L q 1. Solomon's own house. Time.
r 2-8-. House of forest of Lebanon.
r -8. House of the queen.
q 9-12. Solomon's house. Materials.910 to 987 B.C.
1 Kings 7)
1 But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years (cp. 6:38. #13 = depravity and rebellion), and he finished all his house.
2 He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof [was] an hundred cubits (approx. 158'), and the breadth thereof fifty cubits (79'), and the height thereof thirty cubits (47 1/2'), upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
3 And [it was] covered with cedar above upon the beams, that [lay] on forty five pillars, fifteen [in] a row.
4 And [there were] windows [in] three rows, and light [was] against light [in] three ranks.
5 And all the entrances and posts [were] square, with the windows: and light [was] against light [in] three ranks.
6 And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof [was] fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch [was] before them: and the [other] pillars and the thick beam [were] before them.
7 Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, [even] the porch of judgment: and [it was] covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.
8 And his house where he dwelt [had] another court within the porch, [which] was of the like work.
Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken [to wife], like unto this porch.
9 All these [were of] costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and [so] on the outside toward the great court.
10 And the foundation [was of] costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
11 And above [were] costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars.
12 And the great court round about [was] with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the Lord (or Temple), and for the porch of the house.
K Q1 7:13-51. The work itself. Q² 8:1-66. The dedication of the work.
Q¹ R¹ 13,14-. The worker.
R² -14-51. The works.
13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
14 He [was] a widow's (1 of 9 widows especially mentioned. See Gen.38:19) son of the tribe of Naphtali (by marriage. By birth of Dan [2 Chron. 2:14]. Dan furnished Aholiab, one of the builders of the Tabernacle [Ex. 31:6]), and his father [was] a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and skillful (or knowing. Cp. 1 Sam. 16:18. 1 Chron. 22:15) to work all castings in bronze (these were the subject of later prophecy [Jer. 27:19], fulfilled in 2 Kings 25:13-17).
R² S -14-40. Description.
T -40. Completion.
S 41-50. Enumeration.
T 51. Completion.
S s -14. Hiram commences the work.
t 15-22. The position of pillars.
u 23-37. The sea. Water.
u 38. The lavers. Water.
t 39,40-. The position of sea and lavers.
T s -40. Hirams completes the work.And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
15 For he cast (Heb. fashioned) the two pillars of bronze (i.e. the 2 notable pillars, for ornament, not for support, and hollow [Jer. 52:21), of eighteen cubits high apiece (28 1/2'. So 2 Kings 25:17 and Jer. 52:21. But 2 Chron. 3:15 says 35 cubits long: i.e. together, the top of "each" being reckoned separately. Therefore the height here was 17 1/2 + 1/2 cubit being taken up in the joining on of the capital): and a line of twelve cubits (19') did compass either of them about.
16 And he made two chapiters [of] molten bronze (Old French chapiteau, from Latin capitulum = capitals, or crowns), to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter [was] five cubits (7 3/4'+. So 2 Chron. 3:15. But 2 Kings 25:17 says 3 cubits, not including the "wreathen" or lattice work, which is described separately, and must have been 2 cubits), and the height of the other chapiter [was] five cubits:
17 [And] frames of checker work (or net- or lattice-work. These are included in the 5 cubits here and 2 Chron. 3:15, but not in 2 Kings 25:17), and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which [were] upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.
18 And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that [were] upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.
19 And the chapiters that [were] upon the top of the pillars [were] of lily work in the porch, four cubits.
20 And the chapiters upon the two pillars [had pomegranates] also above, over against the swell (or protuberance) which [was] by the network: and the pomegranates [were] two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter (in v.42 called 400, because 200 reckoned to each, as in 2 Chron. 4:13. In 2 Chron. 3:16 they are called 100, because reckoned 100 to each row. In Jer.52:23 they are 96 "on a side" [Heb. rûachah =to wind-ward: i.e. exposed to the wind or open air. The others within, or sheltered]).
21 And he set up the pillars for the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin (= He [God] will establish [referring to His People Israel]): and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz (= in Him [God] is strength [referring to His People Israel]).
22 And upon the top of the pillars [was] lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished.
23 And he made a molten sea (= brazen laver. "Sea" put by Fig., for what contained it), ten cubits from the one brim to the other: [it was] round all about, and his height [was] five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about (here the proportion of the diameter to the circumference [1:3] was revealed, while human wisdom was still searching for it).
24 And under the brim of it round about [there were] knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops [were] cast in two rows, when it was cast.
25 It stood upon twelve oxen, 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 sea [was set] above upon them, and all their hinder parts [were] inward.
26 And it [was] an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths (aprox. 12,000 gallons. 2 Chron. 4:5 says 3,000. But 1 Kings 7:25 speaks of what it did usually contain; while 2 Chron. 4:5 speaks of what it could "receive and hold". No bath in use is filled to its full capacity).
27 And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits [was] the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.
28 And the work of the bases [was] on this [manner]: they had panels (or enclosures), and the panels [were] between the ledges:
29 And on the panels that [were] between the ledges [were] lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges [there was] a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen [were] certain connections made of thin work (probably wreaths).
30 And every base had four brazen wheels (showing that these lavers were movable: and indicating that when "that which is perfect should come [viz. the washing with spirit, Acts 1:5], the type [water] was to be wheeled away"), and axletrees of bronze: and the four corners thereof had projections (or supports): under the laver [were] supports molten, opposite every connection.
31 And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above [was] a cubit: but the mouth thereof [was] round [after] the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it [were] gravings with their panels (removed by Ahaz [2 Kings 16:17]. Replaced by Hezekiah [2 Chron. 29:19]. Existed at taking of Temple [Jer.52:17,20]), foursquare, not round.
32 And under the panels [were] four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels [were joined] to the base: and the height of a wheel [was] a cubit and half a cubit.
33 And the work of the wheels [was] like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their rims, and their spokes, and their hubs, [were] all molten.
34 And [there were] four supports to the four corners of one base: [and] the supports [were] of the very base itself.
35 And in the top of the base [was there] a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof [were] of the same.
36 For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one (i.e. on a reduced scale, as the plates required), and connections round about.
37 After this [manner] he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, [and] one size.
38 Then made he ten lavers of bronze: one laver contained forty baths (240 gallons): [and] every laver was four cubits: [and] upon every one of the ten bases one laver.
39 And he put five bases 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 house eastward over against the south.
40 And Hiram made the lavers (= cauldrons [for boiling the peace offerings]. Some codices read "pans". Cp.v.45 and 2 Chron. 4:11), and the shovels, and the basons.
So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the Lord (= the Temple):
41 The two pillars, and the [two] bowls of the chapiters that [were] on the top of the two pillars; and the two lattices, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which [were] upon the top of the pillars;
42 And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, [even] two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that [were] upon the the face of pillars;
43 And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases;
44 And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;
45 And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the Lord, [were of] bright bronze.
46 In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.
47 And Solomon left all the vessels [unweighed], because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the bronze sought out.
48 And Solomon made all the furniture that [pertained] to the house of the Lord: the altar of gold (i.e. the altar of incense. Cp. 6:22), and the table of gold, whereupon the show-bread [was],
49 And the candlesticks (cp. 2 Chron. 4:20. Solomon exceeded the pattern in number but followed the design in shape. Size not stated) of pure gold (in Palestine, gold has the least possible alloy, and is exceedingly malleable), five on the right [side], and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs [of] gold,
50 And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers [of] pure gold; and the hinges [of] gold, [both] for the doors of the inner house, the holy of hollies, [and] for the doors of the house, [to wit], of the temple.
51 So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the Lord. And Solomon brought in the holy things of David (see Ex.3:5), and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the Lord.