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15 And Solomon had 70,000 burden bearers and 80,000 hewers [of stone] in the hill country of Judah,

16 Besides Solomon’s 3,300 overseers in charge of the people doing the work.

17 The king commanded, and they hewed and brought out [a]great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stone.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 5:17 These great foundation stones remain to this day. One of them is almost thirty-nine feet long, one of the most interesting stones of the world. It is the chief cornerstone of the Mosque of Omar’s massive wall, placed in its present position 3,000 years ago. Markings on the stones represent the culture of Phoenicia, the region around Tyre from which Solomon received building materials for the temple.

15 Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, 16 as well as thirty-three hundred[a] foremen(A) who supervised the project and directed the workers. 17 At the king’s command they removed from the quarry(B) large blocks of high-grade stone(C) to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 5:16 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 2:2,18) thirty-six hundred