1 Solomon was thirteen years building a house for himself till it was complete.
2 And he made the house of the Woods of Lebanon, which was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high, resting on four lines of cedar-wood pillars with cedar-wood supports on the pillars.
3 And it was covered with cedar over the forty-five supports which were on the pillars, fifteen in a line.
4 There were three lines of window-frames, window facing window in every line.
5 And all the doors and windows had square frames, with the windows facing one another in three lines.
6 And he made a covered room of pillars, fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, and ... with steps before it.
7 Then he made a covered room for his high seat when he gave decisions; this was the covered room of judging; it was covered with cedar-wood from floor to roof.
8 And the house for his living-place, the other open square in the covered room, was made in the same way. And then he made a house like it for Pharaoh's daughter, whom Solomon had taken as his wife.
9 All these buildings were made, inside and out, from base to crowning stone, and outside to the great walled square, of highly priced stone, cut to different sizes with cutting-instruments.
10 And the base was of great masses of highly priced stone, some ten cubits and some eight cubits square.
11 Overhead were highly priced stones cut to measure, and cedar-wood.
12 The great outer square all round was walled with three lines of squared stones and a line of cedar-wood boards, round about the open square inside the house of the Lord and the covered room of the king's house.
13 Then King Solomon sent and got Hiram from Tyre.
14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; he was full of wisdom and knowledge and an expert worker in brass. He came to King Solomon and did all his work for him.
15 He it was who made the two brass pillars; the first pillar was eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits went round it; and the second was the same.
16 And he made the two crowns to be put on the tops of the pillars, of brass made soft in the fire; the crowns were five cubits high.
17 There were nets of open-work for the crowns on the tops of the pillars, a net of open-work for one and a net of open-work for the other.
18 And he made ornaments of apples; and two lines of apples all round over the network, covering the crowns of the pillars, the two crowns in the same way.
19 The crowns on the tops of the pillars were ornamented with a design of flowers, and were four cubits across.
20 And there were crowns on the two pillars near the round part by the network, and there were two hundred apples in lines round every crown.
21 He put up the pillars at the doorway of the Temple, naming the one on the right Jachin, and that on the left Boaz.
22 The tops of the pillars had a design of flowers; and the work of making the pillars was complete.
23 And he made a great metal water-vessel ten cubits across from edge to edge, five cubits high and thirty cubits round.
24 And under the edge of it, circling it all round for ten cubits, were two lines of flower buds, made together with it from liquid metal.
25 It was supported on twelve oxen, with their back parts turned to the middle of it, three of them facing to the north, three to the west, three to the south, and three to the east; the vessel was resting on top of them.
26 It was as thick as a man's open hand, and was curved like the edge of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it would take two thousand baths.
27 And he made ten wheeled bases of brass; every one four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
28 And the bases were made in this way; their sides were square, fixed in a framework;
29 And on the square sides between the frames were lions, oxen, and winged ones; and the same on the frame; and over and under the lions and the oxen and the winged ones were steps.
30 Every base had four wheels of brass, turning on brass rods, and their four angles had angle-plates under them; the angle-plates under the base were of metal, and there were ornaments at the side of every one.
31 The mouth of it inside the angle-plate was one cubit across; it was round like a pillar, a cubit and a half across; it had designs cut on it; the sides were square, not round.
32 The four wheels were under the frames, and the rods on which the wheels were fixed were in the base; the wheels were a cubit and a half high.
33 The wheels were made like carriage-wheels, the rods on which they were fixed, the parts forming their edges, their rods and the middle points of them, were all formed out of liquid metal.
34 And there were four angle-plates at the four angles of every base, forming part of the structure of the base.
35 And at the top of the base there was a round vessel, half a cubit high;
36 In the spaces of the flat sides and on the frames of them, he made designs of winged ones, lions, and palm-trees, with ornamented edges all round.
37 All the ten bases were made in this way, after the same design, of the same size and form.
38 And he made ten brass washing-vessels, everyone taking forty baths, and measuring four cubits; one vessel was placed on every one of the ten bases.
39 And he put the bases by the house, five on the right side and five on the left; and he put the great water-vessel on the right side of the house, to the east, facing south.
40 And Hiram made the pots and spades and the basins. So Hiram came to the end of all the work he did for King Solomon in the house of the Lord:
41 The two pillars and the two cups of the crowns which were on the tops of the two pillars; and the network covering the two cups of the crowns on the tops of the pillars,
42 And the four hundred apples for the network, two lines of apples for every network, covering the two cups of the crowns on the pillars;
43 And the ten bases, with the ten washing-vessels on them;
44 And the great water-vessel, with the twelve oxen under it;
45 And the pots and the spades and the basins; all the vessels which Hiram made for King Solomon, for the house of the Lord, were of polished brass.
46 He made them of liquid metal in the lowland of Jordan, at the way across the river, at Adama, between Succoth and Zarethan.
47 The weight of all these vessels was not measured, because there was such a number of them; it was not possible to get the weight of the brass.
48 And Solomon had all the vessels made for use in the house of the Lord: the altar of gold and the gold table on which the holy bread was placed;
49 And the supports for the lights, five on the right side and five on the left before the inmost room, of clear gold; and the flowers and the lights and all the instruments of gold;
50 And the cups and the scissors and the basins and the spoons and the fire-trays, all of gold; and the pins on which the doors were turned, the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and the doors of the Temple, all of gold.
51 So all the work King Solomon had done in the house of the Lord was complete. Then Solomon took the holy things which David his father had given, the silver and the gold and all the vessels, and put them in the store-houses of the house of the Lord.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Kings 7
Commentary on 1 Kings 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 7
1Ki 7:1. Building of Solomon's House.
1. Solomon was building his own house thirteen years—The time occupied in building his palace was nearly double that spent in the erection of the temple [1Ki 6:38], because neither had there been the same previous preparations for it, nor was there the same urgency as in providing a place of worship, on which the national well-being so much depended.
1Ki 7:2-7. Of the House of Lebanon.
2. He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon—It is scarcely possible to determine whether this was a different edifice from the former, or whether his house, the house of the forest of Lebanon, and the one for Pharaoh's daughter, were not parts of one grand palace. As difficult is it to decide what was the origin of the name; some supposing it was so called because built on Lebanon; others, that it was in or near Jerusalem, but contained such a profuse supply of cedar columns as to have occasioned this peculiar designation. We have a similar peculiarity of name in the building called the East India house, though situated in London. The description is conformable to the arrangement of Eastern palaces. The building stood in the middle of a great oblong square, which was surrounded by an enclosing wall, against which the houses and offices of those attached to the court were built. The building itself was oblong, consisting of two square courts, flanking a large oblong hall which formed the center, and was one hundred cubits long, by fifty broad. This was properly the house of the forest of Lebanon, being the part where were the cedar pillars of this hall. In front was the porch of judgment, which was appropriated to the transaction of public business. On the one side of this great hall was the king's house; and on the other the harem or royal apartments for Pharaoh's daughter (Es 2:3, 9). This arrangement of the palace accords with the Oriental style of building, according to which a great mansion always consists of three divisions, or separate houses—all connected by doors and passages—the men dwelling at one extremity, the women of the family at the other, while public rooms occupy the central part of the building.
10. the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones—Enormous stones, corresponding exactly with the dimensions given, are found in Jerusalem at this day. Not only the walls from the foundation to the roof beams were built of large hewn stones, but the spacious court around the palace was also paved with great square stones.
12. for the inner court of the house of the Lord—should be, as in the inner court of the house of the Lord; the meaning is, that in this palace, as in the temple, rows of hewed stones and the cedar beams formed the enclosing wall.
1Ki 7:13-51. Hiram's Works.
13. Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre—The Tyrians and other inhabitants on the Phœnician coast were the most renowned artists and workers in metal in the ancient world.
14. He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali—In 2Ch 2:14 his mother is said to have been of the daughters of Dan. The apparent discrepancy may be reconciled thus: Hiram's mother, though belonging to the tribe of Dan, had been married to a Naphtalite, so that when married afterwards to a Tyrian, she might be described as a widow of the tribe of Naphtali. Or, if she was a native of the city Dan (Laish), she might be said to be of the daughters of Dan, as born in that place; and of the tribe of Naphtali, as really belonging to it.
a worker in brass—This refers particularly to the works described in this chapter. But in 2Ch 2:13 his artistic skill is represented as extending to a great variety of departments. In fact, he was appointed, from his great natural talents and acquired skill, to superintend the execution of all the works of art in the temple.
15-22. two pillars of brass of eighteen cubits high—They were made of the brass (bronze) which was taken from the king of Zobah (1Ch 18:8). In 2Ch 3:15 they are said to have been thirty-five cubits high. There, however, their joint lengths are given; whereas here the length of the pillars is given separately. Each pillar was seventeen and a half cubits long, which is stated, in round numbers, as eighteen. Their dimensions in English measure are as follows: The pillars without the capitals measured thirty-two and a half feet long, and seven feet diameter; and if hollow, as Whiston, in his translation of Josephus, thinks (Jer 52:21), the metal would be about three and a half inches thick; so that the whole casting of one pillar must have been from sixteen to twenty tons. The height of the capitals was eight and three-fourths feet; and, at the same thickness of metal, would not weigh less than seven or eight tons each. The nature of the workmanship in the finishing of these capitals is described (1Ki 7:17-22). The pillars, when set up, would stand forty feet in height [Napier, Metal].
17, 18. nets of checker work—that is, branch-work, resembling the branches of palm trees, and
wreaths of chain-work—that is, plaited in the form of a chain, composing a sort of crown or garland. Seven of these were wound in festoons on one capital, and over and underneath them were fringes, one hundred in a row. Two rows of pomegranates strung on chains (2Ch 3:16) ran round the capital (1Ki 7:42; compare 2Ch 4:12, 13; Jer 52:23), which, itself, was of a bowl-like or globular form (1Ki 7:41). These rows were designed to form a binding to the ornamental work—to keep it from falling asunder; and they were so placed as to be above the chain work, and below the place where the branch-work was.
19. lily work—beautiful ornaments, resembling the stalks, leaves, and blossoms of lilies—of large dimensions, as suited to the height of their position.
21. Jachin and … Boaz—These names were symbolical, and indicated the strength and stability—not so much of the material temple, for they were destroyed along with it (Jer 52:17), as of the spiritual kingdom of God, which was embodied in the temple.
23-26. he made a molten sea—In the tabernacle was no such vessel; the laver served the double purpose of washing the hands and feet of the priests as well as the parts of the sacrifices. But in the temple there were separate vessels provided for these offices. (See on 2Ch 4:6). The molten sea was an immense semicircular vase, measuring seventeen and a half feet in diameter, and being eight and three-fourths feet in depth. This, at three and a half inches in thickness, could not weigh less than from twenty-five to thirty tons in one solid casting—and held from sixteen thousand to twenty thousand gallons of water. [See on 2Ch 4:3.] The brim was all carved with lily work or flowers; and oxen were carved or cut on the outside all round, to the number of three hundred; and it stood on a pedestal of twelve oxen. These oxen must have been of considerable size, like the Assyrian bulls, so that their corresponding legs would give thickness or strength to support so great a weight for, when the vessel was filled with water, the whole weight would be about one hundred tons [Napier]. (See on 2Ch 4:3).
27-39. he made ten bases of brass—These were trucks or four-wheeled carriages, for the support and conveyance of the lavers. The description of their structure shows that they were elegantly fitted up and skilfully adapted to their purpose. They stood, not on the axles, but on four rests attached to the axles, so that the figured sides were considerably raised above the wheels. They were all exactly alike in form and size. The lavers which were borne upon them were vessels capable each of holding three hundred gallons of water, upwards of a ton weight. The whole, when full of water, would be no less than two tons [Napier].
40-45. And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins—These verses contain a general enumeration of Hiram's works, as well as those already mentioned as other minor things. The Tyrian artists are frequently mentioned by ancient authors as skilful artificers in fashioning and embossing metal cups and bowls; and we need not wonder, therefore, to find them employed by Solomon in making the golden and brazen utensils for his temple and palaces.
46. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them—Zarthan, or Zaretan (Jos 3:16), or Zartanah (1Ki 4:12), or Zeredathah (2Ch 4:17), was on the bank of the Jordan in the territories of western Manasseh. Succoth was situated on the eastern side of Jordan, at the ford of the river near the mouth of the Jabbok. One reason assigned by commentators for the castings being made there is, that at such a distance from Jerusalem that city would not be annoyed by the smoke and noxious vapors necessarily occasioned by the process. [Note in Bagster's Bible.] But the true reason is to be found in the nature of the soil; Margin, "the thickness of the ground." That part of the Jordan valley abounds with marl. Clay and sand are the moulding material still used for bronze. Such large quantities of metal as one of these castings would contain could not be fused in one furnace, but would require a series of furnaces, especially for such a casting as the brazen sea—the whole series of furnaces being filled with metal, and fused at one time, and all tapped together, and the metal let run into the mould. Thus a national foundry was erected in the plain of Jordan [Napier].
48. the altar of gold—that is, the altar of incense.
49. candlesticks of pure gold—made, probably, according to the model of that in the tabernacle, which, along with the other articles of furniture, were deposited with due honor, as sacred relics, in the temple. But these seem not to have been used in the temple service; for Solomon made new lavers, tables, and candlesticks, ten of each. (See further regarding the dimensions and furniture of the temple, in 2Ch 3:1-5:14).