1 Kings 5:17

17 And the king commanded, and they hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought 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 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains;

16 besides Solomon's chief officers that were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

17 And the king commanded, and they hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought stone.

18 And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.