1 Kings 7:9 NIV

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 7:9

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 7:9

All these [ i.e. buildings ,palaces] were of costly [or precious; cf. 1 Kings 5:1-18 :31 and 1 Kings 5:10 , 1 Kings 5:11 ] stones, according to the measures of hewed stones [lit; of squaring or hewing , same word in 1 Kings 5:1-18 :31 (Hebrews), 1 Kings 6:36 , and Isaiah 9:9 , etc. All the stones in these several buildings were shaped to certain specified dimensions], sawed with saws [ גָּרַר is obviously an onomatopoetic word, like our saw. Gesenius cites... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 7:9

The stones were uniform - all cut to certain fixed measures of length, breadth, and thickness. They were not squared only on the face which showed, but also on the sides which fell within the wall and were not seen. Saws appear in Assyrian sculptures of the age of Sennacherib; and fragments of an iron saw have been found at Nimrud. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 7:9

1 Kings 7:9 . All these were of costly stones Namely, the buildings described here, and in the former chapter. According to the measures of hewed stones Either, 1st, Which were hewed in such measure and proportion, as exact workmen use in hewing ordinary stones: or, 2d, As large as hewed stones commonly are, which are often very great. Sawed them with saws, within and without Both on the inside of the buildings, which were covered with cedar, and on the outside also. From the... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:1-12

Construction of other buildings (7:1-12)After finishing the temple, Solomon moved on to the next part of his building program. This was the building of a magnificent palace that took thirteen years (7:1). He also built many other expensive buildings in this national showpiece. The House of the Forest of Lebanon, so called because of its three rows of cedar pillars, was apparently a military headquarters and weapons storehouse (2-5; cf. 10:17; Isaiah 22:8). The Hall of Pillars was probably a... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Kings 7:9

sawed with saws. Figure of speech Ployptoton . App-6 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Kings 7:9

MORE DETAILS REGARDING CONSTRUCTION"All these were of costly stones, even of hewn stone, according to measure, sawed with saws within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside unto the great court. And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. And above were costly stones, even hewn stone, according to measure, and cedar-wood. And the great court round about had three courses of hewn stone, and a... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Kings 7:1-12

3. Solomon’s palace 7:1-12Solomon’s palace complex took longer to build than the temple because it was much larger. The king evidently completed the temple and then began work on his palace (cf. 1 Kings 9:10). Solomon seems to have built several separate but interconnected buildings. A large common courtyard evidently surrounded the temple and the palace (1 Kings 7:12). A similar view is that the palace was one structure and the other buildings were really sections of it. [Note: Wood, p. 291,... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 7:1-51

Solomon’s PalaceThis c, besides giving a description of Solomon’s palace, contains an account of the principal utensils belonging to the Temple.1. Thirteen years] The Temple was of small extent compared with the royal palace, so that the time spent on the latter exceeded that required for the former. The various buildings mentioned in 1 Kings 7:2-8 seem together to have constituted the house of 1 Kings 7:1.2. He built also] RV ’for he built.’ The house of the forest of Lebanon] so called from... read more