1 Kings 6:37--7:1

6:37 In the month Ziv of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple. 6:38 In the eleventh year, in the month Bul (the eighth month) the temple was completed in accordance with all its specifications and blueprints. It took seven years to build.

The Building of the Royal Palace

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

1 Kings 7:51

7:51 When King Solomon finished constructing the Lord’s temple, he put the holy items that belonged to his father David (the silver, gold, and other articles) in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.

1 Kings 7:2

7:2 He named it “The Palace of the Lebanon Forest”; it was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar pillars and cedar beams above the pillars.

1 Kings 7:11-22

7:11 Above the foundation the best stones, chiseled to the right size, were used along with cedar. 7:12 Around the great courtyard were three rows of chiseled stones and one row of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple and the hall of the palace.

Solomon Commissions Hiram to Supply the Temple

7:13 King Solomon sent for Hiram of Tyre. 7:14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. He had the skill and knowledge to make all kinds of works of bronze. He reported to King Solomon and did all the work he was assigned.

7:15 He fashioned two bronze pillars; each pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. 7:16 He made two bronze tops for the pillars; each was seven-and-a-half feet high. 7:17 The latticework on the tops of the pillars was adorned with ornamental wreaths and chains; the top of each pillar had seven groupings of ornaments. 7:18 When he made the pillars, there were two rows of pomegranate-shaped ornaments around the latticework covering the top of each pillar. 7:19 The tops of the two pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies and were six feet high. 7:20 On the top of each pillar, right above the bulge beside the latticework, there were two hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments arranged in rows all the way around. 7:21 He set up the pillars on the porch in front of the main hall. He erected one pillar on the right side and called it Jakin; he erected the other pillar on the left side and called it Boaz. 7:22 The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the construction of the pillars was completed.