23 And he made a great metal water-vessel ten cubits across from edge to edge, five cubits high and thirty cubits round.
24 And under the edge of it, circling it all round for ten cubits, were two lines of flower buds, made together with it from liquid metal.
25 It was supported on twelve oxen, with their back parts turned to the middle of it, three of them facing to the north, three to the west, three to the south, and three to the east; the vessel was resting on top of them.
26 It was as thick as a man's open hand, and was curved like the edge of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it would take two thousand baths.
27 And he made ten wheeled bases of brass; every one four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
28 And the bases were made in this way; their sides were square, fixed in a framework;
29 And on the square sides between the frames were lions, oxen, and winged ones; and the same on the frame; and over and under the lions and the oxen and the winged ones were steps.
30 Every base had four wheels of brass, turning on brass rods, and their four angles had angle-plates under them; the angle-plates under the base were of metal, and there were ornaments at the side of every one.
31 The mouth of it inside the angle-plate was one cubit across; it was round like a pillar, a cubit and a half across; it had designs cut on it; the sides were square, not round.
32 The four wheels were under the frames, and the rods on which the wheels were fixed were in the base; the wheels were a cubit and a half high.
33 The wheels were made like carriage-wheels, the rods on which they were fixed, the parts forming their edges, their rods and the middle points of them, were all formed out of liquid metal.
34 And there were four angle-plates at the four angles of every base, forming part of the structure of the base.
35 And at the top of the base there was a round vessel, half a cubit high;
36 In the spaces of the flat sides and on the frames of them, he made designs of winged ones, lions, and palm-trees, with ornamented edges all round.
37 All the ten bases were made in this way, after the same design, of the same size and form.
38 And he made ten brass washing-vessels, everyone taking forty baths, and measuring four cubits; one vessel was placed on every one of the ten bases.
39 And he put the bases by the house, five on the right side and five on the left; and he put the great water-vessel on the right side of the house, to the east, facing south.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 7
Commentary on 1 Kings 7 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 7
As, in the story of David, one chapter of wars and victories follows another, so, in the story of Solomon, one chapter concerning his buildings follows another. In this chapter we have,
1Ki 7:1-12
Never had any man so much of the spirit of building as Solomon had, nor to better purpose; he began with the temple, built for God first, and then all his other buildings were comfortable. The surest foundations of lasting prosperity are those which are laid in an early piety, Mt. 6:33.
The wonderful magnificence of all these buildings is taken notice of, v. 9, etc. All the materials were the best of their kind. The foundation-stones were costly for their size, four or five yards square, or at least so many yards long (v. 10), and the stones of the building were costly for the workmanship, hewn and sawn, and in all respects finely wrought, v. 9, 11. The court of his own house was like that of the temple (v. 12, compare ch. 6:36); so well did he like the model of God's courts that he made his own by it.
1Ki 7:13-47
We have here an account of the brass-work about the temple. There was no iron about the temple, though we find David preparing for the temple iron for things of iron, 1 Chr. 29:2. What those things were we are not told, but some of the things of brass are here described and the rest mentioned.
1Ki 7:48-51
Here is,