1 Kings 7:9

All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

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 foundation unto the coping — From the bottom to the top of the building. So on the outside toward the great court — Not only on the outside of the front of the house, which, being most visible, men are more careful to adorn, but also of the other side of the house, which looked toward the great court belonging to the king’s house.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:1-12 All Solomon's buildings, though beautiful, were intended for use. Solomon began with the temple; he built for God first, and then his other buildings. The surest foundations of lasting prosperity are laid in early piety. He was thirteen years building his house, yet he built the temple in little more than seven years; not that he was more exact, but less eager in building his own house, than in building God's. We ought to prefer God's honour before our own ease and satisfaction.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

1Ki 7:2-7. Of the House of Lebanon.

2. He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon—It is scarcely possible to determine whether this was a different edifice from the former, or whether his house, the house of the forest of Lebanon, and the one for Pharaoh's daughter, were not parts of one grand palace. As difficult is it to decide what was the origin of the name; some supposing it was so called because built on Lebanon; others, that it was in or near Jerusalem, but contained such a profuse supply of cedar columns as to have occasioned this peculiar designation. We have a similar peculiarity of name in the building called the East India house, though situated in London. The description is conformable to the arrangement of Eastern palaces. The building stood in the middle of a great oblong square, which was surrounded by an enclosing wall, against which the houses and offices of those attached to the court were built. The building itself was oblong, consisting of two square courts, flanking a large oblong hall which formed the center, and was one hundred cubits long, by fifty broad. This was properly the house of the forest of Lebanon, being the part where were the cedar pillars of this hall. In front was the porch of judgment, which was appropriated to the transaction of public business. On the one side of this great hall was the king's house; and on the other the harem or royal apartments for Pharaoh's daughter (Es 2:3, 9). This arrangement of the palace accords with the Oriental style of building, according to which a great mansion always consists of three divisions, or separate houses—all connected by doors and passages—the men dwelling at one extremity, the women of the family at the other, while public rooms occupy the central part of the building.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

All these buildings described here and in the former chapter.

According to the measures of hewed stones; either first, which were hewed in such measure and proportion, as exact workmen used to hew ordinary stones; or, secondly, as large as common hewed stones, which are oft very great.

Within and without; both on the inside of the buildings which were covered with cedar, and on the outside also.

From the foundation unto the coping; from the bottom to the top of the building.

On the outside toward the great court; not only on the outside of the front of the house, which being most visible, men are more careful to adorn; but also of the other side of the house, which looked towards the great court belonging to the king’s house.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

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 house.

Geneva Study Bible

All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto {f} the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.

(f) Which were rests and stays for the beams to lie on.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9. All these] i.e. The whole of the buildings described in the previous verses.

according to the measures of hewed stones] Better not to be taken as in construction, but with R.V. even hewn stones according to measure. The word is literally ‘according to measures,’ and this the R.V. explains on the margin as ‘after divers measures.’ But this is what is meant by their text.

within and without] Though the inside face of the walls was to be covered with cedar, and so put out of sight, the same care was taken with the dressing of that part of the stone work, as with all that was to remain uncovered.

toward the great court] Better, unto. What appears to be meant in the verse is a strong expression of the excellency of the stone work. This is said to have been of the same character from the base to the coping of all the walls, and then is added, that it was the same from the front part of the buildings to the back. The front part, which was the house of the forest, is not mentioned, but it said that the good work extended unto the great court, which lay farthest back of all the buildings.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 9. - All these [i.e.buildings palaces] were of costly [or precious; cf. 1 Kings 5:31 [1 Kings 5:17] and vers. 10, 11] stones, according to the measures of hewed stones [lit., of squaring or hewing, same word in 1 Kings 5:31 (Hebr.) [1 Kings 5:17], 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 σαίρω, serro, etc. The Egyptians, whose saws were apparently all single handed, do not seem to have applied this instrument to stone, but part of a double-handed saw was found at Nimrud (Layard, p. 195, and Dict. Bib., art. "Saw"). That saws were in common use and were made of iron is implied in 2 Samuel 12:31], within and without [It is not quite clear whether the meaning is that the two surfaces exposed to view, one within and the other without, the building were shaped with saws, or that the inner and hidden surface of the stone was thus smoothed as well as the exposed parts], even from the foundation unto the coping [or corbels. It is generally agreed (Gesen., Keil, Bight) that the reference is to the "projecting stones on which the beams rest," though Thenius would understand battlements (Deuteronomy 22:8) to be intended. But for these a different word is always used, and the LXX γεῖσος signifies the projection of the roof, not an erection upon it], and so on the outside toward the great court [i.e., the pavement of the court was of sawed stones (see ver. 12).] 1 Kings 7:9

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"All these (viz., the whole of the buildings described in 1 Kings 7:2-8) were costly stones, after the measure of that which is hewn, sawn with the saw within and without (i.e., on the inner and outer side of the halls and buildings), and from the foundation to the corbels, and from without to the great court," הטּפחות, the corbels, upon which the beams of the roof rest. The lxx renders it ἕως τῶν γεισῶν. Thenius understands by this the battlements which protected the flat roofs, and therefore interprets טפחות as signifying the stone border of the roof of the palace. But γεῖσος, or γεῖσσος γεῖσον, merely signifies the projection of the roof, and, generally speaking, every projection in a building resembling a roof, but not the battlement-like protection or border of the flat roof, which is called מעקה in Deuteronomy 22:8. חוּץ, the outside in distinction from the great court, can only be the outer court; and as הגּדולה החצר is no doubt identical with האחרת חצר (1 Kings 7:8), and therefore refers to the court surrounding the king's dwelling-house, חוּץ is to be understood as relating to the court-yard or fore-court surrounding the front halls.