7 1 The building of the house of Solomon. 15 The excellent workmanship of Hiram in the pieces which he made for the Temple.
1 But Solomon was building his own house (A)thirteen years, and [a]finished all his house.
2 He built also an house [b]called the forest of Lebanon, an hundred cubits long, and fifty cubits broad, and thirty cubits high, upon four rows of Cedar pillars: and Cedar beams were laid upon the pillars.
3 And it was covered above with cedar upon the beams, that lay on the forty and five pillars, fifteen in a row.
4 And the windows were in three rows, and window was [c]against window in three ranks.
5 And all the doors, and the side posts with the windows were foursquare, and window was over against window in three ranks.
6 And he made a porch of pillars fifty cubits long, and thirty cubits broad, and the porch was before [d]them, even before them were thirty pillars.
7 ¶ Then he made a porch [e]for the throne, where he judged, even a porch of judgment, and it was ceiled with cedar from pavement to pavement.
8 And in his house where he dwelt was another hall more inward than the porch which was of the same work. Also Solomon made an house for Pharaoh’s daughter ((B)whom he had taken to wife) like unto this porch.
9 All these were [f]of costly stones, hewed by measure, and sawed with saws within and without, from the foundation unto [g]the stones of an [h]hand breadth, and on the outside to the great court.
10 And the foundation was of costly stones, and great stones, even of stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
11 [i]Above also were costly stones squared by rule, and boards of cedar.
12 ¶ And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams: [j]so was it to the inner court of the house of the Lord, and to the porch of the house.
13 ¶ Then King Solomon sent, and fet one Hiram out of [k]Tyre.
14 He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, his father being a man of Tyre, and wrought in brass: [l]he was full of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge to work all manner of work in brass: who came to King Solomon, and wrought all his work.
15 For he cast two pillars of brass: the height of a pillar was eighteen cubits, and a thread of twelve cubits did compass [m]either of the pillars.
16 And he made two [n]chapiters of molten brass to set on the tops of the pillars: the height of one of the chapiters was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits.
17 He made grates like network and [o]wreathen work like chains for the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars, even seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.
18 So he made the pillars and two rows of pomegranates round about in the one grate to cover the chapiters that were upon the top. And thus did he for the other chapiter.
19 And the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars were after [p]lily work in the porch, four cubits.
20 And the chapiters upon the two pillars had also above, [q]over against the belly [r]within the network pomegranates: for two hundred pomegranates were in the two ranks about upon [s]either of the chapiters.
21 And he set up the pillars in the [t]porch of the Temple. And when he had set up the right pillar, he called the name thereof [u]Jachin: and when he had set up the left pillar, he called the name thereof [v]Boaz.
22 And upon the top of the pillars was work of lilies: so was the workmanship of the pillars finished.
23 ¶ And he made a molten [w]sea of ten cubits wide from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits did compass it about.
24 And under the brim of it were knops like wild cucumbers compassing it round about, ten in one cubit, compassing the sea (C)round about: and the two rows of knops were cast, when it was molten.
25 It stood on twelve bulls, three looking toward the North, and three toward the West, and three toward the South, and three toward the East: and the sea stood above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.
26 It was [x]an handbreadth thick, and the brim thereof was like the work of the brim of a cup with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand [y]baths.
27 ¶ And he made ten bases of brass, one base was four cubits long, and four cubits broad, and three cubits high.
28 ¶ And the work of the bases was on this manner, They had borders, and the borders were between the ledges:
29 And on the borders that were between the ledges, were lions, bulls and Cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and bulls, were additions made of thin work.
30 And every base had four brazen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners had [z]undersetters: under the caldron were undersetters molten at the side of every addition.
31 And the [aa]mouth of it was within the chapiter and above to measure by the cubit: for the mouth thereof was round, made like a base, and it was a cubit and half a cubit: and also upon the mouth thereof were graven works, whose borders were foursquare, and not round.
32 And under the borders were four wheels and the axletrees of the wheels joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit, and half a cubit.
33 And the fashion of the wheels was like the fashion of a chariot wheel, their axletrees, and their naves and their [ab]felloes, and their spokes were all molten.
34 And four undersetters were upon the four corners of one base: and the undersetters thereof were of the base itself.
35 And in the top of the base was a round [ac]compass of half a cubit high round about: and upon the top of the base the ledges thereof, and the borders thereof were of the same.
36 And upon the tables of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof he did grave Cherubims, lions and palm trees, on the side of every one, and additions round about.
37 Thus made he the ten bases, They had all one casting, one measure, and one size.
38 ¶ Then made he [ad]ten cauldrons of brass, one cauldron contained forty baths, and every cauldron was four cubits, one cauldron was upon one base throughout the ten bases.
39 And he set the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. And he set the sea on the right side of the [ae]house Eastward toward the South.
40 ¶ And Hiram made cauldrons, and besoms, and basins, and Hiram finished all the work that he made to King Solomon for the house of the Lord:
41 To wit, two pillars and two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars, and two grates to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars,
42 And four hundred pomegranates for the two grates, even two rows of pomegranates for every grate to cover the two bowls of the chapiters, that were upon the pillars,
43 And the ten bases, and ten cauldrons upon the bases,
44 And the sea, and twelve bulls under that sea,
45 And pots, and besoms, and basins: and all these vessels, which [af]Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the Lord, were of shining brass.
46 In the plain of Jordan did the King cast them in [ag]clay between Succoth and Zaretan.
47 And Solomon left to weigh all the vessels, because of the exceeding abundance, neither could the weight of the brass be counted.
48 So Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the Lord, the [ah]golden altar, and the golden table, whereon the showbread was,
49 And the candlesticks, five at the right side, and five at the left, before the oracle of pure gold, and the flowers, and the lamps, and the snuffers of gold,
50 And the bowls, [ai]and the hooks, and the basins, and the spoons, and the ashpans of pure gold, and hinges of gold for the doors of the house within, even for the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the Temple.
51 So was finished all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the Lord, and Solomon brought in the things which (D)David his father had dedicated: the silver and the gold and the vessels, and laid them among the treasures of the house of the Lord.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 7:1 After he had built the Temple.
- 1 Kings 7:2 For the beauty of the place, and great abundance of cedar trees that went to the building thereof, it was compared to mount Lebanon in Syria: this house he used in summer for pleasure and recreation.
- 1 Kings 7:4 There were as many, and like proportion on the one side as the other, and at every end even three in a row one above another.
- 1 Kings 7:6 Before the pillars of the house.
- 1 Kings 7:7 For his house which was at Jerusalem.
- 1 Kings 7:9 Or, precious.
- 1 Kings 7:9 Which were rests and stays for the beams to lie upon.
- 1 Kings 7:9 Or, span.
- 1 Kings 7:11 From the foundation upward.
- 1 Kings 7:12 As the Lord’s house was built, so was this: only the great court of Solomon’s house was uncovered.
- 1 Kings 7:13 Or, Zor.
- 1 Kings 7:14 Thus when God will have his glory set forth, he raiseth up men, and giveth them excellent gifts for the accomplishment of the same, Exod. 31:2,3.
- 1 Kings 7:15 Hebrew, the second.
- 1 Kings 7:16 Or, pommels.
- 1 Kings 7:17 Or, cords like chains.
- 1 Kings 7:19 As was seen commonly wrought in costly porches.
- 1 Kings 7:20 Or, round about the midst.
- 1 Kings 7:20 Or, bound.
- 1 Kings 7:20 Hebrew, the second.
- 1 Kings 7:21 Which was in the inner court between the Temple and the oracle.
- 1 Kings 7:21 That is, he will stablish, to wit, his promise toward this house.
- 1 Kings 7:21 That is, in strength: meaning the power thereof shall continue.
- 1 Kings 7:23 So called for the hugeness of the vessel.
- 1 Kings 7:26 Or, a span.
- 1 Kings 7:26 Bath and Ephah seem to be both one measure, Ezek. 45:11, every bath contained about ten pottles.
- 1 Kings 7:30 Hebrew, shoulders.
- 1 Kings 7:31 The mouth of the great base or frame entered into the chapiter, or pillar that bare up the cauldron.
- 1 Kings 7:33 Or, rings.
- 1 Kings 7:35 Which was called the pillar, chapiter, or small base, wherein the cauldron stood.
- 1 Kings 7:38 To keep waters for the use of the sacrifices.
- 1 Kings 7:39 To wit, of the Temple or Sanctuary.
- 1 Kings 7:45 By this name also Hiram the king of Tyre was called.
- 1 Kings 7:46 Or, thick earth.
- 1 Kings 7:48 This was done according to the form that the Lord prescribed unto Moses in Exodus.
- 1 Kings 7:50 Some take this for some instrument of music.