1 Kings 5:15

15 Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills,

1 Kings 5:15 in Other Translations

15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;

15 Solomon also had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country,

15 Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers, 80,000 quarry workers in the hill country,

15 Solomon also had 70,000 unskilled workers and another 80,000 stonecutters up in the hills

15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains;

15 Solomon had 70,000 men who carried heavy loads, 70,000 who quarried stone in the mountains,

15 Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains,

15 Solomon had 70,000 people who carried things. He had 80,000 who cut stones in the hills.

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 King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel—thirty thousand men.

14 He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.

15 Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills,

16 as well as thirty-three hundred foremen who supervised the project and directed the workers.

17 At the king’s command they removed from the quarry large blocks of high-grade stone to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple.