Text -- 1 Kings 7:23-51 (NET)

7:23 He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.” It measured 15 feet from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet high. Its circumference was 45 feet. 7:24 Under the rim all the way around it were round ornaments arranged in settings 15 feet long. The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.” 7:25 “The Sea” stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. “The Sea” was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward. 7:26 It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold about 12,000 gallons. 7:27 He also made ten bronze movable stands. Each stand was six feet long, six feet wide, and four-and-a-half feet high. 7:28 The stands were constructed with frames between the joints. 7:29 On these frames and joints were ornamental lions, bulls, and cherubs. Under the lions and bulls were decorative wreaths. 7:30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and four supports. Under the basin the supports were fashioned on each side with wreaths. 7:31 Inside the stand was a round opening that was a foot-and-a-half deep; it had a support that was two and one-quarter feet long. On the edge of the opening were carvings in square frames. 7:32 The four wheels were under the frames and the crossbars of the axles were connected to the stand. Each wheel was two and one-quarter feet high. 7:33 The wheels were constructed like chariot wheels; their crossbars, rims, spokes, and hubs were made of cast metal. 7:34 Each stand had four supports, one per side projecting out from the stand. 7:35 On top of each stand was a round opening three-quarters of a foot deep; there were also supports and frames on top of the stands. 7:36 He engraved ornamental cherubs, lions, and palm trees on the plates of the supports and frames wherever there was room, with wreaths all around. 7:37 He made the ten stands in this way. All of them were cast in one mold and were identical in measurements and shape. 7:38 He also made ten bronze basins, each of which could hold about 240 gallons. Each basin was six feet in diameter; there was one basin for each stand. 7:39 He put five basins on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. He put “The Sea” on the south side, in the southeast corner. 7:40 Hiram also made basins, shovels, and bowls. He finished all the work on the Lord’s temple he had been assigned by King Solomon. 7:41 He made the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars, 7:42 the four hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar), 7:43 the ten movable stands with their ten basins, 7:44 the big bronze basin called “The Sea” with its twelve bulls underneath, 7:45 and the pots, shovels, and bowls. All these items King Solomon assigned Hiram to make for the Lord’s temple were made from polished bronze. 7:46 The king had them cast in earth foundries in the region of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. 7:47 Solomon left all these items unweighed; there were so many of them they did not weigh the bronze. 7:48 Solomon also made all these items for the Lord’s temple: the gold altar, the gold table on which was kept the Bread of the Presence, 7:49 the pure gold lampstands at the entrance to the inner sanctuary (five on the right and five on the left), the gold flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs, 7:50 the pure gold bowls, trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (the most holy place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 7:51 When King Solomon finished constructing the Lord’s temple, he put the holy items that belonged to his father David (the silver, gold, and other articles) in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:23

¹ tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”

sn This large basin that was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17-21).

² tn Heb “ten cubits.”

³ tn Heb “five cubits.”

⁴ tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it thirty cubits all around.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:24

¹ tn Heb “The Sea.” The proper noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² tn Or “gourd-shaped ornaments.”

³ tn Heb “ten cubits surrounding the sea all around.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.

⁴ tn Heb “the gourd-shaped ornaments were in two rows, cast in its casting.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:25

¹ tn Heb “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:26

¹ tn Heb “two thousand baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:27

¹ tn Heb “four cubits.”

² tn Heb “four cubits.”

³ tn Heb “three cubits.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:29

¹ tn The precise meaning of these final words is uncertain. A possible literal translation would be, “wreaths, the work of descent.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:30

¹ tn The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:31

¹ tn Heb “And its opening from the inside to the top and upwards [was] a cubit, and its opening was round, the work of a stand, a cubit-and-a-half.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.

² tn Heb “also over its opening were carvings and their frames [were] squared, not round.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:32

¹ tn Heb “a cubit-and-a-half” (a cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm).

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:34

¹ tn Heb “four shoulders to the four sides of each stand, from the stand its shoulders.” The precise meaning of the description is uncertain.

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:35

¹ tn Heb “and on top of the stand, a half cubit [in] height, round all around” (the meaning of this description is uncertain).

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:36

¹ tn Heb “according to the space of each.”

² tn The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:38

¹ tn Heb “forty baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).

² tn Heb “four cubits, each basin.” It is unclear which dimension is being measured.

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:40

¹ tn Heb “Hiram.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² tn Heb “Hiram finished doing all the work which he did for King Solomon [on] the house of the Lord.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:41

¹ tn The words “he made” are added for stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:44

¹ tn Heb “underneath ‘The Sea.’”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:45

¹ tn Heb “which Hiram made for King Solomon [for] the house of the Lord.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:46

¹ tn Or perhaps, “molds.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:47

¹ tn Heb “Solomon left all the items, due to their very great abundance; the weight of the bronze was not sought.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:48

¹ tn Heb “the bread of the face [or presence].” Many recent English versions employ “the bread of the Presence,” although this does not convey much to the modern reader.

sn This bread was viewed as a perpetual offering to God and was regarded as holy. See Lev 24:5-9.

NET Notes: 1Ki 7:51

¹ tn Heb “Solomon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.