complete verse (1 Kings 6:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 6:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “The stones would first be shaped from where they are dug out/quarried because the sound of either a hammer, pick-axe or any other metal was not wanted/allowed at the building site.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “While the temple was being built only pieces of stone that had been cut at the quarry and brought were used. While the temple was being built, no sound of hammer, chisel or any kind of iron tools was to be heard.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When the temple was-built, the stones that were-used were- already -trimmed/shaped from where- it -was-taken-from, so no one can- now -hear the pounding of the hammers, chisel, or any kind of iron tools.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The huge stones for the foundation of the temple were cut and shaped at the quarry to become very smooth. The result was that while the workers were building the temple there was no noise, because they did not use hammers or chisels or any other iron tools there.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 6:7

When the house was built: This passive construction will have to be made active in many languages. Some possible models are “When the builders were building the house” and “While they [indefinite] were erecting the Temple.” In the same way the clause at the end of this verse, while it was being built, may have to be restated in active form; for example, “while they were building it.”

It was with stone prepared at the quarry …: Some interpreters understand this verse to mean that the Temple was built of unhewn stone, that is, stone that had not been perfectly shaped, in agreement with the law of Deut 27.5. New English Bible says “only blocks of undressed stone direct from the quarry were used….” Anchor Bible similarly reads “it was built of undressed stone from the quarry….” It seems more likely, however, that the sense is that the stones were cut and shaped at the quarry, far enough away from the site of the Temple not to be heard.

The Hebrew word rendered hammer comes from a word that means “to bore a hole.” In earlier times hammers were made of stone, with a hole bored into the stone for the handle. It was the tool used by Jael to drive the peg through the head of Sisera in Jdg 4.21. In this context the hammer refers to a tool made of iron and used in conjunction with the axe to shape the stones in the quarry before bringing them to the Temple area.

The Hebrew noun rendered axe was used for several different kinds of axes. In this context it seems to refer to a pointed pickaxe used for excavating and not an axe used for cutting wood. New Jerusalem Bible calls this a “pick,” which expresses the meaning better in English than does axe. “Chisel” (New International Version) is another good rendering here.

The passive form was heard may also be made active by saying “the workers made no noise” or simply “there was no noise” (Good News Translation, New Century Version).

The absence of noise was almost certainly not something that happened by chance. For this reason Contemporary English Version makes it clear that this was due to the intention of the king who commissioned and controlled the building project. It renders this verse as follows:

• Solomon did not want the noise of hammers and axes to be heard at the place where the temple was being built. So he had the workers shape the blocks of stone at the quarry.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .