Solomon Builds His Palace

7 But it took Solomon 13 years to finish constructing his palace and the other buildings related to it. ² He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long. It was 75 feet wide. And it was 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar columns. They held up beautiful cedar beams. ³ Above the beams was a roof made out of cedar boards. It rested on the columns. There were three rows of beams with 15 in each row. The total number of beams was 45. ⁴ The windows of the palace were placed high up in the walls. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other. ⁵ All the doorways had frames shaped like rectangles. They were in front. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other.

⁶ Solomon made a covered area. It was 75 feet long. And it was 45 feet wide. Its roof was held up by columns. In front of it was a porch. In front of that were pillars and a roof that went out beyond them.

⁷ Solomon built the throne hall. It was called the Hall of Justice. That’s where he would serve as judge. He covered the hall with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. ⁸ The palace where he would live was set farther back. Its plan was something like the plan for the hall. Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter. He made a palace for her. It was like the hall.

⁹ All those buildings were made out of blocks of good quality stone. They were cut to the right size. They were made smooth on their back and front sides. Those stones were used for the outside of each building and for the large courtyard. They were also used from the foundations up to the roofs. ¹⁰ Large blocks of good quality stone were used for the foundations. Some were 15 feet long. Others were 12 feet long. ¹¹ The walls above them were made out of good quality stones. The stones were cut to the right size. On top of them was a layer of cedar beams. ¹² The large courtyard had a wall around it. The first three layers of the wall were made out of blocks of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood. The same thing was done with the inside courtyard of the Lord’s temple and its porch.

More Facts About the Temple

¹³ King Solomon sent messengers to Tyre. He wanted them to bring Huram back with them. ¹⁴ Huram’s mother was a widow. She was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram’s father was from Tyre. He was skilled in working with bronze. Huram also had great skill, knowledge and understanding in working with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the work he was asked to do.

¹⁵ Huram made two bronze pillars. Each of them was 27 feet high. And each was 18 feet around. ¹⁶ Each pillar had a decorated top made out of bronze. Each top was seven and a half feet high. ¹⁷ Chains that were linked together hung down from the tops of the pillars. There were seven chains for each top. ¹⁸ Huram made two rows of pomegranates. They circled the chains. The pomegranates decorated the tops of the pillars. Huram did the same thing for each pillar. ¹⁹ The tops on the pillars of the porch were shaped like lilies. The lilies were 6 feet high. ²⁰ On the tops of both pillars were 200 pomegranates. They were in rows all around the tops. They were above the part that was shaped like a bowl. And they were next to the chains. ²¹ Huram set the pillars up at the temple porch. The pillar on the south he named Jakin. The one on the north he named Boaz. ²² The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished.

²³ Huram made a huge metal bowl for washing. Its shape was round. It measured 15 feet from rim to rim. It was seven and a half feet high. And it was 45 feet around. ²⁴ Below the rim there was a circle of gourds around the bowl. In every 18 inches around the bowl there were ten gourds. The gourds were arranged in two rows. They were made as part of the bowl itself.

²⁵ The huge bowl stood on 12 bulls. Three of them faced north. Three faced west. Three faced south. And three faced east. The bowl rested on top of the bulls. Their rear ends were toward the center. ²⁶ The bowl was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup. The rim was shaped like the bloom of a lily. The bowl held 12,000 gallons of water.

²⁷ Huram also made ten stands out of bronze. They could be moved around. Each stand was six feet long. It was six feet wide. And it was four and a half feet high. ²⁸ Here is how the stands were made. They had sides that were joined to posts. ²⁹ On the sides between the posts were lions, bulls and cherubim. They were also on all of the posts. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths made out of hammered metal. ³⁰ Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Each stand had a bowl that rested on four supports. The stand had wreaths on each side. ³¹ There was a round opening on the inside of each stand. The opening had a frame 18 inches deep. The sides were 27 inches high from the top of the opening to the bottom of the base. There was carving around the opening. The sides of the stands were square, not round. ³² The four wheels were under the sides. The axles of the wheels were connected to the stand. Each wheel was 27 inches across. ³³ The wheels were made like chariot wheels. All the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were made out of metal.

³⁴ Each stand had four handles on it. There was one on each corner. They came out from the stand. ³⁵ At the top of the stand there was a round band. It was nine inches deep. The sides and supports were connected to the top of the stand. ³⁶ Huram carved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the sides of the stands. He also carved them on the surfaces of the supports. His carving covered every open space. He had also carved wreaths all around. ³⁷ That’s how he made the ten stands. All of them were made in the same molds. And they had the same size and shape.

³⁸ Then Huram made ten bronze bowls. Each one held 240 gallons. The bowls measured six feet across. There was one bowl for each of the ten stands. ³⁹ He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple. He placed the other five on the north side. He put the huge bowl on the south side. It was at the southeast corner of the temple. ⁴⁰ He also made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished all the work he had started for King Solomon. Here’s what he made for the Lord’s temple.

Huram made all those objects for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. He made them out of bronze. Then he shined them up. ⁴⁶ The king had made them in clay molds. It was done on the plain of the Jordan River between Sukkoth and Zarethan. ⁴⁷ Solomon didn’t weigh any of those things. There were too many of them to weigh. No one even tried to weigh the bronze they were made out of.

⁴⁸ Solomon also made everything in the Lord’s temple.

⁵¹ King Solomon finished all the work for the Lord’s temple. Then he brought in the things his father David had set apart for the Lord. They included the silver and gold and all the other things for the Lord’s temple. Solomon placed them with the other treasures that were there.