With King Solomon firmly established on the throne, it's time to begin getting serious about the major building project of his reign: the Temple!
Chapter 5 details the preparations that had to be made before construction could begin. A treaty was struck with King Hiram of Tyre, and arrangements were made between the two kings for Israel to purchase cedars of Lebanon from the Sidonians. The cedars of Lebanon were renowned and prized for their exceptional qualities. The word "cedar" or "cedars" appears 75 times in the Bible.
Workers from both nations would serve together in this project, and the logs would be floated down the sea as rafts from Lebanon to Israel. Solomon also arranged for stonecutters to work in the quarries to furnish "costly, dressed stones" for the foundation of the Temple (vs. 17).
Altogether, gathering the building materials for the Temple would require 30,000 conscripted workers from Israel to go to Lebanon to work on the cedars, as well as over 150,000 laborers and stonecutters to prepare the stones!
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