1 Kings 5:17

1 Kings 5:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.
• New International Version (NIV)At the king’s command they removed from the quarry large blocks of high-grade stone to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple.
• English Standard Version (ESV)At the king's command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple.

Context of 1 Kings 5:17

15Solomon had 70,000 burden bearers (transporters) and 80,000 stonemasons in the hill country [of Judah], 16besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the project and who were in charge of the people doing the work. The king gave orders, and they quarried great stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house (temple) with cut stones. 18So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the men of Gebal cut and chiseled the stones, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house (temple).

1 Kings 5:17 word by word

וַיְצַ֣ו הַמֶּ֡לֶךְ וַיַּסִּעוּ֩ אֲבָנִ֨ים גְּדֹל֜וֹת אֲבָנִ֧ים יְקָר֛וֹת לְיַסֵּ֥ד הַבָּ֖יִת אַבְנֵ֥י גָזִֽית׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
• and they broughtנָסַעnâsa‛ · to set outH5265
• greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• costlyיָקָרyâqâr · preciousH3368
• hewedגָּזִיתgâzîyth · cuttingH1496
• to lay the foundationיָסַדyâsad · to foundH3245
• of the houseבֵּיתbayith · betweenH1004

Cross-references for 1 Kings 5:17

• 1 Kings 6:7While 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.
• 1 Kings 7:9All these were of expensive stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great courtyard.
• 1 Chronicles 22:2So David gave orders to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he assigned stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God.
• Isaiah 28:16Therefore the Lord God says this, “Listen carefully, I am laying in Zion a Stone, a tested Stone, A precious Cornerstone for the [secure] foundation, firmly placed. He who believes [who trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone] will not be disturbed or give way [in sudden panic].
• 1 Corinthians 3:11for no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ.
• 1 Peter 2:6For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen stone, a precious (honored) Cornerstone, And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will never be disappointed [in his expectations].”
• Revelation 21:14And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Christ).

Commentaries on 1 Kings 5:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Great stones - Stones of very large dimensions. Costly stones - Stones that cost much labor and time to cut them out of the rock. Hewed stones - Everywhere squared and polished.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Some of these “great, hewed (no and) stones,” are probably still to be seen in the place where they were set by Solomon‘s builders, at the southwestern angle of the wall of the Haram area in the modern Jerusalem. The largest found so far is 38 ft. 9 in. long, and weighs about 100 tons.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-18Verses 10-18 The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men. And happy those who, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-18Workers likely cut large, high-quality stone blocks to size (see 1 Kings 7:10) in a quarry near Jerusalem (6:7). Handling these massive stones probably led Solomon to start using forced labor. The craftsmen included men from Gebal (Byblos), a port known for exporting timber, according to ancient Egyptian inscriptions.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. brought great stones--The stone of Lebanon is "hard, calcareous, whitish and sonorous, like free stone" [Shaw]. The same white and beautiful stone can be obtained in every part of Syria and Palestine. hewed stones--or neatly polished, as the Hebrew word signifies (Ex 20:25). Both Jewish and Tyrian builders were employed in hewing these great stones.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 5:17

• House
• Stones
• Temple

In the dictionaries

• Levy
• Mason
• Phenicia
• Solomon
• Alliance
• Commerce
• Kings, Books of
• Tax; Taxing
• Temple
• Tyre

Commentaries on 1 Kings 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings