1 Kings 7:1-19

Context

The Building of the Royal Palace

7:1 Solomon took thirteen years to build his palace.¹ 7:2 He named² it “The Palace of the Lebanon Forest”;³ it was 150 feet⁴ long, 75 feet⁵ wide, and 45 feet⁶ high. It had four rows of cedar pillars and cedar beams above the pillars. 7:3 The roof above the beams supported by the pillars was also made of cedar; there were forty-five beams, fifteen per row. 7:4 There were three rows of windows arranged in sets of three.⁷ 7:5 All of the entrances⁸ were rectangular in shape⁹ and they were arranged in sets of three.¹⁰ 7:6 He made a colonnade¹¹ 75 feet¹² long and 45 feet¹³ wide. There was a porch in front of this and pillars and a roof in front of the porch.¹⁴ 7:7 He also made a throne room, called “The Hall of Judgment,” where he made judicial decisions.¹⁵ It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.¹⁶ 7:8 The palace where he lived was constructed in a similar way.¹⁷ He also constructed a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.¹⁸ 7:9 All of these were built with the best¹⁹ stones, chiseled to the right size²⁰ and cut with a saw on all sides,²¹ from the foundation to the edge of the roof²² and from the outside to the great courtyard. 7:10 The foundation was made of large valuable stones, measuring either 15 feet or 12 feet.²³ 7:11 Above the foundation²⁴ the best²⁵ stones, chiseled to the right size,²⁶ 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.²⁷

Solomon Commissions Hiram to Supply the Temple

7:13 King Solomon sent for Hiram²⁸ of Tyre.²⁹ 7:14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali,³⁰ and his father was a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. He had the skill and knowledge³¹ 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 feet³² high and 18 feet³³ in circumference. 7:16 He made two bronze tops for the pillars; each was seven-and-a-half feet high.³⁴ 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.³⁵ 7:18 When he made the pillars, there were two rows of pomegranate-shaped ornaments around the latticework covering the top of each pillar.³⁶ 7:19 The tops of the two pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies and were six feet high.³⁷

[7:1] ¹tn Heb “His house Solomon built in thirteen years and he completed all his house.”

[7:2] ²tn Heb “he built.”

[7:2] ³sn The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest.

[7:2] ⁴tn Heb “one hundred cubits.”

[7:2] ⁵tn Heb “fifty cubits.”

[7:2] ⁶tn Heb “thirty cubits.”

[7:4] ⁷tn Heb “and framed [windows in] three rows, and opening to opening three times.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain. Another option might be, “overhung [in] three rows.” This might mean they were positioned high on the walls.

[7:5] ⁸tn Heb “all of the doors and doorposts.”

[7:5] ⁹sn Rectangular in shape. That is, rather than arched.

[7:5] ¹⁰tn Heb “and all the entrances and the doorposts [had] four frames, and in front of opening to opening three times” (the precise meaning of the description is uncertain).

[7:6] ¹¹tn Heb “a porch of pillars.”

[7:6] ¹²tn Heb “fifty cubits.”

[7:6] ¹³tn Heb “thirty cubits.”

[7:6] ¹⁴tn Heb “and a porch was in front of them (i.e., the aforementioned pillars) and pillars and a roof in front of them (i.e., the aforementioned pillars and porch).” The precise meaning of the term translated “roof” is uncertain; it occurs only here and in Ezek 41:25-26.

[7:7] ¹⁵tn Heb “and a porch for the throne, where he was making judicial decisions, the Porch of Judgment, he made.”

[7:7] ¹⁶tc The Hebrew text reads, “from the floor to the floor.” The second occurrence of the term הַקַּרְקָע (haqqarqa’, “the floor”) is probably an error; one should emend to הַקּוֹרוֹת (haqqorot, “the rafters”). See 6:16.

[7:8] ¹⁷tn Heb “and his house where he lived, the other court [i.e., as opposed to the great court], separated from the house belonging to the hall, was like this work [i.e., this style of architecture].”

[7:8] ¹⁸tn Heb “and a house he was making for the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Solomon had taken, like this porch.”

[7:9] ¹⁹tn Or “valuable” (see 5:17).

[7:9] ²⁰tn Heb “according to the measurement of chiseled [stone].”

[7:9] ²¹tn Heb “inside and out.”

[7:9] ²²tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word טְפָחוֹת (tÿfakhot) is uncertain, but it is clear that the referent stands in opposition to the foundation.

[7:10] ²³tn Heb “stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits” (it is unclear exactly what dimension is being measured). If both numbers refer to the length of the stones (cf. NCV, CEV, NLT), then perhaps stones of two different sizes were used in some alternating pattern.

[7:11] ²⁴tn Heb “on top,” or “above.”

[7:11] ²⁵tn Or “valuable” (see 5:17).

[7:11] ²⁶tn Heb “according to the measurement of chiseled [stone].”

[7:12] ²⁷tn Or “the porch of the temple.”

[7:13] ²⁸tn Heb “King Solomon sent and took Hiram from Tyre.” In 2 Chr 2:13 (MT v. 12) and 4:11, 16 his name is spelled “Huram.”

[7:13] ²⁹map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[7:14] ³⁰tn 2 Chr 2:14 (13 HT) says “from the daughters of Dan.”

[7:14] ³¹tn Heb “he was filled with the skill, understanding, and knowledge.”

[7:15] ³²tn Heb “eighteen cubits.”

[7:15] ³³tn Heb “twelve cubits.”

[7:16] ³⁴tn Heb “two capitals he made to place on the tops of the pillars, cast in bronze; five cubits was the height of the first capital, and five cubits was the height of the second capital.”

[7:17] ³⁵tn Heb “there were seven for the first capital, and seven for the second capital.”

[7:18] ³⁶tn Heb “he made the pillars, and two rows surrounding one latticework to cover the capitals which were on top of the pomegranates, and so he did for the second latticework.” The translation supplies “pomegranates” after “two rows,” and understands “pillars,” rather than “pomegranates,” to be the correct reading after “on top of.” The latter change finds support from many Hebrew mss and the ancient Greek version.

[7:19] ³⁷tn Heb “the capitals which were on the top of the pillars were the work of lilies, in the porch, four cubits.” It is unclear exactly what dimension is being measured.