1 Kings 5:15

15 Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters 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 Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.

14 He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of 10,000 men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.

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

16 not including his 3,300 foremen who supervised the workers.

17 And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.