1 Kings 7:11
in 1 Kings 7Above these were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And above were costly stones, even hewn stone, according to measure, and cedar-wood.
KJV
And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars.
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This verse in 1 Kings 7
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd above were costly stones,.... Above the foundation, from thence to the top of the buildings; the whole walls were made of such right up to the ceiling: after the measure of hewed stones; which, according to the Rabbins, as Kimchi says, were five hands breadth: and cedars; beams of cedars over them, or these, both the foundation and the walls, were lined with them.
This site's exposition
constructed with costly stones, cut to size
on 1 Kings 7:9-12
The foundation stones measure “some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long”. The great courtyard has the same pattern as the inner courtyard of the house of the LORD. Palace and temple share one way of building, and the kingdom’s public architecture matches the sanctuary at its center.
This site's exposition
high-grade stones, cut to size
Above the foundation the walls rose in the same costly stone to the ceiling, as John Gill reads it. Gill cites Kimchi for the rabbis' measure of a hewn stone, five handbreadths. The cedar either capped the stonework or lined it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And above it were precious stones. And above the stones used for the foundation were precious stones, until the ceiling as he mentioned above.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The foundation was, etc., [of] huge stones. And the foundation which was in the ground was of stones greater than the [standard] size of cut [stones].
Three rows of cut stones. The wall was made of three tiers of stone and a tier of wood on them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִלְמַ֗עְלָה | umilma'lah | and [were] from to above <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| אֲבָנִ֧ים | ʾavanim | stones | H68 → | 273 times |
| יְקָר֛וֹת | yekarot | costly | H3368 → | 36 times |
| כְּמִדּ֥וֹת | kemidot | according to measurements of | H4060 → | 55 times |
| גָּזִ֖ית | gazit | hewn [stone] | H1496 → | 11 times |
| וָאָֽרֶז׃ | vaarez | and cedar | H730 → | 73 times |
וּמִלְמַ֗עְלָהand [were] from to above <towards>
umilma'lahH4605 →140 times
אֲבָנִ֧יםstones
ʾavanimH68 →273 times
יְקָר֛וֹתcostly
yekarotH3368 →36 times
כְּמִדּ֥וֹתaccording to measurements of
kemidotH4060 →55 times
גָּזִ֖יתhewn [stone]
gazitH1496 →11 times
וָאָֽרֶז׃and cedar
vaarezH730 →73 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 2:5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
it leads to
- Ephesians 2:20–22
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
- 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- 1 Corinthians 3:9
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
- Revelation 5:10
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
- Ephesians 2:20–22
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Kings
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Kings.