1 Bvt Salomon was building his owne house thirteene yeeres, and finished all his house. 2 He built also an house called the forest of Lebanon, an hundreth cubites long, and fiftie cubites broad, and thirtie cubites hie, vpon foure rowes of cedar pillars, and cedar beames were layed vpon the pillars. 3 And it was couered aboue with cedar vpon the beames, that lay on the fourtie and fiue pillars, fifteene in a rowe. 4 And the windowes were in three rowes, and windowe was against windowe in three rankes. 5 And all the doores, and the side postes with the windowes were foure square, and windowe was ouer against windowe in three rankes. 6 And he made a porche of pillars fiftie cubites long, and thirtie cubites broade, and the porch was before them, euen before them were thirtie pillars. 7 Then he made a porch for the throne, where he iudged, euen a porch of iudgement, and it was sieled with cedar from pauement to pauement. 8 And in his house, where he dwelt, was an other hall more inwarde then the porche which was of the same worke. Also Salomon made an house for Pharaohs daughter (whom he had taken to wife) like vnto this porche. 9 All these were of costly stones, hewed by measure, and sawed with sawes within and without, from the foundation vnto the stones of an hand breadth, and on the outside to the great court. 10 And the foundation was of costly stones, and great stones, euen of stones of ten cubites, and stones of eight cubites. 11 Aboue also were costly stones, squared by rule, and boardes of cedar. 12 And the great court round about was with three rowes of hewed stones, and a rowe of cedar beames: so was it to ye inner court of the house of the Lord, and to the porche of the house. 13 Then King Salomon sent, and set one Hiram out of Tyrus. 14 He was a widowes sonne of the tribe of Naphtali, his father being a man of Tyrus, and wrought in brasse: he was full of wisedome, and vnderstanding, and knowledge to worke all maner of worke in brasse: who came to King Salomon, and wrought all his worke. 15 For he cast two pillars of brasse: ye height of a pillar was eighteene cubites, and a threede of twelue cubites did compasse either of ye pillars. 16 And he made two chapiters of molten brasse to set on the tops of the pillars: the height of one of the chapiters was fiue cubites, and the height of the other chapiter was fiue cubites. 17 He made grates like networke, and wrethen worke like chaynes for the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars, euen seuen for the one chapiter, and seuen for the other chapiter. 18 So he made the pillars and two rowes of pomegranates round about in the one grate to couer the chapiters that were vpon the top. And thus did he for the other chapiter. 19 And the chapiters that were on the toppe of the pillars were after lilye worke in ye porch, foure cubites. 20 And the chapiters vpon the two pillars had also aboue, ouer against the belly within the networke pomegranates: for two hudreth pomegranates were in the two rankes about vpon either of the chapiters. 21 And he set vp the pillars in the porche of the Temple. And when hee had set vp the right pillar, he called the name thereof Iachin: and when he had set vp the left pillar, he called the name thereof Boaz. 22 And vpon the top of the pillars was worke of lilyes: so was the workemanship of the pillars finished. 23 And he made a molten sea ten cubites wide from brim to brim, rounde in compasse, and fiue cubites hie, and a line of thirtie cubites did compasse it about. 24 And vnder the brimme of it were knoppes like wilde cucumers compassing it round about, ten in one cubite, compassing the sea round about: and the two rowes of knoppes were cast, when it was molten. 25 It stoode on twelue bulles, three looking towarde the North, and three toward the West, and three toward the South, and three towarde the East: and the sea stoode aboue vpon them, and all their hinder partes were inward. 26 It was an hand bredth thicke, and the brim thereof was like the worke of the brim of a cup with floures of lilyes: it contained two thousad Baths. 27 And he made tenne bases of brasse, one base was foure cubites long, and foure cubites broad, and three cubites hie. 28 And the worke of the bases was on this maner, They had borders, and the borders were betweene the ledges: 29 And on the borders that were betweene the ledges, were lyons, bulles and Cherubims: and vpon the ledges there was a base aboue: and beneath the lyons and bulles, were addicions made of thinne worke. 30 And euery base had foure brasen wheeles, and plates of brasse: and the foure corners had vndersetters: vnder the caldron were vndersetters molten at the side of euery addicion. 31 And the mouth of it was within the chapiter and aboue to measure by the cubite: for the mouth thereof was round made like a base, and it was a cubite and halfe a cubite: and also vpon the mouth thereof were grauen workes, whose borders were foure square, and not round. 32 And vnder the borders were foure wheeles, and the axeltrees of the wheeles ioyned to the base: and the height of a wheele was a cubite and halfe a cubite. 33 And the facion of the wheeles was like the facion of a charet wheele, their axeltrees, and their naues and their felloes, and their spokes were all molten. 34 And foure vndersetters were vpon the foure corners of one base: and the vndersetters thereof were of the base it selfe. 35 And in the toppe of the base was a rounde compasse of halfe a cubite hie round about: and vpon the toppe of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same. 36 And vpon the tables of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof he did graue Cherubims, lions and palmetrees, on the side of euery one, and addicions round about. 37 Thus made he the tenne bases, They had all one casting, one measure, and one syse. 38 Then made he ten caldrons of brasse, one caldron conteyned fourty Baths: and euery caldron was foure cubites, one caldron was vpon one base throughout the ten bases. 39 And he set the bases, fiue on the right side of the house, and fiue on the left side of the house. And he set the sea on the right side of the house Eastward toward the South. 40 And Hiram made caldrons, and besomes, and basens, and Hiram finished all the worke that he made to King Salomon for the house of ye Lord: 41 To wit, two pillars and two bowles of the chapiters that were on the toppe of the two pillars, and two grates to couer the two bowles of the chapiters which were vpon the toppe of the pillars, 42 And foure hundreth pomegranates for the two grates, euen two rowes of pomegranates for euery grate to couer the two bowles of the chapiters, that were vpon the pillars, 43 And the ten bases, and ten caldrons vpon the bases, 44 And the sea, and twelue bulles vnder that sea, 45 And pottes, and besomes and basens: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to King Salomon for the house of the Lord, were of shining brasse. 46 In the plaine of Iorden did the King cast them in clay betweene Succoth and Zarthan. 47 And Salomon left to weigh all the vessels because of the exceeding aboundance, neyther could the weight of the brasse be counted. 48 So Salomon made all the vessels that perteyned vnto the house of the Lord, the golden altar, and the golden table, whereon the shewbread was, 49 And the candlestickes, fiue at the right side, and fiue at the left, before the oracle of pure gold, and the flowres, and the lampes, and the snuffers of golde, 50 And the bowles, and the hookes, and the basens, and the spoones, and the ashpannes of pure golde, and the hinges of golde for the doores of the house within, euen for the most holy place, and for the doores of the house, to wit, of the Temple. 51 So was finished all the worke that King Salomon made for the house of the Lord, and Salomon brought in the things which Dauid his father had dedicated: the siluer and the golde and the vessels, and layed them among the treasures of the house of the Lord.
Solomon's Palace
1 Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years. 2-3 The Hall of the Forest of Lebanon was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had three rows of cedar pillars, 15 in each row, with cedar beams resting on them. The ceiling was of cedar, extending over storerooms, which were supported by the pillars. 4 On each of the two side walls there were three rows of windows. 5 The doorways and the windows had rectangular frames, and the three rows of windows in each wall faced the opposite rows.
6 The Hall of Columns was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. It had a covered porch, supported by columns.
7 The Throne Room, also called the Hall of Judgment, where Solomon decided cases, had cedar panels from the floor to the rafters.
8 Solomon's own quarters, in another court behind the Hall of Judgment, were made like the other buildings. He also built the same kind of house for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.
9 All these buildings and the great court were made of fine stones from the foundations to the eaves. The stones were prepared at the quarry and cut to measure, with their inner and outer sides trimmed with saws. 10 The foundations were made of large stones prepared at the quarry, some of them twelve feet long and others fifteen feet long. 11 On top of them were other stones, cut to measure, and cedar beams. 12 The palace court, the inner court of the Temple, and the entrance room of the Temple had walls with one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of cut stones.
Huram's Task
(2 Chronicles 2.132 14)13 King Solomon sent for a man named Huram, a craftsman living in the city of Tyre, who was skilled in bronze work. 14 His father, who was no longer living, was from Tyre, and had also been a skilled bronze craftsman; his mother was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram was an intelligent and experienced craftsman. He accepted King Solomon's invitation to be in charge of all the bronze work.
The Two Bronze Columns
(2 Chronicles 3.15-17)15 Huram cast two bronze columns, each one 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference, and placed them at the entrance of the Temple. 16 He also made two bronze capitals, each one 7½ feet tall, to be placed on top of the columns. 17 The top of each column was decorated with a design of interwoven chains 18 and two rows of bronze pomegranates.
19 The capitals were shaped like lilies, 6 feet tall, 20 and were placed on a rounded section which was above the chain design. There were 200 pomegranates in two rows around each capital.
21 Huram placed these two bronze columns in front of the entrance of the Temple: the one on the south side was named Jachin and the one on the north was named Boaz. 22 The lily-shaped bronze capitals were on top of the columns.
And so the work on the columns was completed.
The Bronze Tank
(2 Chronicles 4.2-5)23 Huram made a round tank of bronze, 7½ feet deep, 15 feet in diameter, and 45 feet in circumference. 24 All around the outer edge of the rim of the tank were two rows of bronze gourds, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the tank. 25 The tank rested on the backs of twelve bronze bulls that faced outward, three facing in each direction. 26 The sides of the tank were 3 inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, curving outward like the petals of a lily. The tank held about 10,000 gallons.
The Bronze Carts
27 Huram also made ten bronze carts; each was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4½ feet high. 28 They were made of square panels which were set in frames, 29 with the figures of lions, bulls, and winged creatures on the panels; and on the frames, above and underneath the lions and bulls, there were spiral figures in relief. 30 Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the four corners were bronze supports for a basin; the supports were decorated with spiral figures in relief. 31 There was a circular frame on top for the basin. It projected upward 18 inches from the top of the cart and 7 inches down into it. It had carvings around it. 32 The wheels were 25 inches high; they were under the panels, and the axles were of one piece with the carts. 33 The wheels were like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of bronze. 34 There were four supports at the bottom corners of each cart, which were of one piece with the cart. 35 There was a 9-inch band around the top of each cart; its supports and the panels were of one piece with the cart. 36 The supports and panels were decorated with figures of winged creatures, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was space for them, with spiral figures all around. 37 This, then, is how the carts were made; they were all alike, having the same size and shape.
38 Huram also made ten basins, one for each cart. Each basin was 6 feet in diameter and held 200 gallons. 39 He placed five of the carts on the south side of the Temple, and the other five on the north side; the tank he placed at the southeast corner.
Summary List of Temple Furnishings
(2 Chronicles 4.11—5.1)40-45 Huram also made pots, shovels, and bowls. He completed all his work for King Solomon for the Lord's Temple. This is what he made:
The two columnsThe two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the columnsThe design of interwoven chains on each capitalThe 400 bronze pomegranates, in two rows of 100 each around the design on each capitalThe ten cartsThe ten basinsThe tankThe twelve bulls supporting the tankThe pots, shovels, and bowlsAll this equipment for the Temple, which Huram made for King Solomon, was of polished bronze. 46 The king had it all made in the foundry between Sukkoth and Zarethan, in the Jordan Valley. 47 Solomon did not have these bronze objects weighed, because there were too many of them, and so their weight was never determined.
48 Solomon also had gold furnishings made for the Temple: the altar, the table for the bread offered to God, 49 the ten lampstands that stood in front of the Most Holy Place, five on the south side and five on the north; the flowers, lamps, and tongs; 50 the cups, lamp snuffers, bowls, dishes for incense, and the pans used for carrying live coals; and the hinges for the doors of the Most Holy Place and of the outer doors of the Temple. All these furnishings were made of gold.
51 When King Solomon finished all the work on the Temple, he placed in the Temple storerooms all the things that his father David had dedicated to the Lord—the silver, gold, and other articles.