1.
But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.
2.
He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
3.
And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row.
4.
And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks.
5.
And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks.
6.
And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.
(6) A porch of pillars, although by some authorities it is held to be a separate building, seems by the exact agreement of dimensions—its “length” being just the breadth of the hall—to have been a propylæon, or entrance vestibule, to the hall of state (like the porch, or vestibule, of the Temple), probably corresponding in the general arrangement of its pillars, and perhaps also in height. It had also a porch of its own, with a threshold (for the last clause of the verse should be rendered, “and a porch before it with pillars, and a threshold before them,”) forming a kind of plinth, or, possibly, a flight of steps.
7.
Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.
(7) The porch (or hall) of judgment was clearly a separate building, not described in the text, except as having been floored and ceiled with cedar. Mr. Fergusson, comparing it “with the remains of Assyrian and Persian examples,” supposes it to have been square, supported on four pillars in the centre, between which the throne stood, and having openings on the four sides for the public, the king, and his officers.
8.
And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch.
9.
All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.
10.
And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
11.
And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars.
12.
And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.
(12) The great court.—Finally, “the great court” round about is said to have resembled the “inner court” of the Temple, having an enclosure of three rows of stones, probably of large size, with a cedar coping. It seems evidently to have enclosed the whole palace, and may have contained quarters for the guards and the household. There must have been, of course, inner courts, round which both the more public and the more private buildings of the palace were grouped.
13.
And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
(13) And king Solomon sent.—The record in the Chronicles (2 Chronicles 2:7; 2 Chronicles 2:13-14) gives what is evidently a more exact description of the facts here briefly alluded to. In Solomon’s first letter to King Hiram he asks for “a man cunning to work,” and with the answer the artificer Hiram is sent. His mixed parentage would enable him to enter into the spirit of the Israelite worship, and yet to bring to bear upon it the practical skill of the Tyrian artificer.
14.
He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
15.
For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.
16.
And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:
17.
And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.
(17) Seven for . . .—This is probably an erroneous reading. It should be “a net-work (or lattice-work) for the one chapiter, and a net-work for the other.”
18.
And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.
19.
And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.
20.
And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter.
(20) Over against (or rather, close to) the belly which was by the network.—The “belly” here (like the “bowls” or “globes” of the chapiters in 1 Kings 7:41-42) seems to signify the rounded form of the capital, where it comes down to join the shaft. At this junction the bands of pomegranate ornament ran round the shaft. In this verse it is obvious that there is an omission in the text. It should be, “were two hundred in rows round about the one chapiter, and two hundred in rows round about the other chapiter.” Hence the “four hundred” of 1 Kings 7:42 and 2 Chronicles 4:13.
21.
And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and he called the name thereof Boaz.
22.
And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished.
23.
And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
24.
And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.
25.
It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.
26.
And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.
27.
And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.
28.
And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges:
29.
And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.
30.
And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition.
31.
And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.
(31) And the mouth.—This is most obscure, and in our version unintelligible. Keil renders it: “And the mouth of it (the laver) was within the chapiter, and in a cubit above it; and the mouth of it (the chapiter) was round, after the manner of pedestal, a cubit and a half; and upon the mouth was carved work, and the panels of it (the mouth) were square, not round.” But the rendering of the word “mouth,” now for the laver, now for the chapiter, is arbitrary, and the whole is still obscure. As the circular stand (or chapiter) was half a cubit deep, it looks as if the lower surface of the laver was a cubit above the “mouth.” If the laver were emptied by a cock near the bottom, this circular stand may have received the drippings. And as the top of this base would be square on plan, and the stand circular, there would be, of course, spaces left at each corner, which may possibly be the engraved “panels” referred to.
32.
And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half a cubit.
33.
And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten.
34.
And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself.
35.
And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same.
36.
For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about.
37.
After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size.
38.
Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.
39.
And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.
(39) The sea.—This was placed on the south-eastern side of the Temple, on one side of the great altar; the ten smaller lavers were ranged five on each side.
40.
And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD:
(40) The lavers.—These should be (as in 1 Kings 7:45) “pots.” The verse describes the completion of Hiram’s work by the making of the smaller vessels.
It is curious that no mention is made of the construction of the brasen altar. It has been supposed by some that the old altar reared by David (2 Samuel 24:25) was retained. But in 2 Chronicles 4:1, and in Josephus’s account, it is expressly said that a brasen altar was made by Hiram, 30 feet square and 15 feet high. Probably, therefore, the absence of all mention of it here is simply an omission in the record.
41.
The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars;
42.
And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars;
43.
And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases;
44.
And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;
45.
And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass.
46.
In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.
(46) In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them.—The casting was done in the Jordan valley. Succoth is on the east side of Jordan, in the territory of Gad (see Genesis 33:17; Joshua 13:27; Judges 8:5)—the place of the halt of Jacob on his way from Padan-aram, and of the insult offered to Gideon and his revenge. Zarthan, or Zaretan (Joshua 3:16), is on the western side, in the territory of Manasseh, not far from Bethshan, and nearly opposite Succoth.
47.
And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.
(47) Solomon left all the vessels unweighed.—The brass for these vessels had (1 Chronicles 18:8) been taken by David from Tibhath and Chun, cities of the territory of Zobah, and laid up with other stores for the purpose of the Temple. How these cities were so rich in brass we are not told; but there are very ancient copper-mines, once worked by the Egyptians, in the Sinaitic peninsula; and the allusions to mining of various kinds in Job 28:1-11 (perhaps belonging to the time of Solomon) are very striking.
48.
And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread was,
(48) The altar of gold.—The altar of gold (1 Kings 6:20; 1 Kings 6:22) is the altar of incense. On it (see Exodus 30:1-10) incense was to be burnt morning and evening. The horns of the altar were to be touched with the blood of the sin offering (Leviticus 4:7; Leviticus 4:18) offered for the priests or the people; and it was to be solemnly purified by the blood of the sacrifice on the great Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:18-19). The offering of incense, therefore, pre-supposed sacrifice already offered, and atonement made for sin. To the Israelites it clearly symbolised the offering of an acceptable worship by man, as restored to the love and communion of God. (See Psalms 141:2.) The priest, as a mediator between God and man, alone entered the Holy Place and offered the incense; the people “stood praying without” (Luke 1:10). To us it symbolises the intercession of the One Mediator, offered for us in the Most Holy Place of heaven, by whom alone our worship ascends to God. (See Hebrews 9:11-12; Hebrews 9:24; Hebrews 10:19-22; Revelation 8:3.)
For the table of shewbread, see Exodus 25:23-28; Exodus 37:10-15; for the shewbread itself, see Leviticus 24:5-9. The “shewbread”—properly “bread of the face” (or presence) of God, translated in the LXX. Version as “bread of offering” or “of presentation”—was clearly of the nature of an Eucharistic offering to God of His own gift of bread—a kind of first-fruits, acknowledging that the whole sustenance of life comes from Him, and possibly also implying the truth more closely symbolised by the pot of manna, that “man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word proceeding out of the mouth of God.”
49.
And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,
(49) The candlesticks of pure gold.—Whether these ten candlesticks were to supersede the one seven- lighted candlestick made for the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:31-40; Exodus 37:17-26), or were to be used in addition to it, we are not told. The latter supposition is, however, far more probable, both because it seems most unlikely that the old sacred candlestick should have been disused, and because in the second Temple only the one seven-lighted candlestick was provided, and (as the sculpture on the Arch of Titus shows) was carried in the Roman triumph after the destruction of the city. (In 2 Chronicles 4:8; 2 Chronicles 4:19, there is a mention of ten tables for shewbread, similarly ranged on each side of the Holy Place, probably in the same way, additional to the one proper table.) Josephus, in his rhetorical exaggeration, declares that Solomon made ten thousand candlesticks and ten thousand tables; but he distinguishes the one proper candlestick and table from the rest. The candlestick is elaborately described in the history of the construction of the Tabernacle, as of great costliness of material and workmanship. Placed in the Holy Place, opposite to the table of shewbread, and fed carefully with the sacred oil, it appears to have symbolised the gift of light to the world, as the shewbread the gift of life and sustenance, flowing from the presence of God.
The flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs are the parts of the candlestick (mentioned in Exodus 25:31; Exodus 25:37-38); the “flowers” being the ornaments of the stem and branches, the “lamps” being the seven lights, and the “tongs” being used for trimming.
The various articles here mentioned are also enumerated in the description of the furniture of the Tabernacle, Exodus 25:29-38.
The snuffers.—The word is derived from a root signifying “to prune,” and is used for “pruning knives” in Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3. Some accordingly render it here by “knives,” but the common rendering “snuffers” suits the derivation well enough.
The spoons.—The name signifies simply “something hollow;” and in Numbers 7:86 “the spoons” are said to have been “full of incense,” and to have “weighed ten shekels apiece.” The right meaning is probably “incense pans.”
The censers.—This rendering is clearly erroneous. It should be “snuff-dishes,” or “ash-pans,” as in Exodus 25:38.
50.
And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple.
51.
So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.
(51) The things which David his father had dedicated.—For the account of the dedication of various treasures, by David and by the princes of Israel, for the House of the Lord, see 1 Chronicles 18:8; 1 Chronicles 18:10-11; 1 Chronicles 22:3-5; 1 Chronicles 22:14-16; 1 Chronicles 28:14-18; 1 Chronicles 29:2-5. The accumulation was enormous. It had evidently been the work of years to gather it out of the spoils of many victories, offered in that spirit of thankful devotion which is expressed in David’s own words: “Both riches and honour come of thee . . . and of thine own have we given unto thee” (1 Chronicles 29:12; 1 Chronicles 29:14). The words used in the text seem to indicate that besides the vessels of gold, silver, and brass, gold and silver, in money or in ingots, were brought into the sacred treasury.