The Lantern

I Kings7

Solomon’s Palace Complex

But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.

He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was a hundred cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.

And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row.

And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks.

And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks.

And he made a portico of pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits: and the portico was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.

Then he made a portico for the throne where he might judge, even the portico of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.

And his house where he dwelt had another court within the portico, which was of the like work. Solomon made also a house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like to this portico.

All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.

And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.

And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars.

And the great court around was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the portico of the house.

The Pillars and Capitals

And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.

He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and skilled to work all works in bronze. And he came to king Solomon, and worked all his work.

For he cast two pillars of bronze, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.

And he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits:

And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the capitals upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital, and seven for the other capital.

And he made the pillars, and two rows around upon the one latticework, to cover the capitals upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other capital.

And the capitals upon the top of the pillars were of lily design in the portico, four cubits.

And the capitals upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, opposite the belly which was by the latticework: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows around upon the other capital.

And he set up the pillars in the portico of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz.

And upon the top of the pillars was lily design: so was the work of the pillars finished.

The Molten Sea

And he made a cast metal sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it all around.

And under the brim of it all around there were gourds compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea all around: the gourds were cast in two rows, when it was cast.

It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

And it was a hand breadth thick, and its brim was worked like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.

The Ten Bronze Stands

And he made ten bases of bronze; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits its breadth, and three cubits the height of it.

And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges:

And on the borders between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.

And every base had four bronze wheels, and plates of bronze: and its four corners had undersetters: under the basin were undersetters cast, at the side of every addition.

And the mouth of it within the capital and above was a cubit: but its mouth was round after the work of the base, a cubit and a half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.

And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all cast.

And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself.

And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of its base the ledges and its borders were of the same.

For on its plates of the ledges, and on its borders, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions all around.

After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size.

The Ten Bronze Basins

Then he made ten basins of bronze: one basin contained forty baths: and every basin was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one basin.

And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward opposite the south.

Completion of the Bronze Works

And Hiram made the basins, and the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD:

The two pillars, and the two bowls of the capitals on the top of the two pillars; and the two latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals upon the top of the pillars;

And four hundred pomegranates for the two latticework, even two rows of pomegranates for one latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals upon the pillars;

And the ten bases, and ten basins on the bases;

And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;

And the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright bronze.

In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.

And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the bronze found out.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained to the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the bread of the Presence was,

And the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the inner sanctuary, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,

And the bowls, and the wick trimmers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, namely, of the temple.

So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.