This chapter gives an account of some buildings of Solomon for himself, 1 Kings 7:1–12; and of other things for the use of the temple; of two pillars of brass, 1 Kings 7:13–22; of the molten sea, 1 Kings 7:23–26; and of ten bases, and ten layers on them, 1 Kings 7:27–39; with other utensils and…

But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years He made more haste with the house of God than with his own, for that was but seven years in building; which showed greater regard to the honour of God then to his own glory, or even convenience; nor was this built till after that: and finished…

He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon Besides the temple, his own palace, and the queen’s; so called, not because it was built on Mount Lebanon, which lay at the northern border of the land, at a great distance from Jerusalem, whereas this was both a magazine of arms, and a court of…

And it was covered with cedar above the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row. ] On the second floor were three rows of pillars, fifteen in a row, which made forty five, that stood to east, north, and south; and upon these pillars beams, which were the floor of the third story,…

And there were windows in three rows Both in the second and third stories, east, north, and south, there being none in the west, where the porch stood: and light was against light in three ranks; or the windows, through which light was let, answered to each other.

And all the doors and posts were square with the windows The doors into the several stories and apartments, and the posts and lintel of them, and the windows over them, were all square: and light was against light in three ranks; they answered one another as before.

And he made a porch of pillars At the west end of the house: and the length thereof was fifty cubits; answerable to the breadth of the house: and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: which, added to the length of the house, made it one hundred and thirty: and the porch was before them; the four rows…

Then he made a porch for the throne The ivory throne on which he sat to hear and try causes, , where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: which had its name from thence; this was either in his house in the forest of Lebanon, or in his palace at Jerusalem; the former seems best: and it was…

And his house where he dwelt Which was properly his dwellingplace, that part of the house where he usually resided: had another court within the porch, which was of the like work; a court between that and the porch, called the inner court, .

All these were of costly stones Marble, porphyry, &c. according to the measure of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without; they were all hewed, and squared, and polished, and so they appeared both on the inside of the building, and without: even from the foundation unto the coping; from…

And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, &c.] Of a great price, and very large: stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits some of one measure, and some of another; not so many cubits square, but of solid measure; they were so many in length.

And above were costly stones Above the foundation, from thence to the top of the buildings; the whole walls were made of such right up to the ceiling: after the measure of hewed stones; which, according to the Rabbins, as Kimchi says, were five hands breadth: and cedars; beams of cedars over them,…

And the great court round about Which surrounded Solomon’s house: was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams; these rows were one upon another, and were a wall to the court, which were either topped with a row of cedar wood, or that was a lining to the stones for the inner court…

And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. ] Not the king of Tyre, but an artificer in it, after described, whom Solomon had heard and upon his request Huram sent him to him, his name is called Hyperon by Clemens of Alexandria [[10]]. 11: Stromat. l. 1. p. 332.

He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali In , his mother is said to be of the daughters of Dan, as she might be, and yet her son of the tribe of Naphtali; for either she was of the city of Dan, which is placed in the tribe of Naphtali [[11]], or her mother was of the tribe of Dan; and…

For he cast two pillars of brass, eighteen cubits high apiece In they are said to be thirty five cubits high, which must be understood of the length or height of them both; and whereas that would allow but seventeen cubits and a half to a pillar, either the round number of eighteen is used, or half…

And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars These were large ovals in the form of a crown, as the word signifies; or like two crowns joined together, as Ben Gersom; or bowls, as they are called, , the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of…

And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars These were the ornaments of the chapiters; the former being like thick branches of trees, with their boughs and leaves curiously wrought, as the word signifies, and the latter like fringes,…

And he made the pillars Or adorned them in this manner: and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates; that is, there were two rows of figures like pomegranates upon the net or branch work that covered the chapiters that were on the…

And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch Or such as was in the porch of the temple; the work was like that wrought in the form of the flower of lilies open: four cubits; of the five cubits of which the chapiters consisted, four of them were of lily…

And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network The supplement is needless, according to Dr.

And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple Not at the door or entrance into the temple, as Jarchi, but at the entrance into the porch: and he set up the right pillar; or the pillar on the right hand as you went in, which was on the north, the front being east: and called the name thereof…

And upon the top of the pillars was lily work Which seems to be repeated from and confirms that: and so was the work of the pillars finished; in the manner described.

And he made a molten sea A large vessel made of molten brass, which, because of the great quantity of water it held, is called a sea; as it was usual with the Jews to call a large collection of waters a sea, as the sea of Tiberius and Galilee.

And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it Of an oval form, and therefore the Targum calls them figures of eggs; in they are said to have the similitude of oxen, being like the heads of oxen, and the other parts oval; or these were in the form of gourds, as sometimes the…

It stood upon twelve oxen Figures of them in brass, of full proportion: three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and so turned to the four quarters of the world: and the sea was set above upon them; as…

And it was an hand breadth thick Or four fingers, as in and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies, embroidered and engraven on it for ornament sake: it contained 2,000 baths; which is reckoned about five hundred barrels of water; it was filled by the…

And he made ten bases of brass Seats, stands, or settles for the ten lavers after mentioned: four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof; as broad as it was long, and so a square, that the laver might stand firm upon it: and three cubits the height of it; from the…

And the work of the bases was on this manner The following was the form in which they were made: they had borders; plates of brass all around them, which enclosed them: and the borders were between the ledges; which were short staves or bars of brass, that stood upright all around, like the staves…

And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims The figures of them, for ornament sake; the cherubim, being distinguished from lions and oxen might be figures of men, or else of eagles, as Josephus [[23]], see and upon the ledges there was a base above; a flat piece…

And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass, &c.] Flat pieces or planks of brass, on which the wheels stood, and not on the bare floor; so that these wheels seem only to serve as supporters, not to carry the laver from place to place, as is usually said; for they were not like…

And the mouth of it within the chapiter, and above, was a cubit On the lid of the base rose up a lesser base, called the chapiter, which was circular, like a coronet, as the word signifies, the inside of which was hollow, for the lower part of the layer to rest in; this ascended straight up half a…

And under the borders were four wheels Not under the borders last mentioned, but those in , and the axle trees of the wheels were joined to the base; to the four sides of it: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit; that is, from the plate of brass on which it stood, to the axis or…

And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel In the same form and fashion as one of them; the Targum is, “like a chariot of glory;” a splendid one, curiously wrought; unless reference is had in it to the chariot of Ezekiel’s vision: their axle trees, and their naves, and their…

And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base Or pillars, as in and the undersetters were of the base itself; they were cast together, and of the same piece of metal with it.

And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high The same with the chapiter, which rose up straight half a cubit, and widening upwards half a cubit more, here called the round compass of it: and on the top of the base, the ledges thereof and the borders thereof, were of the…

For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof In this, and the preceding verse, a different word is used, translated “ledges”, from that in (1 Kings 7:28, 1 Kings 7:29) , the Targum renders it axle trees; as if the axle trees of the wheels, and the borders, circumferences, and…

After this manner he made the ten bases This was the form and fashion of them as above described: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size; they were all cast into the same mould, and were exactly alike in their form, figures, and size, and each weighed 2000 talents, and the weight of…

Then made he ten lavers of brass There was but one in the tabernacle of Moses, and what became of that is not known: some Jewish writers [[2]] say it was placed in Solomon’s temple, and these lavers, five on the right and five on the left of it; however, here were enough provided for the purpose…

And he put five bases on the right side of the house On the south side, which is commonly understood; that is, of the courts of the priests, where they were placed for their use: and five on the left side of the house; on the north, as it must be, if the south is on the right; though as the…

And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins, &c.] The lavers are not the ten before mentioned, of the make of which an account is before given; but these, according to Jarchi and Ben Gersom, are the same with the pots, and so they are called in the use of which, as they say, was to…

See Gill on 1 Kings 7:40

See Gill on 1 Kings 7:40

See Gill on 1 Kings 7:40

See Gill on 1 Kings 7:40

See Gill on 1 Kings 7:40

In the plain of Jericho did the king cast them in the clay ground Which being thick, as the word signifies, and stiff and close, was fit for such a purpose as casting brass; of such clay, furnaces of earth used to be made to melt metals in; but here were large things to be cast, as the two pillars,…

And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many The vessels of brass before mentioned, being so large, at least some of them, and so numerous; the Targum is, he laid them up, or placed them; he brought them from whence they were cast, and put them in the sanctuary…

And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the Lord That is, he ordered them to be made, even all that were in the tabernacle of Moses; all were newly made, excepting the ark, mercy seat, and cherubim: the altar of gold; the altar of incense, which was made of cedar, covered…

And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle These stood in the holy place, where the shewbread tables did, right before the holy of holies; there were ten of these as of them, which were placed, as the same Jewish writers say, not on the right…

And the bowls To keep the oil in: and the snuffers; to trim the lamps with; though some interpret the word of musical instruments, as the Targum, of psalteries: and the basins; which were to receive the blood of the sacrifices; and, Ben Gersom thinks, particularly the blood of those that were…

So was ended all the work that King Solomon made for the house of the Lord Which he ordered to be made to be put into it, either for the ornament of it, or for the use and service of it; all was completely finished in the space of seven years: and Solomon had brought in the things which David his…