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

² He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high,¹ with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams.

1. The house was approximately 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high (45.7 meters long, 22.9 meters wide, and 13.7 meters high).

³ The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars—forty-five beams, fifteen per row.

⁴ There were three rows of high windows facing one another in three tiers.

⁵ All the doorways¹ had rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers.

1. Literally doorways and doorposts

⁶ Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide,¹ with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico.

1. The colonnade was approximately 75 feet long and 45 feet wide (22.9 meters long and 13.7 meters wide).

⁷ In 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.¹

1. Syriac and Vulgate; Hebrew from floor to floor

⁸ And 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.

⁹ All 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.

¹⁰ The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long¹ and some eight cubits long.²

1. 10 cubits is approximately 15 feet or 4.6 meters.
2. 8 cubits is approximately 12 feet or 3.7 meters.

¹¹ Above these were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.

¹² The 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)

¹³ Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram¹ from Tyre.

1. Hebrew Hiram, a variant of Huram; also in verses 40 and 45; see 2 Chronicles 4:11. Note that this is not Hiram king of Tyre mentioned in 1 Kings 5:1.

¹⁴ He 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.

¹⁵ He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.¹

1. Each pillar was approximately 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference (8.2 meters high and 5.5 meters in circumference).

¹⁶ He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, each capital five cubits high.¹

1. 5 cubits is approximately 7.5 feet or 2.3 meters.

¹⁷ For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital.¹

1. Hebrew; LXX one for each capital

¹⁸ Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars.

¹⁹ And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high.¹

1. 4 cubits is approximately 6 feet or 1.8 meters; also in verse 38.

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.

²¹ Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin,¹ and the pillar to the north he named Boaz.²

1. Jachin probably means He establishes.
2. Boaz probably means in Him is strength.

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)

²³ He 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.¹

1. The Sea was approximately 15 feet from rim to rim, 7.5 feet in height, and 45 feet in circumference (4.6 meters from rim to rim, 2.3 meters in height, and 13.7 meters 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.

²⁵ The 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.

²⁶ It was a handbreadth thick,¹ and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.²

1. A handbreadth is approximately 2.9 inches or 7.4 centimeters.
2. 2,000 baths is approximately 11,600 gallons or 44,000 liters; LXX does not include this sentence.

The Ten Bronze Stands

²⁷ In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.¹

1. The stands were approximately 6 feet in length and width, and 4.5 feet high (1.8 meters in length and width, and 1.4 meters high).

²⁸ This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights,

²⁹ and 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.

³⁰ Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side.

³¹ The opening to each stand inside the crown at the top was one cubit deep,¹ with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide.² And around its opening were engravings, but the panels of the stands were square, not round.

1. One cubit is approximately 18 inches or 45.7 centimeters.
2. A cubit and a half is approximately 2.25 feet or 68.6 centimeters wide; similarly in verse 32.

³² There 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.

³³ The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.

³⁴ Each stand had four handles, one for each corner, projecting from the stand.

³⁵ At the top of each stand was a circular band half a cubit high.¹ The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand.

1. Half a cubit is approximately 9 inches or 22.9 centimeters high.

³⁶ He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around.

³⁷ In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.

The Ten Bronze Basins

(2 Chronicles 4:6–8)

³⁸ He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths¹ and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands.

1. 40 baths is approximately 232 gallons or 880 liters.

³⁹ He 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)

⁴⁰ Additionally, Huram made the pots,¹ shovels, and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD: