1 Kings 7:1-11

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 7:1-12

Never had any man so much of the spirit of building as Solomon had, nor to better purpose; he began with the temple, built for God first, and then all his other buildings were comfortable. The surest foundations of lasting prosperity are those which are laid in an early piety, Matt. 6:33. 1. He built a house for himself (1 Kgs. 7:1), where he dwelt, 1 Kgs. 7:8. His father had built a good house; but it was no reflection upon his father for him to build a better, in proportion to the estate... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:1

But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years ,.... He made more haste with the house of God than with his own, for that was but seven years in building; which showed greater regard to the honour of God then to his own glory, or even convenience; nor was this built till after that: and finished all his house ; or houses he undertook to build, the singular for the plural; even the house of God, his own palace, and that for the daughter of Pharaoh, and that which is next mentioned,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:2

He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon ,.... Besides the temple, his own palace, and the queen's; so called, not because it was built on Mount Lebanon, which lay at the northern border of the land, at a great distance from Jerusalem, whereas this was both a magazine of arms, and a court of judicature, 1 Kings 7:7 ; see 1 Kings 10:17 ; neither of which can be supposed to be far from Jerusalem; but because not only it was built of the cedars of Lebanon, but in a situation, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:3

And it was covered with cedar above the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row. On the second floor were three rows of pillars, fifteen in a row, which made forty five, that stood to east, north, and south; and upon these pillars beams, which were the floor of the third story, over which was a roof of cedar wood. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:4

And there were windows in three rows ,.... Both in the second and third stories, east, north, and south, there being none in the west, where the porch stood: and light was against light in three ranks ; or the windows, through which light was let, answered to each other. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:5

And all the doors and posts were square with the windows ,.... The doors into the several stories and apartments, and the posts and lintel of them, and the windows over them, were all square: and light was against light in three ranks ; they answered one another as before. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:6

And he made a porch of pillars ,.... At the west end of the house: and the length thereof was fifty cubits ; answerable to the breadth of the house: and the breadth thereof thirty cubits : which, added to the length of the house, made it one hundred and thirty: and the porch was before them ; the four rows of cedar pillars of the house, 1 Kings 7:2 this porch was either for his guards to keep watch in; or for his courtiers to walk in, sheltered from rain or the like; or perhaps... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:7

Then he made a porch for the throne ,.... The ivory throne on which he sat to hear and try causes, 1 Kings 10:18 , where he might judge, even the porch of judgment : which had its name from thence; this was either in his house in the forest of Lebanon, or in his palace at Jerusalem; the former seems best: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor unto the other ; that is, the whole floor. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:8

And his house where he dwelt ,.... Which was properly his dwellingplace, that part of the house where he usually resided: had another court within the porch, which was of the like work ; a court between that and the porch, called the inner court, 2 Kings 20:4 . Solomon made also a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife ; see 1 Kings 3:1 , like unto this porch : being built of the same sort of materials, though in a different form. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:9

All these were of costly stones ,.... Marble, porphyry, &c.; according to the measure of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without ; they were all hewed, and squared, and polished, and so they appeared both on the inside of the building, and without: even from the foundation unto the coping ; from the bottom to the top: and so on the outside toward the great court : where the people used to assemble when they had causes to be tried, and was adjoining to the king's... read more

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