Worship With Us Sunday School10 AM Sunday Morning11 AM Sunday Evening4 PM Thursday Night7 PM
1377 S 20th St, Louisville, KY 40210 Contact
True Words Baptist Church — Revelation 21:5
BOOK 11 OF 66 · HISTORY · KING JAMES BIBLE

1 Kings 7

1 Kings book home•Chapter 7 of 22•51 verses
Search 1 Kings
Aa  Reading settings
Text size
Reading width
Track chapter:
Chapter overviewAt a glance + deeper study
REVIEWED OVERVIEW

1 Kings 7 Overview

Solomon spends thirteen years building his palace complex, including the house of the forest of Lebanon and a house for Pharaoh’s daughter. The narrative then returns to the temple and introduces Hiram, a skilled brass worker from Tyre. He makes the pillars Jachin and Boaz, the molten sea, bases, lavers, and many vessels. Solomon finally brings in the treasures David had dedicated.

1 KingsBook
7Chapter
51Verses
HistoryDivision

Before you read 1 Kings 7

Coming from

Chapter 6 completed the temple structure after seven years of construction.

In this chapter

The chapter places royal buildings beside the temple and then equips the temple with its major bronze and gold furnishings.

Leads into

Chapter 8 brings the ark into the finished temple and records the dedication prayer and feast.

Key understandingExplore deeper

The thirteen years spent on Solomon’s house are often compared with the seven years on the temple, but the text does not directly explain his motive, so the contrast should not be overinterpreted. Hiram the craftsman is a different person from Hiram king of Tyre.

Major truths in this chapterExplore deeper

Truth 1

The monarchy now includes a substantial royal complex as well as the temple.

Truth 2

Skilled craftsmanship receives careful attention in sacred service.

Truth 3

Temple furnishings are functional as well as beautiful, supporting cleansing and sacrifice.

Truth 4

David’s earlier dedicated treasures finally enter the completed temple.

Connections to the rest of ScriptureExplore deeper

Connection 1

Exodus 30 and 40 give background for washing and tabernacle furnishings.

Connection 2

First Chronicles 28-29 describes David’s preparations and dedicated materials.

Connection 3

Second Kings 25 and Jeremiah 52 later describe Babylon carrying away many of these bronze objects.

What is clear, and where care is neededExplore deeper

Keep this clear 1

Do not confuse Hiram the craftsman with Hiram the king.

Keep this clear 2

The longer palace-building period may raise a question but does not by itself prove Solomon loved his palace more.

Keep this clear 3

Do not invent symbolic meanings for every pomegranate, lily, ox, or measurement.

Read 1 Kings 7 watching for…

The temple-versus-palace construction times.

The kinds of royal buildings listed.

The names and description of the pillars.

How the sea and lavers function.

The arrival of David’s dedicated treasures.

TWBC REVIEW STANDARD

Plain language. Scripture first. Fact distinguished from inference. No filler. No fake certainty. Designed to help you read the Bible itself.

Chapter outline6 sections
1-12Solomon builds his own house and other royal buildings13-22Hiram makes the two brass pillars23-26Hiram makes the molten sea27-39Ten bases and lavers are made40-47Hiram finishes the brass work for the temple48-51Solomon makes the golden furnishings and brings in the dedicated treasures
1

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

2

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

3

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

4

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

5

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

6

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

7

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

8

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

9

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

10

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

11

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

12

And the great court round about 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 porch of the house.

13

And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.

14

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

15

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

16

And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:

17

And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.

18

And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.

19

And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.

20

And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter.

21

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

22

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

23

And he made a molten 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 round about.

24

And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.

25

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.

26

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

27

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

28

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

29

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

30

And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition.

31

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

32

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.

33

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 molten.

34

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

35

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

36

For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about.

37

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

38

Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.

39

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 over against the south.

40

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

41

The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars;

42

And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars;

43

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

44

And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;

45

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

46

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

47

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

48

And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread was,

49

And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,

50

And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, 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, to wit, of the temple.

51

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.

STUDY THIS VERSE

1 Kings 7:46

Back to verse ↑

Cross References

Cross-reference storage is active. This passage does not yet have curated references loaded.

Related TWBC Resources

The Scripture resource graph is active. Sermons, Bible Overviews, courses, questions, and studies can attach here without changing the Bible text.

My Note

Sign in to keep private notes and personal verse tags.

Sign in →