The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 132

and vers. 10, 11] stones, according to the latter formed the coping. The wall of the measures of hewed stones [ lit., of squaring court of the palace thus resembled that of or hewing, same word in chs. v. 31 (Heh.), vi. the temple. See on eh. vi. 36. In all 36, and Isa. ix. 9, &c. All the stones in these these coincidences WIJ have tokens of the ll!Veral buildings were shaped to certain ea.me designing hand], both tor the inner specified dimensions], sawed with saws court of the house of the Lord. [This sudden [1Jl is obviously an onomatopoetic word, digression from the court of the palace to like our saw, Gesenius cites aaipw, serro, &c, the temple is suspicious, and suggests either The Egyptians, whose saws were apparently a mistranslation or corrupticn of the text. all single-handed, do not seem to have The historian evidently meant tc. say that applied this instrument to stone, but part the wall of the coart, in its three rows of of a double-handed saw was fo1md at Nim- stones and its cedar coping, resembled the rod (La.yard, p. 195, and Diet. Bib., art. inner court of the temple; and, according " Saw "). That saws were in common use to some grammarians (Gesen., Ewald), this and were made of iron is implied in 2 Sam. meaning may well be conveyed by the text xii. 31], within and without [It is not quite as it stands, l in Hebrew sening sometimes clear whether the mee.ning is that the two to institute a comparison (Prov. xxv. 3, 12, surfaces exposed t'o view, one within and the 20; xxvi. 14, &c.) "As in the court," &c. other without, the building were shaped But the instances just cited, being proverbs or with saws, or that the inner and hidden apophthegms, are not strictly parallel with surface of the stone was thus smoothed as our text. It seems better, on the whole, well as the exposed parts], even from the however, to retain the text in this sense than foundation unto the copillg [or corbels. It to replaee l by :::i, reading i1n~:::i or i1n:::i is generally agreed (Gesen., Keil, Bahr) that for i1nl;,1. i1nil:::i (Horsley) is quite inad- the reference is to the " projecting stones missible, as the constr. case ne,er has the on which the beams rest," though Thenius art.], and for the porch of the house. [It would understand battlements (Deut. xxii. 8) is almost impossible to decide whether the to be intended. But for· these 11, different porch of judgment (ver. 7) or the porch of word is always used, and the LXX. yEiaoi; the temple is here meant. The immediate signifies the projection of the roof, not an context favours the latter. But this does erection upon it], and so on the outside not seem to have had any court or enclosing toward the great court [i.e., the pavement wall other than the inner court. Rawlinson of the court was of sawed stones (see ver.12).] decides for the porch of judgment, "which," Ver. 10.-And the foundation was or he says, " had 0, planking of ceda.r over costly stones, even great stones [Bahr says, the stone pavement" (ver. 7). But ,er. 7 "Even the foundations which from without (where see note) rather excludes than in- were not seen, were composed of these great cludes the pavement. The reference is stones." But the meaning evidently is that probably to the "court within the porch," the foundation stones were larger than those mentioned in ver. 8.] reared upon them] , stones of ten cubits [i.e., ten cubits long, o.nd of proportionate After this brief account of the roynl width, &o.], and stones ofeight cubits. [The pa.laces, the author proceeds to mention the foundations of the palaces, oonsequently, vessels, &o., used in the temple service, pre- were much less tho.n those of the temple facing his description by 0, few words re- platform, some of which would measure specting the great Tyrio.n artist, by whom 16 cubits. See note on eh. v. 17.) Ver. 11.-And above [i.e., upon the they were for the most part cast, and pos- foundation stones just described) were sibly designed e.Iso. costly stones, after the measures of hewed Ver.13.-And ldng Solomon sent [mther, stones [It is implied here that the stones of had sent (2 Chron. ii.13)] and fetched Hiram the superstruoture were less than those of out of Tyre. [This is our historian's brief the foundation. U is e.Iso implied that the version of the transaction which is recorded former were more carefully smoothed and in 2 Chron. ii. 7-14. He has not men- faced tho.n the latter] and cedars. [Heh. tioned before (eh. v. 6) Solomon's request eedar.] for a master-builder. Hiram, like his Ver. 12.-And the great court round namesake the king, is elsewhere (2 Chron. about [The palace, age.in like the temple, ii. 13; iv. 11, 16) called Huram or Hirom had two courts. The lesser is referred to (ver. 40). See note on eh. v. 1. In the in ver. 8, and was enclosed among the first of these passages the king calls him buildings. The great court probably sur- "Huram my father" (see note there) ; in rounded the entire structure] was [enclosed the last he is designated "Huram his by a wo.11] with three rows of hewed father." The title "Ab" (cf. Gen. xlv. 8, atones, and a row of ce4a.r beams [The 41, 43; 2 Kings il. 12 ; v, 13 ; vi. 21 ; cl.  128 THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. [cu. vn. 1-.fSl. viii. 9) shows the high esteem in which he work] : and he was 11.lled with wisdom, &114 was held. It ce.n hardly be, as some have understanding, and cunning [or knowledge supposed, a proper name. It may signify as the s&me word is rendered Exod. xxxi. a' " counsellor," or master, i.e., master- builder where similar l&nguage is used of Bezaleel' The Tyrians evidently regarded him with It is noticeable, however, t4at the word~ some pride.] " filled with the spirit of God," used of tha Ver. 14.-He was a widow's son of the Hebrew, are not applied to the Tyrio.n tribe of Naphhl.i [In 2 Chron. ii. 14 he is workmo.n] to work all works 1n brue. And desc1ibed as 1he "son of a woman of the he came to king Solomon [probo.bly with a daughters of Dan." The discrepancy is considerable number of assistants], and only apparent, For in the first place it is wrought all his work. not absolutely necessary to nnderstand by Dan the tribe of that name. It may well Ver. 15.-For he ea.et two pillars of bra.ea r~fer to the town, formerly Leshem (Josh. [T~e process of oasting, as pro.ctised by the x1x. 4i), or Laish (Judg. xviii. 7, 27) colo- ancients, receives considerable illustration nised by the Danites, and thencefo'rward from the paintings of Thebes (see Wilkinson, bearing their name (ver. 29) which was "Anc. Egypt."ii. pp. 234,256; Kitto, "Da..ily situated wit~n ~he borders ~f Naphtali. Bib. Illus.'' Sol. and Kings, pp. 72, 73)], of If, however, 1t 1s preferred to see in the eighteen cubits high apiece [Heb. eighteen "daught.ers of Dan " a tribal reference we cubits was the height of the one column. may suppose (with Keil, al.) that the wo~an This was the height of the shaft (of. 2 Kings was originally a Danite, but became, through xxv. 17; Jer. lli. 21). To this must be added her first hmband, "of the tribe of Naph- the capital (vers. 16, 19), which measured five tali.'' But the first explanation is the more (or, according to some, nine) onbits, and prob- simple and obvious), and his father was a. ably the pedeste.l. The pillars were hollow, man of Tyre [i.e., Hiram was the son (not the mete.I being four finger breadths thiok stepson, or e.d?pted son, as the Re.bbins) of (Jer. Iii. 21). In 2 Chron, iii. 16 the height a mixed m.arnage. In earlier times Laish is given as thirty-five cubits-a discrepancy had but little intercourse with the Zido- which has been variously explained. Ac- nians (Jud.g. xviii. 28). It is nowhere stated cording to some writers (e.g., Abro.vanel, that the inhabitants were of Phoonicie.n Movers, Wordsworth), this represents the extraction ; nor can it be justly inferred tote.l length of the two pillars (eaoh pillar from this passage], a. worker 1n brass [or consequently being 17½ cubits)-an idea copper. Bra.ss is a compound of • copper which, perhaps, finds some slight support in the word employed 'iJJ~ length. Here it and zinc ; but n~n;, originally and strictly is m;iip height. By others it has been sup- signifies a pure metal (Dent. viii. 9 ; xn:ili. 25, &c.; Job xxviii. 2). There were copper posed that the total height of base, column, mines in Palestine, and the art of working and capital was thirty-five cubits, which, if this metul was known at a very remote not-incredible, is very improbable. Others period (Gen. iv. 22, Heh., and see Wilkin- think it a part of that systematio reduplioa- son's "Ancient Egypt," vol. iii. p. 243; tion of the heights of edifice.a by the and De Rougemont, "Age du Bronze," p. ohronicler, of which we have already he.d 180). In later times the word sometimes an instance in eh. vi. (where see note). But denoted brass (xa>-a:61:), or copper-bronze the true explanation would seem to be that, (e. mixture of copper and tin). Cf. Jer. by a clerical error, thirty-five (1'1~) has been vi. 28. From 2 Chron. ii. 14 we learn tho.t substitnted in the text for eighteen (M 1). Hiram wo.s " skilful to work in gold and in So Keil and Bii.hr] : and a. line [or thread] silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in of twelve cubits did compass either of timber," &c. From the mention of brass them [Heb. the second column] about. [It only in this passage, and in ver. 45, it has must not be supposed, from the fa.et that been somewhat hastily concluded that " the the height of the one column is given, and work that he persone.lly did for Solomon" the circumference of the other, tho.t they was "limited to works in brass" (Rawlin- were dissimilar in height and breadth or son). It is, perhaps, safer to say that bre.ss girth. There has probably been an aoci- only is mentioned here, because the follow- dente.l abbreviation of the full expression, ing section treats exclusively of the brazen " Eighteen oubits was the height of the one ornaments, &c., of the sanctuary (Keil). pillar, and eighteen cubits was the height It would almost seem, however (see note on of the other pillar ; and a line of twelve ver. 48), as if he was not employed to me.ke cubits compassed the one pillo.r, o.nd o. line the vessels of gold. Nor does this su ppo- of twelve cubits compassed the other pillar." sition rea.lly contradict the statement me.de It is just possible, however, that the peou- below, viz., the.the wrougM all Solomon's Jie.tity results from the actual system ol OR, VU, 1-51.] THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 129