1 Kings 5:18

1 Kings 5:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
• New International Version (NIV)The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram and workers from Byblos cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.

Context of 1 Kings 5:18

16besides 3,300 officials who supervised the workers. 17By royal order they supplied large valuable stones in order to build the temple’s foundation with chiseled stone. Solomon’s and Hiram’s construction workers, along with men from Byblos, did the chiseling and prepared the wood and stones for the building of the temple.

1 Kings 5:18 word by word

וַֽיִּפְסְל֞וּ בֹּנֵ֧י שְׁלֹמֹ֛ה וּבֹנֵ֥י חִיר֖וֹם וְהַגִּבְלִ֑ים וַיָּכִ֛ינוּ הָעֵצִ֥ים וְהָאֲבָנִ֖ים לִבְנ֥וֹת הַבָּֽיִת׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Solomon’sשְׁלֹמֹהshelômôh · SolomonH8010
• buildersבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• and Hiram’sחִירָםchîyrâm chîyrôm · HiramH2438
• did hewפָּסַלpâsal · to hewH6458
• and the stonesquarersגִּבְלִיgiblîy · GebaliteH1382
• so they preparedכּוּןkûn · to establish: prepareH3559
• timberעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
• and stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004

Cross-references for 1 Kings 5:18

• Joshua 13:5the territory of Byblos and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath.
• Psalms 83:7Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.
• Ezekiel 27:9The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were within you, mending cracks; all the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 5:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18And the stone-squarers - Instead of stone-squarers the margin very properly reads Giblites, הגבלים haggiblim ; and refers to Ezekiel 27:9, where we find the inhabitants of Gebal celebrated for their knowledge in ship-building. Some suppose that these Giblites were the inhabitants of Biblos, at the foot of Mount Libanus, northward of Sidon, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea; famous for its wines; and now called Gaeta. Both Ptolemy and Stephanus…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18The stone-squarers - The Gebalites (see the margin), the inhabitants of Gebal, a Phoenician city between Beyrout and Tripolis, which the Greeks called Byblus, and which is now known as Jebeil.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. 1818. and the stone squarers--The Margin, which renders it "the Giblites" (Jos 13:5), has long been considered a preferable translation. This marginal translation also must yield to another which has lately been proposed, by a slight change in the Hebrew text, and which would be rendered thus: "Solomon's builders, and Hiram's builders, did hew them and bevel them" [Thenius]. These great bevelled or grooved stones, measuring some twenty, others thirty feet…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 5:18

• Gebal
• Stones
• Temple

In the dictionaries

• Building
• Gebalites
• Levy
• Mason
• Phenicia
• Solomon
• Alliance
• Commerce
• Gebal
• Hiram

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