Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Kings 6:37 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 37. 37In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech: “In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif.” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Seven years close the temple construction.”
Foundation month and finish month close the account
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Kings 6:37–38. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Kings 6:37–38
Read 1 Kings 6:37 with 6:37–38. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Returns to the fourth-year month when the foundation was laid; dates the completed temple to Solomon's eleventh year and states that construction took seven years.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Seven years close the temple construction,” 1 Kings 6:37 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech through the wording “In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif.” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The dated completion notice closes the temple-construction sequence that began with the foundation and moved through shell, interior, doors, and courts.
Read 1 Kings 6:37–38 together
Why these verses belong together: Seven years close the temple construction is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 6:37–6:38.
Verse 37. 37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:
Verse 38. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
Follow the Context
- Returns to the fourth-year month when the foundation was laid
- Dates the completed temple to Solomon's eleventh year and states that construction took seven years
What This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Kings 6:37 does not permit the wording “In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The unit does not contain God inside architecture, make building scale proof of spiritual health, or hide the labor, extraction, political power, and covenant conditions behind sacred splendor.
What Remains True
Sacred beauty and public worship remain subordinate to God's freedom, covenant faithfulness, justice, and the dignity of people who build and serve. This unit tests that truth through returns to the fourth-year month when the foundation was laid; dates the completed temple to Solomon's eleventh year and states that construction took seven years. In 1 Kings 6:37, the concrete line “In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 1 Kings 6:37's role in 6:37–38. Paraphrase “In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Kings 6:37–38 — Seven years close the temple constructionSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
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 6:37–38, 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 6:37–38
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 594–596, translation and translator notes for 6:37–38
Open source ↗