The Meaning of 1 Kings 7:2 Explained

1 Kings 7:2

KJV: He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.

YLT: And he buildeth the house of the forest of Lebanon; a hundred cubits is its length, and fifty cubits its breadth, and thirty cubits its height, on four rows of cedar pillars, and cedar-beams on the pillars;

Darby: And he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was a hundred cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar-pillars, with cedar-beams upon the pillars;

ASV: For he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was a hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He built  also the house  of the forest  of Lebanon;  the length  thereof [was] an hundred  cubits,  and the breadth  thereof fifty  cubits,  and the height  thereof thirty  cubits,  upon four  rows  of cedar  pillars,  with cedar  beams  upon the pillars. 

What does 1 Kings 7:2 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 7:1-12 - Other Splendid Structures
Solomon's house took nearly twice as long to build as did the Temple, because there was not the same urgency for it. His house and that for the queen were probably built around large open courts, and stood, after the manner of the East, on either side of the central hall where public business was transacted.
The royal hall in Jerusalem was called the "House of the Forest of Lebanon," because its many pillars resembled a forest of cedar wood. In front of this building was a colonnade, and in front of this again, the King's Gate.
It is more than likely that the area of Mount Zion was greatly enlarged by walls built up from the valley and filled in with earth. This furnished room for the many splendid buildings named in this paragraph. Traces of these cyclopean walls can still be seen. In order to estimate the real value of all this splendor we have only to turn to the earliest chapters of Ecclesiastes, where we read how little it satisfied the hunger of Solomon's soul. He turned away from it all, as unsatisfied as the prodigal from the husks of the swine. We were made for God and only God can suffice.
1 Kings 7:1-51 - 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 7

1  The building of Solomon's house
2  Of the house of Lebanon
6  Of the porch of pillars
7  Of the porch of judgment
8  Of the house for Pharaoh's daughter
13  Hiram's work of the two pillars,
23  Of the molten sea
27  Of the ten bases
38  Of the ten lavers
40  and all the vessels

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 7:2 mean?

And He built - the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits its length [was] and fifty cubits its width and thirty its height with four rows of pillars cedar and beams cedar on the pillars
וַיִּ֜בֶן אֶת־ בֵּ֣ית ׀ יַ֣עַר הַלְּבָנ֗וֹן מֵאָ֨ה אַמָּ֤ה אָרְכּוֹ֙ וַחֲמִשִּׁ֤ים אַמָּה֙ רָחְבּ֔וֹ וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים קוֹמָת֑וֹ עַ֗ל אַרְבָּעָה֙ טוּרֵי֙ עַמּוּדֵ֣י אֲרָזִ֔ים וּכְרֻת֥וֹת אֲרָזִ֖ים עַל־ הָעַמּוּדִֽים

וַיִּ֜בֶן  And  He  built 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּנָה  
Sense: to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
בֵּ֣ית ׀  the  House 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יַ֣עַר  of  the  Forest 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יַעַר 
Sense: forest, wood, thicket, wooded height.
הַלְּבָנ֗וֹן  of  Lebanon 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: לְבָנׄון  
Sense: a wooded mountain range on the northern border of Israel.
מֵאָ֨ה  a  hundred 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: מֵאָה 
Sense: hundred.
אַמָּ֤ה  cubits 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַמָּה 
Sense: cubit—a measure of distance (the forearm), roughly 8 in (.
אָרְכּוֹ֙  its  length  [was] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֹרֶךְ  
Sense: length.
וַחֲמִשִּׁ֤ים  and  fifty 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, common plural
Root: חֲמִשִּׁים 
Sense: fifty.
אַמָּה֙  cubits 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַמָּה 
Sense: cubit—a measure of distance (the forearm), roughly 8 in (.
רָחְבּ֔וֹ  its  width 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רֹחַב  
Sense: breadth, width, expanse.
וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים  and  thirty 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, common plural
Root: שְׁלֹשִׁים  
Sense: thirty, thirtieth.
קוֹמָת֑וֹ  its  height 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קֹומָה  
Sense: height.
אַרְבָּעָה֙  four 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אַרְבַּע  
Sense: four.
טוּרֵי֙  rows 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: טוּר  
Sense: row.
עַמּוּדֵ֣י  of  pillars 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: עַמּוּד  
Sense: pillar, column.
אֲרָזִ֔ים  cedar 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֶרֶז  
Sense: cedar.
וּכְרֻת֥וֹת  and  beams 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: כְּרֻתֹות  
Sense: beams, hewn beams.
אֲרָזִ֖ים  cedar 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֶרֶז  
Sense: cedar.
הָעַמּוּדִֽים  the  pillars 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עַמּוּד  
Sense: pillar, column.