1 Re 5:17

17 E per comandamento del re, si addussero pietre grandi, pietre fine, per fondar la Casa, e pietre pulite.

1 Re 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 Re 5:17 In-Context

15 Oltre a ciò, Salomone avea settantamila uomini da portar pesi; ed ottantamila che tagliavano pietre nel monte;

16 oltre a’ capi, e i commissari di Salomone, i quali erano sopra l’opera, in numero di tremila trecento, che, comandavano al popolo che lavorava all’opera.

17 E per comandamento del re, si addussero pietre grandi, pietre fine, per fondar la Casa, e pietre pulite.

18 Così i muratori di Salomone, e i muratori di Hiram, ed i Ghiblei, tagliarono, ed apparecchiarono il legname e le pietre, per edificar la Casa.