The foundation was made of expensive stone, including large stones ten cubits long and stones eight cubits long.

The king specified that large, expensive stones be quarried so the foundation of the Temple could be laid with cut stones.

All of these were made with expensive stones, pre-cut according to specifications, hand-sawed inside and out from the foundation to the coping, including from inside to the great court.

The foundation for the LORD's Temple was laid in the month of Ziv during the fourth year of Solomon's reign,

As a result, Solomon's builders worked with Hiram's builders, accompanied by the Gebalites, to quarry the stone and to prepare the timber and other stone for the Temple's construction.