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Solomon Continues to Build

Solomon built his house over thirteen years, and he finished all of his house.

He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon; one hundred cubits its length, fifty cubits its width, and thirty cubits its height, on four rows of cedar pillars and cedar beams atop the pillars. It was covered with cedar above, and the supporting beams which were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen to the row. There were three rows of specially designed windows; with window to window three times. All of the doorways and the doorframes had four-sided casings, with opening to opposite opening three times.

The hall of pillars he made fifty cubits in its length and thirty cubits in its width, and a porch was in front of them,[a] with pillars and an overhang in front of them.[b] He made the hall of the throne where he would pronounce judgment, the hall of justice, and it was covered with cedar from the floor to the rafters.[c] His house where he would live in the next courtyard on the inside of the porch was like this work, and he would make a house like this porch for the daughter of Pharaoh whom Solomon had taken as wife. All of these were of precious stones, according to the measurement of dressed stone, sawn with a saw on all sides;[d] from the foundation up to the eaves and from the outside up to the great courtyard. 10 The foundation was of precious stones, and large stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits 11 with precious stones above, just the right size,[e] and cedar. 12 The great courtyard all around had three rows of dressed stones and a row of cedar beams; for both the courtyard of the inner house[f] of Yahweh and for the porch of the house.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 7:6 Literally “on their face”
  2. 1 Kings 7:6 Literally “on their face”
  3. 1 Kings 7:7 Hebrew “floor,” but other ancient versions have “rafters”
  4. 1 Kings 7:9 Literally “on the inside and on the outside”
  5. 1 Kings 7:11 Literally “according to the measurement of dressed stones”
  6. 1 Kings 7:12 Or “temple”

Solomon Builds His Palace

Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.

One of Solomon’s buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.[a] There were four rows of cedar pillars, and great cedar beams rested on the pillars. The hall had a cedar roof. Above the beams on the pillars were forty-five side rooms,[b] arranged in three tiers of fifteen each. On each end of the long hall were three rows of windows facing each other. All the doorways and doorposts[c] had rectangular frames and were arranged in sets of three, facing each other.

Solomon also built the Hall of Pillars, which was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide.[d] There was a porch in front, along with a canopy supported by pillars.

Solomon also built the throne room, known as the Hall of Justice, where he sat to hear legal matters. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.[e] Solomon’s living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall, and they were constructed the same way. He also built similar living quarters for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

From foundation to eaves, all these buildings were built from huge blocks of high-quality stone, cut with saws and trimmed to exact measure on all sides. 10 Some of the huge foundation stones were 15 feet long, and some were 12 feet[f] long. 11 The blocks of high-quality stone used in the walls were also cut to measure, and cedar beams were also used. 12 The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple with its entry room.

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Footnotes

  1. 7:2 Hebrew 100 cubits [46 meters] long, 50 cubits [23 meters] wide, and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] high.
  2. 7:3 Or 45 rafters, or 45 beams, or 45 pillars. The architectural details in 7:2-6 can be interpreted in many different ways.
  3. 7:5 Greek version reads windows.
  4. 7:6 Hebrew 50 cubits [23 meters] long and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] wide.
  5. 7:7 As in Syriac version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads from floor to floor.
  6. 7:10 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] . . . 8 cubits [3.7 meters].