Building projects on which masons were employed
David's palace
2 Samuel 5:11 parallel 1 Chronicles 14:1
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
Solomon's palace
See also 1 Kings 7:9–12
The temple
1 Kings 6:7; 1 Chronicles 22:14–15 See also 1 Kings 5:15–18 parallel 2 Chronicles 2:2; 2 Chronicles 2:18
The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
Now behold, I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the LORD— 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron too great to be weighed. I have also provided timber and stone, and you may add to them. You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and men skilled in every kind of work —
The repair of the temple
2 Kings 12:11–12 parallel 2 Chronicles 24:12; 2 Kings 22:5–6 parallel 2 Chronicles 34:11
The rebuilding of the temple
They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.
Herod's temple
As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look at the magnificent stones and buildings!” “Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
The work of masons
Skilled work
So now I am sending you Huram-abi, a skillful man endowed with creativity. He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.
Dressed stone was superior
Isaiah 9:10 The arrogant boast of the inhabitants of Samaria.
“The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with finished stone; the sycamores have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”
Dangerous work
The one who quarries stones may be injured by them, and he who splits logs endangers himself.
Masons could make mistakes
Psalm 118:22 See also Matthew 21:42 parallels Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17 Jesus Christ interprets the saying as referring to his rejection by the Jews; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
God is described as a mason
1 Peter 2:4–6 See also Job 38:6; Isaiah 28:16
As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.