1 Kings 7:15 - Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

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Bible Comments

The Furnishing And Embellishment Of The Temple (1 Kings 7:13-51).

The passage is divided into two parts. The first part emphasises that what is described was the work of Hiram, a skilled metalworker and carpenter from Tyre who was half Israelite, half Tyrian. He was called on to complete the furnishing and embellishing of the Temple for the Inner court. It will be noted that there is a deliberate attempt to parallel him with Bezalel, the craftsman who made the original Tabernacle furnishings and embellishments (Exodus 35:30-33), for he is described in similar terms. What is lacking is the idea that that he was filled with the Holy Spirit, or that he was a full-born Israelite. The second part describes all the furnishings for the new Sanctuary, for which overall credit is given to Solomon.

The whole passage is also divided into three subsections by the following closing phrases;

1). ‘So was the work of the pillars finished' (1 Kings 7:22). In the subsection up to this point we have described the making by Hiram of the two bronze pillars Yakin and Boaz which were clearly seen as of great importance. Interpreted they meant ‘He establishes' and ‘with strength'.

2). ‘So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he had wrought for king Solomon for the house of YHWH' (1 Kings 7:40). In the subsection up to this point we have a description of the making by Hiram of the molten sea, together with the ten lavers and many accompanying implements.

3). ‘Thus all the work that king Solomon wrought in the house of YHWH was finished' (1 Kings 7:51). This completes the passage and in this subsection we have described the full variety of the embellishments and furnishings of the Temple, including the ones crafted by Hiram, which Solomon had arranged for, and what they consisted of material-wise.

We can compare with this how in chapter 6 the passage was divided into three parts by the references to ‘he built the house and finished it' and its equivalents (1 Kings 6:9; 1 Kings 6:14; 1 Kings 6:38).

The first part of the passage, which refers to the activities of Hiram the Metalworker is also carefully crafted and can be analysed as follows:

a And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was the son of a widow 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 skill, to work all works in bronze (1 Kings 7:13-14 a)..

b And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work (1 Kings 7:14 b).

c The making of the two free standing pillars, Yakin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:15-22).

d The making of the molten Sea (1 Kings 7:23-26).

c The making of the ten large washing bowls of water (the lavers) (1 Kings 7:27-39).

b And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins (1 Kings 7:40 a).

a So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he wrought for king Solomon in the house of YHWH (1 Kings 7:40 b).

Note how in ‘a' Hiram wrought all Solomon's work for him, and in the parallel he made an end of all the work that he wrought for king Solomon. In ‘b' he came to king Solomon and wrought all his work, and in the parallel some of what he wrought is described. In ‘c' he made the two free standing pillars, and in the parallel he made the ten lavers. Centrally in ‘d' he made the molten Sea.

Related Commentaries of 1 Kings 7:13

1 Kings 7:13-51

13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hirame out of Tyre.

14 He was a widow'sf 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 castg 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:h 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 proportioni 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 sidej 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.k

40 And Hiraml 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 uponm 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 brightn 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 censerso 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.