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Chapter 7 records other architectural projects of Solomon. After the Temple was built, Solomon built his Palace. This building complex took 13 years to build. The location is not clear. It is believed to have been located just south of the Temple, within the walls of the new city of Jerusalem that had been enlarged by Solomon. Verse 2 describes one of the buildings of that complex, it was called The Hall of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 100 cubits (150 feet) long by 50 cubits (75 feet) wide by 30 cubits (45 feet) high. The ceiling was supported by cedar beams resting on four rows of cedar columns. There were 45 windows in the Hall. Three walls each had 3 tiers of 5 each.
Another building was called The Hall of Pillars. It was 50 cubits (75 feet) long by 30 cubits (45 feet) wide, with a porch across the front. Then there was the Throne Room or Judgment Hall. It was where Solomon pronounced judgments. It would appear that the Judgment Hall was in the center of this complex and a courtyard surrounded it and separated it from the Halls and the living quarters. Verse 8 speaks of the quarters that he built for his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, which was the same size as the one he lived in.
Then the commentary reverts back to the Temple and its construction telling us about a man by the name of Hiram who was a metal worker from Phoenicia. His mother was Jewish and his father a Phoenician from Tyre. This man cast two large hollow columns of bronze that set at the top of the stairs on the platform, one on either side of the entrance to the Temple. These columns were "free standing" and one was called "Jachin" and the other "Boaz". We can only speculate as to why these columns were so named.
The origin of the names of these two columns is uncertain. Two possibilities exist, one Phoenician, and the other Hebrew. In the Hebrew, Jachin means "firmness" and Boaz means "strength", undoubtedly referring to the characteristics of God. In Phoenician, Jachin means "Yahweh" and Boaz means "Baal", the two main Gods of that day. These columns were made of burnish copper and were 18 cubits (27 feet) high and 12 cubits (18 feet) in circumference. They were hollow and the thickness of the shell was "four fingers" (3 inches). They were cast from a mould made of clay from the Jordan River. On top, were bowls that contained burning incense and as they caught the gleam of the morning sun, it reminded the people of the "pillow of fire" and the cloud of smoke that had led them for 40 years in the wilderness.
One other possibility had been suggested as the reason for these two columns; it relates to the "fertility rites" practiced by the Egyptians and the Phoenicians and, by now, were practiced by most Hebrews. These rites involved the use of two large poles and maybe, these two columns represented those two poles, outside the Temple, but never the less, a part of it. It has been suggested that the Hebrews would have missed these two poles as much as Christians would miss the cross if it were not a part of our church decoration.
Hiram also made a round tank of cast bronze, 10 cubits (15 feet) in diameter and 5 cubits (7 and one half feet) high. This tank was called "the molten sea" and contained about 12,000 gallons of water. It was set upon the backs of 12 bronze oxen, 3 each facing the four directions of the compass. This water was used by the Priests for their purification and the purification of the sacrifices.
He also made 10 brass vats, each 4 cubits (6 feet) square and contained 240 gallons of water. The vats set upon 4-wheeled movable stands that were 4 cubits (6 feet) square and 3 cubits (4 and one half feet) high. The water in these vats was used for clean up by the "lesser" Temple workers. Then he made all the necessary utensils for the functions of the Temple. When this work was finally finished, Solomon took into the Temple, all that David had dedicated for the services in the Temple.
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