Exodus 30:17-18 New English Translation
The Bronze Laver
17 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses,[b] 18 “You are also to make a large bronze[c] basin with a bronze stand[d] for washing. You are to put it between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it,[e]
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- Exodus 30:17 sn Another piece of furniture is now introduced, the laver, or washing basin. It was a round (the root means to be round) basin for holding water, but it had to be up on a pedestal or base to let water run out (through taps of some kind) for the priests to wash—they could not simply dip dirty hands into the basin. This was for the priests primarily to wash their hands and feet before entering the tent. It stood in the courtyard between the altar and the tent. No dimensions are given. The passage can be divided into three sections: the instructions (17-18), the rules for washing (19-20), and the reminder that this is a perpetual statute.
- Exodus 30:17 tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”
- Exodus 30:18 sn The metal for this object was obtained from the women from their mirrors (see Exod 38:8).
- Exodus 30:18 tn Heb “and its stand bronze.”
- Exodus 30:18 tn The form is the adverb “there” with the directive qamets-he.
New English Translation (NET)
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