1 Kings 7:1-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Solomon’s Palace and Other Buildings
7 Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.(A)
2 He built the House of the Forest of the Lebanon one hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, built on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars.(B) 3 It was roofed with cedar on the forty-five rafters, fifteen in each row, which were on the pillars. 4 There were window frames in the three rows, facing each other in the three rows. 5 All the doorways and doorposts had four-sided frames, opposite, facing each other in the three rows.
6 He made the Hall of Pillars fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. There was a porch in front with pillars and a canopy in front of them.
7 He made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, the Hall of Justice, covered with cedar from the floor to the rafters.[a](C)
8 His own house where he would reside, in the other court back of the hall, was of the same construction. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken in marriage.(D)
9 All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, from the foundation to the coping and from outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits. 11 There were costly stones above, cut to measure, and cedarwood. 12 The great court had three courses of dressed stone to one layer of cedar beams all around; so had the inner court of the house of the Lord and the vestibule of the house.(E)
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- 7.7 Syr Vg: Heb floor
1 Kings 7:1-12
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Five Buildings of Solomon’s Palace Complex
7 It took Solomon thirteen years to finish building his whole palace complex.
The House of the Forest of Lebanon
2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. It was one hundred fifty feet long. It was seventy-five feet wide and forty-five feet high. It had four rows[a] of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on top of the pillars. 3 It was roofed with cedar above the forty-five beams that rested on the pillars, fifteen beams in each row.[b]
4 There were three rows[c] of windows with recessed frames on each side of the building. 5 All the doors and posts were made with square beams.[d] They were arranged in groups of three.
The Hall of Pillars
6 He built a pillared entry hall.[e] It was seventy-five feet wide and forty-five feet deep. There was another porch in front of the pillars, and more pillars and a canopy in front of them.
The Hall of Justice
7 He made another hall, named the Hall of Justice. The throne from which he judged cases was located there. The hall was covered with cedar from floor to ceiling.[f]
Palaces for Solomon and Pharaoh’s Daughter
8 His house in which he lived was made the same way. It was on the other side of a courtyard behind the Hall of Pillars.[g] Solomon also made another house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
9 All of these were made of high-quality stone, precisely cut to the exact measure, trimmed with saws on both sides. Such stones were used from the foundation to the edge of the roof, from the outside of the complex to the great courtyard on the inside. 10 The foundation was made of high-quality stones, huge stones, twelve or fifteen feet long. 11 Above this were high-quality stones, precisely cut, with layers of cedar wood in between. 12 The great courtyard all the way around had three courses of cut stone and then a course of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of the House of the Lord and the porch of that building.
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- 1 Kings 7:2 Verses 2-6 are very difficult, and the translation is uncertain. In verse 2, the Hebrew text reads four rows of pillars. Some Greek texts read three rows of pillars.
- 1 Kings 7:3 Another interpretation of the Hebrew includes chambers on an upper level of the building: It was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row.
- 1 Kings 7:4 Or groups
- 1 Kings 7:5 Or with rectangular frames or with four recessed frames. See the footnote at 6:31.
- 1 Kings 7:6 Or colonnade
- 1 Kings 7:7 Ceiling is the reading of the Latin and Syriac. The Hebrew reads from floor to floor.
- 1 Kings 7:8 The meaning of this sentence is uncertain.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.