1 Kings 7:15-24

7:15 He fashioned two bronze pillars; each pillar was 27 feet ¹  high and 18 feet ²  in circumference. 7:16 He made two bronze tops for the pillars; each was seven-and-a-half feet high. ³  7:17 The latticework on the tops of the pillars was adorned with ornamental wreaths and chains; the top of each pillar had seven groupings of ornaments. ⁴  7:18 When he made the pillars, there were two rows of pomegranate-shaped ornaments around the latticework covering the top of each pillar. ⁵  7:19 The tops of the two pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies and were six feet high. ⁶  7:20 On the top of each pillar, right above the bulge beside the latticework, there were two hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments arranged in rows all the way around. ⁷  7:21 He set up the pillars on the porch in front of the main hall. He erected one pillar on the right ⁸  side and called it Jakin; ⁹  he erected the other pillar on the left ¹⁰  side and called it Boaz. ¹¹  7:22 The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the construction of the pillars was completed.

7:23 He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.” ¹²  It measured 15 feet ¹³  from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet ¹⁴  high. Its circumference was 45 feet. ¹⁵  7:24 Under the rim all the way around it ¹⁶  were round ornaments ¹⁷  arranged in settings 15 feet long. ¹⁸  The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.” ¹⁹ 

Jeremiah 52:20-23

52:20 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple (including the two pillars, the large bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” and the movable stands ²⁰ ) was too heavy to be weighed. 52:21 Each of the pillars was about 27 feet ²¹  high, about 18 feet ²²  in circumference, three inches ²³  thick, and hollow. 52:22 The bronze top of one pillar was about seven and one-half feet ²⁴  high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate-shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its pomegranate-shaped ornaments was like it. 52:23 There were ninety-six pomegranate-shaped ornaments on the sides; in all there were one hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments over the latticework that went around it.

[7:15]  ¹ tn Heb “eighteen cubits.”

[7:15]  ² tn Heb “twelve cubits.”

[7:16]  ³ tn Heb “two capitals he made to place on the tops of the pillars, cast in bronze; five cubits was the height of the first capital, and five cubits was the height of the second capital.”

[7:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “there were seven for the first capital, and seven for the second capital.”

[7:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “he made the pillars, and two rows surrounding one latticework to cover the capitals which were on top of the pomegranates, and so he did for the second latticework.” The translation supplies “pomegranates” after “two rows,” and understands “pillars,” rather than “pomegranates,” to be the correct reading after “on top of.” The latter change finds support from many Hebrew mss and the ancient Greek version.

[7:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “the capitals which were on the top of the pillars were the work of lilies, in the porch, four cubits.” It is unclear exactly what dimension is being measured.

[7:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the capitals on the two pillars, also above, close beside the bulge which was beside the latticework, two hundred pomegranates in rows around, on the second capital.” The precise meaning of the word translated “bulge” is uncertain.

[7:21]  ⁸ tn Or “south.”

[7:21]  ⁹ sn The name Jakin appears to be a verbal form and probably means, “he establishes.”

[7:21]  ¹⁰ tn Or “north.”

[7:21]  ¹¹ sn The meaning of the name Boaz is uncertain. For various proposals, see BDB 126-27 s.v. בעז. One attractive option is to revocalize the name as בְּעֹז (be’oz, “in strength”) and to understand it as completing the verbal form on the first pillar. Taking the words together and reading from right to left, one can translate the sentence, “he establishes [it] in strength.”

[7:23]  ¹² tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”

[7:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “ten cubits.”

[7:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “five cubits.”

[7:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it thirty cubits all around.”

[7:24]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “The Sea.” The proper noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:24]  ¹⁷ tn Or “gourd-shaped ornaments.”

[7:24]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “ten cubits surrounding the sea all around.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.

[7:24]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the gourd-shaped ornaments were in two rows, cast in its casting.”

[52:20]  ²⁰ tc The translation follows the LXX (Greek version), which reflects the description in 1 Kgs 7:25-26. The Hebrew text reads, “the twelve bronze bulls under the movable stands.” הַיָּם (hayyam, “The Sea”) has been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton; note that the following form, הַמְּכֹנוֹת (hammÿkhonot, “the movable stands”), also begins with the article.

[52:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “eighteen cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half.

[52:21]  ²² tn Heb “twelve cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half.

[52:21]  ²³ tn Heb “four fingers.”

[52:22]  ²⁴ tn Heb “five cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half.