1 Kings 7:10-20

10 The foundation stones were huge, ranging in size from twelve to fifteen feet, and of the very best quality.
11 The finest stone was used above the foundation, shaped to size and trimmed with cedar.
12 The courtyard was enclosed with a wall made of three layers of stone and topped with cedar timbers, just like the one in the porch of The Temple of God.
13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and asked Hiram (not the king; another Hiram) to come.
14 Hiram's mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was a Tyrian and a master worker in bronze. Hiram was a real artist - he could do anything with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the bronze work.
15 First he cast two pillars in bronze, each twenty-seven feet tall and eighteen feet in circumference.
16 He then cast two capitals in bronze to set on the pillars; each capital was seven and a half feet high
17 and flared at the top in the shape of a lily. Each capital was dressed with an elaborate filigree of seven braided chains and a double row of two hundred pomegranates, setting the pillars off magnificently.

1 Kings 7:10-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 7

This chapter gives an account of some buildings of Solomon for himself, 1Ki 7:1-12; and of other things for the use of the temple; of two pillars of brass, 1Ki 7:13-22; of the molten sea, 1Ki 7:23-26; and of ten bases, and ten layers on them, 1Ki 7:27-39; with other utensils and ornaments, 1Ki 7:40-51.

Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.