Study Desk

^(C1)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the ^(F1)seashore in abundance; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.

^(F1)(C1)Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms ^(C2)from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; ^(C3)they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

Solomon's ^(F1)provision for one day was ^(F2)thirty kors of fine flour and ^(F3)sixty kors of meal,

ten fat oxen, twenty ^(F1)pasture-fed oxen, and a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened geese.

For he was ruling over everything ^(F1)west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah even to ^(C1)Gaza, ^(C2)over all the kings ^(F1)west of the River; and ^(C3)he had peace on all sides surrounding him.

^(C1)So Judah and Israel lived securely, everyone under his vine and his fig tree, ^(C2)from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

^(C1)Solomon had ^(F1)forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

And those deputies provided food for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon's table, each in his month; they allowed nothing to be lacking.

They also brought barley and straw for the war horses and ^(C1)baggage horses to the place where it was required, each deputy according to his duty.

Now ^(C1)God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of ^(F1)mind, ^(C2)like the sand that is on the seashore.

Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all ^(C1)the ^(F1)people of the east and ^(C2)all the wisdom of Egypt.

For ^(C1)he was wiser than all other people, more than ^(C2)Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, ^(C3)Calcol, and ^(F1)Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his ^(F2)fame was known in all the surrounding nations.

^(C1)He also told three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005.

He told of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he told also of animals, birds, crawling things, and fish.

People ^(C1)came from all the ^(F1)nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

^(F1)(C1)Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for ^(C2)Hiram had ^(F2)always been a friend of David.

Then ^(C1)Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying,

"You know that ^(C1)David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.

"But now ^(C1)the LORD my God has secured me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor ^(F1)misfortune.

"So behold, ^(C1)I ^(F1)intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, just as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, 'Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.'

"Now then, issue orders that they cut ^(C1)cedars from Lebanon for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants in accordance with all that you say, for you yourself know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians."

When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he greatly rejoiced; and he said, "Blessed be the LORD today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people."

So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, "I have heard the message which you sent me; I will do everything you wish concerning the cedar and juniper timber.

"My servants will bring the timbers down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea ^(C1)to the place where you ^(F1)direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you will carry them away. Then ^(C2)you shall do what I wish, by giving food to my household."

So ^(F1)Hiram ^(F2)gave Solomon all that he wished of the cedar and juniper timber.

^(C1)Solomon then gave ^(F1)Hiram ^(F2)twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and ^(F3)twenty kors of pure oil; this is what Solomon would give Hiram year by year.

And ^(C1)the LORD gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He ^(F1)promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.

Now ^(C1)King Solomon ^(F1)conscripted forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered thirty thousand men.

Then he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they were in Lebanon for a month, and two months at home. And ^(C1)Adoniram was in charge of the forced laborers.

Now ^(C1)Solomon had seventy thousand porters, and eighty thousand stonemasons in the mountains,

^(C1)besides Solomon's 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the ^(F1)project and ruled over the people who were doing the work.

Then ^(C1)the king issued orders, and they quarried large stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones.

So Solomon's builders and ^(F1)Hiram's builders and ^(C1)the Gebalites ^(F2)cut the stones, and they prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

^(C1)Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, that is, the second month, that he ^(F1)began to build the house of the LORD.

And the house which King Solomon built for the LORD was ^(F1)sixty cubits in its length, and twenty cubits in its width, and its height was thirty cubits.

The porch in front of the main room of the house was ^(F1)twenty cubits in ^(F2)length, ^(F3)corresponding to the width of the house, and its width along the front of the house was ten cubits.

Also for the house ^(C1)he made windows with artistic frames.

^(C1)Against the wall of the house he built stories encompassing the walls of the house around both the main room and the ^(F1)(C2)inner sanctuary; so he made ^(C3)side chambers all around.

The lowest story was ^(F1)five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he ^(F2)made offsets in the wall of the house all around so that the beams would not ^(F3)be inserted into the walls of the house.

^(C1)The house, while it was being built, was built of stone finished at the quarry, and neither hammer, nor axe, nor any iron tool was heard in the house while it was being built.

The doorway for the ^(F1)lowest side chamber was on the right side of the house; and they would go up by a winding staircase to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.

So ^(C1)he built the house and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and ^(F1)planks of cedar.

He also built the stories against the whole house, each ^(F1)five cubits high; and they ^(F2)were attached to the house with timbers of cedar.

Now the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,

"As for this house which you are building, ^(C1)if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will fulfill My word with you which I spoke to David your father.

"And ^(C1)I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and ^(C2)will not abandon My people Israel."

^(C1)So Solomon built the house and finished it.

He ^(C1)built the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the ^(F1)ceiling he paneled the walls on the inside with wood, and he paneled the floor of the house with boards of juniper.

^(C1)He also built ^(F1)twenty cubits on the rear part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ^(F2)ceiling; he built them for it on the inside as an inner sanctuary, as ^(C2)the Most Holy Place.

The house, that is, the main room in front of the inner sanctuary, was ^(F1)forty cubits long.

There was cedar inside the house, carved in the shape of ^(C1)gourds and open flowers; everything was cedar, there was no stone visible.

Then he prepared an inner sanctuary inside the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

^(F1)The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height; and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also paneled the altar with cedar.

So Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold. And he extended chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold.

He overlaid the entire house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also ^(C1)the entire altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

^(C1)And in the inner sanctuary he made two ^(F1)cherubim of olive wood, each ^(F2)ten cubits high.

The one wing of the first cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the first cherub was five cubits; from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits.

The second cherub was ten cubits; both of the cherubim were of the same measurement and the same form.

The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub.

He placed the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and ^(C1)the wings of the cherubim spread out so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall. And their wings were touching ^(F1)end to ^(F1)end in the center of the house.

He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

Then he carved all the surrounding walls of the house with engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, for the inner and outer sanctuaries.

And he overlaid the floor of the house with gold, for the inner and outer sanctuaries.

And for the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood, the lintel, and five-sided doorposts.

So he made two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he overlaid the cherubim and the palm trees with gold.

So too he made for the entrance of the main room four-sided doorposts of olive wood,

and ^(C1)two doors of juniper wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots, and the two ^(F1)leaves of the other door turned on pivots.

He carved on it cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold plated on the carved work.

And ^(C1)he built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

^(C1)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv.

And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, that is, the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts and in accordance with all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

Now ^(C1)Solomon built his own house over the course of thirteen years, and he finished all of his house.

^(C1)He built the house of the timber from Lebanon; its length was ^(F1)a hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars.

And it was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row.

There were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window at three ^(F1)intervals.

And all the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window at three ^(F1)intervals.

Then he made ^(C1)the hall of pillars; its length was ^(F1)fifty cubits and its width thirty cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a ^(C2)threshold in front of them.

And he made the hall of the ^(C1)throne where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and ^(C2)it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.

And his house where he was to live, the other courtyard inward from the hall, was of this same workmanship. ^(C1)He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter, ^(C2)whom Solomon had married.

All of these were made of valuable stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the ^(F1)coping, and from the outside to the large courtyard.

And the foundation was of valuable stones, large stones, stones of ^(F1)ten cubits and stones of eight cubits.

And above were valuable stones, cut according to measure, and cedar.

So ^(C1)the large courtyard all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams as well as the inner courtyard of the house of the LORD, and ^(C2)the porch of the house.

Now ^(C1)King Solomon sent word and had Hiram brought from Tyre.

^(C1)He was a widow's son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, an artisan in bronze; and ^(C2)he was filled with wisdom, skill, and knowledge for doing any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and ^(C3)performed all his work.

He fashioned ^(C1)the two pillars of bronze; ^(F1)(C2)eighteen cubits was the height of ^(F2)each pillar, and a line of ^(F3)twelve cubits ^(F4)measured the circumference of both.

He also made two capitals of cast bronze to put on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was ^(F1)five cubits and the height of the other capital was ^(F1)five cubits.

There were lattices of latticework and wreaths of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital.

So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one lattice to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital.

The capitals which were on the tops of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits.

So there were capitals on the two pillars, also above and close to the ^(F1)rounded projection which was beside the lattice; and ^(C1)the pomegranates totaled two hundred in rows around ^(F2)both capitals.

^(C1)And he set up the pillars at the ^(C2)porch of the ^(F1)main room: he set up the right pillar and named it ^(F2)Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it ^(F3)Boaz.

On the top of the pillars was the lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

^(C1)He also made the ^(F1)Sea of ^(C2)cast metal ^(F2)ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in shape, and its height was five cubits, and ^(F3)it was ^(F4)thirty cubits in circumference.

Under its brim ^(C1)gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, ^(C2)completely surrounding the Sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast ^(F1)with the rest.

^(C1)It was standing on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the Sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward.

And it was a ^(F1)hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold ^(F2)two thousand baths.

Then ^(C1)he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was ^(F1)four cubits, its width four cubits, and its height was three cubits.

This was the design of the stands: they had borders, that is, borders between the crossbars,

and on the borders which were between the crossbars were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the crossbars there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.

Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast supports with wreaths at each side.

And its opening inside the crown at the top was a ^(F1)cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and on its opening also there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round.

The four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.

The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast.

Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself.

And on the top of the stand there was a circular form ^(F1)half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its ^(F2)stays and its borders were part of it.

And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders cherubim, lions, and palm trees, as there was clear space on each, with wreaths all around.

^(C1)He made the ten stands like this: all of them had the ^(F1)same casting, ^(F1)same measure, and ^(F1)same form.

^(C1)And he made ten basins of bronze, ^(F1)each holding ^(F2)forty baths; each basin was ^(F3)four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin.

Then he placed the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the ^(F1)Sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.