(3) The phrase לפני הבית "for the front of the house" of 2Ch 3:15 is understood to describe something at the front of the house that was part of the house; the two pillars were part of the house, not outside of it. Indeed, note that the bronze pomegranates adorning the two capitals (1Ki 7:18) are mentioned in 2Ch 4:12-13 among the bronze items בבית האלהים "in the house of God" (2Ch 4:11). For more detailed comments on 2Ch 4:11 and 2Ch 4:12-13, see the note (13) below. [Back]

(4) Note that 2Ch 3:15 provides the length, not the height, of the pillars, for it uses the word ארך "length" instead of קומה "height." See the note (2) above. [Back]

(5) The phrase באולם ארבע אמות "in the portico they had four cubits" (1Ki 7:19) refers to the capitals of the pillars mentioned in 1Ki 7:18 and 2Ch 3:15. At a length of 35 cubits (note that 2Ch 3:15 uses the word ארך "length" not קומה "height") these two pillars were rather long, and so they were not contained by the portico but were apparently bordering both the portico and the stairs from the left and from the right; see the note (2) above. Thus, one side of their capitals faced the portico and another side faced the temple court. The statement that "in the portico they had four cubits" indicates that the side of the capitals facing the portico was four cubits high. [Back]

(6) Since 1Ki 7:20 refers to the two pillars at the front of the temple, not to the bronze pillars, the number of bronze pomegranates over their capitals does not have to match the number of pomegranates on the capitals of the bronze pillars. Each pillar had 200 pomegranates (1Ki 7:20, 42, 2Ch 4:13). As for the bronze pillars, the number of bronze pomegranates at the time of the Babylonian exile is mentioned in Jer 52:23. Understanding the word רוחה "towards the wind" of Jer 52:23 to mean "exposed," the text indicates that each capital of the bronze pillars had only 100 pomegranates. (The common interpretation of רוחה as "towards each of the four winds," that is, "on each side of the capitol," is not adopted here because the Hebrew text does not have "each.") Now given that the pillars of 1Ki 7:20 were very long, it seems natural that their capitals were adorned with more bronze pomegranates than the bronze pillars. See also the note (8) below. [Back]

(7) In 2Ch 3:15, the simplest interpretation of אשר על ראשו "which was over its top" is that the antecedent of the pronominal suffix is the house, not one of the pillars. Then, אשר על ראשו means "which was over the top of the house." Thus, הצפת must refer to something of five cubits that was over the top of the house. Deriving צפת from the verb צפה "to watch," the word צפת could refer to the wall of the terrace on top of the building. An alternative interpretation would be to assume that the pronominal suffix refers to any of the pillars. Then, צפת would refer to the capital of either pillar, and the size of five cubits would be its overall height, with only four cubits of its height visible from the portico (see the note (5) above.) However, this alternative interpretation seems unlikely because the text does not mention the pillars individually and because it is not immediately obvious why the word צפת would be used for a capital and not כתרת, as in 2Ch 4:12-13. [Back]

(8) Interpreting literally 2Ch 3:16, the text is not about the pillars of the portico but about the pillars of the inner sanctuary. Note that the text of 2Ch 3:15-17 is not exclusively about the portico, for it mentions first the two pillars at the front of the building (2Ch 3:15), then the terrace (2Ch 3:15, as indicated in the note (7) above), then the inner sanctuary (2Ch 3:16), and then the two bronze pillars of the portico (2Ch 3:17). The fact that the pillars of the inner sanctuary were adorned with a total of only 100 bronze pomegranates should not be surprising, since their surface was smaller in comparison to the two bronze pillars of the portico and the two pillars at the front of the building. See also the note (6) above. [Back]

(9) Considering 2Ch 3:17 and 1Ki 7:21, since the bronze pillars were not made at the construction site but were transported and installed into their place, the statement ויקם את העמודים "and he erected the pillars" uses the verb קום "to raise, rise." The same verb appears in ויקם משה את המשכן "and Moses erected the tabernacle" in Ex 40:18. [Back]

(10) Considering the numbers given in 1Ki 7:23 and 2Ch 4:2, it should be noted that since the shape of the brim was like that of a lily flower (1Ki 7:26, 2Ch 4:5), it follows that close to the top of the Sea, the inner diameter was larger than at lower levels. The inner diameter at the top was 10 cubits (1Ki 7:23, 2Ch 4:2). Since the thickness of the Sea was one hand-breadth (1Ki 7:26, 2Ch 4:5) and its circumference had 30 cubits (1Ki 7:23, 2Ch 4:2), the inner diameter at lower levels could be calculated by subtracting two hand-breadths from the outer diameter of 30/π cubits. [Back]

(11) While 1Ki 7:26 indicates the maximum amount of water for which the Sea was designed, 2Ch 4:5 gives the maximum amount of water the Sea could hold, as could be inferred from the word מחזיק of 2Ch 4:5. Now the information given in this passage could be used to estimate the size of the בת "bath" unit of measure during Bible times. Denoting the inner height of the Sea by h = 5 cubits - 1 hand-breadth, and the inner diameter by d = 30/π cubits - 2 hand-breadths, a cylindrical approximation of the capacity of the Sea would result in a volume of hπd²/4. By setting this equal to 3000 baths, it follows that one bath had approximately 0.1 cubic cubits. This approximation is especially good if a hand-breadth is assumed to include all 5 fingers so as to equal 1/4 of a cubit. Assuming 1 cubit = 45 cm, it follows that 0.1 cubic cubits corresponds to approximately 2.4 gallons. The result in gallons is very sensitive to the exact value of a cubit. For example, 3.9 gallons are obtained for a 53 cm cubit. The intuition is that one bath (note that בת not only denotes the bath unit of measure but also means "daughter") is the approximate amount of water that a (grown up) daughter could comfortably carry. Note that the vessels in which water was carried had themselves some weight. [Back]

(12) The interpretation here is that the words כירות of 1Ki 7:38 and כיורים of 2Ch 4:6 have different meanings, the latter denoting the כירות "water tanks" together with their מכנות "stands." In view of 1Ki 7:38, it can be concluded that the plural of כיור is כירות. Now a כיור would be placed on a stand, as in Ex 31:9, 38:8. As for כיורים, since the plural of כיור is כירות and not כיורים, a comparison of 2Ch 4:6 with 1Ki 7:38-39 and 2Ch 4:14 would suggest that the form כיורים implies both the water tanks and their stands. [Back]

(13) 1Ki 7:40 and 2Ch 4:11 describe different events. This can be seen by considering the endings of these two verses. 1Ki 7:40 ends with אשר עשה למלך שלמה בית יהוה "when he made the house of the LORD for king Solomon," that is, "when he worked on the construction of the house of the LORD for king Solomon." This ending indicates that 1Ki 7:40 speaks of the time when Hiram completed his work for the temple. However, the ending of 2Ch 4:11 is אשר עשה למלך שלמה בבית האלהים "which he made for king Solomon in the house of God." It indicates that 2Ch 4:11 speaks of the time when Hiram completed his work for the temple building, not for the entire temple complex. Thus, 2Ch 4:11 refers to an earlier time than 1Ki 7:40. Moreover, אשר עשה למלך שלמה בבית האלהים "which he made for king Solomon in the house of God" in 2Ch 4:11 emphasizes that he made items that were placed in the house of God. Consistent with this observation is that 2Ch 4:12-13, which follows immediately after 2Ch 4:11, lists items placed in the house of God. Thus, in 2Ch 4:14, when the passage starts mentioning items that were not in the house of God, to indicate that these were not part of the list of 2Ch 4:12-13, the text begins with a new sentence: ואת המכנות עשה "He also made the stands."

Now חירום "Hirom" in 1Ki 7:40 and חורם "Huram" in 2Ch 4:11 appear to be versions of the same name. Evidence for it is as follows. First, חירום "Hirom" does not appear in Chronicles, while חורם "Huram" does not appear in Kings. Solomon exchanged letters with חורם "Huram" the king of Tyre (2Ch 2:3(2), 2Ch 2:11(10)) but חירום "Hirom" supplied him with wood (1Ki 5:10(24)) and Hirom's builders worked for Solomon (1Ki 5:18(32)). If then חירום "Hirom" in 1Ki 5:10(24) and 1Ki 5:18(32) is a version of the name חורם "Huram" in 2Ch 2:3(2) and 2Ch 2:11(10), then so is חירום "Hirom" in 1Ki 7:40 a version of חורם "Huram" in 2Ch 4:11. Thus, given the parallelism of 1Ki 7:40 and 2Ch 4:11, and given that where one verse has Hirom the other has Huram, it seems reasonable to assume that Hirom in 1Ki 7:40 and Huram in 2Ch 4:11 denote the same person.

Considering also the name חירם "Hiram," it appears in both Kings and Chronicles. King חירם "Hiram" of 1Ki 5:1-9(15-23), a friend of king David (1Ki 5:1(15)), may have been a grandfather of king חורם "Huram." As for חירם "Hiram" who made the bronze items of the temple, since 1Ki 7:40 has both חירום "Hirom" and חירם "Hiram," and 2Ch 4:11 has both חורם "Huram" and חירם "Hiram" (see the Kethiv), it can be concluded that Hiram was not the same person as Huram. (However, as indicated above, the names Hirom and Huram denote the same person.) In fact, it seems natural to interpret 2Ch 4:16 as stating that Huram was Hiram's father. Under this interpretation, Huram was not the last husband of Hiram's mother, for she was a widow. Thus, the phrase חורם אביו of 2Ch 4:16 is not taken here as a name "Huram Abi" but is translated "Huram his father." Now, the description of Hiram in 1Ki 7:13-14 indicates plainly that 2Ch 2:13-14 (12-13) is not about him. Then, it would appear that 2Ch 2:13-14 (12-13) is about Huram. Now 2Ch 2:13 (12) has, ועתה שלחתי איש חכם יודע בינה לחורם אבי "And now I have sent a skillful man of understanding of Huram my father." It follows that Huram, the craftsman, had been serving the kings of Tyre, including king Huram. Note that the description איש חכם יודע בינה לחורם אבי "a skillful man of understanding of Huram my father" resembles עם חכמיך וחכמי אדני דויד אביך "with thy skillful men and the skillful men of David thy father" in 2Ch 2:14 (13).

Though 1Ki 7:40 and 2Ch 4:11 describe different events, it is still interesting to compare them side-by-side, and the comparison is made in the following table. Note that where 2Ch 4:11 has הסירות "the cooking pots," 1Ki 7:40 has הכירות "the water tanks." This may be because the cooking pots were made before the time of 1Ki 7:40. Moreover, it is apparent that Huram worked on the water tanks shortly before Hiram completed all his work, though he did not work on it at the time of 2Ch 4:11. See the note (15) below for more detail.

(1Ki 7:40) ויעש ...	(2Ch 4:11) ויעש ...
(1Ki 7:40) ... חירום ...	(2Ch 4:11) ... חורם ...
(1Ki 7:40) ... את הכירות ...
	(2Ch 4:11) ... את הסירות ...
(1Ki 7:40) ... ואת היעים ואת המזרקות ויכל חירם לעשות את ...	(2Ch 4:11) ... ואת היעים ואת המזרקות ויכל חירם לעשות את ...
(1Ki 7:40) ... כל ...
(1Ki 7:40) ... המלאכה אשר עשה למלך שלמה ...	(1Ki 7:40) ... המלאכה אשר עשה למלך שלמה ...
	(2Ch 4:11) ... בבית האלהים
(1Ki 7:40) ... בית יהוה

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(14) When comparing 2Ch 4:12-13 to 1Ki 7:41-42, it can be seen that the former places more emphasis on the items that Hiram made. Emphasized forms are highlighted below in red.

(1Ki 7:41) עמדים ...	(2Ch 4:12) עמודים ...
(1Ki 7:41) ... שנים ...	(2Ch 4:12) ... שנים ...
(1Ki 7:41) ... וגלת ...	(2Ch 4:12) ... והגלות ...
(1Ki 7:41) ... הכתרת ...	(2Ch 4:12) ... והכתרות ...
(1Ki 7:41) ... אשר ...
(1Ki 7:41) ... על ראש העמודים שתים והשבכות שתים לכסות את שתי גלות ...	(2Ch 4:12) ... על ראש העמודים שתים והשבכות שתים לכסות את שתי גלות ...
(1Ki 7:41) ... הכתרת ...	(2Ch 4:12) ... הכתרות ...
(1Ki 7:41) ... אשר על ראש העמודים	(2Ch 4:12) ... אשר על ראש העמודים
(1Ki 7:42) ואת הרמנים ...	(2Ch 4:13) ואת הרמונים ...
(1Ki 7:42) ... ארבע מאות לשתי השבכות ...	(2Ch 4:13) ... ארבע מאות לשתי השבכות ...
(1Ki 7:42) ... שני ...	(2Ch 4:13) ... שנים ...
(1Ki 7:42) ... טורים ...	(2Ch 4:13) ... טורים ...
(1Ki 7:42) ... רמנים ...	(2Ch 4:13) ... רמונים ...
(1Ki 7:42) ... לשבכה האחת לכסות את שתי גלות ...	(2Ch 4:13) ... לשבכה האחת לכסות את שתי גלות ...
(1Ki 7:42) ... הכתרת ...	(2Ch 4:13) ... הכתרות ...
(1Ki 7:42) ... אשר על פני העמודים	(2Ch 4:13) ... אשר על פני העמודים

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(15) It is apparent that 1Ki 7:43 refers to a later time than 2Ch 4:14. This can be shown as follows. First, note that 1Ki 7:43 refers to a time when everything was finished, as could be seen in 1Ki 7:40. However, 2Ch 4:14 is in the context of a time when Hiram had finished his work for the items placed inside of the temple building (2Ch 4:11), though not necessarily for all other items. Moreover, by means of the perfect tense of עשה "he made," 2Ch 4:14 mentions that Hiram worked on the stands and their water tanks before he finished working on the items that were placed inside of the temple. (Now the fact that he worked on the stands and the water tanks does not imply that he finished them at that time.) In other words, Hiram worked on the items mentioned in 2Ch 4:14 before the time of the statement, ויכל חירם לעשות את המלאכה אשר עשה למלך שלמה בבית האלהים "and Hiram finished the work which he made for king Solomon in the house of God" (2Ch 4:11). Thus, the time of 2Ch 4:14 precedes the time of 1Ki 7:43.

As indicated in the note (13) above, חירום "Hirom" (1Ki 7:40) and חורם "Huram" (2Ch 4:11) appear to be versions of the same name that are used for the same person, though not for the same person as חירם "Hiram"; Huram and Hiram were two different craftsmen. Following 2Ch 4:11 as written (see the Kethiv), the subject of the verbs of 2Ch 4:14 is חירם "Hiram."

The following could be inferred about the order in which the various items mentioned in these passages were made.

• Huram worked on הכירות "the water tanks" some time before Hiram finished all his work; this can be seen in 1Ki 7:40 when considering the imperfect tense of ויכל "and finished."

• Not just Huram but also Hiram worked on הכירות "the water tanks" some time before he finished the items placed inside the temple building. Indeed, the perfect tense of עשה "he made" in 2Ch 4:14 implies something done before the time of the statement beginning with ויכל חירם לעשות את המלאכה "and Hiram finished the work" in 2Ch 4:11 and ending with 2Ch 4:13.

• Huram worked on הסירות "the cooking pots" before Hiram finished the items placed inside the temple building. Indeed, note the imperfect tense of ויכל "and finished" in 2Ch 4:11.

• Moreover, Huram worked on הסירות "the cooking pots" and המזלגות "the forks" before the time mentioned in 2Ch 4:14 when Hiram worked on הכירות "the water tanks." This can be inferred from the perfect tense of עשה "he made" in 2Ch 4:16.

• Note that המזלגות "the forks" are mentioned in 2Ch 4:16 but not in 2Ch 4:11. Consequently, it may be that the forks were finished before the time of 2Ch 4:11.

• Similarly, הסירות "the cooking pots" are mentioned in 2Ch 4:11 and 2Ch 4:16 but not in 1Ki 7:40. This may be because the cooking pots were finished before the time of 1Ki 7:40.

• Additionally, where 2Ch 4:11 has הסירות "the cooking pots," 1Ki 7:40 has הכירות "the water tanks." A possible explanation is that Huram worked on the water tanks shortly before Hiram completed all his work.

• Now where 2Ch 4:11 has המזרקות "the bowls," 2Ch 4:16 has המזלגות "the forks." So, it may be that Huram worked on the bowls after he finished making the forks. He was still working on the bowls at the time of 1Ki 7:40.

A comparison of 1Ki 7:43 and 2Ch 4:14 appears in the following table. Note that where 1Ki 7:43 has עשר "ten," 2Ch 4:14 has עשה "he made." Indeed, 1Ki 7:43 refers to a time when the work was completed. However, 2Ch 4:14 simply mentions a time when Hiram was working on the stands and on the water tanks, without saying that he finished them at that time.

(1Ki 7:43) ואת המכנות ...	(2Ch 4:14) ואת המכנות ...
(1Ki 7:43) ... עשר ...
	(2Ch 4:14) ... עשה ...
(1Ki 7:43) ... ואת הכירת ...	(2Ch 4:14) ... ואת הכירות ...
(1Ki 7:43) ... עשרה ...
	(2Ch 4:14) ... עשה ...
(1Ki 7:43) ... על המכנות	(2Ch 4:14) ... על המכנות

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(16) It is apparent that 1Ki 7:45 and 2Ch 4:16 address different topics. In its context, 1Ki 7:45 is about the work of חירם "Hiram." It mentions articles of bronze that Hiram did for האהל "the tabernacle" (see the Kethiv) when he worked for בית יהוה "the house of the LORD." As for 2Ch 4:16, note the discontinuity between 2Ch 4:15 and 2Ch 4:16: while the former is about Hiram's work (see 2Ch 4:11 and the Kethiv), the latter is about articles that חורם "Huram" did for the house of the LORD. As shown in the note (13) above, חורם "Huram" is not the same person as חירם "Hiram."

A comparison of 1Ki 7:45 and 2Ch 4:16 appears in the following table.

(1Ki 7:45) ואת הסירות ואת היעים ...	(2Ch 4:16) ואת הסירות ואת היעים ...
(1Ki 7:45) ... ואת המזרקות ...
	(2Ch 4:16) ... ואת המזלגות ...
(1Ki 7:45) ... ואת כל ...	(2Ch 4:16) ... ואת כל ...
	(2Ch 4:16) ... כליהם ...
(1Ki 7:45) ... הכלים האהל אשר ...
(1Ki 7:45) ... עשה ...	(2Ch 4:16) ... עשה ...
(1Ki 7:45) ... חירם ...
	(2Ch 4:16) ... חורם אביו ...
(1Ki 7:45) ... למלך שלמה ...	(2Ch 4:16) ... למלך שלמה ...
(1Ki 7:45) ... בית יהוה ...
	(2Ch 4:16) ... לבית יהוה ...
(1Ki 7:45) ... נחשת ...	(2Ch 4:16) ... נחשת ...
(1Ki 7:45) ... ממרט
	(2Ch 4:16) ... מרוק

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(17) Each of 1Ki 7:46 and 2Ch 4:17 provides a way of identifying the place where the bronze items were made. 1Ki 7:46 states that the location was בין סכות ובין צרתן " between Succoth and Zarethan." As stated in 2Ch 4:17, the location was also בין סכות ובין צרדתה "between Succoth and the area towards Zeredah." Now Zeredah was Jeroboam's town of origin (1Ki 11:26). As for Zarethan, it is mentioned in the context of Israel crossing the Jordan river in Jos 3:16. [Back]

(18) Since 2Ch 4:19 mentions multiple tables for the bread of presence, it appears that the singular form השלחן "the table" of 1Ki 7:48 is used as a noun of category and denotes all these tables. Examples of singular nouns with plural meaning that have both the article and the particle את can be found in Ge 10:16 and Ec 3:17. [Back]

(19) 2Ch 5:1 is understood here to refer to a somewhat earlier time than 1Ki 7:51. Indeed, note that 2Ch 5:1 begins with, ותשלם כל המלאכה אשר עשה שלמה לבית יהוה "And all the work that Solomon had done for the house of the LORD was finished." However, 1Ki 7:51 begins with, ותשלם כל המלאכה אשר עשה המלך שלמה בית יהוה "And all the work done when king Solomon built the house of the LORD was finished." Since 1Ki 7:51 does not limit the work to that which was done for the temple building, it is apparent that 1Ki 7:51 refers to a later time than 2Ch 5:1. Confirming this observation is the absence of the word כל "all" in the second part of 1Ki 7:51. Where 2Ch 5:1 has כל הכלים "all the utensils," 1Ki 7:51 simply has הכלים "the utensils." Since the word כל "all" admits exceptions, it follows that by the time of 2Ch 5:1 essentially every utensil had been brought into the treasuries of the temple. However, by the later time of 1Ki 7:51, every utensil had been brought into the temple treasuries. Now 2Ch 5:1 and 1Ki 7:51 do not include the items of the tent of meeting, for these were brought when the ark of the covenant was brought into the temple (2Ch 5:5, 1Ki 8:4). As mentioned in the note (1) of the sequence of 1Ki 8:1-66 and 2Ch 5:2-7:10, at the time of 2Ch 5:1, Solomon summoned the elders of Israel and all heads of the tribes to Jerusalem. Moreover, after they came, at the time of 1Ki 7:51, he assembled to himself the elders who were heads of the tribes.

A comparison of 1Ki 7:51 and 2Ch 5:1 is given in the following table.

(1Ki 7:51) ותשלם כל המלאכה אשר עשה ...	(2Ch 5:1) ותשלם כל המלאכה אשר עשה ...
(1Ki 7:51) ... המלך ...
(1Ki 7:51) ... שלמה ...	(2Ch 5:1) ... שלמה ...
(1Ki 7:51) ... בית יהוה ...	(2Ch 5:1) ... לבית יהוה ...
(1Ki 7:51) ... ויבא שלמה את קדשי ...	(2Ch 5:1) ... ויבא שלמה את קדשי ...
(1Ki 7:51) ... דוד ...	(2Ch 5:1) ... דויד ...
(1Ki 7:51) ... אביו ...	(2Ch 5:1) ... אביו ...
(1Ki 7:51) ... את ...	(2Ch 5:1) ... ואת ...
(1Ki 7:51) ... הכסף ואת הזהב ואת ...	(2Ch 5:1) ... הכסף ואת הזהב ואת ...
	(2Ch 5:1) ... כל ...
(1Ki 7:51) ... הכלים נתן באצרות בית ...	(2Ch 5:1) ... הכלים נתן באצרות בית ...
(1Ki 7:51) ... יהוה	(2Ch 5:1) ... האלהים

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