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Solomon’s Palace Complex

Solomon completed his entire palace complex after thirteen years of construction.(A) He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon.(B) It was forty-five metres[a] long, twenty-three metres[b] wide, and thirteen and a half metres[c] high on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on top of the pillars. It was panelled above with cedar at the top of the chambers that rested on forty-five pillars, fifteen per row. There were three rows of window frames, facing each other[d] in three tiers.[e](C) All the doors and doorposts had rectangular frames, the openings facing each other[f] in three tiers. He made the hall of pillars twenty-three metres long and thirteen and a half metres wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillars[g] was in front of them. He made the Hall of the Throne where he would judge(D) – the Hall of Judgement. It was panelled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.[h] 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.[i](E)

All of these buildings were of costly stones, cut to size and sawn 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, 3.6 and 4.5 metres[j] long. 11 Above were also costly stones, cut to size, as well as cedar wood. 12 Round 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.(F)

13 King Solomon sent for Hiram[k](G) and brought him 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,(H) understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.(I)

The Bronze Pillars

15 He cast two bronze pillars,(J) each 8 metres[l] high and 5.4 metres[m] in circumference.[n](K) 16 He also made two capitals(L) of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars; 2.25 metres[o] was the height of the first capital, and 2.25 metres was also the height of the second capital. 17 The capitals on top of the pillars had gratings of latticework, wreaths[p] 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, 1.8 metres[q] high. 20 The capitals on the two pillars were also immediately above the rounded surface next to the grating, and two hundred pomegranates(M) were in rows encircling each[r] capital. 21 He set up the pillars at the portico(N) of the sanctuary: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin;[s] then he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.[t](O) 22 The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. Then the work of the pillars was completed.(P)

The Basin

23 He made the cast metal basin,[u](Q) 4.5 metres[v] from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 2.25 metres high and 13.5 metres in circumference. 24 Ornamental gourds(R) encircled it below the brim, ten every 45 centimetres,[w] completely encircling the basin.(S) The gourds were cast in two rows when the basin was cast. 25 It stood on twelve oxen,(T) 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 towards the centre. 26 The basin was 8 centimetres[x] thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or of a lily blossom. It held forty-four thousand litres.[y]

The Bronze Water Carts

27 Then he made ten bronze water carts.[z](U) Each water cart was 1.8 metres long, 1.8 metres wide, and 1.35 metres[aa] 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.(V) On the cross-pieces there was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging[ab] work. 30 Each cart(W) 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 45 centimetres[ac] wide. The opening was round, made as a pedestal 70 centimetres[ad] 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 70 centimetres[ae] 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 25 centimetres[af] 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(X) 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(Y) – each basin held 880 litres[ag] and each was 1.8 metres 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 towards the southeast.(Z) 40 Then Hiram made(AA) 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;(AB) 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;(AC) 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(AD)); 43 the ten water carts;(AE) the ten basins on the water carts;(AF) 44 the basin;(AG) the twelve oxen underneath the basin;(AH) 45 and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling basins.(AI) 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 moulds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth(AJ) and Zarethan.(AK) 47 Solomon left all the utensils unweighed because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.(AL)

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;(AM) 49 the pure gold lampstands in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left;(AN) the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; 50 the pure gold ceremonial bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles,[ah] and firepans;(AO) 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.(AP) Then Solomon brought in the consecrated things of his father David(AQ) – the silver, the gold, and the utensils – and put them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. 7:2 Lit 100 cubits
  2. 7:2 Lit 50 cubits, also in v. 6
  3. 7:2 Lit 30 cubits, also in vv. 6,23
  4. 7:4 Lit frames, window to window
  5. 7:4 Lit three times; = at 3 different places, also in v. 5
  6. 7:5 Lit frames, opposing window to window
  7. 7:6 Hb obscure
  8. 7:7 Syr, Vg; MT reads floor
  9. 7:8 Lit daughter he had taken
  10. 7:10 Lit ten cubits and eight cubits
  11. 7:13 = Huram in 2Ch 4:11
  12. 7:15 Lit 18 cubits
  13. 7:15 Lit 12 cubits
  14. 7:15 LXX adds and the thickness of the pillar was four fingers hollowed and similarly the second pillar
  15. 7:16 Lit five cubits, also in v. 23
  16. 7:17 Lit tassels
  17. 7:19 Lit four cubits, also in vv. 27,38
  18. 7:20 Litencircling the second
  19. 7:21 = He Will Establish
  20. 7:21 = In Him Is Strength
  21. 7:23 Lit sea
  22. 7:23 Lit 10 cubits
  23. 7:24 Lit 10 per cubit
  24. 7:26 Lit a handbreadth
  25. 7:26 Lit 2,000 baths
  26. 7:27 Lit bronze stands
  27. 7:27 Lit three cubits
  28. 7:29 Or hammered-down
  29. 7:31 Lit a cubit
  30. 7:31 Lit one and a half cubits
  31. 7:32 Lit was one and a half cubits
  32. 7:35 Lit half a cubit
  33. 7:38 Lit 40 baths
  34. 7:50 Or dishes, or spoons; lit palms

Solomon’s Palace Built

Solomon was building his own house for thirteen years, and he finished all his house. He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits, and its width was fifty cubits, and its height was thirty cubits,[a] built on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams upon the pillars. It was covered with cedar over the top of the beams, which sat upon forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row. There were window frames in three rows and window opposite window in three tiers. All the doors and posts were rectangular with the openings facing each other in three tiers.

He made a porch of pillars with a length of fifty cubits and a breadth of thirty cubits.[b] There was a porch in front with pillars, and a canopy in front of them.

Then he made a porch for the throne, from which he would judge, and called it the Hall of Judgment. It was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other. His own house where he lived, in the other court back of the hall, was similar in style. Solomon also made a house like this for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken as a wife.

All these were built with costly stones, cut to size and sawed with saws on the inside and outside, from the foundation up to the coping, throughout the outside toward the great court. 10 The foundation was of large, costly stones, stones of ten[c] and eight[d] cubits in size. 11 Above were costly stones cut to size, along with cedars. 12 The great court was enclosed with three rows of hewed stones and a row of cedar beams. So were the inner court of the house of the Lord and the porch of the house.

The Furnishings of the Temple(A)

13 Now King Solomon sent and called Huram out of Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre who worked in bronze, and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill to make all sorts of items in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and performed all his work.

15 He cast two pillars of bronze eighteen cubits high each and twelve cubits[e] in circumference. 16 He made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits,[f] and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 He made lattices of checker work with wreaths of chainwork for the capitals on top of the pillars: seven for one capital and seven for the other. 18 Likewise he made pomegranates in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same for the other capital. 19 The capitals that were on top of the pillars in the porch were four cubits[g] high and in the shape of lilies. 20 The capitals on top of the two pillars also had pomegranates above, by the convex surface which was next to the latticework. There were two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital. 21 He set up the pillars in the porch of the temple. He set up the right pillar and called it Jakin, and he set up the left pillar and called it Boaz. 22 The tops of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. This completed the work on the pillars.

23 He made a cast metal sea, ten cubits from one side to the other. It was round and had a height of five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits[h] encircled it. 24 Under the brim all the way around there were gourds, ten in a cubit. When it was cast, the gourds were placed in two rows going all the way around it.

25 It stood on top of twelve oxen with three facing north, three facing toward the west, three facing toward the south, and three facing toward the east. The sea was set on them, and their hindquarters were turned inward. 26 It was a hand-breadth[i] thick, and the brim was made similar to the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.[j]

27 He made ten stands out of bronze, each measuring four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.[k] 28 The work of the stands looked like this: They had panels, and the panels were set in the frames. 29 And on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work. 30 Every stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each. 31 Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit. Its opening was round, like the work of a pedestal, a cubit and a half deep.[l] At its opening there were engravings, and its panels were four-sided, not round. 32 Underneath the panels were four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the stand, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels worked like chariot wheels in that their axles and rims and spokes and hubs were all cast metal.

34 There were four supports for the four corners of each stand, and the supports were part of one piece with the stand itself. 35 On the top of the stand, there was a round band half a cubit[m] high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its panels were of one piece with it. 36 On the surface of its stays and on its panels, he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around. 37 In this way he made the ten stands, with them all having the same shape, measure, and size.

38 Then he made ten basins of bronze, with each basin able to hold forty baths,[n] each being four cubits. Upon every one of the ten stands sat one basin. 39 He put five stands on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the sea on the right side of the house toward the southeast. 40 Huram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins.

So Huram finished all the work in making items for King Solomon for use in the house of the Lord: 41 the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the two pillars, the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars; 42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars; 43 the ten stands and ten basins on the stands; 44 one sea and twelve oxen under the sea; 45 the pots, the shovels, and the basins.

All these vessels that Huram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of burnished bronze. 46 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all the vessels unweighed because there were so many. The weight of the bronze was also never measured.

48 Solomon made all the vessels that were needed for the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, the table of gold on which was showbread, 49 the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; 50 the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, fire pans, of pure gold; the sockets for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple, of gold.

51 All the work that King Solomon made for the house of the Lord was completed. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the cups—and he put them among the treasures of the house of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 7:2 About 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high, or 45 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high.
  2. 1 Kings 7:6 About 75 feet long and 45 feet wide, or 23 meters long and 14 meters wide.
  3. 1 Kings 7:10 About 15 feet, or 4.5 meters; and in v. 23.
  4. 1 Kings 7:10 About 12 feet, or 3.6 meters.
  5. 1 Kings 7:15 About 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference, or 8.1 meters high and 5.4 meters in circumference.
  6. 1 Kings 7:16 About 7½ feet, or 2.3 meters; and in v. 23.
  7. 1 Kings 7:19 About 6 feet, or 1.8 meters; and in v. 38.
  8. 1 Kings 7:23 About 45 feet, or 14 meters.
  9. 1 Kings 7:26 About 3 inches, or 7.5 centimeters.
  10. 1 Kings 7:26 About 12,000 gallons, or 44,000 liters.
  11. 1 Kings 7:27 About 6 feet long and wide and 4½ feet high, or 1.8 meters long and wide and 1.4 meters high.
  12. 1 Kings 7:31 About 2¼ feet, or 68 centimeters; and in v. 32.
  13. 1 Kings 7:35 About 9 inches, or 23 centimeters.
  14. 1 Kings 7:38 About 240 gallons, or 880 liters.