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1 Kings 7:13-51

Hiram's Work

13Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram from Tyre.

14He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.

15He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.

16He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, each capital five cubits high.

17For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital.

18Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars.

19And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high.

20On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital.

21Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, and the pillar to the north he named Boaz.

22And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work of the pillars was completed.

23He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference.

24Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.

25The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center.

26It was a handbreadth thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.

27In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.

28This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights,

29and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work.

30Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side.

31The opening to each stand inside the crown at the top was one cubit deep, with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide. And around its opening were engravings, but the panels of the stands were square, not round.

32There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter.

33The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.

34Each stand had four handles, one for each corner, projecting from the stand.

35At the top of each stand was a circular band half a cubit high. The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand.

36He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around.

37In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.

38He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands.

39He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

40Additionally, Huram made the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD:

41the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars;

42the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars);

43the ten stands; the ten basins on the stands;

44the Sea; the twelve oxen underneath the Sea;

45and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze.

46The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.

47Solomon left all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.

48Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;

49the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;

50the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

51So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed. Then Solomon brought in the items his father David had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible

Solomon brings Hiram from Tyre to work on the temple furnishings. Hiram is the son of a widow from Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre who worked in bronze. The text honors his skill without making his ancestry a reason to exclude him.

Hiram casts the two bronze pillars, the capitals, the latticework, the pomegranates, the stands, the basin, and many other vessels. The description is detailed because worship involves craftsmanship, proportion, weight, and materials. Beauty and usefulness are joined in objects made for the temple.

The great basin is called the Sea and rests on twelve oxen, three facing each direction. The symbolism and scale are striking, but the text does not invite us to invent meanings for every measurement. What is clear is that the temple's furnishings are abundant and intentionally ordered.

When Hiram finishes the work, Solomon brings in the silver, gold, and vessels David had dedicated. They are placed in the treasuries of the house of the LORD. The work of a skilled outsider and the gifts of an earlier king meet in the completed worship of Israel.

How We Know

The passage belongs to a sustained historical and covenant record. The events in 1 Kings 7:13-51 are part of the royal history that 2 Chronicles also summarizes. The temple, succession, and court details are presented within Israel's continuing covenant story, giving the reader internal points of comparison rather than an isolated legend.

Questions

1 Who does Solomon bring to make the bronze work?

AnswerHe brings Hiram from Tyre, a skilled craftsman whose father had worked in bronze for the king of Tyre.

2 What kinds of objects does Hiram make?

AnswerHe makes pillars, capitals, latticework, pomegranates, stands, the great basin, and many bronze vessels for the temple.

3 How is the great basin supported?

AnswerIt rests on twelve bronze oxen, with three facing each direction around the basin and supporting its great weight.

4 Where are David's dedicated treasures placed?

AnswerSolomon brings them into the temple and places the silver, gold, and vessels in its treasuries.

What This Means for Us

The temple's worship depends on skilled work, and the skilled worker is not erased because he comes from another nation. A community that receives God's gifts should recognize ability wherever it appears.

Honor the people whose careful labor makes shared life possible. Skill is not less spiritual because it happens in a workshop, and a person's background should not determine whether their contribution is welcomed.

Prayer

God who gives skill and wisdom, teach us to honor careful work and welcome gifts from people unlike us. Keep our household grateful for the hands that make beauty, order, and service possible. Amen.