1 Kings 7:13-47

Furnishings outside the temple 7:13-47

The Hiram of 1 Kings 7:13 was obviously a different person from the King of Tyre (1 Kings 5:1). God evidently guided this Hiram as he fashioned the furnishings (cf. Exodus 31:1-11). [Note: See Allen S. Maller, "Hiram from Tyre," Journal of Reform Judaism 29:2 (Spring 1982):41-42.]

The two pillars on the temple porch were common features that flanked the main entrances to temples in Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Assyria, and elsewhere in the ancient Near East at this time. [Note: Volkmar Fritz, "Temple Architecture," Biblical Archaeology Review 13:4 (July-August 1987):38-49.] Some of these pillars supported the porch roof, but others were freestanding, as these probably were. [Note: Albright, Archaeology of . . ., p. 144.] In various countries they symbolized various things. [Note: Idem, "Two Cressets From Marisa and the Pillars of Jachin and Boaz," Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 85 (February 1942):18-27.] In Israel their purpose seems to have been to remind the Israelites of Yahweh’s establishment of Israel and strength for Israel. Jachin means "He shall establish," and Boaz "In Him is strength" (1 Kings 7:21). [Note: Cf. Auld, pp. 52-53.] Gray suggested that the pillars symbolized the presence and permanence of Yahweh and the king. [Note: Gray, p. 175.] Jones argued that they stood for the covenant between Yahweh and His people, especially between Him and the Davidic dynasty. [Note: Jones, 1:183.] The lily and pomegranate designs probably symbolized the fertility and fruitfulness of God’s blessing and presence.

The "sea" (1 Kings 7:23-26) was a reservoir for the temple courtyard. It had a total capacity of 17,500 gallons (2 Chronicles 4:5), but it normally held 11,500 gallons (1 Kings 7:26). It rested on symbols of strength and service (cf. the priests), and symbols of fertility adorned it (1 Kings 7:24; cf. 1 Kings 6:18). [Note: See Albert Zuidhof, "King Solomon’s Molten Sea and (pi)," Biblical Archaeologist 45:3 (Summer 1982):179-84.] The 12 oxen may have represented the 12 tribes or Solomon’s 12 administrative districts. [Note: Jones, 1:184.]

The priests evidently used the 10 movable stands (1 Kings 7:27-40 a) when they butchered sacrificial animals. Each one was six feet square, five and one-half feet high, and held up to 230 gallons of water.

The amount of detail the writer included gives us some appreciation of the external beauty, symmetry, glory, and value of the temple. All of this contributed to the greater glory of Yahweh and helped the Israelites appreciate His greatness.