1)

What is the meaning of "va'Yasi'u"?

1.

Rashi, Targum Yonasan: They uprooted [from the mountain]. Radak - these are the big rocks used for the foundation - "rocks of ten Amos and rocks of eight Amos" (7:10).

2)

What are "Yekaros"?

1.

Rashi: They are heavy. Radak - even though it already said Gedolos, this teaches that they were heavy to move 1 .

2.

Targum Yonasan: Yeakrin. Radak - there was a known mountain, that its rocks were better than those quarried from elsewhere, therefore they were Yekaros, for they were found only there. Anything not available is called Yakar.

3.

Malbim: They were high quality, i.e. pure marble. Even though normally people put inferior rocks for the foundation, Shlomo commanded to use big, quality rocks, and they should be Gazis.


1

Perhaps he means that they were hard to move. I.e. they were dense, or they were rough at the bottom and move (slide) only if a great force is applied. (PF)

3)

What are "Avnei Gazis"?

1.

Rashi (from Sotah 48b): They are hewn. Even though it says (6:7) "chisels, all iron tools and a saw were not heard in the Bayis when it was being built", they cut the rocks outside, and brought them in to build with them. Malbim - these were used for the foundation 1 .

2.

Radak: They are the other, small rocks, for above, and not for the foundation. It says (7:9) "Avanim Yekaros k'Midos Gazis"; they had a known measure. We find that the measure of Avnei Gazis 2 was five Tefachim (Bava Basra 1:1); Shlomo's rocks were bigger. It should say here v'Avnei Gazis; the prefix Vov is omitted, like in "Shemesh Yare'ach" (Chabakuk 3:11).


1

This is unlike Radak (refer to 5:31:3:2.

2

That is the thickness of a wall of Avnei Gazis! Perhaps Radak infers that the rocks themselves were five Tefachim thick, for it says there that a wall of uncut rocks is six Tefachim wide. If five Tefachim were for two or more layers of cut stone, we would not need to add a whole Tefach for uncut rocks. (PF)

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