1 Kings 7:10
in 1 Kings 7The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
KJV
And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
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This verse in 1 Kings 7
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones,.... Of a great price, and very large: stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits some of one measure, and some of another; not so many cubits square, but of solid measure; they were so many in length.
This site's exposition
according to the measures of hewed stones
on 1 Kings 7:9-12
Foundation stones of eight and ten cubits, sawed within and without, and a great court built to the same pattern as the inner court of the house of the LORD, three rows of hewed stone and a row of cedar beams. Palace and temple share one masonry vocabulary, which is the section's quiet point: the kingdom's whole public architecture is of a piece with the sanctuary at its center.
This site's exposition
large, costly stones
John Gill reads the ten and eight cubits as the length of each stone. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown report stones of just these sizes still found in Jerusalem. They add that the court was paved with great squared stones.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones--Enormous stones, corresponding exactly with the dimensions given, are found in Jerusalem at this day. Not only the walls from the foundation to the roof beams were built of large hewn stones, but the spacious court around the palace was also paved with great square stones.
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How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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].
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And above it were precious stones. And above the stones used for the foundation were precious stones, until the ceiling as he mentioned above.
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמְיֻסָּ֕ד | umeyusad | and [it was] founded | H3245 → | 43 times |
| אֲבָנִ֥ים | ʾavanim | stones | H68 → | 273 times |
| יְקָר֖וֹת | yekarot | costly | H3368 → | 36 times |
| אֲבָנִ֣ים | ʾavanim | stones | H68 → | 273 times |
| גְּדֹל֑וֹת | gedolot | large | H1419 → | 526 times |
| אַבְנֵי֙ | ʾavnei | stones of | H68 → | 273 times |
| עֶ֣שֶׂר | ʾeser | ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| אַמּ֔וֹת | ʾamot | cubits | H520 → | 247 times |
| וְאַבְנֵ֖י | veavnei | and stones of | H68 → | 273 times |
| שְׁמֹנֶ֥ה | shemoneh | eight | H8083 → | 109 times |
| אַמּֽוֹת׃ | ʾamot | cubits | H520 → | 247 times |
וּמְיֻסָּ֕דand [it was] founded
umeyusadH3245 →43 times
אֲבָנִ֥יםstones
ʾavanimH68 →273 times
יְקָר֖וֹתcostly
yekarotH3368 →36 times
אֲבָנִ֣יםstones
ʾavanimH68 →273 times
גְּדֹל֑וֹתlarge
gedolotH1419 →526 times
אַבְנֵי֙stones of
ʾavneiH68 →273 times
עֶ֣שֶׂרten
ʾeserH6235 →176 times
אַמּ֔וֹתcubits
ʾamotH520 →247 times
וְאַבְנֵ֖יand stones of
veavneiH68 →273 times
שְׁמֹנֶ֥הeight
shemonehH8083 →109 times
אַמּֽוֹת׃cubits
ʾamotH520 →247 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Isaiah 28:16So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
it leads to
- Psalms 118:22
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Acts 4:11–12
This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
- 1 Peter 2:6–8
For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Luke 20:17–18
But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
- Romans 9:33
as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Psalms 118:22
Through
Isaiah 54:11“O afflicted city, lashed by storms, without solace, surely I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:4–6
As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- Acts 14:22
strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
- Jeremiah 30:17
But I will restore your health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD, because they call you an outcast, Zion, for whom no one cares.”
- 1 Peter 2:4–6
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Kings.