1 Kings 6:7

7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

1 Kings 6:7 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
English Standard Version (ESV)
7 When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.
New Living Translation (NLT)
7 The stones used in the construction of the Temple were finished at the quarry, so there was no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site.
The Message Bible (MSG)
7 The stone blocks for the building of The Temple were all dressed at the quarry so that the building site itself was reverently quiet - no noise from hammers and chisels and other iron tools.
American Standard Version (ASV)
7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
7 The temple was built with stone blocks that were finished at the quarry. No hammer, chisel, or any other iron tool made a sound at the temple construction site.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
7 The temple's construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
7 All of the stones that were used for building the temple were shaped where they were cut. So hammers, chisels and other iron tools couldn't be heard where the temple was being built.

1 Kings 6:7 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 6:7

And the house, when it was in building
And all the while it was building:

was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither;
being hewn or squared by the builders and stonesquarers of Solomon and Hiram, ( 1 Kings 5:18 ) ; wherefore the builders had nothing more to do than to lay them in their proper places in the building; it was built with these stones quite up to the ceiling, as Josephus says F20; and these so admirably polished, and so artificially joined together, that not the least sign of an axe, or of any working tool, could be discerned in them:

so that there was neither hammer, nor axe, [nor] any tool of iron,
heard in the house while it was in building;
the first of these observations shows, that none are to be laid in the spiritual building of the church, but such as are first hewed and squared by the Spirit, grace, and word of God: or who have an experience of the grace of God, are sound in the faith, and of becoming lives and good conduct; and the other denotes, that such as are therein, whether ministers or members, should do all they do for the edification of the church in a quiet and peaceable manner, without clamour, contention, fights, and tumults.


FOOTNOTES:

F20 Antiqu. l. 8. c. 3. sect. 2.

1 Kings 6:7 In-Context

5 Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.
6 The lowest floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits and the third floor seven. He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.
7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.
8 The entrance to the lowest floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third.
9 So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar planks.

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Exodus 20:25
  • 2. S Deuteronomy 27:5
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