1 Kings 7:1-7

The Building of the Royal Palace

7:1 Solomon took thirteen years to build his palace. ¹  7:2 He named ²  it “The Palace of the Lebanon Forest”; ³  it was 150 feet ⁴  long, 75 feet ⁵  wide, and 45 feet ⁶  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 entrances ⁸  were rectangular in shape ⁹  and they were arranged in sets of three. ¹⁰  7:6 He made a colonnade ¹¹  75 feet ¹²  long and 45 feet ¹³  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 

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

[7:2]  ² tn Heb “he built.”

[7:2]  ³ sn 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “one hundred cubits.”

[7:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “fifty cubits.”

[7:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “thirty cubits.”

[7:4]  ⁷ tn 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “all of the doors and doorposts.”

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

[7:5]  ¹⁰ tn 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a porch of pillars.”

[7:6]  ¹² tn Heb “fifty cubits.”

[7:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “thirty cubits.”

[7:6]  ¹⁴ tn 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and a porch for the throne, where he was making judicial decisions, the Porch of Judgment, he made.”

[7:7]  ¹⁶ tc 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.