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1 KINGS 7

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

1. Solomon built (ABD, vol. 6, H, pp. 109-110)
   1. a house for himself ‒ 1 Kgs. 7:1; 9:1,10,15; 10:4
   2. the house of the Lord ‒ 1 Kings 6; 9:10,15
   3. the house of the forest of Lebanon (i.e., a public house for judgment where his throne was located, v. 7) ‒ 1 Kings 7; 10:17,21
   4. a house for Pharaoh's daughter ‒ 1 Kgs. 3:1; 7:8; 9:24
   5. stables for his horses ‒ 1 Kgs. 4:26; 9:19; 10:26
   6. fortified cities ‒ 1 Kgs. 3:1; 9:15,24
   7. fleet of ships ‒ 1 Kgs. 9:26; 10:22
   
   
2. There are many rare architectural terms in 1 Kings 6-7. It is hard to visualize the form of much of Solomon's temple. He enlarged and elaborated the basic design of the tabernacle. The temple resembled Phoenician temples of the same period.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:1-5
  ¹Now Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. ²He built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was 100 cubits and its width 50 cubits and its height 30 cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars. ³It was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the 45 pillars, 15 in each row. ⁴There were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three ranks. ⁵All the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window in three ranks.

7:1-8 For Solomon's building projects see Contextual Insights.

7:1 "cubits" See SPECIAL TOPIC: CUBIT.

Apparently there were cedar pillars and on top of them were cedar beams. The term "hewn beams" (KB 501) occurs only in 1 Kgs. 6:30; 7:2,12.

7:4-5 Apparently there were three framed windows on each side, matching the three on the opposite side (see NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 66, #3,e).

The MT has "doorposts" (BDB 265) but the LXX has "windows."

1. and the door posts ‒ והמזוזוח
2. and the windows ‒ והמחזות

The UBS Text Project, p. 302, gives the MT a "B" rating (some doubt).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:6
  ⁶Then he made the hall of pillars; its length was 50 cubits and its width 30 cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a threshold in front of them.

The MT has the NOUN (BDB 17 I, KB 41) which means "porch."

This term (BDB 712 I) is uncertain in meaning. Many translations combine the term above with this one for "a projecting roof" or some type of wood covering. This is one of many uncertain architectural terms.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:7
  ⁷He made the hall of the throne where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.

7:7 This verse shows that "the house of the forest of Lebanon" was a separate throne-judgment building. It was so named because its numerous wooden pillars resembled a forest.

The MT has "floor to floor." The NET Bible suggests an emendation to the second use of "floor" (p. 562).

1. the floor ‒ הקרקע (BDB 903)
2. the rafter ‒ הקורות (see 1 Kgs. 6:16; BDEB 885 I, and Ezek. 41:25)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:8
  ⁸His house where he was to live, the other court inward from the hall, was of the same workmanship. He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter, whom Solomon had married.

7:8 This verse refers to Solomon's palace (cf. 1 Kgs. 7:1).

▣ "a house. . .for Pharaoh's daughter" See Contextual Insights, A. 4.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:9
  ⁹All these were of costly stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court.

7:9-12 These verses describe the enclosure that surrounded the complex of royal and sacred buildings. The symbolism seems to be that the reigning Davidic King was YHWH's representative on earth (i.e., connected to His Temple).

There were two enclosures.

1. around the temple (cf. 1 Kgs. 6:36)
2. around the whole building complex (cf. 9:12, royal and sacred)

The MT has the term (BDB 381, KB 378) which could mean

1. span (cf. Ps. 39:6)
2. hand-breadth (cf. 2 Chr. 4:5)
3. coping
4. KB 378 II suggests "horizontal crossbeam"
5. Akkadian, parapet
6. see guess by Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, p. 316

The term is obviously in contrast to the foundation, therefore, some structure above.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:10-12
  ¹⁰The foundation was of costly stones, even large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. ¹¹And above were costly stones, stone cut according to measure, and cedar. ¹²So the great court all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams even as the inner court of the house of the Lord, and the porch of the house.

7:12 This verse seems to refer to the house for Pharaoh's daughter.

7:13 "Hiram from Tyre" This is not Hiram, King of Tyre, but one of the workmen sent from Phoenicia (cf. 2 Chr. 2:13-14) to Israel. This man was half Israelite and had a special God-given skill (like those who built the tabernacle, cf. Exod. 28:3; 36:1; 37:1).

The list of all Hiram made is found in 1 Kgs. 7:40-47.

The seeming contradiction between v. 14 and the parallel in 2 Chr. 2:14, where Hiram's mother is from Dan, can be explained by the fact that in Solomon's day the city of Dan was considered to be in the tribal allocation of Napthali (see Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 71).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:13-14
  ¹³Now King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. ¹⁴He was a widow's son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill for doing any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and performed all his work.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:15-22
  ¹⁵He fashioned the two pillars of bronze; eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both. ¹⁶He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. ¹⁷There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. ¹⁹The capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. ²⁰There were capitals on the two pillars, even above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the network; and the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around both capitals. ²¹Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. ²²On the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

7:15-22 This paragraph describes the two large pillars in front of the temple (cf. 2 Kgs. 25:17; 2 Chr. 3:15-17).

From Jer. 52:21 it seems these tall bronze pillars were hollow.

This term (BDB 987 I), like so many of the architectural terms in this chapter, is uncertain.

7:18 There is confusion in the translations between "pillars" and "pomegranates."

1. pillars ‒ העמודים
2. pomegranates ‒ הרמנים

The MT is not clear in this description.

The MT has the word "belly" (BDB 105) used metaphorically but exactly how is uncertain, as the translations show.

7:21 "Jachin" This (BDB 467) means "he will establish." The LXX in 2 Chr. 3:17 translates this as "strength." These two pillars were for decoration, not structural support.

▣ "Boaz" This (BDB 126) could be "in strength," which would match the LXX translation of 2 Chr. 3:17.

Some scholars see the two names being taken together as "YHWH established in strength." Other temples in this area in this time period have these decorative pillars.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:23-26
  ²³Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference. ²⁴Under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the rest. ²⁵It stood 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. ²⁶It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths.

7:23-26 This is a description of the water holder for washings of the priests (cf. Exod. 30:20-21; 2 Chr. 4:6). It took the place of the laver of the tabernacle.

Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 319-320, suggests the large laver was for the priest to wash and the small portable ones for the washing of sacrifices.

This water container was called by three names.

1. the bronze sea ‒ 2 Kgs. 25:13; 1 Chr. 18:8; Jer. 52:17
2. the molten sea ‒ 1 Kgs. 7:23; 2 Chr. 4:2
3. in Exod. 30:18; 38:8, it is called "a laver of bronze"

SPECIAL TOPIC: LAVER

7:24 "gourds" See 1 Kgs. 6:18 for this same symbolism.

7:26 "handbreadth" See #4 in SPECIAL TOPIC: CUBIT, that shows how the human body was used for measurements.

▣ "baths" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE WEIGHTS AND VOLUMES.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:27-37
  ²⁷Then he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height three cubits. ²⁸This was the design of the stands: they had borders, even borders between the frames, ²⁹and on the borders which were between the frames were lions, oxen and cherubim; and on the frames there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. ³⁰Now 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. ³¹Its opening inside the crown at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. ³²The 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. ³³The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. ³⁴Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. ³⁵On the top of the stand there was a circular form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders were part of it. ³⁶He engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around. ³⁷He made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form.

3:27-29 These "stands" (BDB 467) were the supports for ten portable lavers (cf. 2 Chr. 4:6). These stands are mentioned in 2 Kgs. 16:17; 25:13,16; 2 Chr. 4:14; Jer. 27:19; 52:17,20.

3:27 "ten" See SPECIAL TOPIC: SYMBOLIC NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE, #5.

▣ "cubits" See SPECIAL TOPIC: CUBIT.

7:29 "lions" See SPECIAL TOPIC: LIONS.

▣ "cherubim" See SPECIAL TOPIC: CHERUBIM.

7:36 "palm trees" This tree (BDB 1071; NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 308-309; UBS Fauna and Flora of the Bible, pp. 160-162) was sacred in the ANE. It symbolized

1. prosperity ‒ Ps. 93:13
2. vitality (i.e., evergreen and lived up to 200 years)
3. beauty ‒ Song of Songs 7:8
4. leadership ‒ Isa. 9:14; 19:15

It decorated

1. Solomon's temple
2. Ezekiel's temple
3. early Jewish coins

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:38-39
  ³⁸He made ten basins of bronze, one basin held forty baths; each basin was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin. ³⁹Then he set the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:40-47
  ⁴⁰Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the Lord: ⁴¹the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; ⁴²and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; ⁴³and the ten stands with the ten basins on the stands; ⁴⁴and the one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea; ⁴⁵and the pails and the shovels and the bowls; even all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the Lord were of polished bronze. ⁴⁶In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. ⁴⁷Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; the weight of the bronze could not be ascertained.

The MT has a MASCULINE NOUN (BDB 468, KB 492) which has several distinct meanings.

1. lavers ‒ Exod. 30:18,28; 31:9; 35:16; 38:8; 39:39; 40:7,11,30; Lev. 8:11; 2 Kgs. 16:17; 2 Chr. 4:6,16
2. cooking pot ‒ 1 Sam. 2:14 (also DSS)
3. pails ‒ 2 Chr. 4:11,16
4. platform of bronze ‒ 2 Chr. 6:13
5. firepot ‒ Zech. 12:6

The best guess is #2, used to boil some sacrifices (cf. Lev. 7:15-18).

▣ "bowls" This term (BDB 284) is repeated in 1 Kgs. 7:45. It refers to bronze pots used to remove ashes from the altar of sacrifice (cf. Exod. 27:3; 38:3; see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 245).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:48-50
  ⁴⁸Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the Lord: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; ⁴⁹and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; ⁵⁰and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold.

7:48-50 A summary of the furnishings of Solomon's temple.

▣ "the golden altar" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ALTAR OF INCENSE.

▣ "the golden table" See SPECIAL TOPIC: SHOW BREAD or BREAD OF THE PRESENCE.

▣ "the lampstand" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE LAMPSTAND.

▣ "the inner sanctuary" See SPECIAL TOPIC: TABERNACLE OF THE WILDERNESS.

Remember, there is symbolism in the metals (gradations of holiness).

1. bronze for those things outside the inner shrine
2. gold for those things in the inner shrine

This NOUN (BDB 874) occurs only twice in the OT.

1. Isa. 3:17, "foreheads"
2. here (see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 712)

There are so many rare architectural terms in chapters 6-7!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:51
  ⁵¹Thus all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things dedicated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

7:51 Many of the precious metals of the temple came from David's military conquests and taxation (cf. 2 Sam. 8:11; 1 Chr. 29:2-5; 2 Chr. 5:1).

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