Text -- 1 Kings 7:38-51 (NET)

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 7:38

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 The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.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