1 Kings 7:15
For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about. For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.
The two bronze pillars cast for Solomon's temple were each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. They were massive works, about thirty feet high and twenty feet around, whose casting would challenge even a skilled modern founder. The verse belongs to 1 Kings 1 to 11, the history of the undivided kingdom under Solomon, which is paralleled by 2 Chronicles 1 to 9 and comes in chronological order. Within that history it is part of the building and furniture of the temple, among the details about its furnishings and vessels given in the latter part of 1 Kings 7.
The temple was built on the same plan as the tabernacle, with two holy places, sacred vessels of the same kinds, and the same ministration and ministry. It enlarged the tabernacle's plan and was a permanent building, with its sanctuary vessels increased in size and number. Its plan served as a pattern of the heavenly temple. The building and furniture are to be noted especially along with the dedication prayer and sacrifices and the divine answer to Solomon's prayer.
The casting of the two pillars shows that the Lord gave special wisdom to the builders of the temple, and the skill to cast them was God-given power of invention. The principles of that invention were never new to the Lord. All such wisdom was given for the benefit of the masses and for the furtherance of God's cause. The chapter first describes Solomon's own house, which he built after he had finished the house of Jehovah, showing that God comes before self though many put self first.