1 Kings 7:23

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21 ^aThen he set up the pillars by the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the right and called its name¹ Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and called its name² Boaz.

22 The tops of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. So the work of the pillars was finished.

The Sea and the Oxen

23 And he made ^athe Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.

24 Below its brim were ornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, ^aall the way around the Sea. The ornamental buds were cast in two rows when it was cast.

25 It stood on ^atwelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward.

26 It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained¹ two thousand baths.

The Carts and the Lavers

27 He also made ten¹ carts of bronze; four cubits was the length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height.

28 And this was the design of the carts: They had panels, and the panels were between frames;

29 on the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames was a pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of plaited work.

30 Every cart had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and its four feet had supports. Under the laver were supports of cast bronze beside each wreath.

31 Its opening inside the crown at the top was one cubit in diameter; and the opening was round, shaped like a pedestal, one and a half cubits in outside diameter; and also on the opening were engravings, but the panels were square, not round.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

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1 Kings 7:23

The "molten sea "of Solomon, so called from its great size, took the place of the laver of the tabernacle Exodus 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 I Kings 7:26, much less 3,000 II Chronicles 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 Solomon' s. 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.

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing 1 Kings 7:23:**

Exodus 30:17-21
2 Chronicles 4:5

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