51 And it is complete -- all the work that king Solomon hath made `for' the house of Jehovah, and Solomon bringeth in the sanctified things of David his father; the silver, and the gold, and the vessels he hath put in the treasuries of the house of Jehovah.
and David taketh the shields of gold which were on the servants of Hadadezer, and bringeth them to Jerusalem; and from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, hath king David taken very much brass. And Toi king of Hamath heareth that David hath smitten all the force of Hadadezer, and Toi sendeth Joram his son unto king David to ask of him of welfare, and to bless him, (because that he hath fought against Hadadezer, and smiteth him, for a man of wars `with' Toi had Hadadezer been), and in his hand have been vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass, also them did king David sanctify to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold which he sanctified of all the nations which he subdued:
And David taketh the shields of gold that have been on the servants of Hadarezer, and bringeth them in to Jerusalem; and from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, hath David taken very much brass; with it hath Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.
and he sendeth Hadoram his son unto king David, to ask of him of peace, and to bless him (because that he hath fought against Hadarezer, and smiteth him, for a man of wars with Tou had Hadarezer been,) and all kinds of vessels, of gold, and silver, and brass; also them hath king David sanctified to Jehovah with the silver and the gold that he hath taken from all the nations, from Edom, and from Moab, and from the sons of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.
This Shelomith and his brethren `are' over all the treasures of the holy things, that David the king, and heads of the fathers, even heads of thousands, and of hundreds, and heads of the host, sanctified; from the battles, even from the spoil they sanctified to strengthen the house of Jehovah; and all that Samuel the seer, and Saul son of Kish, and Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah sanctified, every one sanctifying `any thing -- it is' by the side of Shelomith and his brethren.
And David giveth to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of its houses, and of its treasures, and of its upper chambers, and of its innermost chambers, and of the house of the atonement; and the pattern of all that hath been by the Spirit with him, for the courts of the house of Jehovah, and for all the chambers round about, for the treasures of the house of God, and for the treasures of the things sacrificed; and for the courses of the priests and of the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and for all vessels of service of the house of Jehovah, even gold by weight, for `things of' gold, for all instruments of service and service; for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of service and service; and `by' weight for the candlesticks of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight `for' candlestick and candlestick, and its lamps; and for the candlesticks of silver, by weight for a candlestick and its lamps, according to the service of candlestick and candlestick; and the gold `by' weight for tables of the arrangement, for table and table, and silver for the tables of silver; and the forks, and the bowls, and the cups of pure gold, and for the basins of gold, by weight for basin and basin, and for the basins of silver, by weight for basin and basin, and for the altar of perfume refined gold by weight, and for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubs of gold -- spreading and covering over the ark of the covenant of Jehovah.
and with all my power I have prepared for the house of my God, the gold for `things of' gold, and the silver for `those of' silver, and the brass for `those of' brass, the iron for `those of' iron, and the wood for `those of' wood, shoham stones, and settings, and stones of painting and of diverse colours, and all `kinds of' precious stone, and stones of white marble, in abundance. `And again, because of my delighting in the house of my God, the substance I have -- a peculiar treasure of gold and silver -- I have given for the house of my God, even over and above all I have prepared for the house of the sanctuary: three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses, even gold for `things of' gold, and silver for `those of' silver, and for all the work by the hand of artificers; and who `is' he that is offering willingly to consecrate his hand to-day to Jehovah?' And the heads of the fathers, and the heads of the tribes of Israel, and the heads of the thousands, and of the hundreds, even to the heads of the work of the king, offer willingly. And they give for the service of the house of God, of gold -- talents five thousand, and drams a myriad; and of silver -- talents ten thousand, and of brass -- a myriad and eight thousand talents; and of iron -- a hundred thousand talents; and he with whom stones are found hath given to the treasury of the house of Jehovah, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Kings 7
Commentary on 1 Kings 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 7
1Ki 7:1. Building of Solomon's House.
1. Solomon was building his own house thirteen years—The time occupied in building his palace was nearly double that spent in the erection of the temple [1Ki 6:38], because neither had there been the same previous preparations for it, nor was there the same urgency as in providing a place of worship, on which the national well-being so much depended.
1Ki 7:2-7. Of the House of Lebanon.
2. He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon—It is scarcely possible to determine whether this was a different edifice from the former, or whether his house, the house of the forest of Lebanon, and the one for Pharaoh's daughter, were not parts of one grand palace. As difficult is it to decide what was the origin of the name; some supposing it was so called because built on Lebanon; others, that it was in or near Jerusalem, but contained such a profuse supply of cedar columns as to have occasioned this peculiar designation. We have a similar peculiarity of name in the building called the East India house, though situated in London. The description is conformable to the arrangement of Eastern palaces. The building stood in the middle of a great oblong square, which was surrounded by an enclosing wall, against which the houses and offices of those attached to the court were built. The building itself was oblong, consisting of two square courts, flanking a large oblong hall which formed the center, and was one hundred cubits long, by fifty broad. This was properly the house of the forest of Lebanon, being the part where were the cedar pillars of this hall. In front was the porch of judgment, which was appropriated to the transaction of public business. On the one side of this great hall was the king's house; and on the other the harem or royal apartments for Pharaoh's daughter (Es 2:3, 9). This arrangement of the palace accords with the Oriental style of building, according to which a great mansion always consists of three divisions, or separate houses—all connected by doors and passages—the men dwelling at one extremity, the women of the family at the other, while public rooms occupy the central part of the building.
10. the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones—Enormous stones, corresponding exactly with the dimensions given, are found in Jerusalem at this day. Not only the walls from the foundation to the roof beams were built of large hewn stones, but the spacious court around the palace was also paved with great square stones.
12. for the inner court of the house of the Lord—should be, as in the inner court of the house of the Lord; the meaning is, that in this palace, as in the temple, rows of hewed stones and the cedar beams formed the enclosing wall.
1Ki 7:13-51. Hiram's Works.
13. Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre—The Tyrians and other inhabitants on the Phœnician coast were the most renowned artists and workers in metal in the ancient world.
14. He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali—In 2Ch 2:14 his mother is said to have been of the daughters of Dan. The apparent discrepancy may be reconciled thus: Hiram's mother, though belonging to the tribe of Dan, had been married to a Naphtalite, so that when married afterwards to a Tyrian, she might be described as a widow of the tribe of Naphtali. Or, if she was a native of the city Dan (Laish), she might be said to be of the daughters of Dan, as born in that place; and of the tribe of Naphtali, as really belonging to it.
a worker in brass—This refers particularly to the works described in this chapter. But in 2Ch 2:13 his artistic skill is represented as extending to a great variety of departments. In fact, he was appointed, from his great natural talents and acquired skill, to superintend the execution of all the works of art in the temple.
15-22. two pillars of brass of eighteen cubits high—They were made of the brass (bronze) which was taken from the king of Zobah (1Ch 18:8). In 2Ch 3:15 they are said to have been thirty-five cubits high. There, however, their joint lengths are given; whereas here the length of the pillars is given separately. Each pillar was seventeen and a half cubits long, which is stated, in round numbers, as eighteen. Their dimensions in English measure are as follows: The pillars without the capitals measured thirty-two and a half feet long, and seven feet diameter; and if hollow, as Whiston, in his translation of Josephus, thinks (Jer 52:21), the metal would be about three and a half inches thick; so that the whole casting of one pillar must have been from sixteen to twenty tons. The height of the capitals was eight and three-fourths feet; and, at the same thickness of metal, would not weigh less than seven or eight tons each. The nature of the workmanship in the finishing of these capitals is described (1Ki 7:17-22). The pillars, when set up, would stand forty feet in height [Napier, Metal].
17, 18. nets of checker work—that is, branch-work, resembling the branches of palm trees, and
wreaths of chain-work—that is, plaited in the form of a chain, composing a sort of crown or garland. Seven of these were wound in festoons on one capital, and over and underneath them were fringes, one hundred in a row. Two rows of pomegranates strung on chains (2Ch 3:16) ran round the capital (1Ki 7:42; compare 2Ch 4:12, 13; Jer 52:23), which, itself, was of a bowl-like or globular form (1Ki 7:41). These rows were designed to form a binding to the ornamental work—to keep it from falling asunder; and they were so placed as to be above the chain work, and below the place where the branch-work was.
19. lily work—beautiful ornaments, resembling the stalks, leaves, and blossoms of lilies—of large dimensions, as suited to the height of their position.
21. Jachin and … Boaz—These names were symbolical, and indicated the strength and stability—not so much of the material temple, for they were destroyed along with it (Jer 52:17), as of the spiritual kingdom of God, which was embodied in the temple.
23-26. he made a molten sea—In the tabernacle was no such vessel; the laver served the double purpose of washing the hands and feet of the priests as well as the parts of the sacrifices. But in the temple there were separate vessels provided for these offices. (See on 2Ch 4:6). The molten sea was an immense semicircular vase, measuring seventeen and a half feet in diameter, and being eight and three-fourths feet in depth. This, at three and a half inches in thickness, could not weigh less than from twenty-five to thirty tons in one solid casting—and held from sixteen thousand to twenty thousand gallons of water. [See on 2Ch 4:3.] The brim was all carved with lily work or flowers; and oxen were carved or cut on the outside all round, to the number of three hundred; and it stood on a pedestal of twelve oxen. These oxen must have been of considerable size, like the Assyrian bulls, so that their corresponding legs would give thickness or strength to support so great a weight for, when the vessel was filled with water, the whole weight would be about one hundred tons [Napier]. (See on 2Ch 4:3).
27-39. he made ten bases of brass—These were trucks or four-wheeled carriages, for the support and conveyance of the lavers. The description of their structure shows that they were elegantly fitted up and skilfully adapted to their purpose. They stood, not on the axles, but on four rests attached to the axles, so that the figured sides were considerably raised above the wheels. They were all exactly alike in form and size. The lavers which were borne upon them were vessels capable each of holding three hundred gallons of water, upwards of a ton weight. The whole, when full of water, would be no less than two tons [Napier].
40-45. And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins—These verses contain a general enumeration of Hiram's works, as well as those already mentioned as other minor things. The Tyrian artists are frequently mentioned by ancient authors as skilful artificers in fashioning and embossing metal cups and bowls; and we need not wonder, therefore, to find them employed by Solomon in making the golden and brazen utensils for his temple and palaces.
46. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them—Zarthan, or Zaretan (Jos 3:16), or Zartanah (1Ki 4:12), or Zeredathah (2Ch 4:17), was on the bank of the Jordan in the territories of western Manasseh. Succoth was situated on the eastern side of Jordan, at the ford of the river near the mouth of the Jabbok. One reason assigned by commentators for the castings being made there is, that at such a distance from Jerusalem that city would not be annoyed by the smoke and noxious vapors necessarily occasioned by the process. [Note in Bagster's Bible.] But the true reason is to be found in the nature of the soil; Margin, "the thickness of the ground." That part of the Jordan valley abounds with marl. Clay and sand are the moulding material still used for bronze. Such large quantities of metal as one of these castings would contain could not be fused in one furnace, but would require a series of furnaces, especially for such a casting as the brazen sea—the whole series of furnaces being filled with metal, and fused at one time, and all tapped together, and the metal let run into the mould. Thus a national foundry was erected in the plain of Jordan [Napier].
48. the altar of gold—that is, the altar of incense.
49. candlesticks of pure gold—made, probably, according to the model of that in the tabernacle, which, along with the other articles of furniture, were deposited with due honor, as sacred relics, in the temple. But these seem not to have been used in the temple service; for Solomon made new lavers, tables, and candlesticks, ten of each. (See further regarding the dimensions and furniture of the temple, in 2Ch 3:1-5:14).