1 Kings 5:16

16 - plus 3,300 foremen managing the project and supervising the work crews.

1 Kings 5:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 5:16

Besides the chief of Solomon's officers which [were] over the
work
Over the whole work, preparatory for the building of the temple; though it seems chiefly to have respect to that of hewing the stones, and bringing them to the city:

three thousand and three hundred which ruled over the people that
wrought in the work;
to keep them to their work, and to see that they performed it well: in ( 2 Chronicles 2:18 ) ; they are said to be 3600, which is three hundred more than here; those three hundred are the chief officers mentioned in the former part of this verse, which were over the whole work, and even over the 3600 overseers, and with them made up the sum of 3600; so Jacob Leon F8 observes there were 3300 master workmen, and three hundred commanders over them all.


FOOTNOTES:

F8 Relation of Memorable Things in the Temple, ch. 3. p. 14.

1 Kings 5:16 In-Context

14 He sent them in shifts of 10,000 each month to the Lebanon forest; they would work a month in Lebanon and then be at home two months. Adoniram was in charge of the work crew.
15 Solomon also had 70,000 unskilled workers and another 80,000 stonecutters up in the hills
16 - plus 3,300 foremen managing the project and supervising the work crews.
17 Following the king's orders, they quarried huge blocks of the best stone - dressed stone for the foundation of The Temple.
18 Solomon and Hiram's construction workers, assisted by the men of Gebal, cut and prepared the timber and stone for building The Temple.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.