1 Kings Chapter 7  (Original 1611 KJV Bible)

7:1 House - The royal palace for himself, and for his successors.Thirteen years - Almost double the time to that in which the temple wasbuilt; because neither were the materials so far provided and prepared forthis, as they were for the temple: nor did either he or his people use thesame diligence in this, as in the other work; to which they were quickenedby God's express command.

7:2 Of the forest of Lebanon - An house so called, because it wasbuilt in the forest of Lebanon, for a summer - seat, whither Solomon,having so many chariots and horses, might at any time retire with ease.The length - Of the principal mansion; to which doubtless other buildingswere adjoining. Pillars - Upon which the house was built, and betweenwhich there were four stately walks. Beams - Which were laid for thefloor of the second story.

7:3 Fifteen - So in this second story were only three rows of pillars,which was sufficient for the ornament of the second and for the support ofthe third story.

7:4 Against light - One directly opposite to the other, as is usual inwell - contrived buildings. In ranks - One exactly under another.

7:5 Windows - He speaks, of smaller windows or lights, which were overthe several doors.

7:6 A porch - Supported by divers pillars, for the more magnificententrance into the house; upon which also it is thought there were otherrooms built, as in the house. The porch - Now mentioned which is saidto be before them; before the pillars on which the house of Lebanonstood. Pillars - Or, and pillars; That is, fewer and lesser pillarsfor the support of the lesser porch. Beam - Which was laid upon thesepillars, as the others were ver.#2|.

7:7 A porch - Another porch or distinct room without the house.The other - The whole floor; or, from floor to floor, from the lowerfloor on the ground, to the upper floor which covered it.

7:8 Another court - That is, between the porch and the house,called therefore the middle court, chap.#2Ki 20:4|.Like this - Not for form or quantity, but for the materials andworkmanship, the rooms being covered with cedar, and furnished withlike ornaments.

7:9 These - Buildings described here and in the former chapter.The measures - Hewed in such measure and proportion as exact workmenuse to hew ordinary stones. Within, &c. - Both on the inside of thebuildings which were covered with cedar, and on the outside also.To the coping - From the bottom to the top of the building.And so on - Not only on the outside of the front of the house, whichbeing most visible, men are more careful to adorn; but also of theother side of the house, which looked towards the great court belongingto the king's house.

7:11 Above - That is, in the upper part; for this is opposed to thefoundation. Stones and cedars - Intermixed the one, and the other.

7:12 The court - Namely, of Solomon's dwelling - house mentioned,ver.#8|.

7:14 In brass - And Of gold, and stone, and purple, and blue,#2Chron 2:14|.But only his skill in brass is here mentioned, because he speaks onlyof the brasen things which he made.

7:16 Five cubits - The word chapiter is taken either more largelyfor the whole, so it is five cubits; Or, more strictly, either for thepommels, as they are called, #2Chron 4:12|, or for the cornice orcrown, and so it was but three cubits, to which the pomegranates beingadded make it four cubits, as it is below, ver.#19|, and the otherwork upon it took up one cubit more, which in all made five cubits.

7:17 The chapiters - Which those nets and wreathes encompass, eithercovering, and as it were receiving and holding the pomegranates, or beingmixed with them.

7:18 Two rows - Either of pomegranates, by comparing this withver.#20|, or of some other curious work.

7:19 Lilly work - Made like the leaves of lillies.In the porch - Or, as in the porch; such work as there was in theporch of the temple, in which these pillars were set, ver.#21|, thatso the work of the tops of these pillars might agree with that in the topof the porch.

7:20 The belly - So he calls the middle part of the chapiter, whichjetted farthest out. Two hundred - They are said to be ninety and sixon a side of a pillar; in one row and in all an hundred,#Jer 52:23|, four great pomegranates between the several checker - worksbeing added to the first ninety six. And it must needs be granted, thatthere were as many on the other side of the pillar, or in the other row,which makes them two hundred upon a pillar, as is here said, and fourhundred upon both pillars, as they are numbered, #2Chron 4:13|.

7:21 Jachin - Jachin signifies he; That is, God shallestablish, his temple, and church, and people: and Boaz signifies,in it, or rather, in him (to answer the he in the former name)is strength. So these pillars being eminently strong and stable, weretypes of that strength which was in God, and would be put forth by God forthe defending and establishing of his temple and people, if they werecareful to keep the conditions required by God on their parts.

7:23 A Sea - He melted the brass, and cast it into the form of a greatvessel, for its vastness called a sea, which name is given by theHebrews to all great collections of waters. The use of it was for thepriests to wash their hands and feet, or other things as occasion required,with the water which they drew out of it.

7:24 Knops - Carved or molten figures: for this word signifiesfigures or pictures of all sorts. Ten, &c. - So there were three hundredin all. Cast - Together with the sea; not carved. Two rows - It seemsdoubtful whether the second row had ten in each cubit, and so there werethree hundred more; or, whether the ten were distributed into five in eachrow.

7:25 Oxen - Of solid brass, which was necessary to bear so great aweight.

7:26 Baths - Which amounts to five hundred barrels, each bathcontaining about eight gallons; the bath being a measure of the samebigness with an ephah.

7:27 Bases - Upon which stood the ten lavers mentioned below,ver.#38|, in which they washed the parts of the sacrifices.

7:28 Borders - Broad brims, possibly for the more secure holding ofthe lavers.

7:29 Base above - So he calls the upper - most part of the base: forthough it was above, yet it was a base to the laver, which stood upon it.Additions - Either as bases for the feet of the said lions and oxen: or,only as farther ornaments.

7:30 Wheels - Whereby the bases and lavers might be removed from placeto place as need required. Under - setters - Heb. shoulders; fitly socalled, because they supported the lavers, that they should not fall fromtheir bases, when the bases were removed together with the lavers.

7:31 The mouth - So he calls that part in the top of the base whichwas left hollow, that the foot of the laver might be let into it.The chapiter - Within the little base, which he calls the chapiter,because it rose up from, and stood above the great base. Above - Abovethe chapiter; for the mouth went up, and grew wider like a funnel.A cubit - In height, ver.#35|, whereof half a cubit was above thechapiter or little base, and the other half below it.A cubit and half - In compass. Four square - So the innermost part,called the mouth, was round, but the outward part was square, as when acircle is made within a quadrangle.

7:33 Molten - And cast together with the bases.

7:34 Of the base - Not only of the same matter, but of the same piece,being cast with it.

7:36 The proportion - Or, empty place, that is, according to thebigness of the spaces which were left empty for them, implying that theywere smaller than those above mentioned.

7:39 Right side - In the south side, not within the house, but in thepriests court, where they washed either their hands or feet, or the partsof the sacrifices. Left side - On the north side. The south - In thesouth - east part, where the offerings were prepared.

7:45 The pots - To boil those parts of the sacrifices which thepriests, &c. were to eat.

7:48 Vessels - Such as Moses had made only these were larger,and richer, and more. Table of gold - Under which, are comprehendedboth all the utensils belonging to it, and the other ten tables whichhe made together with it.

7:49 Candlesticks - Which were ten, according to the number of thetables, whereas Moses made but one: whereby might be signified theprogress of the light of sacred truth, which was now grown clearer thanit was in Moses's time, and should shine brighter and brighter untilthe perfect day of gospel light. Pure gold - Of massy and fine gold.The oracle - In the holy place. Flowers - Wrought upon thecandlesticks, as it had formerly been.

7:51 Silver and gold - So much of it as was left.And vessels - Those which David had dedicated, and with them thealtar of Moses, and some other of the old utensils which were nowlaid aside, far better being put in the room of them.