1 Kings · chapter 7 of 22
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1 Kings 7 describes Solomon's other buildings, chiefly his palace, which took thirteen years, and then the bronze work done for the temple by the craftsman Hiram of Tyre. Hiram cast the two pillars called Jachin and Boaz, the great molten sea resting on twelve oxen, ten stands with their basins and other vessels. Solomon placed in the temple treasury what his father David had dedicated.
After describing the temple in 1 Kings 6, the narrator devotes a chapter to Solomon's other works and the bronze furnishings of the temple. The contrast between the seven years of the temple and the thirteen of the palace, and the wealth of the vessels, shows the prosperity of the reign and also prepares reflection on where Solomon sets his heart.
The chapter opens with the buildings Solomon made for himself. He built his own house in thirteen years, including the House of the Forest of Lebanon, a great hall with rows of cedar pillars, a porch, and a hall of the throne where he gave judgment. He also built a house for Pharaoh's daughter, his wife. All these works used costly stones cut to size and sawed on all sides, from the foundation to the eaves.
The craftsman Hiram is then introduced, the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali and of a father from Tyre, a man full of wisdom and skill in working bronze. Hiram cast the two bronze pillars for the porch of the temple, their capitals adorned with networks, chains and pomegranates. He named the pillar on the right Jachin and the one on the left Boaz. He also made the molten sea, a great round basin ten cubits across resting on twelve oxen.
He then made ten stands with wheels and ten bronze basins used in the temple for washing what was offered in the burnt offerings, along with pots, shovels and bowls. All was cast in the plain of the Jordan, and there was so much bronze that its weight could not be measured. Solomon also made the gold vessels of the temple: the altar, the table, the lampstands and the hinges of the doors. When it was done, he brought into the treasury of the house of the Lord the silver, gold and vessels that his father David had dedicated.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Solomon took thirteen years to finish his own house. The detail, compared with the seven years of the temple, shows the scale of the royal works and the wealth of the kingdom.
Hiram, the craftsman from Tyre, is full of wisdom, understanding and skill in working bronze. The text honors the value of craft skills, which God uses for his house.
The two pillars are set up at the porch of the temple, the one on the right named Jachin and the one on the left Boaz. They stood like a monumental gateway before the house of God.
With all the work finished, Solomon brings into the house of the Lord what his father David had dedicated: silver, gold and vessels. What one generation prepared is handed over in the next for the worship of God.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Thirteen years. — 1 Kings 7:1
Answer: The House of the Forest of Lebanon. — 1 Kings 7:2
Answer: A craftsman from Tyre, the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, full of wisdom and skill in working bronze. — 1 Kings 7:13-14
Answer: Jachin, the one on the right, and Boaz, the one on the left. — 1 Kings 7:21
Answer: Twelve bronze oxen, three facing each direction. — 1 Kings 7:25
Answer: He placed it in the treasuries of the house of the Lord. — 1 Kings 7:51
The chapter honors the work of a craftsman: Hiram uses the wisdom and skill he has to serve the Lord. We often think only the ministry of the Word counts as service, but practical gifts such as music, cooking, building or administration are also part of God's house. In a small group, identify what skills you have among you and how to put them at the church's service.
At the same time, it is worth asking about priorities. The text notes soberly that Solomon devoted more years to his palace than to the temple. Review where you invest the most time and resources, and whether what belongs to God comes first.
1 Kings 7 leaves the temple ready with all its vessels and with what David dedicated. In 1 Kings 8, the ark of the covenant enters the temple and Solomon dedicates the house to the Lord with a prayer that marks the center of the book.
The text does not explain their meaning. Many interpreters understand Jachin as 'he establishes' and Boaz as 'in him is strength,' but these are interpretations. What is certain is that the pillars were monumental and marked the entrance to the house of the Lord.
It was a great bronze water basin in the temple court. The priests used it for washing, as explained in other passages. Its description in this chapter highlights the skill of the craftsmen more than its use.
The objects showed that worship in Israel followed an order and that everything needed to serve God had been carefully prepared. For the original readers it was also a reminder of the glory of the temple that would later be lost in the exile.