1 Kings 7:21

7:21 He set up the pillars on the porch in front of the main hall. He erected one pillar on the right ¹  side and called it Jakin; ²  he erected the other pillar on the left ³  side and called it Boaz. ⁴ 

1 Kings 7:1

The Building of the Royal Palace

7:1 Solomon took thirteen years to build his palace. ⁵ 

1 Kings 4:24

4:24 His royal court was so large because ⁶  he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah ⁷  to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors. ⁸ 

¹ tn Or “south.”

² sn The name Jakin appears to be a verbal form and probably means, “he establishes.”

³ tn Or “north.”

⁴ sn The meaning of the name Boaz is uncertain. For various proposals, see BDB 126-27 s.v. בעז. One attractive option is to revocalize the name as בְּעֹז (be’oz, “in strength”) and to understand it as completing the verbal form on the first pillar. Taking the words together and reading from right to left, one can translate the sentence, “he establishes [it] in strength.”

⁵ tn Heb “His house Solomon built in thirteen years and he completed all his house.”

⁶ tn Heb “because.” The words “his royal court was so large” are added to facilitate the logical connection with the preceding verse.

⁷ sn Tiphsah. This was located on the Euphrates River.

⁸ tn Heb “for he was ruling over all [the region] beyond the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kingdoms beyond the River, and he had peace on every side all around.”