1 Kings 5:17

“And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, etc.] Not in quality, but in quantity, large stones, fit to lay in the foundation; strong, and durable against all the injuries of time, as Josephus says f85: costly stones; not what are commonly called precious stones, as gems, pearls, etc. but stones of value, as marble, porphyry, etc. [and] hewed stones; not rough as they were taken out of the quarry, but hewed, and made smooth: to lay the foundation of the house; which, though out of sight, was to be laid with goodly stones for the magnificence of the building; so the church of Christ, its foundation is said to be laid even with sapphires and other precious stones, (see…”

“brought great stones--The stone of Lebanon is "hard, calcareous, whitish and sonorous, like free stone" [SHAW]. The same white and beautiful stone can be obtained in every part of Syria and Palestine. hewed stones--or neatly polished, as the Hebrew word signifies (Exo 20:25). Both Jewish and Tyrian builders were employed in hewing these great stones.”

“Some of these “great, hewed (no and) stones,” are probably still to be seen in the place where they were set by Solomon’s builders, at the southwestern angle of the wall of the Haram area in the modern Jerusalem. The largest found so far is 38 ft. 9 in. long, and weighs about 100 tons. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Great and costly - Marble and porphyry, or other stones of great size and value. The foundation - Where they could not afterward be seen: and therefore that this was done, is mentioned only as a point of magnificence, except it was intended for a type, or mystical signification of the preciousness of Christ, who is the foundation of the true temple, the church of God. 3 Kings (1 Kings) 5:18”

“5:17-18 Large blocks of high-quality stone were probably cut to size (see 7:10) in a quarry near Jerusalem (6:7). The need to handle these massive stones is probably what led Solomon to institute forced labor. The craftsmen included men from . . . Gebal (Byblos), a port known for exporting timber, according to ancient Egyptian inscriptions.”

“costly stones: Kg1 6:7, Kg1 7:9; Ch1 22:2; Isa 28:16; Co1 3:11, Co1 3:12; Pe1 2:6, Pe1 2:7; Rev 21:14-21 3 Kings (1 Kings) 5:18”

“And the king had large, costly stones broken, "to lay the foundation of the house with hewn stones." יקרות does not mean heavy (Thenius), for this would be a perfectly superfluous remark, inasmuch as large stones are always heavy, but costly, valuable stones, qui multa pecunia constabant (Cler.); compare Kg1 10:2, where the word stands for precious stones. ליסּד, i.e., to lay the foundation for the temple, by which we are to understand not merely the foundation for the temple-house, but the magnificent substructions for the whole of the temple area, even though the strong walls which surrounded the temple mountain, and which Josephus describes in his Antiquities, viii. 3, 9, and xv. 11, 3,…”