Bible Strands
1 Kings 7:10
The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the architectural specifications during the construction of Solomon’s temple complex, detailing the initial phase of the foundation work.
The words — The text highlights אֲבָנִים ('a.va.Nim) meaning "stones" and יְקָר֖וֹת (ye.ka.Rot) meaning "costly," explicitly noting the material quality and the precise dimensions of ten and eight cubits.
The thread — This foundation imagery recurs in Isaiah 28:16 and 54:11 regarding God’s sure and restored foundations, and in Revelation 21:19 where New Jerusalem’s foundations are adorned with precious stones.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to recognize the deliberate investment in structural integrity and the exact measurements used in sacred construction. It establishes a physical standard that later biblical texts apply to spiritual stability and divine provision.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.
Cross-references
- Revelation 21:19 The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
- Isaiah 28:16 So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- Isaiah 54:11 “O afflicted city, lashed by storms, without solace, surely I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires.
- 1 Corinthians 3:10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.