EasyEnglish Bible 2018
1 Kings 7:23
23Hiram also used bronze to make a big bath which they called ‘the Sea’. It was in the shape of a circle 4.5 metres across. It was 2.3 metres deep. It was 14 metres around the outside.
1 Kings 7:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he made the 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.
Context of 1 Kings 7:23
21Hiram put these two pillars at the entrance room of the temple, in front of the big hall, the hall of pillars in the temple. He called the pillar on the south side ‘Jakin’. He called the pillar on the north side ‘Boaz’. 22The tops of the pillars were in the shape of flowers called lilies. Hiram finished the work on the two bronze pillars. Hiram also used bronze to make a big bath which they called ‘the Sea’. It was in the shape of a circle 4.5 metres across. It was 2.3 metres deep. It was 14 metres around the outside. 24All around its edge, below the top, there were two rows of round shapes. They were pictures of fruits called gourds. They were all part of the same piece of bronze as ‘the Sea’. There were 20 gourds for every metre around the edge. 25Hiram fixed ‘the Sea’ on top of 12 bronze bulls. Three pointed north, three pointed west, three pointed south and three pointed east. Their backs were towards the middle of ‘the Sea’.
Read all of 1 Kings 71 Kings 7:23 word by word
וַיַּ֥עַשׂ אֶת־הַיָּ֖ם מוּצָ֑ק עֶ֣שֶׂר בָּ֠אַמָּה מִשְּׂפָת֨וֹ עַד־שְׂפָת֜וֹ עָגֹ֣ל׀ סָבִ֗יב וְחָמֵ֤שׁ בָּֽאַמָּה֙ קוֹמָת֔וֹ וְקָו֙ שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים בָּֽאַמָּ֔ה יָסֹ֥ב אֹת֖וֹ סָבִֽיב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- a moltenיָצַקyâtsaq · to pour: pourH3332
- seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
- tenעֶשֶׂר‛eώer ‛ăώârâh · tenH6235
- cubitsאַמָּה'ammâh · cubitH520
- from the one brimשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lip: edgeH8193
- roundעָגֹל‛âgôl ‛âgôl · roundH5696
- all aboutסָבִיבsâbîyb sebîybâh · aroundH5439
- and his heightקוֹמָהqômâh · heightH6967
- fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
- and a lineקָוֶהqâveh · lineH6961
- and a lineקַוqav qâv · lineH6957
- of thirtyשְׁלֹשִׁיםshelôshîym shelôshîym · thirtyH7970
- did compassסָבַבsâbab · to turn: surroundH5437
Cross-references for 1 Kings 7:23
- Exodus 30:18‘Use bronze to make a large bowl for water. Also use bronze to make a base for it to stand on. Put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar. Fill it with water.
- Exodus 38:8He used bronze to make a large bowl for water, and a base for it to stand on. He used the bronze from small mirrors to make these things. The mirrors had belonged to women who worked at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
- 2 Kings 25:13The soldiers from Babylon broke the two bronze pillars that were in the Lord's temple. They also broke the carts which carried the buckets for water and the large bath called ‘the Sea’. They carried all the bronze pieces away to Babylon.
- 2 Chronicles 4:2They used bronze to make a big bath which they called ‘the Sea’. It was in the shape of a circle 4½ metres across. It was 2½ metres deep. It was 14 metres around the outside.
- Jeremiah 52:17The soldiers from Babylon broke the two bronze pillars that were in the Lord's temple. They also broke the carts which carried the buckets for water and the large bath called ‘the Sea’. They carried all the bronze pieces away to Babylon.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 7:23
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23The “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 1 Kings 7:26, much less 3,000 2 Chronicles 4:3…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-47Verses 13-47 The two brazen pillars in the porch of the temple, some think, were to teach those that came to worship, to depend upon God only, for strength and establishment in all their religious exercises. "Jachin," God will fix this roving mind. It is good that the heart be established with grace. "Boaz," In him is our strength, who works in us both to will and to do. Spiritual strength and stability are found at the door of God's temple, where we must…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-26The large bronze basin, known as the Sea, replaced the smaller bronze washbasin used in the tabernacle (see Exodus 30:17–21). The Sea was made as one solid piece, except for the twelve bronze oxen it rested on. These oxen faced in four directions, three per direction, possibly symbolizing the priests' service to all twelve tribes of Israel. Later, Ahaz replaced the oxen with a stone base (2 Kings 16:17). Like the earlier washbasin, priests used the Sea…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 23-2623-26. he made a molten sea--In the tabernacle was no such vessel; the laver served the double purpose of washing the hands and feet of the priests as well as the parts of the sacrifices. But in the temple there were separate vessels provided for these offices. (See on 2Ch 4:6). The molten sea was an immense semicircular vase, measuring seventeen and a half feet in diameter, and being eight and three-fourths feet in depth. This, at three and a half inches…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 7:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Kings 7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
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