1 Kings 5:15

15 And Solomon had seventy thousand that bore burdens, and eighty thousand hewers in the mountains;

1 Kings 5:15 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 5:15

And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens,
&c.] Seventy thousand to carry the stones from the mountains out of which they were dug, and which were near Jerusalem, to the city; these were strangers in Israel, as were those that follow:

and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains:
eighty thousand that dug the stones out of the quarries, and squared them; these, with the others, made 150,000, see ( 2 Chronicles 2:17 ) ; according to Jacob Leon ^F7, the number of workmen at the temple for seven years was 163,600, and some make them more.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Relation of Memorable Things in the Temple, ch. 3. p. 14.

1 Kings 5:15 In-Context

13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.

14 And he sent them to Lebanon ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, [and] two months at home. And Adoniram [was] over the levy.

15 And Solomon had seventy thousand that bore burdens, and eighty thousand hewers in the mountains;

16 Besides the chief of Solomon's officers who [were] over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who ruled over the people that wrought in the work.

17 And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, [and] hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.