1 Kings 5:17

17 The king gave orders; and they quarried large stones, expensive stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stone.

1 Kings 5:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 5:17

And the king commanded, and they brought great stones
Not in quality, but in quantity, large stones, fit to lay in the foundation; strong, and durable against all the injuries of time, as Josephus says ^F9:

costly stones;
not what are commonly called precious stones, as gems, pearls but stones of value, as marble, porphyry, &c.

[and] hewed stones;
not rough as they were taken out of the quarry, but hewed, and made smooth:

to lay the foundation of the house;
which, though out of sight, was to be laid with goodly stones for the magnificence of the building; so the church of Christ, its foundation is said to be laid even with sapphires and other precious stones, see ( Isaiah 54:11 ) ( Revelation 21:19 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 Antiqu. l. 8. c. 3. sect. 2.

1 Kings 5:17 In-Context

15 Shlomo had 70,000 men to carry loads and another 80,000 stonecutters in the hills,

16 besides Shlomo's 3,300 supervisors who were in charge of the people doing the work.

17 The king gave orders; and they quarried large stones, expensive stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stone.

18 Shlomo's and Hiram's builders, along with the men from G'val, worked the stones and prepared the timber and stones for building the house.