MSB 1 KI Chapter 7

Solomon’s Palace Complex

Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.

He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high,[fn] with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams.

[The house] was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars — forty-five [beams] fifteen per row. 4 There were three rows of [high] windows facing one another in three tiers. 5 All the doorways had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers.

[Solomon] made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide,[fn] with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of [the portico].

In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.[fn]

And the palace where [Solomon] would live, set further back was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom [he] had married.

All these [buildings] were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard. 10 The foundations were [laid with] large, costly stones, some ten cubits [long][fn] and some eight cubits [long].[fn] 11 Above these were costly stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.

The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD

The Pillars and Capitals

(2 Chronicles 3:14–17)

Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram[fn] from Tyre. 14 He [was] the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.

He cast two pillars of bronze each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, [each] capital five cubits high 17 For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for [each] capital

Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around [each] grating to cover each capital vvv atop [the pillars] 19 And the capitals vvv atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits [high].[fn] 20 On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, [were] the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital

Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin,[fn] and the pillar to the north he named Boaz.[fn] 22 And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work of the pillars was completed.

The Molten Sea

(2 Chronicles 4:1–5)

He also made the Sea of cast metal. [It was] circular in shape measuring ten cubits from rim to [rim], five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference 24 Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of [the Sea].

[The Sea] stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. [The Sea] rested on them with all their hindquarters toward the center. 26 It was a handbreadth thick,[fn] and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.[fn]

The Ten Bronze Stands

In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.[fn]

This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights, 29 and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work.

Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four vvv supports, with wreaths at each side. 31 The opening [to each stand] inside the crown at the top [was] one cubit [deep],[fn] with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half [wide] And around its opening [were] engravings, but the panels [of the stands] were square, not round.

There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel [was] a cubit and a half in diameter. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.

Each stand had four handles, [one for each] corner, projecting from the stand. 35 At the top of each stand [was] a circular band half a cubit high.[fn] The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand.

He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around. 37 In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.

The Ten Bronze Basins

(2 Chronicles 4:6–8)

He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths[fn] and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands

He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

Completion of the Bronze Works

(2 Chronicles 4:11–18)

Additionally, Huram made the pots,[fn] shovels, and sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon [in] the house of the LORD:

• the two pillars;
• the two bowl-shaped capitals vvv atop the pillars;
• the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars;
42 
• the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals vvv atop the pillars);
43 
• the ten stands;
• the ten basins on the stands;
44 
• the Sea;
• the twelve oxen underneath the Sea;
45 
• and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls.

All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon [in] the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.[fn] 47 Solomon {left} all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

(2 Chronicles 4:19–22)

Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD:

• the golden altar;
• the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;
49 
• the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right [side] and five on the left;
• the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;
50 
• the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers;
• and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
51 

So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed.

Then Solomon brought in {the items} his father David had dedicated— the silver, the gold, and the furnishings— and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.