Study Desk

Now I have used all my strength to prepare for the house of my God the gold needed for the articles of gold, the silver for the articles of silver, the bronze for the articles of bronze, the iron for the articles of iron, the wood for the articles of wood, onyx stones, gemstones to be set, brilliant stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, as well as marble in abundance.

In addition, because my desire is set on the house of my God, since I have my own supply of gold and silver, I herewith give it to the house of my God — over and above everything I have prepared for the holy house —

They gave for the service of the house of God 165 tons of gold, 330 tons of silver, 594 tons of bronze and 3,300 tons of iron.

as he blessed Adonai before the entire community: "Blessed be you, Adonai , the God of Isra'el our father, forever and ever.

Therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name.

Adonai our God, all these supplies that we have prepared in order to build you a house for your holy name come from your own hand, all of it is already yours.

I know also, my God, that you test the heart and take pleasure in integrity. As for myself, I have given all these things willingly, in the integrity of my heart; and now, with joy, I have seen your people who are present here give willingly to you.

Adonai , God of Avraham, Yitz'chak and Isra'el our ancestors, guard forever the inclinations of the thoughts in the hearts of your people; direct their hearts to you;

Then David said to all the community, "Now bless Adonai your God." All the community blessed Adonai , the God of their ancestors, bowing their heads and prostrating themselves before Adonai and before the king.

Shlomo the son of David grew stronger in his rulership; Adonai his God was with him, making him greater and greater.

But the ark of God David had brought up from Kiryat-Ye‘arim to the place he had prepared for it — he had set up a tent for it in Yerushalayim.

That night God appeared to Shlomo and said to him, "Tell me what I should give you."

Shlomo said to God, "You showed much grace to your servant David my father and have made me king in his place.

Now, Adonai , God, you have been faithful to your promise to David my father; for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the grains of dust on the earth.

God said to Shlomo, "Because you set your heart on this — because, instead of asking for riches, wealth, honor, the death of those who hate you, or long life, you asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you would be able to judge my people, over whom I made you king —

Here, I am about to build a house for the name of Adonai my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before Him incense made of sweet spices; the house will also be for the continuing showbread and for the burnt offerings presented every morning and evening, on the shabbats, at every Rosh-Hodesh, and at the designated times of Adonai our God. This is a perpetual regulation for Isra'el.

The house I will build will be great, because our God is greater than all gods.

Huram continued, "Blessed be Adonai , the God of Isra'el, who made heaven and earth, who has given David the king a wise, knowledgeable son with common sense to build a house for Adonai and a royal palace for himself.

Shlomo enlisted 70,000 men who carried loads, another 80,000 men who were stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 supervising them. Then Shlomo sent this message to Huram the king of Tzor: "[Deal with me] as you dealt with David my father when you sent him cedar logs, so that he could build himself a palace to live in. Here, I am about to build a house for the name of Adonai my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before Him incense made of sweet spices; the house will also be for the continuing showbread and for the burnt offerings presented every morning and evening, on the shabbats, at every Rosh-Hodesh, and at the designated times of Adonai our God. This is a perpetual regulation for Isra'el. The house I will build will be great, because our God is greater than all gods. But who is equal to building him a house? Why, heaven itself, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain him; so who am I to build him a house, except to offer sacrifices before him? "Now, therefore, send me a man skilled at working with gold, silver, bronze and iron; dealing with purple, crimson, and blue dyed materials; and capable of doing all kinds of engraving. He will be with the skilled craftsmen I have with me in Y'hudah and Yerushalayim, whom David my father provided. Also send me cedar, cypress and sandalwood logs from the L'vanon; for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber in the L'vanon. I will have my servants work together with your servants to prepare me an abundant supply of timber, for the house I am about to build must be magnificent and wonderful. I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the timber, 100,000 bushels of cracked wheat, 100,000 bushels of barley, 100,000 gallons of wine, and 100,000 gallons of olive oil." Huram the king of Tzor wrote this answer and sent it to Shlomo: "Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them." Huram continued, "Blessed be Adonai , the God of Isra'el, who made heaven and earth, who has given David the king a wise, knowledgeable son with common sense to build a house for Adonai and a royal palace for himself. Now I am sending a man of skill and understanding, my master craftsman Huram, the son of a woman who was one of the daughters of Dan, while his father was a man from Tzor. He is skilled in working gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and timber, as well as purple and blue dyed materials, fine linen and crimson material; he can do any kind of engraving; and he can make all the equipment necessary to accomplish any task assigned to him, with the help of your craftsmen and those of my lord David your father. Therefore let my lord send his servants the wheat, barley, oil and wine he has spoken of; and we will cut wood from the L'vanon, as much as you need; we will float it to you as rafts by sea to Yafo, and you will take it up to Yerushalayim." Shlomo took a census of all the foreigners in the land of Isra'el, following the pattern of the census of David his father; they were found to number 153,600. He appointed 70,000 of them to carry loads, 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as supervisors to assign the people their work.

These are the foundations Shlomo laid for building the house of God: the length in old-standard cubits was sixty cubits [105 feet] and the width twenty cubits [thirty-five feet].