1 Kings 7:13-47

Solomon Employs Hiram of Tyre

¹³ And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. ¹⁴ He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was full of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, to do all kinds of works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and made all his work. ¹⁵ And he formed the two pillars of brass; the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed the second pillar. ¹⁶ And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits; ¹⁷ [and] nets of checker-work, wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸ And he made pomegranates, namely two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars; and so he did for the other capital. ¹⁹ And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily-work [as] in the porch, four cubits. ²⁰ And the capitals upon the two pillars, above also, close to the enlargement which was behind the network, had two hundred pomegranates in rows round about, [also] on the other capital. ²¹ And he set up the pillars for the porch of the temple; and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz. ²² And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work; and the work of the pillars was finished.

The Furnishings for the Temple

²³ And he made the sea, molten, ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about. ²⁴ And under the brim of it round about there were colocynths, encompassing it, ten in a cubit enclosing the sea round about; two rows of colocynths, cast when it was cast. ²⁵ It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. ²⁶ And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim was like the work of the brim of a cup, with lily-blossoms; it held two thousand baths. ²⁷ And he made ten bases of brass: four cubits was the length of one base, and the breadth four cubits, and the height three cubits. ²⁸ And the work of the bases was this: they had panels, and the panels were between the fillets. ²⁹ And on the panels that were between the fillets were lions, oxen and cherubim; and over the fillets there was a base above; and beneath the lions and oxen were garlands of festoon-work. ³⁰ And every base had four wheels of brass, and axles of brass; and on its four corners were shoulder-pieces: under the laver were shoulder-pieces molten, behind every garland. ³¹ And the mouth of it within the crown and above was a cubit; and its mouth was rounded, [as] the work of the base, a cubit and a half; and also upon its mouth was sculpture; but their panels were square, not round. ³² And the four wheels were under the panels; and the supports of the wheels were in the base; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. ³³ And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their supports, and their rims, and their spokes and their naves were all molten. ³⁴ And there were four shoulder-pieces to the four corners of one base; of the base itself were its shoulder-pieces. ³⁵ And in the top of the base there was a circular elevation of half a cubit round about; and on the top of the base its stays and its panels were of the same. ³⁶ And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its panels cherubim, lions and palm-trees, according to the space upon each; and garlands were round about. ³⁷ After this [manner] he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, one form. ³⁸ And he made ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths; every laver was four cubits; upon every one of the ten bases one laver. ³⁹ And he put the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, over against the south. ⁴⁰ And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the bowls. So Hiram ended doing all the work that he made for king Solomon [for] the house of Jehovah: ⁴¹ two pillars, and the globes of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, two; and the two networks, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; ⁴² and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were upon the pillars; ⁴³ and the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases; ⁴⁴ and one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea; ⁴⁵ and the pots, and the shovels, and the bowls. And all these things, which Hiram made king Solomon for the house of Jehovah, were of bright brass. ⁴⁶ In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay-ground between Succoth and Zaretan. ⁴⁷ And Solomon left all the vessels [unweighed] from their exceeding number; the weight of the brass was not ascertained.