Solomon Builds the Temple

6 So Solomon began to build the temple. This was 480 years* after the people of Israel left Egypt. This was during Solomon’s fourth year as king of Israel. It was in the month of Ziv, the second month of the year. ²The temple was 60 cubits* long, 20 cubits* wide, and 30 cubits* high. ³The porch of the temple was 20 cubits long and 10 cubits* wide. The porch ran along the front of the main part of the temple itself. Its length was equal to the width of the temple. ⁴There were narrow windows in the temple. These windows were narrow on the outside and larger on the inside.* ⁵Then Solomon built a row of rooms around the main part of the temple. These rooms were built on top of each other. {This row of rooms was three stories tall.} ⁶The rooms touched the temple wall, but their beams were not built into that wall. {That temple wall became thinner at the top.} So the wall which made one side of those rooms was thinner than the wall below it. The rooms on the bottom floor were 5 cubits* wide. The rooms on the middle floor were 6 cubits* wide. The rooms above that were 7 cubits* wide. ⁷The workers used large stones to build the walls. The workers cut the stones at the place where they got them out of the ground. So there was no noise of hammers, axes, or any other iron tools in the temple. ⁸The entrance to the bottom rooms was on the south side of the temple. Inside, there were stairs that went up to the second floor rooms and from there to the third floor rooms. ⁹So, Solomon finished building the temple. Every part in the temple was covered with cedar boards. ¹⁰Solomon also finished building the rooms around the temple. Each story was 5 cubits* tall. The cedar beams in those rooms touched the temple. ¹¹The Lord said to Solomon, ¹²“If you obey all my laws and commands, I will do the thing for you that I promised your father David. ¹³And I will live among the children of Israel in this temple that you are building. I will never leave the people of Israel.”

Details About the Temple

¹⁴So Solomon finished building the temple. ¹⁵The stone walls inside the temple were covered with cedar boards. The cedar boards went from the floor to the ceiling. The stone floor was covered with pine boards. ¹⁶They built a room 20 cubits* long deep inside the back part of the temple. They covered the walls in this room with cedar boards. The cedar boards went from the floor to the ceiling. This room was called the Most Holy Place. ¹⁷In front of the Most Holy Place, was the main part of the temple. This room was 40 cubits* long. ¹⁸They covered the walls in this room with cedar boards—none of the stones in the walls could be seen. They carved pictures of flowers and gourds* into the cedar. ¹⁹Solomon prepared the room deep inside the back part of the temple. This room was for the Lord’s Box of the Agreement.* ²⁰This room was 20 cubits* long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high. ²¹Solomon covered this room with pure gold. He built an {incense} altar in front of this room. He covered the altar with gold, and wrapped gold chains around it. There were two statues of Cherub angels* in that room. Those statues were covered with gold. ²²All of the temple was covered with gold. Also, the altar in front of the Most Holy Place was covered with gold. ²³The workers made two statues of Cherub angels* with wings. The workers made the statues from olive wood. These Cherub angels were put in the Most Holy Place. Each angel was 10 cubits* tall. ^24–26Both Cherub angels were the same size and built the same way. Each Cherub angel had two wings. Each wing was 5 cubits* long. From the end of one wing to the end of the other wing was 10 cubits. And each Cherub angel was 10 cubits tall. ²⁷These Cherub angels were put in the Most Holy Place. They stood beside each other. Their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. The other two wings touched each side wall. ²⁸The two Cherub angels were covered with gold. ²⁹The walls around the main room and the inner room were carved with pictures of Cherub angels,* palm trees, and flowers. ³⁰The floor of both rooms was covered with gold. ³¹The workers made two doors from olive wood. They put those doors at the entrance of the Most Holy Place. The frame around the doors was made with five sides.* ³²They made the two doors from olive wood. The workers carved pictures of Cherub angels,* palm trees, and flowers on the doors. Then they covered the doors with gold. ³³They also made doors for the entrance to the main room. They used olive wood to make a square door frame. ³⁴Then they used fir* to make the doors. ³⁵There were two doors. Each door had two parts, so the two doors folded. They carved pictures of Cherub angels,* {palm} trees, and flowers on the doors. Then they covered them with gold. ³⁶Then they built the inner yard. They built walls around this yard. Each wall was made from three rows of cut stones and one row of cedar timbers. ³⁷They started working on the temple in the month of Ziv, the second month of the year. This was during Solomon’s fourth year as king of the Israel. ³⁸The temple was finished in the month of Bul, the eighth month of the year. This was during the eleventh year that Solomon ruled over the people. It took seven years to build the temple. The temple was built exactly the way it was planned.

480 years This was about 960 B.C. 60 cubits 103’ 4 3/16” (31.5m). 20 cubits 29’ 3 3/8” (10.5m). 30 cubits 51’ 8 1/16” (15.75m). The ancient Greek translation has “25 cubits.” 10 cubits 17’ 2 11/16” (5.25m). These windows … inside This might also mean, “These were windows with lattice work over them.” 5 cubits 8’ 7 5/16” (2.625m). 6 cubits 10’ 4” (3.15m). 7 cubits 12’ 11/16” (3.675m). 40 cubits 68’ 10 3/4” (21m). gourds A plant with long vines. Its fruit grows in the shape of a jar and becomes hard like wood. Box of the Agreement Also called “The Ark of the Covenant,” the box containing the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them and the other things that proved God was with the people of Israel during their time in the Sinai Desert. Cherub angels Special angels from God. Statues of these angels were on top of the Box of the Agreement. The frame … sides We are not sure of the meaning here. fir A type of tree, like a pine tree.

Solomon’s Palace

7 King Solomon also built a palace* for himself. It took 13 years to finish building Solomon’s palace. ²He also built the building called “the Forest of Lebanon.” It was 100 cubits* long, 50 cubits* wide, and 30 cubits* high. It had four rows of cedar columns. On top of each column was a cedar capital.* ³There were cedar beams going across the rows of columns. They put cedar boards on top of these beams for the ceiling. There were 15 beams for each section of columns. There was a total of 45 beams. ⁴There were three rows of windows {on each of the side walls}. The windows were across from each other. ⁵There were three doors at each end. All the door openings and frames were square. ⁶Solomon also built the “Porch of Columns.” It was 50 cubits* long and 30 cubits* wide. Along the front of the porch, there was a covering supported by columns. ⁷Solomon also built a throne room where he judged people. He called this the “Hall of Judging.” The room was covered with cedar from the floor to the ceiling. ⁸The house where Solomon lived was inside of the Hall of Judging. This house was built the same as the Hall of Judging. He also built the same kind of house for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt. ⁹All of these buildings were made with expensive blocks of stone. These stones were cut to the right size with a saw. They were cut in the front and in the back. These expensive stones went from the foundation up to the top layer of the wall. Even the wall around the yard was made with expensive blocks of stone. ¹⁰The foundations were made with large, expensive stones. Some of the stones were 10 cubits* long and others were 8 cubits* long. ¹¹On top of those stones there were other expensive stones and cedar beams. ¹²There were walls around the palace yard, the temple yard, and the porch of the temple. Those walls were built with three rows of stone and one row of cedar timbers. ¹³King Solomon sent a message to a man named Huram* in Tyre. Solomon brought Huram {to Jerusalem}. ¹⁴Huram’s mother was an Israelite from the family group of Naphtali. His dead father was from Tyre. Huram made things from bronze.* He was a very skilled and experienced worker. So King Solomon asked him to come, and Huram accepted. So King Solomon put Huram in charge of all the bronze work. Huram built all the things made from bronze. ¹⁵Huram* made two bronze* columns. Each column was 18 cubits* tall and 12 cubits* around. The columns were hollow and the metal was 3 inches* thick. ¹⁶Huram also made two bronze capitals* that were 5 cubits* tall. Huram put these capitals on top of the columns. ¹⁷Then he made two nets of chains to cover the capitals on top of the two columns. ¹⁸Then he made two rows of bronze* that looked like pomegranates.* They put these bronze pomegranates on the nets of each column in order to cover the capitals at the top of the columns. ¹⁹The capitals on top of the 5 cubits* tall columns were shaped like flowers. ²⁰The capitals were on top of the columns. They were above the bowl-shaped net. At that place, there were 20 pomegranates in rows all around the capitals. ²¹Huram put these two bronze columns at the porch of the temple. One column was put on the south side and one was put on the north side {of the entrance}. The column on the south was named Jakin. The column on the north was named Boaz. ²²They put the flower-shaped capitals on top of the columns. So the work on the two columns was finished. ²³Then Huram* made a round tank from bronze.* {They called this tank “The Sea.”} The tank was about 30 cubits* around. It was 10 cubits* across and 5 cubits* deep. ²⁴There was a rim around the outer edge of the tank. Under this rim there were two rows of bronze gourds* surrounding the tank. The bronze gourds were made in one piece as part of the tank. ²⁵The tank rested on the backs of 12 bronze bulls. All 12 of these bulls were looking out, away from the tank. Three were looking north, three east, three south, and three west. ²⁶The sides of the tank were 3 inches* thick. The rim around the tank was like the rim of a cup or like the petals on a flower. The tank held about 11,000 gallons.* ²⁷Then Huram* made ten bronze* carts. Each one was 4 cubits* long, 4 cubits wide, and 3 cubits* high. ²⁸The carts were made from square panels set in frames. ²⁹On the panels and frames were bronze lions, bulls, and Cherub angels.* Above and below the lions and bulls there were designs of flowers hammered into the bronze. ³⁰Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the corners there were bronze supports for a large bowl. The supports had designs of flowers hammered into the bronze. ³¹There was a frame on top for the bowl. It was 1 cubit* tall above the bowls. The opening for the bowl was round, 1 1/2 cubits* in diameter. There were designs carved into the bronze on the frame. The frame was square, not round. ³²There were four wheels under the frame. The wheels were 1 1/2 cubits in diameter. The axles between the wheels were made as one piece with the cart. ³³The wheels were like the wheels on a chariot.* Everything on the wheels—the axles, the rims, the spokes, and the hubs were made from bronze. ³⁴The four supports were on the four corners of each cart. They were made as one piece with the cart. ³⁵There was a strip of bronze around the top of each cart. It was made as one piece with the cart. ³⁶The sides of the cart and the frames had pictures of Cherub angels,* lions, and palm trees carved into the bronze. These pictures were carved all over the carts—wherever there was room. And there were flowers carved on the frame around the cart. ³⁷Huram* made ten carts. And they were all the same. Each cart was made from bronze. The bronze was melted and poured into a mold. So all of the carts were the same size and shape. ³⁸Huram* also made ten bowls. There was one bowl for each of the ten carts. Each bowl was 4 cubits* across. And each bowl could hold about 230 gallons.* ³⁹Huram put five of the carts on the south side of the temple and the other five carts on the north side. He put the large tank in the southeast corner of the temple. ^40–45Huram also made pots, small shovels, and small bowls. Huram finished making all of the things King Solomon wanted him to make. This is a list of the things that Huram made for the Temple of the Lord: 2 columns 2 capitals* shaped like bowls for the top of the columns 2 nets to go around the capitals 400 pomegranates for the two nets. There were two rows of pomegranates for each net to cover the two bowls for the capitals on top of the columns. 10 carts with a bowl on each cart. The large tank with 12 bulls under it. The pots, small shovels, small bowls, and all the dishes for the Lord’s temple. Huram* made all the things that King Solomon wanted. They were all made from polished bronze. ^46–47Solomon never weighed the bronze that was used to make these things. There was too much to weigh. So the total weight of all the bronze was never known. The king ordered these things to be made near the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan. They made these things by melting the bronze and pouring it into molds in the ground. ^48–50Solomon also commanded that many things be made from gold for the temple. These are the things that Solomon made from gold for the temple: the golden altar; the golden table (The special bread offered to God was on this table.); the lampstands of pure gold (There were five on the south side and five on the north side in front of the Most Holy Place.); the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; the pure gold bowls, wick trimmers, small bowls, pans, and dishes for carrying coals; the gold hinges for the doors to the inner room (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors to the main room of the temple. ⁵¹So King Solomon finished the work he wanted to do for the Lord’s temple. Then King Solomon got all the things that his father David had saved for this special purpose. He brought these things into the temple. He put the silver and gold in the treasuries in the Lord’s Temple.

palace A large house for the king and his family. 100 cubits 172’ 3” (52.5m). 50 cubits 86’1 1/2” (26.25m). 30 cubits 51’ 8 1/16” (15.75m). capital(s) Decorated caps of stone or wood on top of columns. 10 cubits 17’ 2 11/16” (5.25m). 8 cubits 13’ 9 5/16” (4.2m). Huram Or, “Hiram.” bronze A metal. The Hebrew word can mean “copper,” “bronze,” or “brass.” 18 cubits 31’ (9.45m). 12 cubits 20’ 8” (6.3m). 3 inches Literally, “1 handbreadth” (8cm). capital(s) Decorated caps of stone or wood on top of columns. 5 cubits 8’ 7 5/16” (2.625m). pomegranates A red fruit with many tiny seeds inside it. Each seed is covered with a soft, tasty part of the fruit. 30 cubits 51’ 8 1/16” (15.75m). gourds A plant with long vines. Its fruit grows in the shape of a jar and becomes hard like wood. 11,000 gallons Literally, “2,000 baths” (44,000 l). 4 cubits 6’ 10 5/8” (2.1m). 3 cubits 5’ 2” (1.575m). Cherub angels Special angels from God. Statues of these angels were on top of the Box of the Agreement. 1 cubit 1’ 8 5/8” (52.5cm). 1 1/2 cubits 2’ 7” (78.75cm). chariot(s) A small wagon used in war. 230 gallons Literally, “40 baths” (880 l).