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Solomon’s Palace Complex

¹Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.

²He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high,^† with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams.

³The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars—forty-five beams, fifteen per row. ⁴There were three rows of high windows facing one another in three tiers. ⁵All the doorways^† had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers.

⁶Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide,^† with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico.

⁷In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.^†

⁸And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

⁹All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard. ¹⁰The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long^† and some eight cubits long.^{† 11}Above these were costly stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.

¹²The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.

The Pillars and Capitals

(2 Chronicles 3:14–17)

¹³Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram^† from Tyre. ¹⁴He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.

¹⁵He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.^{† 16}He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, each capital five cubits high.^{† 17}For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital.^†

¹⁸Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars. ¹⁹And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high.^{† 20}On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital.

²¹Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin,^† and the pillar to the north he named Boaz.^{† 22}And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work of the pillars was completed.

The Molten Sea

(2 Chronicles 4:1–5)

²³He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference.^{† 24}Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.

²⁵The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center. ²⁶It was a handbreadth thick,^† and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.^†

The Ten Bronze Stands

²⁷In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.^†

²⁸This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights, ²⁹and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work.

³⁰Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side. ³¹The opening to each stand inside the crown at the top was one cubit deep,^† with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide.^† And around its opening were engravings, but the panels of the stands were square, not round.

³²There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter. ³³The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.

³⁴Each stand had four handles, one for each corner, projecting from the stand. ³⁵At the top of each stand was a circular band half a cubit high.^† The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand.

³⁶He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around. ³⁷In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.

The Ten Bronze Basins

(2 Chronicles 4:6–8)

³⁸He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths^† and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands.

³⁹He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

Completion of the Bronze Works

(2 Chronicles 4:11–18)

⁴⁰Additionally, Huram made the pots,^† shovels, and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD:

⁴¹the two pillars;
the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars;
the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars;

⁴²the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars);

⁴³the ten stands;
the ten basins on the stands;

⁴⁴the Sea;
the twelve oxen underneath the Sea;

⁴⁵and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls.

All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze.

⁴⁶The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.^{† 47}Solomon left all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

(2 Chronicles 4:19–22)

⁴⁸Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD:

the golden altar;
the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;

⁴⁹the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left;
the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;

⁵⁰the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers;
and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place )^† as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

⁵¹So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed. Then Solomon brought in the items his father David had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.