m Lebanon unto the
sea: and I will make them into rafts to go by sea unto the place that
thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and
thou shalt receive them; and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving
food for my household." The payment agreed on, which was in kind,
consisted of twenty thousand _kor_ of wheat, and twenty _kor_ of pure
oil per annum, for which Hiram was to send to Jerusalem not only the
timber, but architects, masons, and Gebalite carpenters (i.e. from
Byblos), smelters, sculptors, and overseers.* Solomon undertook to
supply the necessary labour, and for this purpose made a levy of men
from all the tribes. The number of these labourers was reckoned at
thirty thousand, and they were relieved regularly every three months;
seventy thousand were occupied in the transport of the materials, while
eighty thousand cut the stones from the quarry.**

* 1 Kings v. 7--11 * cf. 2 Chron. ii. 3--16, where the
writer adds 20,000 _kor_ of barley, 20,000 "baths" of wine,
and the same quantity of oil.

** 1 Kings v. 13-18; of. 2 Chron. ii. 1, 2, 17, 18.

It is possible that the numbers may have been somewhat exaggerated in
popular estimation, since the greatest Egyptian monuments never required
such formidable levies of workmen for their construction; we must
remember, however, that such an undertaking demanded a considerable
effort, as the Hebrews were quite unaccustomed to that kind of labour.
The front of the temple faced eastward; it was twenty cubits wide, sixty
long, and thirty high. The walls were of enormous squared stones, and
the ceilings and frames of the doors of carved cedar, plated with gold;
it was entered by a porch, between two columns of wrought bronze, which
were called Jachin and Boaz.*

* 1 Kings vii. 15-22; cf. 2 Chron. iv. 11-13. The names were probably
engraved each upon its respective column, and taken together formed an
inscription which could be interpreted in various ways. The most simple
interpretation is to recognise in them a kind of talismanic formula to
ensure the strength of the building, affirming "that it exists by the
strength" of God.

The interior contained only two chambers; the _hekal,_ or holy place,
where were kept the altar of incense, the seven-branched candlestick,
and the table of shewbread; and the Holy of Holies--_debir_--where the
ark of God rested beneath the wings of two cherubim of gilded wood.
Against the outer wal