Solomon Worships at Gibeon

1 Solomon the son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

² Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and to the judges and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ (ancestors’) households. ³ Then Solomon and all the assembly went to the high place at Gibeon [to offer sacrifices, where the Canaanites had habitually worshiped], for God’s Tent of Meeting was there, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness. ⁴ But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. ⁵ Now the bronze altar, which Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was there before the tabernacle of the Lord, and Solomon and the assembly sought it out. ⁶ And Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord at the Tent of Meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

⁷ That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I shall give to you.”

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

⁸ Then Solomon said to God, “You have shown great lovingkindness and mercy to my father David, and have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, O Lord God, Your promise to my father David is fulfilled, for You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Give me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may go out and come in [performing my duties] before this people, for [otherwise] who can rule and administer justice to this great people of Yours?” ¹¹ God replied to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart and you did not ask for riches, possessions or honor and personal glory, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself so that you may rule and administer justice to My people over whom I have made you king, ¹² wisdom and knowledge have been granted you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed nor will those who will come after you.” ¹³ So Solomon went from the high place at Gibeon, from the Tent of Meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.

Solomon’s Wealth

¹⁴ Solomon acquired chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the cities [suited for the use] of chariots and with the king at Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The king made silver and gold as plentiful and common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as plentiful as the ^[a]sycamore-fig trees in the lowland. ¹⁶ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from ^[b]Kue. The king’s merchants purchased them [in large numbers] from Kue ^[c]at a price. ¹⁷ And they imported chariots from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver apiece, and horses for 150 apiece; and in the same way they exported horses to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Arameans (Syrians).

Solomon Will Build a Temple and Palace

2 ^[d]Now Solomon decided to build a house (temple) for the Name of the Lord, and a royal palace for himself. ^2 [e]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 ^[f]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 ^[g]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 ^[h]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 ^[i]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 ^[j]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).