1 Kings 5:17

17 And the king commanded that they should bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the temple, and should square them:

1 Kings 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 Kings 5:17 In-Context

15 And Solomon had seventy thousand to carry burdens, and eighty thousand to hew stones in the mountain:

16 Besides the overseers who were over every work, in number three thousand and three hundred, that ruled over the people, and them that did the work.

17 And the king commanded that they should bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the temple, and should square them:

18 And the masons of Solomon, and the masons of Hiram, hewed them: and the Giblians prepared timber and stones to build the house.