The Meaning of 1 Kings 5:17 Explained

1 Kings 5:17

KJV: And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.

YLT: And the king commandeth, and they bring great stones, precious stone, to lay the foundation of the house, hewn stones;

Darby: And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the house.

ASV: And the king commanded, and they hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought stone.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the king  commanded,  and they brought  great  stones,  costly  stones,  [and] hewed  stones,  to lay the foundation  of the house. 

What does 1 Kings 5:17 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 5:7-18 - Preparations For The Great Task
It was good for Hiram and his Tyrians to be associated with the servants of Solomon. Together they hewed immense blocks of stone, some of which were thirty feet in length and six feet in breadth, and which still form foundations on the ancient Temple site. Together they hewed down and fashioned the cedar and fir trees on the slopes of Lebanon. May we not learn from this partnership that Gentiles are to be associated with Jews in that one holy Temple, which through the ages is growing into a habitation of God by His Spirit? Ephesians 2:21-22. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, circumcision nor uncircumcision.
The treaty between the two kingdoms was eminently wise, because they differed so widely-the one being pastoral, the other commercial. It was wise for Peter and John to enter into close friendship, and together ascend the steps to the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, Acts 3:1-3. Be content to be a hewer on the mountains, shaping rough blocks of granite, but, do something toward building the Temple of God, which arises slowly amid the wreck of all human structures.
1 Kings 5:1-18 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 5

1  Hiram, sending to congratulate Solomon, is desired to furnish him with timber
7  Hiram, blessing God for Solomon, furnishes him with trees
13  The number of Solomon's workmen and laborers

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 5:17 mean?

And commanded them the king and to quarry stones large costly to lay the foundation of the temple [and] stones hewn
וַיְצַ֣ו הַמֶּ֡לֶךְ וַיַּסִּעוּ֩ אֲבָנִ֨ים גְּדֹל֜וֹת יְקָר֛וֹת לְיַסֵּ֥ד הַבָּ֖יִת אַבְנֵ֥י גָזִֽית

וַיְצַ֣ו  And  commanded  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: צָוָה  
Sense: to command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order.
הַמֶּ֡לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
וַיַּסִּעוּ֩  and  to  quarry 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָסַע  
Sense: to pull out, pull up, set out, journey, remove, set forward, depart.
אֲבָנִ֨ים  stones 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: אֶבֶן  
Sense: stone (large or small).
גְּדֹל֜וֹת  large 
Parse: Adjective, feminine plural
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
יְקָר֛וֹת  costly 
Parse: Adjective, feminine plural
Root: יְקִפָּאֹון 
Sense: valuable, prized, weighty, precious, rare, splendid.
לְיַסֵּ֥ד  to  lay  the  foundation 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: יָסַד 
Sense: to found, fix, establish, lay foundation.
הַבָּ֖יִת  of  the  temple 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
אַבְנֵ֥י  [and]  stones 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: אֶבֶן  
Sense: stone (large or small).
גָזִֽית  hewn 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: גָּזִית  
Sense: a cutting, hewing.