Historical

1 Shlomo the son of David grew stronger in his rulership; Adonai his God was with him, making him greater and greater.

² Shlomo spoke to all Isra’el — to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges and to every leader in all Isra’el, the heads of clans. ³ Shlomo and the whole community with him went to the high place at Giv‘on, because in that place was God’s tent of meeting, which Moshe the servant of Adonai had made in the desert. ⁴ But the ark of God David had brought up from Kiryat-Ye‘arim to the place he had prepared for it — he had set up a tent for it in Yerushalayim. ⁵ The bronze altar crafted by B’tzal’el the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had been placed before the tabernacle of Adonai; and there Shlomo and the community consulted him. ⁶ On the bronze altar at the tent of meeting Shlomo offered a thousand burnt offerings before Adonai.

⁷ That night God appeared to Shlomo and said to him, “Tell me what I should give you.” ⁸ Shlomo said to God, “You showed much grace to your servant David my father and have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, Adonai, God, you have been faithful to your promise to David my father; for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the grains of dust on the earth. ¹⁰ So now, give me wisdom and knowledge; so that I will be able to lead this people. For who is equal to judging this great people of yours?”

¹¹ God said to Shlomo, “Because you set your heart on this — because, instead of asking for riches, wealth, honor, the death of those who hate you, or long life, you asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you would be able to judge my people, over whom I made you king — ¹² not only are wisdom and knowledge being given to you, but I will also give you riches, wealth and honor such as no king before you has ever had; and no king after you will have as much.” ¹³ So Shlomo came away from the high place at Giv‘on, from in front of the tent of meeting, to Yerushalayim; and he ruled over Isra’el.

¹⁴ Shlomo amassed chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen; he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Yerushalayim. ¹⁵ The king made silver and gold in Yerushalayim as common as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as sycamore-fig trees in the Sh’felah. ¹⁶ Shlomo’s horses had been brought from Egypt and from Keve, with the king’s agents having bought them from the dealers in Keve at the going price. ¹⁷ A chariot brought from Egypt cost fifteen pounds of silver shekels and a horse three-and-three quarters pounds [of shekels]; all the kings of the Hittim and the kings of Aram purchased them at these prices through Shlomo’s agents.

^18 (2:1) Shlomo then decided to build a house for the name of Adonai and a royal palace for himself.

2 ⁽²⁾ Shlomo enlisted 70,000 men who carried loads, another 80,000 men who were stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 supervising them. ^2 (3) Then Shlomo sent this message to Huram the king of Tzor: “[Deal with me] as you dealt with David my father when you sent him cedar logs, so that he could build himself a palace to live in. ^3 (4) Here, I am about to build a house for the name of Adonai my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before Him incense made of sweet spices; the house will also be for the continuing showbread and for the burnt offerings presented every morning and evening, on the shabbats, at every Rosh-Hodesh, and at the designated times of Adonai our God. This is a perpetual regulation for Isra’el. ^4 (5) The house I will build will be great, because our God is greater than all gods. ^5 (6) But who is equal to building him a house? Why, heaven itself, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain him; so who am I to build him a house, except to offer sacrifices before him?

^6 (7) “Now, therefore, send me a man skilled at working with gold, silver, bronze and iron; dealing with purple, crimson, and blue dyed materials; and capable of doing all kinds of engraving. He will be with the skilled craftsmen I have with me in Y’hudah and Yerushalayim, whom David my father provided. ^7 (8) Also send me cedar, cypress and sandalwood logs from the L’vanon; for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber in the L’vanon. I will have my servants work together with your servants ^8 (9) to prepare me an abundant supply of timber, for the house I am about to build must be magnificent and wonderful. ^9 (10) I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the timber, 100,000 bushels of cracked wheat, 100,000 bushels of barley, 100,000 gallons of wine, and 100,000 gallons of olive oil.”

^10 (11) Huram the king of Tzor wrote this answer and sent it to Shlomo: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them.” ^11 (12) Huram continued, “Blessed be Adonai, the God of Isra’el, who made heaven and earth, who has given David the king a wise, knowledgeable son with common sense to build a house for Adonai and a royal palace for himself. ^12 (13) Now I am sending a man of skill and understanding, my master craftsman Huram, ^13 (14) the son of a woman who was one of the daughters of Dan, while his father was a man from Tzor. He is skilled in working gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and timber, as well as purple and blue dyed materials, fine linen and crimson material; he can do any kind of engraving; and he can make all the equipment necessary to accomplish any task assigned to him, with the help of your craftsmen and those of my lord David your father. ^14 (15) Therefore let my lord send his servants the wheat, barley, oil and wine he has spoken of; ^15 (16) and we will cut wood from the L’vanon, as much as you need; we will float it to you as rafts by sea to Yafo, and you will take it up to Yerushalayim.”

^16 (17) Shlomo took a census of all the foreigners in the land of Isra’el, following the pattern of the census of David his father; they were found to number 153,600. ^17 (18) He appointed 70,000 of them to carry loads, 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as supervisors to assign the people their work.

3 Then Shlomo began to build the house of Adonai in Yerushalayim on Mount Moriyah, where Adonai had appeared to David his father. Provision had been made for this at the place David had chosen, the threshing-floor of Ornan the Y’vusi. ² He began building in the fourth year of his reign, on the second day of the second month.

³ These are the foundations Shlomo laid for building the house of God: the length in old-standard cubits was sixty cubits [105 feet] and the width twenty cubits [thirty-five feet]. ⁴ The length of the hall fronting the house was the same as the house’s width, thirty-five feet and the height 210 [feet]; and he overlaid it with pure gold.

⁵ The larger house he covered with cypress-wood, which he overlaid with fine gold and embossed with palm trees and chains. ⁶ He also decorated the building with precious stones and gold from Parvayim, ⁷ overlaying the house and its beams, thresholds, walls and doors with gold and carving k’ruvim on the walls.

⁸ Then he made the Especially Holy Place; its length matched the width of the house, thirty-five feet, and its width was thirty-five feet. He overlaid it with twenty tons of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of the nails was one-and-a-quarter pounds of gold, and he overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

¹⁰ Inside the Especially Holy Place he made two k’ruvim of cast metal, and they overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The wings of the k’ruvim were thirty-five feet long — the wing of the one keruv was eight-and-three-quarters feet long and touched the wall of the house; the other wing was also eight-and-three-quarters feet long, so that it touched the wing of the other keruv. ¹² The wing of the other keruv was eight-and-three-quarters feet long, touching the wall of the house; and the other wing was also eight-and-three-quarters feet long, touching the wing of the first keruv. ¹³ The wings of these k’ruvim spread out over thirty-five feet. They stood on their feet with their faces turned inward.

¹⁴ He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson material and of fine linen, with a design of k’ruvim worked into it.

¹⁵ In front of the house he made two columns sixty-one-and-a-quarter feet high, with a capital of eight-and-three-quarters feet on top of each. ¹⁶ He made chains in the sanctuary and added them to the tops of the columns, and he made a hundred pomegranates and attached them to the chains. ¹⁷ He erected the columns in front of the temple, one on the right and the other on the left; the one on the right he called Yakhin, and the one on the left he called Bo‘az.

4 He made an altar of bronze thirty-five feet long, thirty-five feet wide and seventeen-and-a-half feet high.

² He made the cast metal “Sea” circular, seventeen-and-a-half feet from rim to rim, eight-and-three quarters feet high and fifty-two-and-a-half feet in circumference. ³ Below the rim a ring of ox-like figures encircled it, ten for every twenty-one inches all the way around the Sea. The oxen were in two rows; they were cast when the Sea was cast. ⁴ It rested on twelve oxen, three looking north, three looking west, three looking south and three looking east, all with their hindquarters toward the center. The Sea was set on top of them. ⁵ It was a handbreadth thick, its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; and its capacity was 16,500 gallons. ⁶ He also made ten basins for washing and put five on the right and five on the left. Items needed for the burnt offerings would be cleansed in these, but the Sea was for the cohanim to wash in.

⁷ He made the ten menorahs of gold in accordance with their specifications and set them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. ⁸ He also made ten tables and put them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. And he made a hundred basins of gold.

⁹ He made the courtyard for the cohanim and the great courtyard, also the doors to the courtyard, which he overlaid with bronze.

¹⁰ The Sea he placed on the right side [of the house], toward the southeast.

¹¹ Huram made the ash pots, shovels and sprinkling basins. With that, Huram completed the work he had been doing for King Shlomo in the house of God — ¹² the two columns, the two moldings, the two capitals on top of the columns, the two nettings covering the two moldings of the capitals atop the columns, ¹³ and the 400 pomegranates for the two nettings, two rows of pomegranates for each netting, to cover the two moldings of the capitals atop the columns. ¹⁴ He also made the trolleys, the basins on the trolleys, ¹⁵ the one Sea, the twelve oxen under it, ¹⁶ the ash pots, the shovels, the forks and all the other equipment for it. All these articles that Huram the master craftsman made for King Shlomo in the house of Adonai were of brilliant bronze. ¹⁷ The king cast them in the plain of the Yarden, in the clay ground between Sukkot and Tz’redah. ¹⁸ Shlomo made so many of these objects that the total weight of the bronze could not be determined.

¹⁹ Shlomo made all the objects that were inside the house of God: the gold altar; the table on which the showbread was displayed; ²⁰ the menorahs with their lamps to burn in front of the sanctuary as specified, of pure gold; ²¹ the flowers, lamps and tongs of gold, solid gold; ²² and the snuffers, bowls, cups and fire pans of pure gold. As for the entryway to the house, the inner doors for the Especially Holy Place and the doors of the house (that is, of the temple) were of gold.