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 men who carried heavy loads, 70,000 who quarried stone in the mountains, 16and 3,300 foremen who were in charge of the workers. The king commanded them to quarry large, expensive blocks of stone in order to provide a foundation of cut stone for the temple. 18Solomon’s workmen, Hiram’s workmen, and men from Gebal quarried the stone and prepared the logs and stone to build the 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 6:7The temple was built with stone blocks that were finished at the quarry. No hammer, chisel, or any other iron tool made a sound at the temple construction site.
• 1 Kings 7:9From the foundation to the roof, all these buildings, including the large courtyard, were built with high-grade stone blocks. The stone blocks were cut to size and trimmed with saws on their inner and outer faces.
• 1 Chronicles 22:2David ordered the foreigners living in Israel to gather. He appointed some of them to cut stones to build God’s temple.
• Isaiah 28:16This is what the Almighty Lord says: I am going to lay a rock in Zion, a rock that has been tested, a precious cornerstone, a solid foundation. Whoever believes ⌞in him⌟ will not worry.
• 1 Corinthians 3:11After all, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that foundation is Jesus Christ.
• 1 Peter 2:6That is why Scripture says, “I am laying a chosen and precious cornerstone in Zion, and the person who believes in him will never be ashamed.”
• Revelation 21:14The wall of the city had 12 foundations. The 12 names of the 12 apostles of the lamb were written on them.

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