I Kings 7:27-51
"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. 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.
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. 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.” (I Kings 7:23-26)
In the Tabernacle, there had been the brazen laver for the priests to wash at. Hiram made a much larger one for the Temple. It was made in the form of a large bowl or cup, fifteen feet across and seven and a half feet deep. Just below the rim were a double row of one and a half inch knobs, formed into the casting. The rim itself had a pattern of lilies cast in it. The casting was about four inches thick and held about twelve thousand gallons. It was supported on the backs of twelve cast oxen, with three facing each direction. It would serve as a storage reservoir.
“And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it. And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges: And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.
And every base had four brazen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition. And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round. And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.
And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten. And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself.
And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same. For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about. After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size. Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.” (I Kings 7:27-38)
Ten six foot square brass bases were made to hold large washbowls. Each base had four twenty seven inch spoke wheels resembling chariot wheels to make them portable. Each base was a single casting which when mounted on the wheels was about four and a half feet tall. Extra supports or under setters were cast into each corner to help support the weight of the wash basins and reinforce the axles. Ledges extended out beyond the wheels, and a pattern of lions and oxen was cast into the border above them. A circular support for the lavers or washbasins was cast into the top.
The washbasins were huge, holding about two hundred forty gallons apiece. They would have been impractical to clean and refill without the wheeled bases to move them around’ but their large size would minimize the need for constant cleaning and refilling.
“And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.” (I Kings 7:39)
A row of the bases was set on each side of the entry to the temple so the priests would have ready access when they went in to make sacrifices, while the storage tank, the sea, was set on the south side of the courtyard, toward the eastern end.
“And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD: The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars; And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases; And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea; And the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass.
In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.” (I Kings 7:40-47)
The actual casting was done north of the Dead Sea, between Succoth and Zarthan, because the clay soil made very fine molds, and steep clay cliffs made it easy to build efficient natural draft furnaces for melting the metal using natural convection to provide draft. The ore could be transported by water most of the way, minimizing transportation problems. No record was kept of the amount of metal used, or of the finished products.
“And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the showbread was, And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple. So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD.
And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.” (I Kings 7:48-51)
Because the Temple was so much larger than the tabernacle, more candlesticks were required, as was a larger altar of incense and more implements to care for them. Rather than using wood overlaid with gold like they used in the tabernacle, Solomon used solid gold for the Altar and the table of shew bread. Even the door hinges and latches were of gold.
Solomon also brought the things David had consecrated for the Lord into the Temple for special use.
"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. 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.
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. 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.” (I Kings 7:23-26)
In the Tabernacle, there had been the brazen laver for the priests to wash at. Hiram made a much larger one for the Temple. It was made in the form of a large bowl or cup, fifteen feet across and seven and a half feet deep. Just below the rim were a double row of one and a half inch knobs, formed into the casting. The rim itself had a pattern of lilies cast in it. The casting was about four inches thick and held about twelve thousand gallons. It was supported on the backs of twelve cast oxen, with three facing each direction. It would serve as a storage reservoir.
“And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it. And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges: And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.
And every base had four brazen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition. And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round. And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.
And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten. And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself.
And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same. For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about. After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size. Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.” (I Kings 7:27-38)
Ten six foot square brass bases were made to hold large washbowls. Each base had four twenty seven inch spoke wheels resembling chariot wheels to make them portable. Each base was a single casting which when mounted on the wheels was about four and a half feet tall. Extra supports or under setters were cast into each corner to help support the weight of the wash basins and reinforce the axles. Ledges extended out beyond the wheels, and a pattern of lions and oxen was cast into the border above them. A circular support for the lavers or washbasins was cast into the top.
The washbasins were huge, holding about two hundred forty gallons apiece. They would have been impractical to clean and refill without the wheeled bases to move them around’ but their large size would minimize the need for constant cleaning and refilling.
“And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.” (I Kings 7:39)
A row of the bases was set on each side of the entry to the temple so the priests would have ready access when they went in to make sacrifices, while the storage tank, the sea, was set on the south side of the courtyard, toward the eastern end.
“And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD: The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars; And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases; And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea; And the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass.
In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.” (I Kings 7:40-47)
The actual casting was done north of the Dead Sea, between Succoth and Zarthan, because the clay soil made very fine molds, and steep clay cliffs made it easy to build efficient natural draft furnaces for melting the metal using natural convection to provide draft. The ore could be transported by water most of the way, minimizing transportation problems. No record was kept of the amount of metal used, or of the finished products.
“And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the showbread was, And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple. So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD.
And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.” (I Kings 7:48-51)
Because the Temple was so much larger than the tabernacle, more candlesticks were required, as was a larger altar of incense and more implements to care for them. Rather than using wood overlaid with gold like they used in the tabernacle, Solomon used solid gold for the Altar and the table of shew bread. Even the door hinges and latches were of gold.
Solomon also brought the things David had consecrated for the Lord into the Temple for special use.
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