1 Kings 7:46

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.

Hebrew Names Version
In the plain of the Yarden did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Sukkot and Tzaretan.

King James Version
In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.

English Standard Version
In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

New Century Version
The king had these things poured into clay molds that were made in the plain of the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan.

New English Translation
The king had them cast in earth foundries in the region of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.

Amplified Bible
In the plain of the Jordan [River] the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

New American Standard Bible
The king had them cast in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

Geneva Bible (1587)
In the plaine of Iorden did the King cast them in clay betweene Succoth and Zarthan.

Legacy Standard Bible
On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

Contemporary English Version
near the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan by pouring melted bronze into clay molds.

Complete Jewish Bible
The king cast them in the plain of the Yarden, in the clay ground between Sukkot and Tzartan.

Darby Translation
In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay-ground between Succoth and Zaretan.

Easy-to-Read Version
Solomon never weighed the bronze that was used to make these things. There was too much to weigh. So the total weight of all the bronze was never known. The king ordered these things to be made near the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan. They made them by melting the bronze and pouring it into molds in the ground.

George Lamsa Translation
In Kakar which is in the plain of Jericho by the side of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.

Good News Translation
The king had it all made in the foundry between Sukkoth and Zarethan, in the Jordan Valley.

Lexham English Bible
The king had cast them in the plain of the Jordan with the casting mold set in the ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

Literal Translation
The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the thick soil of the ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
In the countre by Iordane, caused the kynge them to be molten in thicke earth, betwene Sucoth and Zarthan.

American Standard Version
In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

Bible in Basic English
He made them of liquid metal in the lowland of Jordan, at the way across the river, at Adama, between Succoth and Zarethan.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
In the playne of Iordane did the king cast them [euen] in the thicke claye, betweene Socoh and Zarthan.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

King James Version (1611)
In the plaine of Iordane did the king cast them in the clay ground, betweene Succoth and Zarthan.

English Revised Version
In the Plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

Berean Standard Bible
The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the kyng yetide tho vessels in the feeldi cuntrey of Jordan, in cleyi lond, bitwixe Sochot and Sarcham.

Young's Literal Translation
In the circuit of the Jordan hath the king cast them, in the thick soil of the ground, between Succoth and Zarthan.

Update Bible Version
The king had cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

Webster's Bible Translation
In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.

World English Bible
In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

New King James Version
In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between Succoth and Zaretan.

New Living Translation
The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.

New Life Bible
The king made them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

New Revised Standard
In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
In the circuit of the Jordan, did the king cast them, in the clay ground, - between Succoth and Zarethan.

Douay-Rheims Bible
In the plains of the Jordan, did the king cast them in a clay ground, between Socoth and Sartham.

Revised Standard Version
In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

Contextual Overview

¹³King Solomon sent to Tyre and asked Hiram (not the king; another Hiram) to come. Hiram's mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was a Tyrian and a master worker in bronze. Hiram was a real artist—he could do anything with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the bronze work. ¹⁵First he cast two pillars in bronze, each twenty-seven feet tall and eighteen feet in circumference. He then cast two capitals in bronze to set on the pillars; each capital was seven and a half feet high and flared at the top in the shape of a lily. Each capital was dressed with an elaborate filigree of seven braided chains and a double row of two hundred pomegranates, setting the pillars off magnificently. He set the pillars up in the entrance porch to The Temple; the pillar to the south he named Security (Jachin) and the pillar to the north Stability (Boaz). The capitals were in the shape of lilies. When the pillars were finished, Hiram's next project was to make the Sea—an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet tall, and forty-five feet in circumference. Just under the rim there were two bands of decorative gourds, ten gourds to each foot and a half. The gourds were cast in one piece with the Sea. The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the bulls faced outward supporting the Sea on their hindquarters. The Sea was three inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or like a lily. It held about 11,500 gallons. Hiram also made ten washstands of bronze. Each was six feet square and four and a half feet tall. They were made like this: Panels were fastened to the uprights. Lions, bulls, and cherubim were represented on the panels and uprights. Beveled wreath-work bordered the lions and bulls above and below. Each stand was mounted on four bronze wheels with bronze axles. The uprights were cast with decorative relief work. Each stand held a basin on a circular engraved support a foot and a half deep set on a pedestal two and a quarter feet square. The washstand itself was square. The axles were attached under the stand and the wheels fixed to them. The wheels were twenty-seven inches in diameter; they were designed like chariot wheels. Everything—axles, rims, spokes, and hubs—was of cast metal. There was a handle at the four corners of each washstand, the handles cast in one piece with the stand. At the top of the washstand there was a ring about nine inches deep. The uprights and handles were cast with the stand. Everything and every available surface was engraved with cherubim, lions, and palm trees, bordered by arabesques. The washstands were identical, all cast in the same mold. He also made ten bronze washbasins, each six feet in diameter with a capacity of 230 gallons, one basin for each of the ten washstands. He arranged five stands on the south side of The Temple and five on the north. The Sea was placed at the southeast corner of The Temple. Hiram then fashioned the various utensils: buckets and shovels and bowls. Hiram completed all the work he set out to do for King Solomon on The Temple of God : two pillars; two capitals on top of the pillars; two decorative filigrees for the capitals; four hundred pomegranates for the two filigrees (a double row of pomegranates for each filigree); ten washstands each with its washbasin; one Sea; twelve bulls under the Sea; miscellaneous buckets, shovels, and bowls. All these artifacts that Hiram made for King Solomon for The Temple of God were of burnished bronze. He cast them in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zarethan. These artifacts were never weighed—there were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used. Solomon was also responsible for all the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God : the gold Altar; the gold Table that held the Bread of the Presence; the pure gold candelabras, five to the right and five to the left in front of the Inner Sanctuary; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; the pure gold dishes, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; the gold sockets for the doors of the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, used also for the doors of the Main Sanctuary. That completed all the work King Solomon did on The Temple of God . He then brought in the items consecrated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the treasury of God 's Temple. ²³ It took Solomon another thirteen years to finish building his own palace complex. He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. There were four rows of cedar columns supporting forty-five cedar beams, fifteen in each row, and then roofed with cedar. Windows in groupings of three were set high in the walls on either side. All the doors were rectangular and arranged symmetrically. He built a colonnaded courtyard seventy-five feet long and forty-five wide. It had a roofed porch at the front with ample eaves. He built a court room, the Hall of Justice, where he would decide judicial matters, and paneled it with cedar. He built his personal residence behind the Hall on a similar plan. Solomon also built another one just like it for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married. No expense was spared—everything here, inside and out, from foundation to roof was constructed using high-quality stone, accurately cut and shaped and polished. The foundation stones were huge, ranging in size from twelve to fifteen feet, and of the very best quality. The finest stone was used above the foundation, shaped to size and trimmed with cedar. The courtyard was enclosed with a wall made of three layers of stone and topped with cedar timbers, just like the one in the porch of The Temple of God . King Solomon sent to Tyre and asked Hiram (not the king; another Hiram) to come. Hiram's mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was a Tyrian and a master worker in bronze. Hiram was a real artist—he could do anything with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the bronze work. First he cast two pillars in bronze, each twenty-seven feet tall and eighteen feet in circumference. He then cast two capitals in bronze to set on the pillars; each capital was seven and a half feet high and flared at the top in the shape of a lily. Each capital was dressed with an elaborate filigree of seven braided chains and a double row of two hundred pomegranates, setting the pillars off magnificently. He set the pillars up in the entrance porch to The Temple; the pillar to the south he named Security (Jachin) and the pillar to the north Stability (Boaz). The capitals were in the shape of lilies. When the pillars were finished, Hiram's next project was to make the Sea—an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet tall, and forty-five feet in circumference. Just under the rim there were two bands of decorative gourds, ten gourds to each foot and a half. The gourds were cast in one piece with the Sea. The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the bulls faced outward supporting the Sea on their hindquarters. The Sea was three inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or like a lily. It held about 11,500 gallons. Hiram also made ten washstands of bronze. Each was six feet square and four and a half feet tall. They were made like this: Panels were fastened to the uprights. Lions, bulls, and cherubim were represented on the panels and uprights. Beveled wreath-work bordered the lions and bulls above and below. Each stand was mounted on four bronze wheels with bronze axles. The uprights were cast with decorative relief work. Each stand held a basin on a circular engraved support a foot and a half deep set on a pedestal two and a quarter feet square. The washstand itself was square. The axles were attached under the stand and the wheels fixed to them. The wheels were twenty-seven inches in diameter; they were designed like chariot wheels. Everything—axles, rims, spokes, and hubs—was of cast metal. There was a handle at the four corners of each washstand, the handles cast in one piece with the stand. At the top of the washstand there was a ring about nine inches deep. The uprights and handles were cast with the stand. Everything and every available surface was engraved with cherubim, lions, and palm trees, bordered by arabesques. The washstands were identical, all cast in the same mold. He also made ten bronze washbasins, each six feet in diameter with a capacity of 230 gallons, one basin for each of the ten washstands. He arranged five stands on the south side of The Temple and five on the north. The Sea was placed at the southeast corner of The Temple. Hiram then fashioned the various utensils: buckets and shovels and bowls. Hiram completed all the work he set out to do for King Solomon on The Temple of God : two pillars; two capitals on top of the pillars; two decorative filigrees for the capitals; four hundred pomegranates for the two filigrees (a double row of pomegranates for each filigree); ten washstands each with its washbasin; one Sea; twelve bulls under the Sea; miscellaneous buckets, shovels, and bowls. All these artifacts that Hiram made for King Solomon for The Temple of God were of burnished bronze. He cast them in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zarethan. These artifacts were never weighed—there were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used. Solomon was also responsible for all the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God : the gold Altar; the gold Table that held the Bread of the Presence; the pure gold candelabras, five to the right and five to the left in front of the Inner Sanctuary; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; the pure gold dishes, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; the gold sockets for the doors of the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, used also for the doors of the Main Sanctuary. That completed all the work King Solomon did on The Temple of God . He then brought in the items consecrated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the treasury of God 's Temple. ²⁴ It took Solomon another thirteen years to finish building his own palace complex. He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. There were four rows of cedar columns supporting forty-five cedar beams, fifteen in each row, and then roofed with cedar. Windows in groupings of three were set high in the walls on either side. All the doors were rectangular and arranged symmetrically. He built a colonnaded courtyard seventy-five feet long and forty-five wide. It had a roofed porch at the front with ample eaves. He built a court room, the Hall of Justice, where he would decide judicial matters, and paneled it with cedar. He built his personal residence behind the Hall on a similar plan. Solomon also built another one just like it for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married. No expense was spared—everything here, inside and out, from foundation to roof was constructed using high-quality stone, accurately cut and shaped and polished. The foundation stones were huge, ranging in size from twelve to fifteen feet, and of the very best quality. The finest stone was used above the foundation, shaped to size and trimmed with cedar. The courtyard was enclosed with a wall made of three layers of stone and topped with cedar timbers, just like the one in the porch of The Temple of God . King Solomon sent to Tyre and asked Hiram (not the king; another Hiram) to come. Hiram's mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was a Tyrian and a master worker in bronze. Hiram was a real artist—he could do anything with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the bronze work. First he cast two pillars in bronze, each twenty-seven feet tall and eighteen feet in circumference. He then cast two capitals in bronze to set on the pillars; each capital was seven and a half feet high and flared at the top in the shape of a lily. Each capital was dressed with an elaborate filigree of seven braided chains and a double row of two hundred pomegranates, setting the pillars off magnificently. He set the pillars up in the entrance porch to The Temple; the pillar to the south he named Security (Jachin) and the pillar to the north Stability (Boaz). The capitals were in the shape of lilies. When the pillars were finished, Hiram's next project was to make the Sea—an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet tall, and forty-five feet in circumference. Just under the rim there were two bands of decorative gourds, ten gourds to each foot and a half. The gourds were cast in one piece with the Sea. ²⁵The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the bulls faced outward supporting the Sea on their hindquarters. The Sea was three inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or like a lily. It held about 11,500 gallons. ²⁷Hiram also made ten washstands of bronze. Each was six feet square and four and a half feet tall. They were made like this: Panels were fastened to the uprights. Lions, bulls, and cherubim were represented on the panels and uprights. Beveled wreath-work bordered the lions and bulls above and below. Each stand was mounted on four bronze wheels with bronze axles. The uprights were cast with decorative relief work. Each stand held a basin on a circular engraved support a foot and a half deep set on a pedestal two and a quarter feet square. The washstand itself was square. The axles were attached under the stand and the wheels fixed to them. The wheels were twenty-seven inches in diameter; they were designed like chariot wheels. Everything—axles, rims, spokes, and hubs—was of cast metal. ³⁴There was a handle at the four corners of each washstand, the handles cast in one piece with the stand. At the top of the washstand there was a ring about nine inches deep. The uprights and handles were cast with the stand. Everything and every available surface was engraved with cherubim, lions, and palm trees, bordered by arabesques. The washstands were identical, all cast in the same mold. ³⁸He also made ten bronze washbasins, each six feet in diameter with a capacity of 230 gallons, one basin for each of the ten washstands. He arranged five stands on the south side of The Temple and five on the north. The Sea was placed at the southeast corner of The Temple. Hiram then fashioned the various utensils: buckets and shovels and bowls. Hiram completed all the work he set out to do for King Solomon on The Temple of God : two pillars; two capitals on top of the pillars; two decorative filigrees for the capitals; four hundred pomegranates for the two filigrees (a double row of pomegranates for each filigree); ten washstands each with its washbasin; one Sea; twelve bulls under the Sea; miscellaneous buckets, shovels, and bowls. All these artifacts that Hiram made for King Solomon for The Temple of God were of burnished bronze. He cast them in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zarethan. These artifacts were never weighed—there were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used. Solomon was also responsible for all the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God : the gold Altar; the gold Table that held the Bread of the Presence; the pure gold candelabras, five to the right and five to the left in front of the Inner Sanctuary; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; the pure gold dishes, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; the gold sockets for the doors of the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, used also for the doors of the Main Sanctuary. That completed all the work King Solomon did on The Temple of God . He then brought in the items consecrated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the treasury of God 's Temple. ⁴¹ It took Solomon another thirteen years to finish building his own palace complex. He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. There were four rows of cedar columns supporting forty-five cedar beams, fifteen in each row, and then roofed with cedar. Windows in groupings of three were set high in the walls on either side. All the doors were rectangular and arranged symmetrically. He built a colonnaded courtyard seventy-five feet long and forty-five wide. It had a roofed porch at the front with ample eaves. He built a court room, the Hall of Justice, where he would decide judicial matters, and paneled it with cedar. He built his personal residence behind the Hall on a similar plan. Solomon also built another one just like it for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married. No expense was spared—everything here, inside and out, from foundation to roof was constructed using high-quality stone, accurately cut and shaped and polished. The foundation stones were huge, ranging in size from twelve to fifteen feet, and of the very best quality. The finest stone was used above the foundation, shaped to size and trimmed with cedar. The courtyard was enclosed with a wall made of three layers of stone and topped with cedar timbers, just like the one in the porch of The Temple of God . King Solomon sent to Tyre and asked Hiram (not the king; another Hiram) to come. Hiram's mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was a Tyrian and a master worker in bronze. Hiram was a real artist—he could do anything with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the bronze work. First he cast two pillars in bronze, each twenty-seven feet tall and eighteen feet in circumference. He then cast two capitals in bronze to set on the pillars; each capital was seven and a half feet high and flared at the top in the shape of a lily. Each capital was dressed with an elaborate filigree of seven braided chains and a double row of two hundred pomegranates, setting the pillars off magnificently. He set the pillars up in the entrance porch to The Temple; the pillar to the south he named Security (Jachin) and the pillar to the north Stability (Boaz). The capitals were in the shape of lilies. When the pillars were finished, Hiram's next project was to make the Sea—an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet tall, and forty-five feet in circumference. Just under the rim there were two bands of decorative gourds, ten gourds to each foot and a half. The gourds were cast in one piece with the Sea. The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the bulls faced outward supporting the Sea on their hindquarters. The Sea was three inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or like a lily. It held about 11,500 gallons. Hiram also made ten washstands of bronze. Each was six feet square and four and a half feet tall. They were made like this: Panels were fastened to the uprights. Lions, bulls, and cherubim were represented on the panels and uprights. Beveled wreath-work bordered the lions and bulls above and below. Each stand was mounted on four bronze wheels with bronze axles. The uprights were cast with decorative relief work. Each stand held a basin on a circular engraved support a foot and a half deep set on a pedestal two and a quarter feet square. The washstand itself was square. The axles were attached under the stand and the wheels fixed to them. The wheels were twenty-seven inches in diameter; they were designed like chariot wheels. Everything—axles, rims, spokes, and hubs—was of cast metal. There was a handle at the four corners of each washstand, the handles cast in one piece with the stand. At the top of the washstand there was a ring about nine inches deep. The uprights and handles were cast with the stand. Everything and every available surface was engraved with cherubim, lions, and palm trees, bordered by arabesques. The washstands were identical, all cast in the same mold. He also made ten bronze washbasins, each six feet in diameter with a capacity of 230 gallons, one basin for each of the ten washstands. He arranged five stands on the south side of The Temple and five on the north. The Sea was placed at the southeast corner of The Temple. Hiram then fashioned the various utensils: buckets and shovels and bowls. Hiram completed all the work he set out to do for King Solomon on The Temple of God : two pillars; two capitals on top of the pillars; two decorative filigrees for the capitals; four hundred pomegranates for the two filigrees (a double row of pomegranates for each filigree); ten washstands each with its washbasin; one Sea; twelve bulls under the Sea; miscellaneous buckets, shovels, and bowls. All these artifacts that Hiram made for King Solomon for The Temple of God were of burnished bronze. He cast them in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zarethan. These artifacts were never weighed—there were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used. Solomon was also responsible for all the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God : the gold Altar; the gold Table that held the Bread of the Presence; the pure gold candelabras, five to the right and five to the left in front of the Inner Sanctuary; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; the pure gold dishes, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; the gold sockets for the doors of the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, used also for the doors of the Main Sanctuary. That completed all the work King Solomon did on The Temple of God . He then brought in the items consecrated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the treasury of God 's Temple. ⁴² It took Solomon another thirteen years to finish building his own palace complex. He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. There were four rows of cedar columns supporting forty-five cedar beams, fifteen in each row, and then roofed with cedar. Windows in groupings of three were set high in the walls on either side. All the doors were rectangular and arranged symmetrically. He built a colonnaded courtyard seventy-five feet long and forty-five wide. It had a roofed porch at the front with ample eaves. He built a court room, the Hall of Justice, where he would decide judicial matters, and paneled it with cedar. He built his personal residence behind the Hall on a similar plan. Solomon also built another one just like it for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married. No expense was spared—everything here, inside and out, from foundation to roof was constructed using high-quality stone, accurately cut and shaped and polished. The foundation stones were huge, ranging in size from twelve to fifteen feet, and of the very best quality. The finest stone was used above the foundation, shaped to size and trimmed with cedar. The courtyard was enclosed with a wall made of three layers of stone and topped with cedar timbers, just like the one in the porch of The Temple of God . King Solomon sent to Tyre and asked Hiram (not the king; another Hiram) to come. Hiram's mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was a Tyrian and a master worker in bronze. Hiram was a real artist—he could do anything with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the bronze work. First he cast two pillars in bronze, each twenty-seven feet tall and eighteen feet in circumference. He then cast two capitals in bronze to set on the pillars; each capital was seven and a half feet high and flared at the top in the shape of a lily. Each capital was dressed with an elaborate filigree of seven braided chains and a double row of two hundred pomegranates, setting the pillars off magnificently. He set the pillars up in the entrance porch to The Temple; the pillar to the south he named Security (Jachin) and the pillar to the north Stability (Boaz). The capitals were in the shape of lilies. When the pillars were finished, Hiram's next project was to make the Sea—an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet tall, and forty-five feet in circumference. Just under the rim there were two bands of decorative gourds, ten gourds to each foot and a half. The gourds were cast in one piece with the Sea. The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the bulls faced outward supporting the Sea on their hindquarters. The Sea was three inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or like a lily. It held about 11,500 gallons. Hiram also made ten washstands of bronze. Each was six feet square and four and a half feet tall. They were made like this: Panels were fastened to the uprights. Lions, bulls, and cherubim were represented on the panels and uprights. Beveled wreath-work bordered the lions and bulls above and below. Each stand was mounted on four bronze wheels with bronze axles. The uprights were cast with decorative relief work. Each stand held a basin on a circular engraved support a foot and a half deep set on a pedestal two and a quarter feet square. The washstand itself was square. The axles were attached under the stand and the wheels fixed to them. The wheels were twenty-seven inches in diameter; they were designed like chariot wheels. Everything—axles, rims, spokes, and hubs—was of cast metal. There was a handle at the four corners of each washstand, the handles cast in one piece with the stand. At the top of the washstand there was a ring about nine inches deep. The uprights and handles were cast with the stand. Everything and every available surface was engraved with cherubim, lions, and palm trees, bordered by arabesques. The washstands were identical, all cast in the same mold. He also made ten bronze washbasins, each six feet in diameter with a capacity of 230 gallons, one basin for each of the ten washstands. He arranged five stands on the south side of The Temple and five on the north. The Sea was placed at the southeast corner of The Temple. Hiram then fashioned the various utensils: buckets and shovels and bowls. Hiram completed all the work he set out to do for King Solomon on The Temple of God : two pillars; two capitals on top of the pillars; two decorative filigrees for the capitals; four hundred pomegranates for the two filigrees (a double row of pomegranates for each filigree); ten washstands each with its washbasin; one Sea; twelve bulls under the Sea; miscellaneous buckets, shovels, and bowls. All these artifacts that Hiram made for King Solomon for The Temple of God were of burnished bronze. He cast them in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zarethan. These artifacts were never weighed—there were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used. Solomon was also responsible for all the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God : the gold Altar; the gold Table that held the Bread of the Presence; the pure gold candelabras, five to the right and five to the left in front of the Inner Sanctuary; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; the pure gold dishes, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; the gold sockets for the doors of the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, used also for the doors of the Main Sanctuary. That completed all the work King Solomon did on The Temple of God . He then brought in the items consecrated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the treasury of God 's Temple.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the clay ground: Heb. the thickness of the ground

Succoth: Genesis 33:17

Zarthan: Zarthan is supposed to have been situated in the tribe of Manasseh, west of Jordan, near Jezreel and Bethshan or Scythopolis, and not far from the Jordan. Succoth we know was situated east of Jordan, in the tribe of Gad, and according to Jerome, in the district of Scythopolis: hence the "plain of Jordan," where Hiram cast the brazen vessels, must be the plain in which that river runs, Zarthan and Succoth being probably nearly opposite each other; but whether the precise spot of his operations was on this side or the other side, is uncertain. In this place he found that particular clay that was proper for his purpose; and it being a considerable distance from Jerusalem, that city would not be annoyed by the smoke and noxious vapours necessarily occasioned by the process. 1 Kings 4:12, Zartanah, Joshua 3:16, Zaretan, 2 Chronicles 4:17, Zeredathah

Reciprocal: Genesis 13:10 - the plain Joshua 13:27 - Succoth

Gill's Notes on the Bible

In the plain of Jericho did the king cast them in the clay ground,.... Which being thick, as the word signifies, and stiff and close, was fit for such a purpose as casting brass; of such clay, furnaces of earth used to be made to melt metals in; but here were large things to be cast, as the two pillars, the sea, the ten lavers, c. moulds were made in the ground, and so the melted brass was poured into them, which gave it its different forms this, no doubt, was done by Hiram, though said to be done by the king, because done by his orders: the place where it was done was a part of the plain of Jericho, which lay

between Succoth and Zarthan; Succoth was in the tribe of Gad, on the other side Jordan; Zarthan was near it on this side, in the tribe of Manasseh, the same that is called Zartanah, 1 Kings 4:12 and Zaretan, Joshua 3:16 and Zeredathah, 2 Chronicles 4:17. The first casters of brass are said h to be Theodorus and Rhaecus, both Samians.

h Pausau. Arcadica, sive, l. 8. p. 479. & Boeotica, sive, l. 9. p. 607.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Succoth and Zarthan - See Judges 7:22; Judges 8:5, note.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 7:46. Cast them, in the clay ground — In this place he found that particular kind of clay that was proper for his purpose. Some suppose that the place where Hiram had his foundry was on the other side, some on this side, of Jordan. Calmet supposes that it was near Bethshan.