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He also made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high. Then he forged a huge round tank 15 feet across from rim to rim. The rim stood 7-1/2 feet above the floor, and was 45 feet around. The tank was encircled at its base by two rows of gourd designs, cast as part of the tank. The tank stood on twelve metal oxen facing outward; three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. The walls of the tank were five inches thick, flaring out like the cup of a lily. It held 3,000 barrels of water.

He also constructed ten vats for water to wash the offerings, five to the right of the huge tank and five to the left. The priests used the tank, and not the vats, for their own washing.

Carefully following God’s instructions, he then cast ten gold lampstands and placed them in the Temple, five against each wall; he also built ten tables and placed five against each wall on the right and left. And he molded 100 solid gold bowls. Then he constructed a court for the priests, also the public court, and overlaid the doors of these courts with bronze. 10 The huge tank was in the southeast corner of the outer room of the Temple. 11 Huramabi also made the necessary pots, shovels, and basins for use in connection with the sacrifices.

So at last he completed the work assigned to him by King Solomon:

12-16 The construction of the two pillars,

The two flared capitals on the tops of the pillars,

The two sets of chains on the capitals,

The 400 pomegranates hanging from the two sets of chains on the capitals,

The bases for the vats and the vats themselves,

The huge tank and the twelve oxen under it,

The pots, shovels, and fleshhooks.

This skillful craftsman, Huramabi, made all of the above-mentioned items for King Solomon using polished bronze. 17-18 The king did the casting at the claybanks of the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zeredah. Great quantities of bronze were used, too heavy to weigh.

19 Solomon commanded that all of the furnishings of the Temple—the utensils, the altar, and the table for the Bread of the Presence must be made of gold; 20 also the lamps and lampstands, 21 the floral decorations, tongs, 22 lamp snuffers, basins, spoons, and firepans—all were made of solid gold. Even the doorway of the Temple, the main door, and the inner doors to the Holy of Holies were overlaid with gold.

The Temple’s Furnishings(A)

He made a bronze altar(B) twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.[a] He made the Sea(C) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits[b] high. It took a line of thirty cubits[c] to measure around it. Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit.[d] The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east.(D) The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. It was a handbreadth[e] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.[f]

He then made ten basins(E) for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings(F) were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.

He made ten gold lampstands(G) according to the specifications(H) for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

He made ten tables(I) and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.(J)

He made the courtyard(K) of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. 10 He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

11 And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished(L) the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God:

12 the two pillars;

the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

13 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars);

14 the stands(M) with their basins;

15 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

16 the pots, shovels, meat forks and all related articles.

All the objects that Huram-Abi(N) made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of polished bronze. 17 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth(O) and Zarethan.[g] 18 All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze(P) could not be calculated.

19 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple:

the golden altar;

the tables(Q) on which was the bread of the Presence;

20 the lampstands(R) of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;

21 the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold);

22 the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes(S) and censers;(T) and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:1 That is, about 30 feet long and wide and 15 feet high or about 9 meters long and wide and 4.5 meters high
  2. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
  3. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
  4. 2 Chronicles 4:3 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  5. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
  6. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 18,000 gallons or about 66,000 liters
  7. 2 Chronicles 4:17 Hebrew Zeredatha, a variant of Zarethan