Historical

1 And Sh’lomo Ben Dovid was strengthened in his kingdom, and Hashem Elohav was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.

² Then Sh’lomo spoke unto kol Yisroel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and to the shofetim, and to every Nasi in kol Yisroel, the Rashei HaAvot.

³ So Sh’lomo, and Kol HaKahal with him, went to the high place that was at Giv’on, for there was the Ohel Mo’ed HaElohim, which Moshe eved Hashem had made in the midbar.

⁴ But the Aron HaElohim Dovid had brought up from Kiryat-Yearim to the place which Dovid had prepared for it; for he had pitched an Ohel for it at Yerushalayim.

⁵ Moreover the Mizbe’ach Hanechoshet, that Betzalel ben Uri ben Chur had made, he put in front of the Mishkan Hashem; and Sh’lomo and HaKahal inquired of Him.

⁶ And Sh’lomo went up there to the Mizbe’ach Hanechoshet before Hashem, which was at the Ohel Mo’ed, and offered a thousand olot upon it.

⁷ In that lailah did Elohim appear unto Sh’lomo, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee.

⁸ And Sh’lomo said unto Elohim, Thou hast showed chesed gadol unto Dovid Avi, and hast made me to reign in his place.

⁹ Now, Hashem Elohim, let Thy Davar unto Dovid Avi be established, for Thou hast made me melech over Am Rav like the aphar ha’aretz in multitude.

¹⁰ Give me now chochmah and intelligence, that I may go out and come in before HaAm Hazeh, for who can judge this Thy people, that is so great?

¹¹ And Elohim said to Sh’lomo, Because this was in thine levav, and thou hast not asked osher, riches, or kavod, nor the nefesh of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked yamim rabbim (many days, long life), but hast asked chochmah and intelligence for thyself, that thou mayest judge My people, over whom I have made thee melech,

¹² Chochmah and intelligence is granted unto thee; and I will give thee osher, and riches, and kavod, such as none of the melachim have had that be before or after thee.

¹³ Then Sh’lomo came from his journey to the high place that was at Giv’on, from before the Ohel Mo’ed, to Yerushalayim, and reigned over Yisroel.

¹⁴ And Sh’lomo gathered chariots and parashim (horsemen); and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand parashim, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with HaMelech at Yerushalayim.

¹⁵ And HaMelech made kesef and zahav at Yerushalayim as plenteous as avanim, and cedar trees he made as abundant as the sycomore fig trees that are in the Shefelah.

¹⁶ And Sh’lomo had susim imported from Mitzrayim and from Keve; the royal buyers purchased them from Keve.

¹⁷ And they imported from Mitzrayim, and then exported a merkavah (chariot) for six hundred shekels of kesef, and a sus (horse) for a hundred and fifty; and so they exported susim to all the melachim of the Chittim, and to the melachim of Aram (Syria).

2 ^(1:18) And Sh’lomo determined to build a Bais for the Shem of Hashem, and a Bais (palace) for his kingdom.

^2 (2:1) And Sh’lomo conscripted threescore and ten thousand ish to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand ish as stonecutters in the hill country, and three thousand and six hundred to be their foremen to oversee them.

^3 (2:2) And Sh’lomo sent to Churam Melech Tzor, saying, As thou didst deal with Dovid Avi, and didst send him cedars to build him a Bais (palace) to dwell therein, even so deal with me.

^4 (2:3) Hinei, I build a Bais for the Shem of Hashem Elohai, to set it apart as kodesh and to dedicate it to Him, and to burn before Him ketoret sammim (fragrant incense), and for the ma’arekhet tamid (regular offering of the rows of bread), and for the olot boker and erev, on the Shabbatot, and on every Rosh-Chodesh, and on the Mo’adei Hashem Eloheinu. This is for l’olam (forever) to Yisroel.

^5 (2:4) And HaBeis which I build is gadol, for gadol is Eloheinu above kol HaElohim (all the g-ds).

^6 (2:5) But who has the ko’ach to build Him a Bais, seeing the Shomayim and Shomayim of Shomayim cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a Bais, except to burn sacrifices before Him?

^7 (2:6) Send me now therefore an ish chacham in zahav, and in kesef, and in nechoshet, and in barzel, and in purple, and in crimson, and in blue wool, and that has skill in the art of engraving to work with my chachamim in Yehudah and in Yerushalayim whom Dovid Avi did provide.

^8 (2:7) Send me also cedar, pine, and algum logs, from the Levanon, for I know that thy avadim have skill to cut timber in the Levanon; and, hinei, my avadim shall be with thy avadim,

^9 (2:8) Even to provide me lumber in abundance, for the Bais which I am about to build shall be gadol v’hafeleh (great and magnificent).

^10 (2:9) And, hinei, I will give to thy avadim, the woodsmen that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten chittim, and twenty thousand measures of se’orim, and twenty thousand baths of yayin, and twenty thousand baths of shemen (olive oil).

^11 (2:10) Then Churam Melech Tzor answered by letter, which he sent to Sh’lomo, Because Hashem hath loved His people, He hath made thee Melech over them.

^12 (2:11) Churam said moreover, Baruch Hashem Elohei Yisroel, that made Shomayim v’et HaAretz, Who hath given to Dovid HaMelech a ben chacham (wise son), endued with seichel and binah, that might build a Bais for Hashem, and a Bais (palace) for his kingdom.

^13 (2:12) And now I have sent an ish chacham, endued with binah, namely my master craftsman Churam-Avi,

^14 (2:13) ben isha of the Banot Dan, and his av was an ish Tzor, trained to work in zahav, and in kesef, in nechoshet, in barzel, in avanim (stone), and in etzim (wood), in purple, in blue wool, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to engrave every kind of engraving, and to execute every design which shall be put to him, with thy chachamim, and with the chachmei adoni Dovid Avicha.

^15 (2:14) Now therefore the chittim, and the se’orim, the shemen, and the yayin, which adoni hath spoken of, let him send unto his avadim,

^16 (2:15) And we will cut etzim out of the Levanon, as much as thou shalt need; and we will float it to thee in rafts by yam to Yafo, and thou shalt carry it up to Yerushalayim.

^17 (2:16) And Sh’lomo took a census of all the gerim that were in Eretz Yisroel, after the census wherewith Dovid Aviv had numbered them; and they were found a hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.

^18 (2:17) And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be stonecutters in the hill country, and three thousand and six hundred menatzkhim (foremen overseers) to keep HaAm working. [T.N. See 1Kgs 6:1. 966 B.C.E. the construction began on the Beis HaMikdash.]

3 Then Sh’lomo began to build the Bais Hashem at Yerushalayim in Mt Moriyah, where Hashem appeared unto Dovid Avihu, in the makom (place) which Dovid had prepared in the goren (threshing floor) of Ornan the Yevusi.

² And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his [Sh’lomo’s 970-930 B.C.E.] reign.

³ Now these are the foundations which Sh’lomo laid for the building of the Bais HaElohim. The length by cubits using the middah harishonah (old standard) was threescore cubits, and the width twenty cubits.

⁴ And the Ulam that was in the front of the Bais (porch or vestibule in front of the Holy Place), the length of it was according to the width of the Bais, twenty cubits, and the height was twenty, and he overlaid it within with zahav tahor.

⁵ And the Bais HaGadol he paneled with cypress, which he overlaid with zahav tov, and carved thereon timorim (palm trees) and sharsherot (chainwork).

⁶ And he decorated the Bais with precious stones for tiferet (beauty), and the zahav was zahav from Parvayim.

⁷ He overlaid also the Bais, the ceiling beams, the thresholds, and the walls thereof, and the daletot (doors) thereof, with zahav; and carved keruvim on the walls.

⁸ And he made the Bais Kodesh HaKadashim, the length whereof was according to the width of the bais, twenty cubits long, and the width thereof twenty cubits, and he overlaid it with zahav tov of six hundred talents.

⁹ And the weight of the masmerot (nails) was fifty shekels of zahav. And he overlaid the upper rooms with zahav.

¹⁰ And in the Bais Kodesh HaKadashim he made two keruvim of ma’aseh tza’atzu’im (sculpture work), and overlaid them with zahav.

¹¹ And the wings of the keruvim were twenty cubits long; one wing of the one keruv was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the Bais; and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other keruv.

¹² And one wing of the other keruv was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the Bais; and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other keruv.

¹³ The wings of these keruvim spread themselves forth twenty cubits; and they stood on their feet, and their faces turned inward.

¹⁴ And he made the Parochet of blue wool, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought keruvim thereon.

¹⁵ Also he made before the Bais two [freestanding] Ammudim (pillars) of thirty and five cubits high [53 feet], and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.

¹⁶ And he made sharsherot in the Devir, and put them on the rosh of the Ammudim; and made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the sharsherot.

¹⁷ And he erected the Ammudim before the Heikhal, one on the right, and the other on the left; and called the shem of that on the right Yachin, and the shem of that on the left Boaz.

4 Moreover he made a Mizbe’ach nechoshet, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the width thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.

² Also he made a Yam Mutzak (Molten "Sea") of ten cubits from brim to brim. It was round, and five cubits the height thereof, and a line of thirty cubits did completely encircle it.

³ And under it was the demut (likeness) of bulls, all around, ten per cubit, surrounding the Yam. Two rows of bulls were cast, when it was cast.

⁴ It stood upon shneym asar bakar (twelve bulls), three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the Yam was set above upon them, and all their hindquarters were toward the inside.

⁵ And the thickness of it was a handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a kos, like the flower of a lily; and it received and held the capacity of shloshet alafim baths.

⁶ He made also ten kiyyorim (lavers, basins for washing), and put five on the right and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as they offered for the olah (burnt offering) they washed in them; but the Yam was for the Kohanim to wash in.

⁷ And he made ten Menorot HaZahav as prescribed, and set them in the Heikhal, five on the right, and five on the left.

⁸ He made also ten Shulchanot, and placed them in the Heikhal, five on the right, and five on the left. And he made a hundred mizrekei zahav (golden basins).

⁹ Furthermore he made the Khatzer HaKohanim, and the Azarah HaGedolal (the Great Temple Courtyard area), and delatot laAzarah, and overlaid the daletot of them with nechoshet (bronze).

¹⁰ And he set the Yam on the right, eastward, opposite the south.

¹¹ And Churam made the sirot, and the shovels, and the mizrakot. And Churam finished the melachah that he was to make for Melech Sh’lomo for the Beis HaElohim,

¹² The two Ammudim, and the bases, and the capitals which were on the top of the two Ammudim, and the two nettings to cover the two bases of the capitals which were on the top of the Ammudim;

¹³ And four hundred pomegranates on the two nettings; two rows of pomegranates on each netting, to cover the two bases of the capitals which were upon the Ammudim.

¹⁴ He made also stands, and kiyyorot made he upon the stands,

¹⁵ One Yam, and twelve bakar under it.

¹⁶ The sirot also, and the shovels, and the mizlagot, and all their instruments, did Churam Aviv make for Melech Sh’lomo for the Bais Hashem of nechoshet maruk.

¹⁷ In the plain of Yarden did HaMelech cast them, in the avi ha’adamah between Sukkot and Tzeredatah.

¹⁸ Thus Sh’lomo made all these vessels in great abundance, for the weight of the nechoshet could not be found out.

¹⁹ And Sh’lomo made all the vessels that were for the Beis HaElohim, the Mizbe’ach HaZahav also, and the Shulchanot whereon the Lechem HaPanim was set;

²⁰ Moreover the Menorot with their nerot (lamps), that they should burn as prescribed before the Devir, of zahav sagur;

²¹ And the flowers [see Ex.25:31], and the nerot (lamps), and the tongs, he made of zahav, and that perfect zahav;

²² And the snuffers, and the basins, and the ladles, and the firepans, of zahav sagur; and the Petach (Doorway) the Beis, the Daltot HaPenimiyyot (Inner Doors) thereof for the Kodesh HaKadashim, and the Daltot HaBeis laHeikhal, were of zahav.