These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher);
Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);
Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;
Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);
Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land.
Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy.
Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him.
And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.
Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore,
so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.
He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish.
And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
“You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.
But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune.
And so I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’
Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.”
And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber.
My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. And I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it. And you shall meet my wishes by providing food for my household.”
So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired,
And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men.
And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the draft.
Solomon also had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country,
besides Solomon's 3,300 chief officers who were over the work, who had charge of the people who carried on the work.
At the king's command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones.
So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.
In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord.
The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.
The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house.
And he made for the house windows with recessed frames.
He also built a structure against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around.
The lowest story was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.
When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.
The entrance for the lowest story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third.
So he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar.
He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.
Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon,
And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.”
So Solomon built the house and finished it.
He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress.
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