The Building of the Royal Palace

7:1 Solomon took thirteen years to build his palace.1 7:2 He named2 it “The Palace of the Lebanon Forest”;3 it was 150 feet4 long, 75 feet5 wide, and 45 feet6 high. It had four rows of cedar pillars and cedar beams above the pillars. 7:3 The roof above the beams supported by the pillars was also made of cedar; there were forty-five beams, fifteen per row. 7:4 There were three rows of windows arranged in sets of three.7 7:5 All of the entrances8 were rectangular in shape9 and they were arranged in sets of three.10 7:6 He made a colonnade11 75 feet12 long and 45 feet13 wide. There was a porch in front of this and pillars and a roof in front of the porch.14 7:7 He also made a throne room, called “The Hall of Judgment,” where he made judicial decisions.15 It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.16 7:8 The palace where he lived was constructed in a similar way.17 He also constructed a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.18 7:9 All of these were built with the best19 stones, chiseled to the right size20 and cut with a saw on all sides,21 from the foundation to the edge of the roof22 and from the outside to the great courtyard. 7:10 The foundation was made of large valuable stones, measuring either 15 feet or 12 feet.23 7:11 Above the foundation24 the best25 stones, chiseled to the right size,26 were used along with cedar. 7:12 Around the great courtyard were three rows of chiseled stones and one row of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple and the hall of the palace.27