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Hiram’s Work in the House of Yahweh

13 Then (A)King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. 14 (B)He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and (C)he was filled with wisdom and discernment and knowledge to do any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and (D)did all his work.

15 And he fashioned (E)the two pillars of bronze; (F)eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits [a]measured the circumference of both. 16 He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five [b]cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. 18 So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. 19 Now the capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. 20 And there were capitals on the two pillars, even right above the [c]rounded projection which was on the one side of the network; and (G)the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around [d]both capitals. 21 (H)Thus he set up the pillars at the (I)porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it [e]Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it [f]Boaz. 22 And on the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

23 (J)And he made the sea of (K)cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and [g]thirty cubits in its circumference. 24 Now under its brim (L)gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, (M)entirely encircling the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the Sea when it was cast. 25 (N)It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward. 26 And it was a [h]handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold [i]two thousand baths.

27 Then (O)he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height three cubits. 28 Now this was the workmanship of the stands: they had borders, even borders between the [j]frames, 29 and on the borders which were between the [k]frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the [l]frames there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. 30 Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the laver were cast supports with wreaths at each side. 31 And its opening inside the capital at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the workmanship of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. 32 And the four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 Now the workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34 Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. 35 And on the top of the stand there was a circular form half a [m]cubit high, and on the top of the stand its [n]stays and its borders were part of it. 36 And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around. 37 (P)He made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form.

38 (Q)He also made ten lavers of bronze, one laver held forty baths; each laver was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one laver. 39 Then he set the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.

40 And Hiram made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram completed doing all the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of Yahweh: 41 the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the (R)two pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars, 42 and the (S)four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; 43 and the ten stands with the ten lavers on the stands; 44 and (T)the one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea; 45 and (U)the pots and the shovels and the bowls; and all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of Yahweh were of polished bronze. 46 (V)On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between (W)Succoth and (X)Zarethan. 47 And Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; (Y)the weight of the bronze could not be found out.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 7:15 Lit went around the other pillar
  2. 1 Kings 7:16 A cubit was approx. 18 in. or 45 cm
  3. 1 Kings 7:20 Lit belly
  4. 1 Kings 7:20 Lit on the other capital
  5. 1 Kings 7:21 Lit he shall establish
  6. 1 Kings 7:21 Lit in it is strength
  7. 1 Kings 7:23 Lit a line of thirty cubits went around it
  8. 1 Kings 7:26 A handbreadth was approx. 3 in. or 7.6 cm
  9. 1 Kings 7:26 Approx. 12,000 gal. or 45,424 l, a bath was approx. 6 gal. or 23 l
  10. 1 Kings 7:28 Or crossbars
  11. 1 Kings 7:29 Or crossbars
  12. 1 Kings 7:29 Or crossbars
  13. 1 Kings 7:35 A cubit was approx. 18 in. or 45 cm
  14. 1 Kings 7:35 Lit hands

Solomon’s temple equipment

13 Then King Solomon sent a message and brought Hiram from Tyre. 14 Hiram’s mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was a Tyrian skilled in bronze work. He was amazingly skillful in the techniques and knowledge for doing all kinds of work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.

15 He[a] cast two bronze pillars. Each one was twenty-seven feet high and required a cord of eighteen feet to reach around it.[b] 16 He made two capitals of cast bronze for the tops of the columns. They were each seven and a half feet high. 17 He made an intricate network of chains for the capitals on top of the columns, seven for each capital. 18 He made the pillars and two rows of pomegranates for each network to adorn each of the capitals. 19 The capitals on top of the columns in the porch were made like lilies, each six feet high. 20 Above the round-shaped part and next to the network were two hundred pomegranates. These were placed in rows around both of the capitals on top of the columns. 21 He set up the columns at the temple’s porch. He named the south column Jachin. The north column he named Boaz. 22 After putting the lily shapes on top of the columns, he was finished with the columns.

23 He also made a tank of cast metal called the Sea. It was circular in shape, fifteen feet from rim to rim, seven and a half feet high, forty-five feet in circumference. 24 Under the rim were two rows of gourds completely encircling it, ten every eighteen inches, each cast in its mold. 25 The Sea rested on twelve oxen with their backs toward the center, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. 26 The Sea was as thick as the width of a hand. Its rim was shaped like a cup or an open lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.[c]

27 He also made ten bronze stands. Each was six feet long, six feet wide, and four and a half feet high. 28 This is how each stand was made: There were panels connected between the legs. 29 Lions, bulls, and winged otherworldly creatures appeared on the panels between the legs. On the legs above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths on panels hanging off the stands. 30 There were four bronze wheels with bronze axles for each stand. There were four feet and supports cast for each basin with wreaths on their sides.[d] 31 Inside the bowl was an opening eighteen inches deep. The opening was round, measuring twenty-seven inches, with engravings. The panels of the stands were square rather than round. 32 There were four wheels beneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. Each wheel was twenty-seven inches in height. 33 The construction of the wheels resembled chariot wheels. The axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all made of cast metal. 34 There was a handle on each of the four corners of every stand, projecting from the side of the stand. 35 The top of the stand had a band running around the perimeter that was nine inches deep. The stand had its own supports and panels. 36 On the surfaces of the supports and panels he carved winged otherworldly creatures, lions, and palm trees with wreaths everywhere.[e] 37 In this manner he made ten stands, each one cast in a single mold of the same size and shape.

38 He made ten bronze washbasins, each able to hold forty baths.[f] Every washbasin was six feet across, and there was one for each of the ten stands. 39 He placed five stands on the south of the temple and five on the north of the temple. He placed the Sea at the southeast corner of the temple.

40 Hiram made the basins, shovels, and bowls.

And so Hiram finished his work on the Lord’s temple for King Solomon:

41 two columns;

two circular capitals on top of the columns;

two networks, adorning the two circular capitals on top of the columns;

42 four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, with two rows of pomegranates for each network that adorned the two circular capitals on top of the columns;

43 ten stands with ten basins on them;

44 one Sea;

twelve oxen beneath the Sea;

45 and the pots, shovels, and bowls.

All the equipment that Hiram made for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple was made from polished bronze. 46 The king cast it in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Due to the very large number of objects, Solomon didn’t even try to weigh the bronze.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 7:15 Either Solomon or Hiram; this ambiguity continues in the following verses, but cf 1 Kgs 7:1, 8, 13; 1 Kgs 7:40.
  2. 1 Kings 7:15 Or the second; cf Jer 52:21
  3. 1 Kings 7:26 One bath is approximately twenty quarts or five gallons.
  4. 1 Kings 7:30 Heb uncertain
  5. 1 Kings 7:36 Heb uncertain
  6. 1 Kings 7:38 One bath is approximately twenty quarts or five gallons.