Solomon’s Palace
7 Now Solomon built his own house (palace) [a]in thirteen years, and he finished all of his house [in that time]. 2 He also built the House of the Forest of Lebanon; its length was a hundred [b]cubits (150 ft.), its width fifty cubits (75 ft.), and its height thirty cubits (45 ft.), upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. 3 And it was covered with cedar [as a roof] on the supporting beams that were upon the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. 4 There were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three tiers. 5 All the doorways and doorposts [and windows] had squared [artistic] frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers.
6 He also made the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits (75 ft.) and its width thirty cubits (45 ft.). There was a porch in front, and pillars and a threshold in front of them.
7 He made the hall for the throne where he was to judge, the Hall of Judgment; it was paneled with cedar from [one] floor to [another] floor.
8 His house where he was to live, the other courtyard behind the hall, was of similar workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
9 All these were of expensive stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great courtyard.
10 The foundation was of expensive stones, large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. 11 And above [the foundation] were expensive stones, stones cut according to measure, and cedar. 12 So the great courtyard all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams like the inner courtyard of the house of the Lord, and the porch of the house.
Hiram’s Work in the Temple
13 Now King Solomon sent word and brought [c]Hiram [a skilled craftsman] from Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Hiram was filled with wisdom, understanding, and skill for doing any [kind of] work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and did all his [bronze] work.
15 He cast the two pillars of bronze; the one pillar was eighteen cubits high, and a [measuring] line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both. 16 He also made two capitals (crowns) of cast bronze to put on the tops of the pillars; the height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 There were nets of network (lattice-work) and twisted threads (wreaths) of chainwork for the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars, seven for one capital and seven for the other. 18 So Hiram made the pillars [in this manner], and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and he did the same for the other capital. 19 The capitals which were upon the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily work (design), four cubits. 20 The capitals were on the two pillars and also above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the network. There were two hundred pomegranates in rows around both capitals. 21 Hiram set up the pillars at the porch of the temple; he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin (may he establish), and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz (in it is strength). 22 On the tops of the pillars was lily work (design). So the work of the pillars was finished.
23 Now he made the Sea (basin) of cast metal, ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, five cubits high and thirty cubits in circumference.(A) 24 Under its brim were gourds encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the Sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast in one piece with it. 25 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three west, three south, and three east; the Sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts pointed inward. 26 It was a hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand [d]baths.
27 Then Hiram made ten bronze stands [for smaller basins]; the length of each stand was four cubits, its width was four cubits and its height was three cubits. 28 This was the design of the stands: they had borders between the frames. 29 On the borders between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the frames there was a pedestal above. Beneath the lions and oxen were borders of hanging work. 30 Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports [for a basin]. Beneath the basin were cast supports with borders at each side. 31 Its opening inside the crown at the top measured a cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half. Also on its opening were carvings, and their borders were square, not round. 32 Underneath the borders were four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like 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; the supports were part of the stand itself. 35 On the top of the stand there was a circular piece half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its supports and borders were part of it. 36 And on the surface of its supports and its borders Hiram engraved cherubim, lions, and palm-shaped decorations, according to the [available] space for each, with borders all around. 37 He made the ten stands like this: they all had one casting, one measure, and one form.
38 Then he made ten basins of bronze; each basin held forty baths and was four cubits, and there was one basin on each of the ten stands. 39 Then he placed the bases, five on the right [or south] side of the house and five on the left [or north] side; and he set the Sea [of cast metal] on the right side of the house toward the southeast.
40 Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished all the work which he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord: 41 the two pillars and the [two] bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars; 42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars; 43 the ten stands and the ten basins on the stands; 44 one Sea (basin), and the twelve oxen under the Sea; 45 the pails, the shovels, and the bowls; all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the Lord were of polished bronze. 46 In the plain of the Jordan [River] the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be determined.
48 Solomon made all the [other] furniture which was in the house of the Lord: the [incense] altar of gold; the table of gold on which was the bread of the Presence; 49 the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary); with the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold; 50 the cups, snuffers, bowls, spoons, firepans—of pure gold; and the hinges of gold [both] for the doors of the inner house, the Holy of Holies, and for the doors of the house, the main room [the Holy Place].
51 So all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was completed. Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the utensils—and he put them in the treasuries of the Lord’s house.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 7:1 Solomon built God’s house first, then his own. That his took much longer is no reflection on Solomon, because David had made every possible preparation for building the temple, greatly reducing the time needed to finish it (1 Chr 22:2-5). David even left plans and patterns for the temple and loyal friends eager to help (1 Kin 5:1; 1 Chr 28:14-19).
- 1 Kings 7:2 I.e. one cubit is about 18 in.
- 1 Kings 7:13 Huram in 2 Chr 2:3.
- 1 Kings 7:26 I.e. a Hebrew liquid measurement, about twenty-two liters per bath.