Chronological

Wealth and Wisdom

5 Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines up to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. ² Solomon’s provision for one day was 30 measures of fine flour, 60 measures of meal, ³ 10 fat oxen, 20 pasture-fed oxen, 100 sheep, beside deer, gazelles, roebucks and fatted geese. ^{[a] 4} For he had dominion over the entire region west of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River; and he had shalom on all sides around him. ⁵ So Judah and Israel lived securely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

⁶ Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. ⁷ So those officers provided food for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month. They let nothing be lacking. ⁸ They also brought barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where it should be, each according to his charge.

⁹ God gave Solomon wisdom and discernment in great measure, and a breadth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore. ¹⁰ Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. ¹¹ For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, or Heman, Calcol and Darda, sons of Mahol—and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. ¹² He also composed 3,000 proverbs and his songs were 1,005. ¹³ He also spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall, and he spoke about beasts, birds, creeping things and fish. ¹⁴ People came from everywhere to hear the wisdom of Solomon—from all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Hiram Offers Materials

¹⁵ Then King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram was always a friend of David. ¹⁶ So Solomon sent word to Hiram saying: ¹⁷ “You know how my father David could not build a House for the Name of Adonai his God because of the wars around him on every side, until Adonai put them under the soles of my feet. ¹⁸ But now Adonai my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor bad incident. ¹⁹ So behold, I intend to build a House for the Name of Adonai my God, as Adonai spoke to my father David saying: ‘Your son, whom I will set upon your throne in your place, he will build the House for My Name.’

²⁰ “So now, command that they cut cedars from Lebanon for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will give you wages for your servants according to whatever you say; for as you know, there is none among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

²¹ When Hiram heard Solomon’s words, he rejoiced greatly and said: “Blessed be Adonai today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” ²² So Hiram sent word to Solomon saying: “I have heard the message that you sent to me. I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber. ²³ My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that you indicate to me. There I will break them up and you will carry them away. Then you will accomplish my desire by giving food for my household.”

²⁴ So Hiram kept providing Solomon with cedar and cypress timber, as much as he desired, ²⁵ and Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 measures of wheat for food for his household and 20 measures of beaten oil. Thus Solomon would give to Hiram year by year. ²⁶ Adonai gave Solomon wisdom as He promised him, so there was shalom between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them cut a covenant.

²⁷ King Solomon also imposed forced laborers from all Israel—the levy was 30,000 men. ²⁸ He sent them to Lebanon, in shifts of 10,000 a month: they would stay a month in Lebanon, then two months at home. Adoniram was over the forced labor. ²⁹ Solomon had 70,000 porters, and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, ³⁰ besides Solomon’s chief officers that were over the work—3,300 who supervised the people who were doing the work. ³¹ Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the House with cut stones. ³² So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders along with the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the House.

Building the Temple

6 Now it came to pass, 480 years after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv (which is the second month), that he began to build Adonai’s House. ² Now the House that King Solomon built for Adonai was 60 cubits^[b] long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. ³ The porch in front of the Sanctuary of the House was 20 cubits in length—corresponding to the breadth of the House—and its depth was ten cubits from the front of the House. ⁴ Also for the House he made windows with artistic frames. ⁵ Against the wall of the House he built a side-structure surrounding both the Temple and the inner Sanctuary; thus he made side-chambers all around. ⁶ The lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide. All around on the outside he provided offset ledges in the wall of the House, so that the beams would not be inserted into the walls of the House. ⁷ For the House, while being constructed, was built of stone finished at the quarry; with neither hammer, axe nor any iron tool heard in the House during its construction.

⁸ The doorway to the lowest story of the side chambers was on the right side of the House. They went up by winding stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. ⁹ When he finished building the House, he covered the House with beams and planks of cedar. ¹⁰ He built the stories of the side-structure against the whole House, each five cubits high, and they were fastened to the House with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ Then the word of Adonai came to Solomon saying: ¹² “As for this House which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes, execute My ordinances and keep all My mitzvot by walking in them, then I will establish My word with you, which I spoke to your father David, ¹³ I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”^[c]

¹⁴ So Solomon built the House and finished it. ¹⁵ He paneled the walls of the House on the inside with cedar planks of cedar; from the floor of the House to the ceiling he overlaid on the inside with wood; and he overlaid the floor of the House with planks of cypress. ¹⁶ Then he partitioned off 20 cubits at the rear part of the House, using cedar boards from the floor to the ceiling, building it as the inner Sanctuary—the Holy of Holies. ¹⁷ The House, that is, the Sanctuary, was 40 cubits long in front of the inner Sanctuary. ¹⁸ The cedar of the interior of the House was carved as gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was visible.

¹⁹ He prepared an inner Sanctuary within the House, to set there the ark of the covenant of Adonai. ²⁰ The inner Sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in breadth and twenty cubits in height. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the cedar altar. ²¹ So Solomon overlaid the interior of the House with pure gold; and he drew chains of gold across the front of the inner Sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. ²² So the entire House he overlaid with gold until the entire House was finished; even the entire altar by the inner Sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

²³ In the inner Sanctuary he made two cheruvim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. ²⁴ The length of one wing of the cheruv was five cubits and the length of the other wing of the cheruv was five cubits—ten cubits from the end of one wing to the end of the other, ²⁵ and the other cheruv was also ten cubits. Both cheruvim were the same in measure and form: ²⁶ the height of the one cheruv was ten cubits and so the other cheruv. ²⁷ Then he placed the cheruvim inside the inner House. When the wings of the cheruvim extended, the wing of the one touched one wall while the wing of the other cheruv touched the other wall, while their wings in the center of the House touched one another. ²⁸ He also overlaid the cheruvim with gold.

²⁹ Then he carved all the walls surrounding the House with carved engravings of cheruvim, palm trees and open flowers, in both the inner and outer rooms, ³⁰ and he also covered the floor of both the inner and the outer rooms of the House with gold. ³¹ For the entrance of the inner Sanctuary he made doors of olive wood, the frame of the doorposts having five angles. ³² As for the double doors of olive wood, he carved on them carvings of cheruvim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold. He beat out gold over the cheruvim and over the palm trees.

³³ He also made for the Temple entrance four-sided doorposts of olive wood ³⁴ and double doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. ³⁵ He carved cheruvim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the graven work. ³⁶ He built the inner court with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

³⁷ In the fourth year, in the month of Ziv, the foundation of the House of Adonai was laid, ³⁸ and in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul (which is the eighth month), the House was completed in all its parts and according to all its details. So he was seven years building it.

2 Solomon recruited 70,000 men as carriers, 80,000 as stonecutters in the mountains and 3,600 supervisors over them.

² Then Solomon sent word to Huram the king of Tyre saying, “Deal with me as you did with my father David when you sent him cedars to build a house to dwell in. ³ Behold, I am about to build a House for the Name of Adonai my God and to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for regular arrangement of the Bread of the Presence and for burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on Shabbatot, New Moons and moadim of Adonai Eloheinu. Upon Israel this is forever.

⁴ “The House that I am about to build will be great, because our God is greater than all the gods. ⁵ But who is able to build Him a House, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I that I should build Him a House—except to burn incense before Him?

⁶ “So now, send me a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with the skilled men who are with me, whom my father David provided. ⁷ Send me also cedar, evergreen and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber in Lebanon. Indeed my servants will work with yours ⁸ to prepare an abundance of timber for me, because the House that I am about to build will be large and magnificent. ⁹ Now, behold, I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, 20,000 measures^[a] of ground wheat, 20,000 measures of barley, 20,000 vats of wine and 20,000 vats^[b] of oil.”

¹⁰ Then King Huram of Tyre, replied in a letter that he sent to Solomon, “Because Adonai loves His people, He has made you king over them.” ¹¹ Then Huram continued, “Blessed be Adonai, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth. He gave King David a wise son, endowed with insight and understanding, who will build a House for Adonai and a royal house for himself. ¹² So now I am sending Huram-abi—a skilled man endowed with understanding ¹³ who is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan and whose father was a man from Tyre—a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, in purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to engrave all kinds of engraving, and who can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled men and with the skilled men of my lord David your father. ¹⁴ Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat and barley, the oil and wine he has promised ¹⁵ and we will cut as many logs from Lebanon as much as you need, and float them in rafts by sea to Jaffa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁶ Solomon counted all the foreign men in the land of Israel, like the census that his father David had taken, and 153,600 were found. ¹⁷ He appointed 70,000 of them to carry loads, 80,000 to quarry stones in the mountains, and 3,600 overseers to supervise the people working.

Solomon Builds the Temple in Jerusalem

3 Then Solomon began to build the House of Adonai in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah—where Adonai appeared to his father David—at the place that David prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ² He began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. ³ Now the foundation Solomon laid for the building of the House of God was 60 cubits long and 20 cubits wide, according to the old standard. ⁴ The porch in front of the House along its width was 20 cubits and its height was 120 cubits, and the inside was overlaid with pure gold. ⁵ He paneled the main hall with cypress wood, which he overlaid with fine gold and embossed on it palm trees and chains. ⁶ He adorned the House with precious stones and the gold he used was gold from Parvaim. ⁷ Furthermore He overlaid the beams, thresholds, walls and doors of the House with gold and carved cheruvim on the walls.

⁸ He made the Holy of Holies, its length corresponding to the width of the House—20 cubits long and 20 cubits wide. He overlaid it with 600 talents of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold. ¹⁰ Next he made two sculptured cheruvim in the Holy of Holies and overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The wingspan of the cheruvim was 20 cubits. One wing of the first cheruv was five cubits long and touched the wall of the House, while the other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cheruv. ¹² Similarly, one wing of the second cheruv was five cubits long and touched the wall of the House, while the other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cheruv. ¹³ Thus the wingspan of these cheruvim was 20 cubits. They stood on their feet facing the main hall. ¹⁴ Furthermore, he made the veil of blue, purple, crimson yarn and fine linen with cheruvim worked into it.

¹⁵ In the front of the House he made two pillars 35 cubits high, each with a capital on the top measuring five cubits. ¹⁶ He made interwoven chains for the inner Sanctuary and put them on top of the pillars. He also made 100 pomegranates and attached them to the chains. ¹⁷ He erected the pillars in front of the Temple, one to the south and the other to the north. The one to the south he named Jachin and the one to the north Boaz.