1 Kings 5:15

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 forced men from all over Israel to work hard for him. There were 30,000 of them.

14 He sent them off to Lebanon in groups of 10,000 each month. They spent one month in Lebanon. Then they spent two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the people who were forced to work.

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

16 He had 3,300 men who were in charge of the project. They also directed the workers.

17 The people did what the king commanded. They removed large blocks of fine stone from a rock pit. They used them to provide a foundation for the temple.