New King James Version
1 Kings 5:17
17And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple.
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 Living Translation (NLT)At the king’s command, they quarried large blocks of high-quality stone and shaped them to make the foundation of the Temple.
Context of 1 Kings 5:17
15Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, 16besides three thousand three hundred from the chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple. 18So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.
Read all of 1 Kings 51 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 6:7And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
- 1 Kings 7:9All these were of costly stones cut to size, trimmed with saws, inside and out, from the foundation to the eaves, and also on the outside to the great court.
- 1 Chronicles 22:2So David commanded to gather the aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to cut hewn stones to build the house of God.
- Isaiah 28:16Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.
- 1 Corinthians 3:11For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
- 1 Peter 2:6Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
- Revelation 21:14Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
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
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries