Alliance with King Hiram

5 Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend of David. ² Then Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, ³ “You know that David my father could not build a house (temple) for the Name (Presence) of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.^{(A) 4} But now that the Lord my God has given me rest [from war] on every side, there is neither adversary nor misfortune [confronting me]. ⁵ Behold, I intend to build a house (temple) to the Name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord said to my father David: ‘Your son whom I will put on your throne in your place shall build the house for My Name and Presence.’ ⁶ So now, command that they cut cedar trees from Lebanon for me, and my servants will join your servants, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants. For you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the men of Sidon.”

⁷ When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given David a wise son [to be king] over this great people.” ⁸ So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you sent to me; I will do everything you wish concerning the cedar and cypress timber. ⁹ My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the [Mediterranean] sea, and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea to the place (port) that you direct me; then I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then you shall ^[a]return the favor by providing food for my household.” ¹⁰ So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and cypress timber he desired, ¹¹ and Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 ^[b]kors of wheat as food for his household, and 20 kors of pure [olive] oil. Solomon gave all these to Hiram each year. ¹² The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, just as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

Conscription of Laborers

¹³ King Solomon levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered 30,000 men. ¹⁴ He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced laborers. ¹⁵ Solomon had 70,000 burden bearers (transporters) and 80,000 stonemasons in the hill country [of Judah], ¹⁶ besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the project and who were in charge of the people doing the work. ¹⁷ The king gave orders, and they quarried great ^[c]stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house (temple) with cut stones. ¹⁸ So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the men of ^[d]Gebal cut and chiseled the stones, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house (temple).

The Building of the Temple

6 ^[e]Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv (April-May) which is the second month, that he began to build the Lord’s house (temple). ² The length of the house which King Solomon built for the Lord was ^[f]sixty cubits (90 ft.), its width twenty (30 ft.), and its height thirty cubits (45 ft.). ³ The porch in front of the main room of the house (temple) was twenty cubits long, corresponding to the width of the house, and its depth in front of the house was ten cubits. ⁴ He also made framed (artistic) window openings for the house. ⁵ Against the wall of the house he built ^[g]extensions around the walls of the house, around both the main room (Holy Place) and the ^[h]Holy of Holies; and he made side chambers all around. ⁶ The lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made offsets (niches) in the walls all around on the outside of the house so that the supporting beams would not be inserted into the walls of the house.

⁷ While it was being built, the house was built of stone prepared and finished (precut) at the quarry, and no hammer, axe, or iron tool of any kind was heard in the house while it was under construction.

⁸ The entrance to the lowest side chamber was on the right [or south] side of the house; and they would go up winding stairs to the middle [level], and from the middle to the third. ⁹ So Solomon built the house (temple) and finished it, and roofed the house with beams and boards of cedar. ¹⁰ Then he built the extensions [of rooms] against the entire house, each [story] five cubits high; and they were attached to the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying, ¹² “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My precepts and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word (promises) with you which I made to David your father. ¹³ I will dwell among the sons (descendants) of Israel, and will not abandon My people Israel.”

¹⁴ So Solomon built the house (temple) and finished it. ¹⁵ He built the walls of the interior of the house [that is, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies] with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the rafters of the ceiling. He overlaid the interior with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress. ¹⁶ He built twenty cubits on the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling; he built its interior as the [inner] sanctuary, the Holy of Holies. ¹⁷ The [rest of the] house, that is, the temple in front of the Holy of Holies, was forty cubits long. ¹⁸ The cedar on the house within had wood carvings in the shape of gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was visible. ¹⁹ Then he prepared the Holy of Holies within the house in order to put the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. ²⁰ The Holy of Holies was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height (a cube), and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar [with gold]. ²¹ Solomon overlaid the interior of the house with pure gold, and he drew ^[i]chains of gold across the front of the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary), and he overlaid it with gold. ²² Then he overlaid the entire house with gold, until the whole house was finished. He also overlaid the entire [incense] altar which was by the Holy of Holies with gold.

²³ Within the Holy of Holies he made two ^[j]cherubim (sculptured figures) of olive wood, each ten cubits high. ^24 [k]One wing of the cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was also five cubits long; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. ²⁵ The [wingspan of the] other cherub was also ten cubits. The measurements and cut (shape) of the two cherubim were the same; ²⁶ the height of the one cherub was ten cubits, as was the other. ²⁷ He put the cherubim [above the ark] inside the innermost room of the house, and their wings were spread out so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall; and their inner wings were touching ^[l]each other in the middle of the house. ²⁸ Solomon also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ He carved all the walls of the house all around with carved engravings of cherubim, palm-shaped decorations, and open flowers, [both] the inner and the outer sanctuaries. ³⁰ He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, [both] the inner and outer sanctuaries.

³¹ For the entrance of the Holy of Holies he made two [folding] doors of olive wood, the lintel (header above the door) and five-sided doorposts (frames). ³² So he made two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm-shaped decorations, and open flowers; and overlaid them with gold; and he hammered out overlays of gold on the cherubim and palm decorations.

³³ Also he made for the entrance of the [outer] sanctuary (the Holy Place) four-sided doorposts (frames) of olive wood ³⁴ and two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots and were folding, and the two leaves of the other door also turned on pivots. ³⁵ He carved cherubim, palm-shaped decorations, and open flowers on the doors, and overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. ³⁶ He built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

³⁷ In the fourth year [of King Solomon’s reign] the foundation of the Lord’s house was laid, in the [second] month, Ziv (April-May). ³⁸ In the eleventh year [of King Solomon’s reign] in the month of Bul (October-November), that is, the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and in accordance with all its specifications. So he built it in seven years.

Solomon Will Build a Temple and Palace

2 ^[a]Now Solomon decided to build a house (temple) for the Name of the Lord, and a royal palace for himself. ^2 [b]So Solomon assigned 70,000 men to carry loads, 80,000 men to quarry stone in the mountains, and 3,600 to supervise them.

³ Then Solomon sent word to ^[c]Hiram king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with my father David and sent him cedars to build himself a house in which to live, [please] do the same for me. ⁴ Observe, I am about to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God, dedicated to Him, to burn fragrant incense [of sweet spices] before Him, to set out the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on Sabbaths, New Moons, and on the festivals of the Lord our God, as ordained forever in Israel. ⁵ The house I am going to build will be great, for our God is greater than all the gods. ⁶ But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and [even] the highest heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I to build a house for Him, except [as a place] to burn incense before Him? ⁷ Now send me a man who is skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided. ⁸ Send me also cedar, cypress, and ^[d]algum timber, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. And indeed my servants will work with your servants ⁹ to prepare for me an abundance of timber, because the house I am about to build will be great and wonderful. ¹⁰ And I will give to your servants who cut timber, 20,000 ^[e]measures of crushed wheat and 20,000 measures of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of [olive] oil.”

Hiram to Assist

¹¹ Then Hiram, king of Tyre replied in a letter sent to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.” ¹² Hiram said also, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who will build a house for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

¹³ “Now I am sending a skilled man, endowed with understanding, Huram-abi, ¹⁴ the son of a ^[f]Danite woman and a Tyrian father. He is trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood; in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics, and in fine linen. He is able to make any kind of engraving and to carry out any design given him. He will work with your skilled men and those of my lord, David your father. ¹⁵ Now then, let my lord send to his servants the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine of which he has spoken. ¹⁶ We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may take it up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷ Then Solomon took a count of all the aliens in the land of Israel, like the census that his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. ¹⁸ He assigned 70,000 of them to carry loads and 80,000 to quarry stone in the mountain, and 3,600 as overseers to make the people work.

The Temple Construction in Jerusalem

3 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared to his father David, in the place that David had prepared, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.^{(A) 2} Solomon began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

Dimensions and Materials of the Temple

³ Now this is the [measurement of the] foundation which Solomon laid for the house of God: the length in cubits—by the old standard of measure—was sixty cubits (90 ft.), and the width was twenty cubits (30 ft.). ⁴ The porch in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it inside with pure gold. ⁵ He overlaid the main room [the Holy Place] with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with palm trees and chains. ⁶ And he adorned the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim. ⁷ He also overlaid the house [the Holy Place] with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

⁸ Now he made the room of the Holy of Holies: its length equaling the width of the house was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with 600 talents of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

¹⁰ And in the Holy of Holies he made two sculptured cherubim, and overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits: one wing of one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the other cherub’s wing. ¹² The wing of the other cherub, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house; and its other wing of five cubits touched the wing of the first cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, their faces toward the Holy Place (the main room). ¹⁴ He made the veil [between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies] of blue, purple, and crimson colors, and ^[g]fine linen, and embroidered cherubim on it.

¹⁵ He also made two pillars for the front of the house, thirty-five cubits high, and the capital on the top of each one was five cubits. ¹⁶ He made chains [like a necklace] in the inner sanctuary and put them on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. ¹⁷ He erected the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right, the other on the left, and named the one on the right Jachin (may He establish) and the one on the left Boaz (in Him is strength).