord loves his people, he set you over them as king.^(P)

¹² Hiram also said:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth!^(Q) He gave King David a wise son with insight and understanding,^(R) who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.^{(S) 13} I have now sent Huram-abi,^[f] a skillful man who has understanding.^{(T) 14} He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your artisans and the artisans of my lord, your father David. ¹⁵ Now, let my lord send the wheat, barley, oil, and wine to his servants as promised.^{(U) 16} We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and bring them to you as rafts by sea to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.^(V)

Solomon’s Workforce

¹⁷ Solomon took a census of all the resident alien men in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had conducted,^(W) and the total was 153,600. ¹⁸ Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.^(X)

Building the Temple

3 Then Solomon began^(Y) to build the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah^(Z) where the Lord^[g] had appeared to his father David, at the site David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan^[h] the Jebusite. ² He began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. ³ These are Solomon’s foundations^[i] for building God’s temple: the length^[j] was ninety feet,^[k] and the width thirty feet.^{[l] 4} The portico, which was across the front extending across the width of the temple, was thirty feet wide; its height was thirty feet;^[m] he overlaid its inner surface with pure gold. ⁵ The larger room^[n] he paneled with cypress wood, overlaid with fine gold, and decorated with palm trees and chains. ⁶ He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was the gold of Parvaim. ⁷ He overlaid the temple—the beams, the thresholds, its walls and doors—with gold,^(AA) and he carved cherubim on the walls.^(AB)

The Most Holy Place

⁸ Then he made the most holy place; its length corresponded to the width of the temple, 30 feet, and its width was 30 feet.^(AC) He overlaid it with forty-five thousand pounds^[o] of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of the nails was twenty ounces^[p] of gold, and he overlaid the ceiling with gold.

¹⁰ He made^(AD) two cherubim of sculptured work, for the most holy place, and he overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The overall length of the wings of the cherubim was 30 feet: the wing of one was 7½ feet,^[q] touching the wall of the room; its other wing was 7½ feet, touching the wing of the other cherub. ¹² The wing of the other^[r] cherub was 7½ feet, touching the wall of the room; its other wing was 7½ feet, reaching the wing of the other cherub. ¹³ The wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced the larger room.^[s]

¹⁴ He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen, and he wove cherubim into it.^(AE)

The Bronze Pillars

¹⁵ In front of the temple^(AF) he made two pillars, each 27 feet^[t] high. The capital on top of each was 7½ feet high. ¹⁶ He had made chainwork in the inner sanctuary and also put it on top of the pillars.^(AG) He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork. ¹⁷ Then he set up the pillars in front of the sanctuary, one on the right and one on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin^[u] and the one on the left Boaz.^[v]

The Altar and Basins

4 He made a bronze altar^(AH) 30 feet^[w] long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet^[x] high.

² Then he made the cast metal basin,^[y](AI) 15 feet from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet^[z] high and 45 feet^[aa] in circumference. ³ The likeness of oxen^[ab] was below it, completely encircling it, ten every half yard,^[ac] completely surrounding the basin. The oxen were cast in two rows when the basin was cast. ⁴ It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center. ⁵ The basin was three inches^[ad] thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or a lily blossom. It could hold eleven thousand gallons.^[ae]

⁶ He made ten basins for washing and he put five on the right and five on the left.^(AJ) The parts of the burnt offering were rinsed in them,^(AK) but the basin was used by the priests for washing.

The Lampstands, Tables, and Courts

⁷ He made the ten gold lampstands according to their specifications and put them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left.^{(AL) 8} He made ten tables and placed them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left.^(AM) He also made a hundred gold bowls.

⁹ He made the courtyard^(AN) of the priests and the large court, and doors for the court. He overlaid the doors with bronze. ¹⁰ He put the basin on the right side, toward the southeast.^{(AO) 11} Then Huram^[af](AP) made^(AQ) the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.

Completion of the Bronze Furnishings

So Huram finished doing the work that he was doing for King Solomon in God’s temple: ¹² two pillars; the bowls and the capitals on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars; ¹³ the four hundred pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillars^(AR)). ¹⁴ He also made the water carts^[ag](AS) and the basins on the water carts. ¹⁵ The one basin and the twelve oxen underneath it, ¹⁶ the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all their utensils—Huram-abi^[ah](AT) made them for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. All these were made of polished bronze. ¹⁷ The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zeredah. ¹⁸ Solomon made all these utensils in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

¹⁹ Solomon also made all the equipment in God’s temple: the gold altar; the tables on which to put the Bread of the Presence;^{(AU) 20} the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn in front of the inner sanctuary according to specifications;^{(AV) 21} the flowers, lamps, and gold tongs—of purest gold; ²² the wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles,^[ai] and firepans—of purest gold; and the entryway to the temple, its inner doors to the most holy place, and the doors of the temple sanctuary—of gold.