1 Kings 7

Solomon’s Other Cribs & the Temple

1 Solomon built his own pad for thirteen years straight before he finally wrapped up the whole house.

2 He also built this crazy joint called the House of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high, with forty-five cedar pillars holding up the cedar beams.

3 The roof was cedar, too, resting on those beams that were on the pillars, forty-five of them, fifteen in each section.

4 It had three rows of fancy windows, one above the other, facing each other.

5 All the doors and doorframes were square, same style, three sections of windows facing each other.

6 Then he built the Hall of Pillars, 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. There was a porch in front of it with pillars and a canopy.

7 He also built a Throne Room, where he would judge cases, the Hall of Justice. It was decked out from floor to ceiling with cedar.

8 His own spot where he lived, that was in another courtyard, behind the Hall of Justice, same design. He also built a crib just like it for Pharaoh’s daughter, the one he married.

9 All these buildings, from the foundation to the roof, were made from costly, dressed stones, cut to size with saws, both inside and out.

10 The foundation stones were heavy, premium rocks, some 15 feet, some 12 feet.

11 On top of those, there were more expensive, dressed stones and cedar beams.

12 The main courtyard and the inner courtyard of the Lord’s house, along with the porch of the palace, all had three rows of cut stone and one row of cedar beams.

Hiram and the Bronze Work

13 King Solomon sent for this dude named Hiram from Tyre.

14 Hiram’s mama was from the tribe of Naphtali, and his daddy was from Tyre, a skilled bronze worker. Hiram was sharp, he knew how to craft anything from bronze, and he was filled with wisdom, understanding, and serious skill. He came to King Solomon and handled all his bronze projects.

15 He cast two huge bronze pillars for the temple entrance, each 27 feet tall, and a 18-foot measuring tape could wrap around each one.

16 He made two bronze caps to put on top of the pillars, each cap about 7.5 feet high.

17 The caps on top of the pillars were decorated with fancy net designs and chains, seven for each cap.

18 He made two rows of pomegranates all around on the netting, to cover the caps on top of the pillars. He did the same for the other cap.

19 The caps on the pillars of the porch were shaped like lilies, about 6 feet high.

20 On the two pillars, above the bulge next to the netting, there were two hundred pomegranates in rows all around, for each cap.

21 He set up the pillars at the entrance of the main hall of the temple. He named the right pillar Jakin, and the left pillar Boaz.

22 The caps on top were shaped like lilies. And that was the finished work for the pillars.

23 Then he made the Sea, a huge round basin of cast bronze, 15 feet across from rim to rim, 7.5 feet deep, and a 45-foot measuring tape could wrap around it.

24 Under the rim, there were two rows of gourds all around it, cast when the Sea was cast.

25 It sat on top of twelve bronze oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, and all their rear ends faced inward.

26 It was about three inches thick, and its rim was shaped like a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold about eleven thousand gallons.

27 He also made ten movable stands of bronze, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4.5 feet high.

28 The stands were made like this: they had panels, and the panels were fixed in frames.

29 On the panels within the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames themselves, above and below the lions and oxen, were fancy hammered designs.

30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and at the corners there were supports for the basin, cast with designs on the side.

31 The opening for the basin on top was round, about 2.25 feet deep, with carvings all around the rim. The panels of the stands were square, not round.

32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were part of the stands. Each wheel was about 2.25 feet high.

33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all cast bronze.

34 There were four supports at each corner of each stand, and these supports were part of the stand itself.

35 On top of each stand, there was a round band, about 9 inches high, and the supports and panels were attached to this band.

36 On the panels of the supports and on the band, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was space, with fancy designs all around.

37 This was how he made the ten stands; all of them were cast in the same mold and were the same size and shape.

38 Then he made ten bronze basins, each holding about two hundred twenty gallons, one basin for each of the ten stands.

39 He placed five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. He put the Sea on the southeast side of the temple.

40 Hiram also made the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. So Hiram finished all the work he did for King Solomon on the Lord’s temple:

41 The two pillars; the two caps on top of the pillars; the two networks to cover the two caps;

42 The four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two caps on the pillars;

43 The ten stands and the ten basins on the stands;

44 The one Sea and the twelve oxen under it;

45 The pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. All these items that Hiram made for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple were made from polished bronze.

46 The King had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley, between Succoth and Zarethan.

47 Solomon did not even weigh the bronze because there was so much of it; the amount was just beyond measure.

48 Solomon also made all the other stuff for the Lord’s temple: the golden altar, the golden table for the showbread,

49 The lampstands of pure gold, five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, with their flower designs, lamps, and tongs also of gold;

50 The pure gold bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes, and incense burners; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner sanctuary (the Most Holy Place) and for the main hall doors.

51 When all the work King Solomon did for the Lord’s temple was complete, he brought in the stuff his daddy David had dedicated, the silver, gold, and other treasures, and put it all in the temple’s treasury.