Solomon begins construction on the permanent house for the God of Israel. Work starts during the second month of his fourth year in power. The massive stone and timber engineering project begins during the spring of 966 b.c.

Work crews prepare the high peak of Mount Moriah in eastern Jerusalem. This site was the former wheat threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. David purchased this exact piece of land years earlier to build an altar. Laborers level the uneven mountain bedrock to support heavy limestone retaining walls.

The main stone structure measures ninety feet long and thirty feet wide. Builders line the interior walls with carved cypress wood and sheet gold. The inner sanctuary forms a perfect square measuring thirty feet on each side. Craftsmen sculpt two massive wooden cherubim with a combined wingspan of thirty feet.

He erected the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south and one on the north.

Two towering bronze pillars now flank the main entrance of the new sanctuary. Master metalworkers must still cast the heavy bronze water basins for the courtyard. The surrounding exterior spaces remain active construction zones filled with raw materials. Solomon drives his skilled laborers forward to complete the furnishings of the complex.