1 Kings 7
Expanded Bible
Solomon’s Palace
7 King Solomon also built a ·palace [L house] for himself; it took him thirteen years to finish it. 2 ·Built of cedars from [He built the House/Palace of] the Forest of Lebanon, it was ·one hundred fifty feet [L one hundred cubits] long, ·seventy-five feet [L fifty cubits] wide, and ·forty-five feet [L thirty cubits] high. It had four rows of cedar columns which supported the cedar beams. 3 There were forty-five beams on the roof, with fifteen beams in each row, and the ceiling was ·covered [paneled] with cedar above the beams. 4 Windows were placed in three rows facing each other. 5 All the doors ·were square [had rectangular frames], and the three ·doors [or windows] at each end faced each other.
6 Solomon also built the ·porch that had pillars [Hall of Pillars; Colonnade]. This porch was ·seventy-five feet [L fifty cubits] long and ·forty-five feet [L thirty cubits] wide. Along the front of the porch was a ·roof [cornice; canopy] supported by pillars.
7 Solomon also built a throne room where he ·judged people [dispensed justice/judgment; decided legal matters], called the Hall of ·Justice [or Judgment]. This room was ·covered [paneled] with cedar from floor to ·ceiling [beams; rafters; or floor]. 8 The ·palace [L house] where Solomon lived was built like the Hall of Justice, and it was behind this hall. Solomon also built the same kind of ·palace [L house] for his wife, who was the daughter of ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh].
9 All these buildings were made with blocks of ·fine [costly, high-grade] stone. First they were ·carefully cut [cut to measure/size]. Then they were trimmed with a saw in the front and back. These fine stones went from the foundations of the buildings to the ·top of the walls [eaves; coping]. ·Even the courtyard was made with blocks of stone […and all the way to the courtyard]. 10 The foundations were made with large blocks of ·fine [costly; high-grade] stone, some as long as ·fifteen feet [L ten cubits]. Others were ·twelve feet [L eight cubits] long. 11 On top of these foundation stones were other blocks of ·fine [costly; high-grade] stone and cedar beams [cut to measure/size]. 12 The ·palace courtyard [great court], the courtyard inside the ·Temple [L house], and the porch of the ·Temple [L house] were surrounded by walls. All of these walls had three ·rows [layers] of stone blocks ·and one row [for each layer] of cedar beams.
The Temple Is Completed Inside(A)
13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and had ·Huram [L Hiram; C a variant spelling of Huram (2 Chr. 2:13; 4:11); this craftsman is to be distinguished from the king of the same name (5:1)] brought to him. 14 ·Huram’s mother was [L He was the son of] a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was from Tyre and had been ·skilled in making things from [a craftsman/artisan in] bronze. ·Huram [L He] was also very skilled and ·experienced [knowledgeable; wise] in bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all ·the bronze [his] work.
15 He made two bronze pillars, each one ·twenty-seven feet [L eighteen cubits] tall and ·eighteen feet [L twelve cubits] ·around [in circumference]. 16 He also made two bronze capitals that were ·seven and one-half feet [L five cubits] tall, and he put them on top of the pillars. 17 Then he made a net of seven ·chains [sets of filigree/latticework] for each capital, which covered the capitals on top of the two pillars. 18 He made two rows of bronze pomegranates to go ·on [around] the nets. These covered the capitals at the top of the pillars. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies, and they were ·six feet [L four cubits] tall. 20 The capitals were on top of both pillars, above the ·bowl-shaped [round] section and next to the nets. At that place there were two hundred pomegranates in rows all around the capitals. 21 ·Huram [L He] put these two bronze pillars at the ·porch [portico; entrance] of the ·Temple [L house]. He named the ·south [right-hand] pillar ·He Establishes [L Jachin] and the ·north [left-hand] pillar ·In Him Is Strength [L Boaz]. 22 The capitals on top of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished [C pillars represent establishment].
23 Then ·Huram [L he] made from bronze a large round bowl, which was called the Sea [C symbol of chaos subdued]. It was ·forty-five feet [L thirty cubits] around, ·fifteen feet [L ten cubits] across, and ·seven and one-half feet [L five cubits] deep. 24 Around the outer edge of the bowl was a rim. Under this rim were two rows of ·bronze plants [gourds] which surrounded the ·bowl [Sea]. There were ten ·plants [gourds] every ·eighteen inches [L cubit], and these ·plants [gourds] were made in one piece with the bowl. 25 The ·bowl [Sea] rested on the backs of twelve ·bronze bulls [oxen] that faced outward from the center of the bowl. Three bulls faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. 26 The sides of the bowl were ·four inches [L a hand’s breadth] thick, and it held ·about eleven thousand gallons [L two thousand baths]. The rim of the bowl was like the rim of a cup or like a lily blossom.
27 Then ·Huram [L he] made ten bronze ·stands [water carts], each one ·six feet [L four cubits] long, ·six feet [L four cubits] wide, and ·four and one-half feet [L three cubits] high. 28 The ·stands [water carts] were made from ·square sides, which were put on frames [or side panels braced with crossbars/uprights]. 29 On the sides were bronze lions, ·bulls [oxen], and ·creatures with wings [L cherubim]. On the ·frames [panels] above and below the lions and ·bulls [oxen] were ·designs of flowers [wreaths] hammered into the bronze. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the corners there were bronze supports for a ·large bowl [basin], and the supports had ·designs of flowers [wreaths]. 31 There was a frame on top of the bowls, ·eighteen inches [L one cubit] high above the bowls. The opening of the bowl was round, ·twenty-seven inches [L one and one-half cubits] deep. ·Designs [Engravings] were carved into the bronze on the frame, which was square, not round. 32 The four wheels, placed under the frame, were ·twenty-seven inches [L one and one-half cubits] high. The axles between the wheels were ·made as one piece with [within; attached to] the stand. 33 The wheels were like a chariot’s wheels. Everything on the wheels—the axles, rims, spokes, and hubs—were ·made [cast] of bronze.
34 The four supports were on the four corners of each stand. They were made as one piece with the stand. 35 A ·strip of bronze [rim; band] around the top of each stand was ·nine inches [L one-half cubit] deep. ·It was [The corner supports were] also made as one piece with the stand. 36 ·Wherever there was room [L According to the space of each], the sides of the stand and the frames were ·covered with carvings of [engraved with] ·creatures with wings [cherubim; 6:23], as well as lions, palm trees, and ·flowers [wreaths]. 37 This is the way ·Huram [L he; v. 13] made the ten ·stands [water carts]. ·The bronze for each stand [L Each] was melted and poured into a mold, ·so all the stands were [L all] the same size and shape.
38 ·Huram [L He] also made ten bronze ·bowls [basins], one ·bowl [basin] for each of the ten ·stands [water carts]. Each bowl was ·six feet [L four cubits] across and could hold ·about two hundred thirty gallons [L forty baths]. 39 ·Huram [Hiram] put five stands on the ·south [right] side of the ·Temple [L house] and five on the ·north [left] side. He put the ·large bowl [Sea on the right] in the southeast corner of the ·Temple [L house]. 40 ·Huram [Hiram] also made ·bowls [washbasins; pots], shovels, and small bowls.
So ·Huram [L Hiram; v. 13] finished all his work for King Solomon on the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord:
41 two pillars;
two ·large bowls for the [bowl-shaped] capitals on top of the pillars;
two ·nets [sets of latticework/filigree] to cover the two large bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars;
42 four hundred pomegranates for the two ·nets [sets of latticework/filigree] (there were two rows of pomegranates for each ·net [set of latticework/filigree] covering the bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars);
43 ten ·stands [water carts] with a ·bowl [basin] on each ·stand [one];
44 the ·large bowl [Sea] with twelve ·bulls [oxen] under it;
45 the ·pots [pails; ash buckets], shovels, small bowls, and all the utensils for the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.
·Huram [L Hiram] made everything King Solomon wanted from ·polished [burnished] bronze. 46 The king had these things ·poured [cast] into clay molds that were made in the plain of the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon never weighed the bronze used to make these things, because there ·was too much to weigh [were so many]. So the total weight of all the bronze was never ·known [calculated].
48 Solomon also made all the items for the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord:
the golden altar;
the golden table which held the bread ·that shows God’s people are in his presence [of the Presence];
49 the lampstands of pure gold (five on the right side and five on the left side in front of the inner ·room [L house], the ·Most Holy Place [T Holy of Holies]);
the flowers, lamps, and tongs—all of gold;
50 the pure gold bowls, wick ·trimmers [snuffers], small bowls, pans, and ·dishes used to carry coals [firepans; incense burners];
the gold hinges for the doors of the inner ·room [L house], the ·Most Holy Place [T Holy of Holies] and the ·main room [main hall; nave] of the ·Temple [L house].
51 ·Finally [Thus] the work King Solomon did for the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord was finished. Solomon brought in everything his father David had ·set apart [dedicated; consecrated] for the ·Temple [L house]—silver, gold, and ·other articles [the various utensils]. He put everything in the treasuries of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.
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