Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 7:23
And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: [it was] round all about, and his height [was] five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
23 26. The Molten Sea which Hiram made (2Ch 4:2-5)
23. And he made a (R.V. the) molten sea ] The definite article is expressed in the original, and the vessel itself was unique. It is called a ‘sea’ because of its great capacity (see Josephus Ant. viii. 3, 5). The Hebrew word is not confined in use to the ocean, but is applied to the Nile (Isa 18:2), and to the Euphrates (Isa 27:1). So lacus is used by Vergil ( Georg. 4:173) for a blacksmith’s trough. See also 1Ki 18:32, note.
ten cubits from one brim to the other, &c.] The R.V. tries to be more literal, but with the same sense. Ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass.
a line of thirty cubits ] This would in round numbers be the size of the circumference, with ten cubits as diameter.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The molten sea of Solomon, so called from its great size, took the place of the laver of the tabernacle Exo 30:18-21, which was required for the ablutions of the priests. It was ten cubits, or fully fifteen feet, in diameter at top, and therefore forty-seven feet in circumference, with a depth of 5 cubits, or 7 12 feet. As a vessel of these dimensions, if hemispherical, would certainly not hold 2,000 1Ki 7:26, much less 3,000 2Ch 4:3 baths, the bath equaling 8 12 gallons, it is now generally supposed that the bowl bulged considerably below the brim, and further, that it had a foot, – or basin which received the water as it was drawn out by taps from the bowl. The 2,000 baths may give the quantity of water ordinarily supplied to the sea; the 3,000 baths the utmost that the laver could anyhow take. Bowls of a considerable size are represented in the Assyrian bas-reliefs; but none of such dimensions as Solomons. The largest mentioned by the Greeks held only 5,400 gallons, less than one-third of the contents of the molten sea, even according to the lowest estimate.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
He made a molten sea; he melted the brass, and cast it into the form of a great vessel, for its vastness called a sea, which name is given by the Hebrews to all great collections of waters. The use of it was for the priests to wash their hands and feet, or other things as occasion required, with the water which they drew out of it. See 2Ch 4:2. Compare Exo 30:19,20.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23-26. he made a molten seaInthe tabernacle was no such vessel; the laver served the doublepurpose of washing the hands and feet of the priests as well as theparts of the sacrifices. But in the temple there were separatevessels provided for these offices. (See on 2Ch4:6). The molten sea was an immense semicircular vase, measuringseventeen and a half feet in diameter, and being eight andthree-fourths feet in depth. This, at three and a half inches inthickness, could not weigh less than from twenty-five to thirty tonsin one solid castingand held from sixteen thousand to twentythousand gallons of water. [See on 2Ch4:3.] The brim was all carved with lily work or flowers; and oxenwere carved or cut on the outside all round, to the number of threehundred; and it stood on a pedestal of twelve oxen. These oxen musthave been of considerable size, like the Assyrian bulls, so thattheir corresponding legs would give thickness or strength to supportso great a weight for, when the vessel was filled with water, thewhole weight would be about one hundred tons [NAPIER].(See on 2Ch 4:3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he made a molten sea,…. A large vessel made of molten brass, which, because of the great quantity of water it held, is called a sea; as it was usual with the Jews to call a large collection of waters a sea, as the sea of Tiberius and Galilee. This was made by the man of Tyre, as the pillars, by the order of Solomon, and answered to the brasen laver in the tabernacle, only larger than that; and was not only for the priests to wash their hands and feet in, but to dip upon occasion, and by the Jews p is expressly said to be a dipping place for the priests, see 2Ch 4:6,
ten cubits from the one brim to the other: which was the diameter of it: it was round all about; spherical or circular; not as an hemisphere, as Josephus q, and Procopius Gazaeus, but rather cylindrical:
and his height was five cubits; from the bottom of it, not including the pedestal of oxen on which it stood:
and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about; this was the circumference of it; which answers to the diameter of ten cubits, or near it, a round number being given not strictly mathematical.
(Sceptics have ridiculed the Bible for saying that the mathematical constant is 3 instead of the more precise 3.14159. (This number is an “irrational number” and needs an infinite number digits to specify it exactly.) Two explanations for the apparent lack of precision in the measurement are given.
1) The circumference given may be for the inside circumference and the diameter may be the diameter including the thickness of the rim. This would yield a very accurate mathematical result for the inside circumference of thirty cubits. The outside circumference would be about 31.4 cubits giving a rim thickness of four inches or an hand breadth agreeing with 1Ki 7:26.
2) In 1Ki 7:26 we read the vessel “was wrought like the brim of a cup.” That is the brim on the top of the vessel was wider than the main part of the vessel. The diameter would be given for the brim. If the brim or lip extended about four inches past the main body of the vessel then the outside circumference of the main part of the vessel would be exactly thirty cubits.
In each case the mathematical ratio for circumference of the circle is
d, where “d” is the diameter and is the number 3.14159 ….. For a more complete discussion on this see the article by Russel Grigg. r. Editor.)
p T. Hieros, Yema, fol. 41. 1 q Antiqu. l. 8. c. 3. sect 5. r “Does the Bible say pi equals 3.0?”, Russell Greg, page 24, “Ex Nihil”, March-May Issue, Vol. 17. No. 2., Creation Science Foundation Ltd. Brisbane, Australia.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The brazen sea (cf. 2Ch 4:2-5). – “He made the molten sea – a water-basin called ( mare) on account of its size – ten cubits from the one upper rim to the other,” i.e., in diameter measured from the upper rim to the one opposite to it, “rounded all round, and five cubits its (external) height, and a line of thirty cubits encircled it round about,” i.e., it was thirty cubits in circumference. The Chethib is to be read here and in Zec 1:16 and Jer 31:39, for which the Keri has in all these passages. or means a line for measuring, which is expressed in 1Ki 7:15 by . The relation of the diameter to the circumference is expressed in whole numbers which come very near to the mathematical proportions. The more exact proportions would be as 7 to 22, or 113 to 355.
1Ki 7:24 Any colocynths (gourds) ran round it under its brim, ten to the cubit, surrounding the sea in two rows; the colocynths “cast in its casting,” i.e., cast at the same time as the vessel itself. Instead of , gourds (see at 1Ki 6:18), we find , figures of oxen, in the corresponding text of the Chronicles, and in the last clause merely , an evident error of the pen, being substituted by mistake for , and afterwards interpreted . The assumption by which the early expositors removed the discrepancy, namely, that they were casts of bullocks’ heads, is not to be thought of, for the simple reason that signifies oxen and not the heads of oxen. How far apart the two rows of gourd-like ornaments were, it is impossible to decide. Their size may be estimated, from the fact that there were ten within the space of a cubit, at a little over two inches in diameter.
1Ki 7:25 This vessel stood (rested) upon twelve brazen oxen, three turning to the north, three to the west, three to the south, and three to the east, “and the sea above upon them, and all their backs (turned) inwards;” i.e., they were so placed that three of their heads were directed towards each quarter of the heavens. The size of the oxen is not given; but we must assume that it was in proportion to the size and height of the sea, and therefore about five cubits in height up to the back. These figures stood, no doubt, upon a metal plate, which gave them a fixed and immoveable position (see the engraving in my bibl. Archol. Taf. iii. fig. 1).
1Ki 7:26 “And its thickness (i.e., the thickness of the metal) was a handbreadth” = four finger-breadths, as in the case of the brazen pillars (see at 1Ki 7:15), “and its upper rim like work of a goblet (or of a goblet-rim, i.e., bent outwards), lily-blossom,” i.e., ornamented with lily-flowers. It held 2000 baths; according to the Chronicles, 3000 baths. The latter statement has arisen from the confusion of (3) with (2); since, according to the calculation of Thenius, the capacity of the vessel, from the dimensions given, could not exceed 2000 baths. This vessel, which took the place of the laver in the tabernacle, was provided for the priests to wash themselves (2Ch 4:6), that is to say, that a supply of water might be kept in readiness to enable the priests to wash their hands and feet when they approached the altar to officiate, or were about to enter the Holy Place (Exo 30:18.). There were no doubt taps by which the water required for this purpose was drawn off from the sea.
(Note: For the different conjectures on this subject, see Lundius, jud. Heiligthmer, p. 356. Thenius supposes that there was also a provision for filling the vessel, since the height of it would have rendered it a work of great labour and time to fill it by hand, and that there was probably a pipe hidden behind the figures of the oxen, since, according to Aristeas, histor. lxx Interp., Oxon. 1692, p. 32 (also Eusebii praep. evang. ix. 38), there were openings concealed at the foot of the altar, out of which water was allowed to run at certain seasons for the requisite cleansing of the pavement of the court from the blood of the sacrifices; and there is still a fountain just in the neighbourhood of the spot on which, according to 1Ki 7:39, the brazen sea must have stood (see Schultz ‘ s plan); and in the time of the Crusaders there was a large basin, covered by a dome supported by columns (see Robinson, Pal. i. 446). But even if the later temple was supplied with the water required by means of artificial water-pipes, the Solomonian origin of these arrangements or designs is by no means raised even to the rank of probability.)
– The artistic form of the vessel corresponded to its sacred purpose. The rim of the basin, which rose upwards in the form of a lily, was intended to point to the holiness and loveliness of that life which issued from the sanctuary. The twelve oxen, on which it rested, pointed to the twelve tribes of Israel as a priestly nation, which cleansed itself here in the persons of its priests, to appear clean and holy before the Lord. Just as the number twelve unquestionably suggests the allusion to the twelve tribes of the covenant nation, so, in the choice of oxen or bullocks as supporters of the basin, it is impossible to overlook the significance of this selection of the first and highest of the sacrificial animals to represent the priestly service, especially if we compare the position of the lions on Solomon’s throne (1Ki 10:20).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Commentary on 1Ki 7:23-39 AND 2Ch 4:1-6; 2Ch 4:10
The Sea and Bases,
The Chronicles account starts off with a description of the brazen altar of sacrifice which stood in the court of the temple. It was much larger than that which had been in the old tabernacle, being thirty feet square and fifteen feet in elevation. The ascent to the altar was by steps The old tabernacle altar had been only seven and a half feet square and five and a half feet high. Everything about the temple was much more imposing.
The accounts parallel one another in describing the construction of the molten sea, which like the altar, was of bronze. It was round, fifteen feet in diameter, forty-five feet in circumference, and seven and a half feet in height. Two rows of decorative knobs encircled the sea underneath the brim, ten knobs in a cubit.
Twelve oxen of bronze were constructed on which to set the sea, three each of which faced each of the four directions, east, north, west, and south. All the oxen faced outward, with the sea set on their hinder parts. The brim of the sea had a thickness of four inches, and was cupped with decorative flowers on it. It could hold two thousand baths, or about 12,000 gallons.
The Chronicles account, stating that the sea contained three thousand baths, indicates that one of the accounts retains an ancient copyist’s error. Ten lavers were constructed for the washing of offerings, and placed five to each side of the court, but the sea was reserved for the ceremonial washing of the priests themselves.
Kings gives the account of the construction of bases or stands on which the lavers were to be set, these also made of bronze. These were six feet square and four and a half feet high. A decorated border extended around them, between ledges, or frames (crossbars). Depicted on this were figures of lions and oxen in all open areas of the border.
Four bronze wheels were set under the four corners of each base, or stand, on bronze axles. Each wheel was twenty-seven inches high and made like a chariot wheel, all its parts, axles, rims, hubs, and spokes being made of cast bronze.
The basis in the top of the stand was nine inches deep, with a border decorated with the usual figures used throughout the temple. The lavers, or basins, on these each held forty baths of water, or two hundred forty gallons. They were arranged as shown earlier in the Chronicles account and commentary above.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
C. THE METALLIC OBJECTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE COURTYARD 7:2347
Associated with the courtyard of the Temple were the following items: (1) the bronze sea (1Ki. 7:23-26); (2) the bronze stands and basins (1Ki. 7:27-39); and (3) various small implements (1Ki. 7:40). For some reason the historian has omitted any reference to the huge bronze altar which was, perhaps, the dominant feature of the court.
1. THE BRONZE SEA (1Ki. 7:23-26)
TRANSLATION
(23) And he made the molten sea, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was circular, and five cubits high with a circumference of thirty cubits. (24) And gourds ran round it under its brim, ten to a cubit, compassing the sea round about. The gourds were cast in two rows when it was cast. (25) It stood upon twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing east; and the sea was set above them and all their hinder parts were inward. (26) And its breadth was the thickness of a hand and its brim was like the brim of a cup, as the blossom of a lily; it contained two thousand baths.
COMMENTS
In addition to the massive front pillars, Hiram made a great bronze water-basin which was called the sea on account of its unprecedented size and capacity. Like the laver of the Tabernacle (Exo. 30:18-20), this vessel was designed to contain the water necessary for the ablutions of the priests. The sea was circular and measured fifteen feet in diameter, forty-five feet in circumference[205] and 7 1/2 feet in depth (1Ki. 7:23). The sea was decorated with two rows of gourds numbering ten to a cubit. In contrast to the ornamentation of the capitals of the columns, these ornaments were cast when it was cast, i.e., they were not attached to the sea after it was made, but were cast in the same mold with the sea. The bronze of which this giant laver was composed had been taken by David from the cities of Hadadezer (1Ch. 18:8; 1Sa. 8:8 LXX). The sea rested on twelve oxen, three of which faced each of the four directions of the compass. The oxen faced outward (1Ki. 7:25). All conjectures as to the height and size of the oxen are of little value. The number twelve pointed to the twelve tribes of Israel as a priestly nation which cleansed itself here in the persons of its priests, to appear clean and holy before the Lord.[206]
[205] The sacred historian here uses round figures rather than precise measures, hence the small mathematical discrepancy in the ratio of the diameter to the circumference.
[206] Keil, BCOT, pp. 104105.
The sea was a handbreadth thick (three inches). The brim of the sea was like that of a cup; i.e., it curved outwards like a lily. The precise shape of the sea is unknown. Some think it was hemispherical, others cylindrical. The prevailing opinion, however, appears to be that it was thirty cubits in circumference only at the brim and that it bellied out considerably below. The capacity according to Kings was two thousand baths[207] (1Ki. 7:26), according to Chronicles three thousand baths (2Ch. 4:5). Probably Kings gives the capacity when filled to ordinary height, and Chronicles gives the capacity when filled to the brim. The sea provided water with which the priests could wash (2Ch. 4:6) their hands and feet (Exo. 30:19; Exo. 30:21). Rabbinic tradition indicates that the sea was provided with taps or faucets. It is probable that a basin of some sort was attached to it. Whether the sea was filled by hand or by some special contrivance is impossible to say. It has been computed that such a laver would weigh twenty-five to thirty tons. It was truly a triumph of bronze working.[208]
[207] It was formerly though that a bath was equal to about eight gallons (Slotki). On the basis of stamped jars which have been excavated, a bath is now computed to have been about 5 gallons. See IDB, R-Z, 835.
[208] Honor, JCBR, p. 104.
2. THE BRONZE STANDS AND BASINS (1Ki. 7:27-39)
TRANSLATION
And he made ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits, its width four cubits, and its height three cubits. Their construction was the following: they had panels which were set between frames, (29) and on these particular panels were lions, oxen and cherubim; and upon the frames was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen, there were wreaths, pendant work. (30) And each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axels and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast the supports with wreaths at each side. (31) And its [the basin] opening was within the crown at the top which projected upward one cubit; and its [the crown] opening was round, as a pedestal was made, a cubit and a half deep. At its opening was engraved work; and its panels were square and not round. (32) And the four wheels were under the panels; the axels of the wheels were connected to the stand. And the height of one wheel was a cubit and a half. (33) And the wheels were like the wheels of a chariot. Their axels, rims, spokes and hubs were all molten. (34) And there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; the supports were of one piece with the stands. (35) And on the top of the stand there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top, the stays and panels were of one piece with the stand itself. (36) And on the surfaces of its stays and on its panels were engraved cherubim, lions, and palms according to the empty space of each, with wreaths round about. (37) On this manner he made the ten stands of one kind of casting, measure, and form. (38) And he made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths, and each basin four cubits, one basin upon each of the ten stands. (39) And he put five stands upon the right side of the house and five upon the left side of the house; and the sea he put on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.
COMMENTS
In order to clarify this somewhat obscure text it is best to break the passage down topically. After a general description of these stands (1Ki. 7:27-29; 1Ki. 7:37) the historian describes the wheels of the stand (1Ki. 7:30; 1Ki. 7:32-33); the top of the stand (1Ki. 7:31; 1Ki. 7:34-36); the basins or lavers which were supported by the stands (1Ki. 7:38); and the disposition of the stands (1Ki. 7:39).
a) General description of the stands (1Ki. 7:27-28; 1Ki. 7:37). Hiram constructed ten identical bronze stands to be placed in the courtyard of the Temple (1Ki. 7:37). The stands were box-shaped, 6 feet square and 4 1/2 feet high (1Ki. 7:27). Each stand was constructed of four panels or flat sides[209] held together by a frame (1Ki. 7:28). Each panel was decorated with figures or bas-reliefs of lions, oxen and cherubim. Beneath these figures were sculptured festoons of flowers. Upon the square chest was a stand or pedestal for the basin or laver (1Ki. 7:29).
[209] Ahaz is said to have removed these panels and thus they could not have been structurally important (2Ki. 16:17).
b) The wheels of the stands (1Ki. 7:30; 1Ki. 7:32-33). The square chests had axles with wheels of bronze so that they could be moved from one spot to another. The chest itself, however, did not rest directly upon the axles, but stood upon four feet, which were fastened upon the axles. These feet raised the chest above the rim of the wheel so that the sides of the chest, which were ornamented with figures, were left uncovered. The wheels, then, stood below the panels of the chest and not at the sides of the chest. The wheels were twenty-seven inches in diameter (1Ki. 7:32) and resembled chariot wheels. The entire wheel workaxles, rim, spokes, and hubswas cast in bronze (1Ki. 7:33).
c) The crown (1Ki. 7:31; 1Ki. 7:34-36). Above the frames a. pedestal for the laver itself was mounted (1Ki. 7:29). Since the pedestal was circular and surmounted the rectangular base, it was called a crown (1Ki. 7:31). The crown was divided into panels which were reinforced at appropriate intervals by stays, i.e., extra strong, broad borders (1Ki. 7:35). The panels of the crown were decorated with cherubim, lions, palms and wreaths (1Ki. 7:36). Four angular supports arose from the top four corners of the frame to support the elevated crown (1Ki. 7:34). These supports were apparently decorated with wreaths (1Ki. 7:30). The distance from the top of the frame to the top of the crown itself was eighteen inches (1Ki. 7:31).
d) The lovers (1Ki. 7:38). The lavers which rested upon the portable stands were also cast of bronze. Each laver contained forty baths, about two hundred twenty gallons. It is uncertain whether the four cubits of 1Ki. 7:38 refers to the height or to the diameter of the laver (Keil).[210]
[210] The height of all other parts of the stand has been mentioned. If the four cubits refers to the height, then the entire height of the stand and laver together would be about thirteen feet. Hammond (PC, p. 134): This surprising size is accounted for by remembering the height of the altar, to which the fat and other sacrificial portions had to be transferred from the laver.
e) The disposition of the lavers (1Ki. 7:39). The lavers were arranged five on the south and five on the north side of the house. The sea, the massive laver, stood farther forward between the Temple and the altar, only more toward the south, i.e., to the southeast of the Temple. These lavers were used to wash the flesh and fat which were to be consumed upon the altar of burnt-offering. The wheeled stands made it possible to bring water near to the priests who were engaged in preparing the sacrifices. No doubt the lavers were equipped with some faucet by which the water could more easily be utilized by the priests. The number and size of the basins were necessitated by the circumstances that a considerable number of sacrifices had to be made ready for the altar at the same time. The lavers also were used for the purification of worshipers (2Ch. 4:6), and for the cleansing of the altar and court after bloody sacrifices.
The artistic work of these stands was to some extent the same as that of the Temple walls, the only difference being that the Temple decorations were wrought in gold, whereas the ornamentations of these stands were in bronze. Lions and oxen may symbolize the royal and priestly characteristics which, according to Exo. 19:6 combined in the nation worshiping God in this place. It has been estimated that these lavers with their own weight of bronze plus the weight of the water contained in the basin would by conservative estimate have weighed well over a ton.[211]
[211] Gray, OTL, p. 180.
TABERNACLE- TEMPLE COMPARISONS
Item
Tabernacle
Temple
Holy Place
20 x 20 Cubits
40 x 20 Cubits
Holy of Holies
10 x 10 x 10
20 x 20 x 20
Whole Structure
40 x 20 Cubits
80 x 40 Cubits
Height
15 Cubits
30 Cubits
Laver
Only One
10 Mobile Lavers and the Molten Sea
Lampstand
Only One
10 Lampstands
Table of Showbread
Only One
10 Tables
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(23-26) A molten seaa gigantic laver for the ablution of the priestscorresponding to the laver of brass in the Tabernacle (Exo. 30:18-21; Exo. 38:8). It had a diameter of 15 feet, and a height of 7 feet; but as it held 2,000 baths, that is, 17,000 gallons (or, as in 2Ch. 4:3, 3,000 baths, that is, 25,500 gallons), it is clear that it could not have been a hemisphere, but must have bulged out in section. There must, however, have been first a bulging inwards, immediately under the rim: for the right translation of 1Ki. 7:26 declares that the rim was in the form of a lily flower, that is, curving outwards. Under the rim ran a double row of gourd ornaments, like those carved in the cedar-panelling of the Temple. The sea stood on twelve oxen, corresponding perhaps to the twelve tribes of Israelthe ox being possibly the same emblem which was used in the form of the cherubimtill it was taken down and placed on the pavement by Ahaz (2Ki. 16:17), and, like the great pillars, was broken up at last by the Chaldeans for the sake of the brass (2Ki. 25:13).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23. A molten sea Called also brazen sea, from the material of which it was made. It was a vast bowl-shaped font, or laver, like that which Moses made for the tabernacle, (Exo 30:18,) and for the same purpose, but on account of its immense size it is called a sea. Its general appearance is shown in the annexed cut, which will serve to explain the sacred writer’s description better than would any verbal comment on his words.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Fashioning Of The Molten Sea ( 1Ki 7:23-26 ).
Like the fashioning of the two pillars previously the making of the molten sea was a great technical achievement, but we are given no information about how it was accomplished. It is simply a reminder of Hiram’s skill. Its huge size is a reminder of the vastness of God’s provision for cleansing for us in the blood of Jesus (1Jn 1:7).
Analysis.
a
b And under the brim of it round about there were spherical protrusions (knops) which compassed it, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about. The spherical protrusions (knops) were in two rows, cast when it was cast (1Ki 7:24).
c It stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east, and the sea was set on them above, and all their hinder parts were inward (1Ki 7:25).
b And it was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily (1Ki 7:26 a).
a It held two thousand baths (1Ki 7:26 b).
Note that in ‘a’ their size is emphasised, and the same in the parallel. In ‘b’ its decorations are emphasised, and in the parallel it is described decoratively. In ‘c’ and centrally it is described as set on twelve oxen.
1Ki 7:23 And he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.’
The measurements of the ‘sea’ are given as ten cubits (just under five metres or fifteen feet) in diameter, five cubits in height and thirty cubits (fourteen metres or forty five feet) in circumference. If the thirty cubits was correct then calculating accurately we would have expected the diameter to be 9.55 (or nine and a half) cubits, but the ten cubits might have included the size of the rims, or may simply, like the thirty cubits, have been an approximate figure. Few Israelites if any would have known how to make the calculation, and the figures may well have been obtained by rough measurement.
(Living in a mathematically oriented world we tend to forget that in those days all but the simplest of numbers were not in common use. They had no need for them. Similarly even in our day anthropologists and missionaries have often discovered that among many even sophisticated primitive tribes ‘numbers’ were almost meaningless).
1Ki 7:24
‘ And under the brim of it round about there were spherical protrusions which compassed it, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about. The spherical protrusions were in two rows, cast when it was cast.’
This probably mean that there were spherical protrusions on each side, each group or row covering five cubits, which were cast when the bowl was cast as an integral part of the bowl. 2Ch 4:3 suggests that these protrusions were in the shape of ‘oxen’, and thus ox heads (or even small oxen). Compare the similar feature on the large basin found at Amathus mentioned above. The ox was a symbol of strength.
1Ki 7:25
‘ It stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west (yam), and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east, and the sea was set on them above, and all their hinder parts were inward.’
The bowl was stood on twelve representations of oxen looking outwards, three looking north, three looking west (‘yam’ – one of the regular uses of yam), three looking south, three looking east. Comparison with Numbers 2 might suggest a comparison with the twelve tribes of Israel, although there the order is reversed as east, south, west, north. The idea might be that from the Temple Israel could look out in all directions without fear, because they were the strong ones of YHWH, and east may have been put last because that was where the most serious enemies were. The oxen also symbolise the tame and controlled as opposed to the wild (compare the lions and oxen depicted elsewhere – 1Ki 7:29).
1Ki 7:26
‘ And it was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.’
The bronze of which the bowl was constituted was a handbreadth thick (the width of the hand at the base of four fingers, therefore around 1Ki 7:33 centimetres or three inches), with its brim wrought like the brim of a cup (bent outwards), and like the flower of a lily. This latter was possibly decoration, although it may simply indicate ‘spread out’. And the whole held water measuring two thousand baths, which at 1 bath = 22 litres (per a measuring vessel which has been discovered, compare Eze 45:10-11) equals about eleven and a half thousand gallons. The figure would presumably have been calculated by pouring water into the bowl from vessels and assessing accordingly, and would not therefore necessarily be strictly accurate in modern terms.
2Ch 4:5 has ‘three thousand baths’. But the Chronicler regularly alters numbers so as to give a specific impression and may here simply be seeking to indicate the ‘perfect completeness’ of the content. Three was the number of completeness, and also indicated ‘the many’ as opposed to ‘the few’ (see 1Ki 17:12, where ‘two’ indicated ‘a few’), while ‘a thousand’ is often a vague number simply indicating a great many (compare ‘to a thousand generations’ – Deu 7:9; Psa 105:8). Alternately he might have been using a different measurement for a bath. The ‘royal bath’, for example, was different in capacity from a common bath, and measurements altered over time. Or he may simply have been indicating what it held when completely full to the brim, with the writer here in Kings indicating how much was actually put into it. Note again the mention of the lily which was a symbol of purity.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Hiram Fashions The Molten Sea And The Ten Lavers With Their Instruments ( 1Ki 7:23-40 ).
Hiram also fashioned the molten Sea, or Sea made of cast-work. The Hebrew word ‘sea’ (yam) is nowhere else in Scripture used of anything other than literal large expanses of water or as an indicator of ‘the west’ (because the Great (Mediterranean) Sea was to the west of Palestine, see 1Ki 7:25). Thus its occurrence in this connection is unique in the Old Testament. In post Biblical Hebrew it would be used of settling tanks. But we can see why the Israelites, who were not used to such a large artificial expanse of water, and were filled with admiration at it, might call it a ‘sea’ of water (compare how they would later call the lake of Galilee ‘a sea’). The word ‘molten’ signifies that it was cast-work. The same ‘sea’ is again mentioned in 2Ch 4:2-10 where we are told that ‘the sea was for the priests to wash in’ (1Ki 7:6). We are not told how they accessed it, for it was five cubits high (1Ki 2:3 metres, about seven and a half feet). Perhaps there was a kind of tap system by which water could be drawn off. But it clearly indicated the availability of abundant cleansing.
The suggestion that it symbolised the control of ‘chaos’ by YHWH (in the Psalms YHWH never fights the sea, He always controls it with His sovereign word and power – Psa 74:12-14; Psa 89:9-10; Psa 93:3-4; Psa 98:7-9; Psa 104:9; compare Job 38:11) is attractive but probably ungrounded. There is nowhere any hint of chaos in connection with it. Compare how in Rev 4:6 the sea had become a solid because in Heaven no cleansing was needed.
Artificial water sources were found in other temples. The nearest comparison is a large stone basin from Amathus in Cyprus, which Isa 2:2 metres in diameter and 1.85 metres high, specific purpose unknown. It has four false handles in relief, circling the heads of bulls (compare 1Ki 7:24 in the light of 2Ch 4:3). There was also an artificial sea connected with the temple of Marduk in Babylon which was associated with a monster, and therefore probably connected by them with Chaos. But in view of the fact that the Tabernacle had a laver, or large bowl on a base, filled with water, for the priests to wash in (Exo 30:17-21), and that Solomon undoubtedly loved magnifying things up (consider the cherubim in the Most Holy Place), it is most probable that that is how the molten Sea was looked at in Israel, especially in view of 2Ch 4:6. It was thus to be seen as the place of lavish provision for cleansing, much needed in view of Solomon’s tendency for multiple sacrifices which would involve many priests in relays. It would also probably be used to top up the ten ‘bowls on wheels’ described below, which according to the Chronicler were for washing the parts of the sacrifices (e.g. Lev 1:13; Lev 8:21; etc.).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Ki 7:23. And he made a molten sea The Hebrews call any great collection of waters by the name of yam, a sea. So the lake of Genesareth and others are called in the Gospel; and here the original words, yam mutzak, signify a large vessel containing a great quantity of water, which served for the washing of the sacrifices, and of the priests and Levites, who washed their hands and feet not in it, but with water drawn out of it by pipes or conduits. It is said, 1Ki 7:26 to have contained two thousand baths: in 2Ch 4:5 three thousand; which last reading Houbigant prefers. A bath was of the same contents with an ephah, 1:e. eight gallons. The reader may find an accurate description and a great variety of figures of this molten sea in Scheuchzer on the place.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(23) And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. (24) And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast. (25) It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. (26) And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.
There can be no question, but that this brazen sea was figurative of the gospel fountain for sin and for uncleanness. But oh! how vastly short and inferior was all this, even in similitude, and indeed all the shadowy ordinances of the law, to our substance in the gospel. These things stood only (as Paul speaks) in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. Heb 9:10 . Oh! holy Saviour! how doth the riches of thy grace, and the efficacy of thy blood appear, when compared to these shadows! Sweetly hast thou said and sweetly hast thou proved it, that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance. Pro 8:21 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 7:23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: [it was] round all about, and his height [was] five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
Ver. 23. And he made a molten sea. ] As a large laver for the priests to wash in. 2Ch 4:6 the Hebrews used to call the gathering together of much water a sea. It signifieth both the exceeding filthiness of sin, requiring a sea for the cleansing of it, and the infinite virtue of Christ’s blood, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
molten sea = brazen laver. “Sea” put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct) for what contained it.
a line of thirty cubits. Here the proportion of the diameter to the circumference (1Ki 1:3) was revealed, while human wisdom was still searching it out.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
he made: Exo 30:18-21, Exo 38:8
a molten sea: 2Ki 25:13, 2Ch 4:2, Jer 52:17, Jer 52:20
the one brim to the other: Heb. his brim to his brim
Reciprocal: 1Ki 7:44 – one sea 2Ki 16:17 – borders Rev 4:6 – a sea
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 7:23. He made a molten sea He melted the brass, and cast it into the form of a great vessel, for its vastness called a sea, which name is given by the Hebrews to all great collections of waters. The use of it was for the priests to wash their hands and feet, or other things, as occasion required, with the water which they drew out of it. It was round all about Of a circular form. Its height was five cubits Besides the height of the oxen whereon it stood. A line of thirty cubits did compass it For the diameter being ten cubits, thirty must be the circumference of it. This sea was filled with water by the Gibeonites, who were afterward called Nethinims.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
7:23 And he made a molten {o} sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: [it was] round all about, and his height [was] five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
(o) So called for the size of the vessel.