Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Kings 5:17 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 17. 17And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
At 1 Kings 5:17, the narrator records the quarrying of large dressed stones for the temple foundation.
Read It With
- 1 Kings 5:13–5:18
Read 1 Kings 5:17 with 1 Kings 5:13–5:18, titled “Levy labor prepares timber and stone.” Records the quarrying of large dressed stones for the temple foundation.
Why This Verse Appears Here
1 Kings 5:17 records the quarrying of large dressed stones for the temple foundation; this distinct detail carries 1 Kings 5:13–5:18 from “1 Kings 5:7–5:12 has just shown: Hiram agrees and peace becomes a covenant.” toward “1 Kings 6:1–6:10 next develops: The temple shell and side chambers are built.”
Read 1 Kings 5:13–18 together
Why these verses belong together: Levy labor prepares timber and stone is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 5:13–5:18.
Verse 13. 13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
Verse 14. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.
Verse 15. 15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;
Verse 16. 16 Beside the chief of Solomon’s officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.
Verse 17. 17 And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.
Verse 18. 18 And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
Follow the Context
- Introduces the compulsory levy of thirty thousand Israelites
- Joins Solomon's and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites in preparing timber and stone
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Temple preparation does not sanctify forced labor, state expansion, unequal exchange, or prosperity claims made in God's name.
What Remains True
Because 1 Kings 5:17 records the quarrying of large dressed stones for the temple foundation, responsible reading keeps the narrated action, source limits, accountable agents, and affected people together; Temple preparation does not sanctify forced labor, state expansion, unequal exchange, or prosperity claims made in God's name.
How It Can Shape Life
- When an analogous issue arises, use 1 Kings 5:17 to name the specific conduct—records the quarrying of large dressed stones for the temple foundation—then document power, evidence, uncertainty, safeguards, and people at risk.
Teach It Back
In 55–180 words, explain how 1 Kings 5:17 records the quarrying of large dressed stones for the temple foundation, why it needs 1 Kings 5:13–5:18, and what the complete unit does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Kings 5:13–5:18 — Levy labor prepares timber and stoneSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The received Hebrew narrative and its KJV presentation are clear enough to follow this movement, while precise source history, chronology, motives, textual development, and external correlation require graded confidence rather than invented certainty.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 5:13–5:18, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 5:13–5:18
Open source ↗