1 Kings 7

1 Kings, chapter 7 1 Kings 7 1 Kings 6 chapter 6 1 Kings 8 chapter 8 First book of Kings Old Testament 11 Nevi'im 4 Former Prophets Leningrad-codex-09-kings.pdf 250px The pages containing the Books of Kings (1 & 2 Kings) Leningrad Codex (1008 CE). 1 Kings 7 is the seventh chapter of the Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible and the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Halley 1965 191Collins 2014 288 The book is a compilation of annals documenting the deed of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomistic compiler in the seventh century y, with a supplement added in the sixth century.McKane 1993 324KINGS, BOOKS OF JewishEncyclopedia.com https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9329-kings-books-of#anchor12 12 October 2026 Chapter 7 belongs to the section of Kings focusing on the reign of Solomon over the unified kingdom of Judah and Israel (1 Kings 1 to 11).Dietrich 2007 234 The focus of this chapter is on Solomon's reign as king of Israel.Dietrich 2007 236 Text The chapter was written in Biblical Hebrew and is divided into 51 verses in both Jewish and Christian bibles. Textual witnesses Early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Biblical Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, including Codex Cairensis (895 y),The date stated in the codex's colophon is disputed; radiocarbon analysis and palaeographic research have supported a later, 11th-century date. October 2026 the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).Würthwein 1995 35–37 Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls as 4Q54 (4QKgs; 50–25 y), with extant portions of verses 20–21, 25–27, 29–42, and 51.Ulrich 2010 324–327Fitzmyer 2008 35The Dead Sea Scrolls – 4Q Kings https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q54-1 The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library Israel Antiquities Authority 16 October 2026 A translation into Koine Greek, known as the Septuagint, was made from a Hebrew text in the last few centuries. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint text of this chapter include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).Würthwein 1995 73-74The whole book of 1 Kings is missing from the extant Codex Sinaiticus.Codex Sinaiticus Parallel biblical passages Parts of the account of the construction and furnishing of Solomon's Temple have parallels in 2 Chronicles 2–5: Verses 13–14 parallel 2 Chronicles 2:13–14.1 Kings 7:13–14 HE2 Chronicles 2:13–14 HE Verses 15–22 parallel 2 Chronicles 3:15–17.1 Kings 7:15–22 HE2 Chronicles 3:15–17 HE Verses 23–26 parallel 2 Chronicles 4:2–5.1 Kings 7:23–26 HE2 Chronicles 4:2–5 HE Verses 38–39 parallel 2 Chronicles 4:6 and 4:10.1 Kings 7:38–39 HE2 Chronicles 4:6, 4:10 HE yes Verses 40–47 parallel 2 Chronicles 4:11–18.1 Kings 7:40–47 HE2 Chronicles 4:11–18 HE Verses 48–50 parallel 2 Chronicles 4:7–8 and 4:19–22.1 Kings 7:48–50 HE2 Chronicles 4:7–8, 4:19–22 HE yes Verse 51 parallels 2 Chronicles 5:1.1 Kings 7:51 HE2 Chronicles 5:1 HE Analysis 1 Kings 6 to 7 cover the building of the temple, with insertions of information about Solomon's palace, the "house of the forest of Lebanon", the hall of the throne, the hall of judgment, and a house for Pharaoh's daughter (1 Kings 7:1–12).Leithart 2006 55 Construction of the palace (7:1–12) The temple was integrated into a larger complex of government buildings; by itself, it is comparable to a palace chapel.Dietrich 2007 238 Other buildings were larger and took almost twice as long to build as the Temple alone (13 years vs. 7 years),Coogan 2007 501 Hebrew Bible but seem to share a similar architectural style and material.Dietrich 2007 238 The monumental "House of the Forest of the Lebanon" was apparently named for its richly crafted and precious Lebanese timber, measuring roughly 50x25 meters, with 45 pillars supporting the ceiling, and partly an upper floor perhaps functions as the royal bodyguard's armoury and quarters (cf. 1 Kings 10:17; Isaiah 22:8).Dietrich 2007 238 Verse 4 There were windows with beveled frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three tiers.1 Kings 7:4 NKJV NKJV "Windows" from Hebrew: he שְׁקֻפִים, the same word as in 1 Kings 6:4 denoting "beams" or "lattices" ("beam layers" according to Keil; grc πλευρῶν in Septuagint). They were arranged in "three rows" (or "tiers"), probably referring to "three stories formed by the three rows of beams", so that the side chambers had "their windows exactly vis-a-vis in each of the three stories" (as explained by Josephus: grc θυρώμασι τριγλύφοις, "windows in three divisions" in Ant., 7:05.2).Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "1 Kings 7". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019. The interior decoration of the Temple (7:13–51) Solomon's Temple thumb|right|200px|Solomon's Temple design with measurements The big structures and furnishings in the temple of Solomon were crafted by a Phoenician craftsman called Hiram (or Ahiram), especially the two pillars that stood at the entrance to the temple (verses 15–22), and the circular bronze sea ("molten sea"; verses 23–26), among those listed in verses 40–47.Dietrich 2007 238 A note states that Solomon established his own ore refinery in the Jordan Valley to produce the necessary bronze material. Dietrich 2007 238 Other holy instruments and royal blessing-gifts were richly covered with gold (verses 48–51). Dietrich 2007 238 Verses 13–14 thumb|Bronze statue of Hiram by Nickolaus-Otto Kruch, Berlin, Germany (2013) 13 And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.1 Kings 7:13–14 MEV MEV "Hiram from Tyre": called "Huram-abi" in 2 Chronicles 2:13, not to be confused with the Phoenician king in 1 Kings 5.Coogan 2007 502 Hebrew Bible Spelled as "Hiram Abiff, he becomes the central character of an allegory presented to all candidates during the third degree in Freemasonry.Pietre Stones Kent Henderson, The Legend of Hiram Abif, retrieved 14 September 2012 Verse 21 Boaz and Jachin right|thumb|200px|Stained glass window (1900) at St John's Church, Chester (England), showing Hiram, the architect of the temple in Jerusalem, between the pillars named "Boaz" and "Jachin" And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.1 Kings 7:21 KJV KJV These two pillars most likely were not support structures, but were free-standing, based on similar pillars in other nearby contemporary temples.The Pillars Jachin and Boaz R. B. Y. Scott Journal of Biblical Literature 58 143–149 2 3259857 1939 10.2307/3259857 Verse 23 thumb|right|200px|An artist's rendition of the Molten Sea (or Brazen Sea) of Solomon, published in the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. thumb|right|200px|Molten Sea illustration in the Holman Bible, 1890 Molten Sea And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.1 Kings 7:23 KJV KJV Cross reference: 2 Chronicles 4:2 "5 cubits": a length measurement of about 7.5 feet or 2.3 meters.Note [a] on 2 Chronicles 4:2 in MEV "30 cubits": about 45 feet or 14 meters.Note on 1 Kings 7:23 in MEV The approximation of the mathematical constant "" ("pi"), defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, can apparently be calculated from this verse as 30 cubits divided by 10 cubits to yield "3". However, Matityahu Hacohen Munk observed that the spelling for "line" in Hebrew, normally written as he קו qaw h 6957, in 1 Kings 7:23 HE is written (ketiv) as he קוה qaweh H 06961. Using gematria, qaweh yields "111" whereas qaw yields "106", so when used in calculation it results in = "3.1415094", very close to the modern definition of "3.1415926".Missler, Chuck. The Value of Pi: Hidden Codes in the Bible. April 1, 1998. This finding was also reported by Shlomo Edward G. Belaga, in the page by Boaz Tsaban "Rabbinical Math" and in the book by Grant Jeffrey, "The Handwriting of God", Frontier Research Publications, Toronto Ontario, 1997.Munk, Matityahu Hacohen. Three Geometric Problems in the Bible and Talmud. Sinai 51 (1962), 218-227 (in Hebrew); Munk, Matityahu Hacohen. The Halachic Way in Solving Special Geometric Problems. Hadarom 27 (1968), 115-133 (in Hebrew). Cited i: Tsaban, Boaz; Garber, David. On the Rabbinical Approximation of Pi, Historia Mathematica 25 (1998), pp. 75-84. Charles Ryrie gives another explanation based on 1 Kings 7:26 (cf. 2 Chronicles 4:5) that the molten sea has a brim of a handbreadth (about 4 inches or 10 cm) wide, so when the inside diameter, subtracting 10 cubits (about 180 inches or 4.6 meter; from outer "brim to brim") with 2 times 4 inches (two handbreadth) to yield 172 inches (4.4 meter), is divided by , it results in 540 inches (45 feet or 14 meter or 30 cubits) which is the circumference given in this verse.Ryrie, Charles (1986). Basic Theology. Wheaton, Illinois: SP Publications, p. 99. See also 22em David Israel Jerusalem Lebanon Pharaoh's daughter Solomon's Temple Sukkot Tribe of Naphtali Tyre Related Bible parts: 2 Samuel 7, 1 Kings 5, 1 Kings 6, 2 Chronicles 3, 2 Chronicles 4 Notes References Sources Collins John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures Chapter 14: 1 Kings 12 – 2 Kings 25 277–296 Fortress Press 2014 https://books.google.com/books?id=fbsoBAAAQBAJ 978-1451469233 Coogan Michael David Michael D. Coogan The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 Coogan Michael David Marc Zvi Brettler Carol Ann Newsom Pheme Perkins Augmented 3rd Oxford University Press 2007 978-0195288810 https://books.google.com/books?id=HmpMPgAACAAJ Dietrich Walter 13. 1 and 2 Kings The Oxford Bible Commentary John Barton John Barton (theologian) John Muddiman John Muddiman Oxford University Press first (paperback) 2007 232–266 978-0199277186 https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJdVkgEACAAJ February 6, 2019 Fitzmyer Joseph A. Joseph Fitzmyer A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company https://books.google.com/books?id=TILXeWJ2eNAC 2008 9780802862419 Grand Rapids, MI Halley Henry H. Henry Hampton Halley Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary 24th (revised) Zondervan Publishing House 1965 https://archive.org/details/halleysbiblehand00henr registration 0-310-25720-4 Hayes Christine Introduction to the Bible Yale University Press 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=SKbkXYHxvlAC 978-0300188271 Leithart Peter J. 1 & 2 Kings Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible Brazos Press 2006 https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_gvin9G7LgC 978-1587431258 McKane William Kings, Book of Metzger Bruce M Bruce M. Metzger Coogan Michael D The Oxford Companion to the Bible https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195046458 registration Oxford University Press 1993 409–413 978-0195046458 Metzger Bruce M Bruce M. Metzger Coogan Michael D The Oxford Companion to the Bible Oxford University Press 1993 978-0195046458 Ulrich Eugene The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants 2010 Brill https://archive.org/details/TheBiblicalQumranScrolls Würthwein Ernst Ernst Würthwein The Text of the Old Testament Wm. B. Eerdmans Grand Rapids, MI 1995 Erroll F. Rhodes 0-8028-0788-7 https://books.google.com/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC January 26, 2019 External links Jewish translations: Melachim I - I Kings - Chapter 7 (Judaica Press). Hebrew text and English translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org Christian translations: Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) 1 Kings chapter 7. Bible Gateway 07 Category:Phoenicians in the Hebrew Bible