TEMPLE OF SOLOMON BUILT ON SOWER'S SEVENS

King Solomon building his Temple is described in two passages.  Compare 1Kings 6:1-7:51 and 2Chronicles chapters 3 through 7. 

The Temple of Solomon is built on Sower’s Sevens, that is, the Temple measurements in cubits form number sets that release a biblical 70 x 7 factor.  Amazingly, there is even a 70 x 70 !!!

The trick to defining the number sets for the Temple is to use only numbers that are cubits.  If it does not specifically say “cubit(s)” then don’t include that number; for example, “8 and 10 cubits” – include only 10, not 8.  I got a good result in one solution below by excluding a half cubit, while including 1.5 cubits.  Apparently a half a cubit does not count as a cubit in this case.

Pay attention to the text where it says Solomon began to build his Temple and where it says he finished.  These are clues as to the beginning and end of number sets.  In 2Chronicles, there are two endings, and it appears that one solution uses a number set that ends with the first ending (5:1), and that a second solution uses a number set that ends with the second ending (7:11), the second ending being an afterthought or edit.   The beginnings are 1Kings 6:1 and 2Chronicles 3:1, and the ending in 1Kings is 7:51.

The NRSV and the NIV differ as to the values in 2Chronicles.  The NIV has a 20 for a 120 in the NRSV.  It would seem the NRSV is correct as it yields a good result in solution 3 below.  The NIV also omits some of the “cubit” designations that are in the NRSV.  Also, the puzzles don’t work if you use the NIV which has for 1Kings 7:24 and the corresponding verse in 2Chronicles 4:3, “10 to a cubit” rather than the apparently correct “each of 10 cubits” in the NRSV.

Here are four solutions for the Temple of Solomon.  The numbers in the Sower’s parables in the Gospel, 30-60-100 or 100-60-30 unlock the Sower’s Sevens.

Solution 1 in 1Kings chapters 6 and 7:

There are 42 values of cubits.  I noticed right away that 42 = 3 x 14.  Fourteen being 2 x 7 makes it a special number.  The factor of three is necessary to make the 3 subsets to solve the puzzle.

Divide the 42 values of cubits into 3 subsets according to the order in the text and sum.

Subset 1

60, 20, 30, 20, 10, 5, 6, 7, 5, 20, 40, 20, 20, 20

Sum = 283

Subset 2

10, 5, 5, 10, 10, 10, 100, 50, 30, 50, 30, 10, 18, 12

Sum = 350

Subset 3

5, 5, 4, 10, 5, 30, 10, 4, 4, 3, 1, 1.5, 1.5, 4

Sum = 88

Multiplying with Sower’s parable numbers (100-60-30):

100 x 283 = 28,300

60 x 350 = 21,000

30 x 88 = 2,640

Sum of products = 51,940, factors of 70 x 7

Thus a biblical 70 x 7 is released.

Solution 2 in 2Chronicles chapters 3 and 4:

There are 21 values of cubits.  Notice 21 = 7 x 3, seven being a special number in the Bible.

Arrange the 21 values of cubits in ascending order.  Here are the 21 values:  5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, 10, 10, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 30, 35, 60, 120.

Next take “the Even and the Odd” (Q 89:3).  This is an algorithm I stumbled upon while discovering Sower’s Sevens in this text from the 7th century CE (side-bar “7th Century”).  One might assume that latter text mimics 2Chronicles.  And I feel this tends to validate my efforts if the same algorithm appears in a different text and produces the same result of 70 x 70, many hundreds of years afterwards.  Not only is the name of Solomon in common, but the construction of number sets is based on the same principle in both books.

Define three subsets of one value each:

>The first even number is 10

>The first odd number is 35

>The next even number is 60

Multiplying with Sower’s parable numbers (100-60-30):

100 x 10 = 1,000

60 x 35 = 2,100

30 x 60 = 1,800

Sum of products = 4,900, factors of 70 x 70 !!!

This is very unusual and phenomenal as a good result can be a mere 70 x 7.

Solution 3 in 2Chronicles chapters 3 through 6:

Fascinating that the sum of products from the 7th century CE is “269,500” and in this 2Chronicles example (before Christ), it is 26,950, same number but for a factor of 10.  So I rather believe there is something in common.

This solution uses an algorithm (adding vertically) very similar to that I used in Loaves and Fishes to demonstrate that the four Gospel books had a single writer or editor at some point in time early on.  This is my 27th example of Sower’s Sevens:

There are 24 values of cubits.

Place in ascending order and into 3 columns of 8 rows, filling by going across a row and then likewise the next row, etc.

3,            5,            5,

5,            5,            5,

5,            5,            5,

10,          10,          10,

20,          20,          20,

20,          20,          20,

20,          20,          30,

35,          60,          120

Add the three columns vertically to obtain 3 subset sums.

Sum 1 = 118

Sum 2 = 145

Sum 3 = 215

Multiplying with Sower’s parable numbers (100-60-30):

100 x 118 = 11,800

60 x 145 = 8,700

30 x 215 = 6,450

Sum of products = 26,950, factor 70 x 7

This number set which produces the 70 x 7, overlaps with the number set for the previous solution.  So I rate these sharing puzzles as being sophisticated as to design and result.

What are the odds?

What are the odds of getting a “70 x 7” as a factor?  The odds are 1 in 490, but since I add a factor of 10 in the process of doing the arithmetic, the odds are 1 in 49.  What are the odds of getting a “70 x 7” in 27 examples?  The odds are 1 in 7^27 (one in seven to the 27th power) – astronomical. 

Solution 4:  1Kings 7:23

This is an example I did earlier and I am pasting it here so that I have all my Temple of Solomon solutions together:

Is it true that “pi is three” in 1Kings 7:23?

“Then he made the molten sea; it was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high. A line of thirty cubits would encircle it completely.” NRSV)

If you will read a few more verses, you will find that the author describes a sort of brim or rim that would seem to be important. The “sea” (pool) has a thickness, a handbreadth. So the diameter could possibly be an outside measurement and the circumference an inside measurement and therefore correct. I would not assume that the ancients did not know how to calculate a circumference.

The outside dimensions of the pool in ascending order, 5, 10, and 31 (the actual circumference, rounded) yield factors of 7 x 70 x 12 with application of Sower’s numbers – 70×7 and 12 being special numbers in the Bible. So maybe the builders took great care to make the dimensions exactly right – perfection in their view.

Using “30, 60, 100” in the Sower’s Parable (Mark 4):
30 x 5 = 150
60 x 10 = 600
100 x 31 = 3,100
Sum of products = 3850; factor of 70

Using “100, 60, 30” in the Sower’s Parable (Matthew 13)
100 x 5 = 500
60 x 10 = 600
30 x 31 = 930
Sum of products = 2030; factor of 70

Sum of sums
3850 + 2030 = 5880 = 70 x 7 x 12

Whether the ancients had the technology to make such a large pool (15 feet across) by pouring molten metal?? is another question.  By doing these Sower’s Sevens exercises, I am gaining respect for these ancients.

Where to find 70 x 7 and 30-60-100 in the Bible:

Seven is a favored number in the Bible. The biblical “70 x 7” is found printed (not hidden) in Matthew 18:22 (footnote NRSV) and also in Genesis 4:24.  By the way, I believe that means seventy times sevenfold (DRA), not 77 times.

The Sower’s Parables numbers can be found at: (1) Matthew 13:8 (100, 60, 30); (2) Matthew 13:23 (100, 60, 30); (3) Mark 4:8 (30, 60, 100); (4) Mark 4:20 (30, 60, 100); and (5) Luke 8:8 (100).

NRSV used in this post

Posted: June 20, 2016