Hiram

13King Solomon sent for a man named Hiram. Hiram lived in the city of Tyre.

And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.

NoteTyre was a busy city by the sea, north of Israel. Its people were famous for building and for working with metal.

14His mother was a widow from the family group of Naphtali. His father came from Tyre and worked with metal. Hiram was very wise and skilled at every kind of metal work. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.

He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.

NoteA widow is a woman whose husband has died. The family groups were the twelve big families of Israel, and Naphtali was one. The King James Bible says "brass," but the metal was really bronze. Bronze is made by mixing copper and tin.

15He poured two pillars out of melted metal. Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall. A string wrapped around one measured twelve cubits.

For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.

NoteTo pour melted metal, workers made a hollow shape called a mold. They poured the hot liquid metal in and let it cool hard. Eighteen cubits is about as tall as three grown-ups standing on each other.

16He also made two top pieces of melted metal to sit on the pillars. Each top piece was five cubits high.

And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:

NoteThe top piece is the decorated part that sits on the very top of a pillar. It is like a fancy hat for the post.

17He made woven nets and chains for the top pieces on the pillars. There were seven of them for each top piece.

And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.

18He made the pillars. Around each net he put two rows of pomegranates, a round red fruit. These covered the top pieces of the pillars.

And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.

NoteA pomegranate is a fruit with a tough red skin. Inside are many juicy seeds. They grew all over that land, so people loved to carve them.

19The top pieces on the pillars by the porch were shaped like lilies. They stood four cubits high.

And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.

NoteA lily is a flower with petals that curve open at the top. The metal tops were shaped to look like that flower.

20Each top piece also had pomegranates above the rounded part near the net. Two hundred pomegranates stood in rows all around each top piece.

And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter.

21He set the pillars up at the porch of the temple, the LORD's house. The pillar on the right he named Jachin. The pillar on the left he named Boaz.

And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.

NoteThese two names come from the old Hebrew language. Jachin means something like "he will make it strong and steady." Boaz means something like "in him is strength."

22The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was done.

And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished.

23He made a huge round tank of melted metal, called the Sea. It measured ten cubits across the top. It was five cubits deep and thirty cubits around.

And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

NoteIt was called the Sea because it was so big and held so much water. Priests used the water in it for washing. Ten cubits across is wider than a car is long.

24Under its rim ran rows of round buds. There were ten buds in every cubit, all the way around. They were poured as part of the tank.

And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.

NoteBuds are flowers that have not opened yet. These were small round shapes made of metal, not real flowers.

25The tank rested on twelve metal oxen. Three faced north, three west, three south, and three east. Their back ends all pointed inward.

It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

NoteOxen are big, strong cattle. People used them to pull carts and plows. These oxen were made of metal, not alive.

26The metal was as thick as a hand is wide. The rim curved out like the edge of a cup, like a lily flower. The tank held two thousand baths.

And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.

NoteA hand breadth is how wide your hand is across, about four inches. A bath was a way to measure water, about six big buckets. Two thousand baths is more water than a small swimming pool holds.

27He also made ten metal stands. Each one was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.

And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.

NoteThese stands were like low metal carts. Each one had wheels and held a big bowl of water.

28The stands were built like this. They had flat side panels set between upright bars.

And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges:

29On the panels were lions, oxen, and cherubim, which are heavenly creatures with wings. Above the bars was a small stand. Below the lions and oxen hung thin, carved wreaths.

And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.

NoteCherubim are creatures with wings that serve God. People often carved or drew them in the temple. Nobody made pictures of God himself.

30Each stand had four metal wheels with metal axles. Supports stood at the four corners. These poured supports held up a washing bowl, with wreaths beside them.

And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition.

NoteAn axle is the bar that wheels turn around on. Supports are strong pieces that hold something up from below.

31The opening at the top of each stand was one cubit deep. The opening was round, a cubit and a half across. Carvings and borders ran around it. The panels were square, not round.

And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.

32Four wheels sat under the panels. The axles of the wheels were joined to the stand. Each wheel was a cubit and a half tall.

And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

33The wheels were made like chariot wheels. Their axles, hubs, rims, and spokes were all poured metal.

And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten.

NoteA chariot was a small cart pulled by horses. People rode in it to fight or to travel fast.

34Each stand had four supports, one at every corner. They were made as part of the stand itself.

And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself.

35On top of each stand was a round band half a cubit high. The bars and panels on top were part of the stand too.

And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same.

36He carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the bars and panels. He fit them wherever there was room. Carved wreaths went all around.

For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about.

37He made all ten stands this way. They were poured the same, and all were the same size and shape.

After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size.

38He also made ten metal bowls for washing. Each bowl held forty baths and was four cubits across. One bowl sat on each of the ten stands.

Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.

NoteForty baths is about as much water as a big bathtub holds. Priests used this water to wash things for worship.

39He put five stands on the right side of the house and five on the left. He set the big tank on the right side, at the southeast corner.

And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.

NoteThe front of the temple faced east, toward the sunrise. So the "right side" meant the south side of the building.

40Hiram made the washing bowls, the shovels, and the sprinkling bowls. So Hiram finished all the work he did for King Solomon on the LORD's house.

And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD:

NoteSprinkling bowls held liquid that priests sprinkled at the altar. The shovels were for scooping out ashes from the fire.

41He made the two pillars. He made the two bowl-shaped top pieces for them. He made the two nets that covered those bowl-shaped tops.

The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars;

42He made four hundred pomegranates for the two nets. Two rows went on each net, covering the bowl-shaped tops on the pillars.

And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars;

43He made the ten stands and the ten bowls that sat on them.

And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases;

44He made the one big tank and the twelve oxen that held it up.

And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;

45He made the pots, the shovels, and the sprinkling bowls. Everything Hiram made for King Solomon for the LORD's house was shiny bronze.

And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass.

NoteBronze is a hard metal made by mixing copper and tin. When it is rubbed and polished, it shines like gold.

46The king had them poured in the flat land near the Jordan River. The molds were made in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.

In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.

NoteSuccoth and Zarthan were two towns near the Jordan River. The ground there had thick clay, good for making molds.

47Solomon never weighed any of these things. There were far too many of them. So no one knew how much the metal weighed.

And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.

NotePeople usually weighed metal to know how much it was worth. There was so much here that nobody even tried.

13So I am sending you a very skilled man. His name is Huram-abi. He is clever and full of good ideas.

And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father’s,

14His mother came from the tribe of Dan. His father was a man from Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. He can work with stone and wood. He can work with purple, blue, and red yarn, and fine linen. He can carve any kind of design. He can make anything you ask him to make. He will work with your skilled men and with the men of your father David.

The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.

NoteDan was one of the twelve family groups of Israel. Linen is smooth cloth made from a plant called flax.

11Huram also made the pots, the shovels, and the sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work he had promised. He did it for King Solomon, for God's house.

And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God;

NoteHuram was a very skilled metal worker. King Solomon asked him to come and help build. Sprinkling bowls were used to carry blood from the animal gifts. Priests sprinkled a little of it on the altar. The shovels were for scooping ashes away after a fire.

12Here is what he made. He made the two tall pillars. He made the two bowl-shaped tops that sat on the pillars. He made two sets of woven metal to cover those tops.

To wit, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on the top of the pillars;

NoteThe pillars were two tall metal posts. They stood at the front of the temple, one on each side. The bowl-shaped tops sat on the pillars like fancy hats. The woven metal looked like a net made of chains.

13He made four hundred metal pomegranates for the woven covers. There were two rows of them on each cover. They went around the bowl-shaped tops of the pillars.

And four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were upon the pillars.

NoteA pomegranate is a round red fruit. It is full of little juicy seeds inside. It grew all over that land, so people knew it well.

14He made the stands. He made the washing bowls that sat on the stands.

He made also bases, and lavers made he upon the bases;

15He made the big Sea. He made the twelve oxen that held it up.

One sea, and twelve oxen under it.

16He made the pots, the shovels, and the big meat forks. He made all the other tools too. Huram, the skilled worker, made these for King Solomon. They were all for the LORD's house, made of polished bronze.

The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass.

NoteThe big meat forks were for lifting meat out of the pots. Polished bronze was rubbed until it shone almost like a mirror. When the Bible prints LORD in big letters, it means God's own special name.

17The king had them made out in the flat land near the Jordan River. The workers poured the hot metal into molds of clay. This was done between the towns of Succoth and Zeredah.

In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah.

NoteThe Jordan River runs down the middle of that land. The flat ground beside it had thick clay in it. Clay is sticky mud that gets hard when it dries. That made it good for shaping molds. Succoth and Zeredah were two small towns there.

18Solomon made so many of these things that no one counted them. Nobody ever found out how much all the bronze weighed.

Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.