2 Chronicles4
New International Version
1He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.
2He 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.
3Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit. The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.
4The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center.
5It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.
6He then made ten basins 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 were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.
7He made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.
8He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.
9He made the courtyard of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze.
10He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.
11And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God:
12the 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;
13the 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);
14the stands with their basins;
15the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;
16the pots, shovels, meat forks and all related articles. All the objects that Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of polished bronze.
17The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan.
18All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze could not be calculated.
19Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple: the golden altar; the tables on which was the bread of the Presence;
20the lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;
21the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold);
22the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 2 Chronicles 4.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The furniture of the temple. (1-22).
vv1-22
Here is a further account of the furniture of God's house. Both without doors and within, there was that which typified the grace of the gospel, and shadowed out good things to come, of which the substance is Christ. There was the brazen altar. The making of this was not mentioned in the book of Kings. On this all the sacrifices were offered, and it sanctified the gift. The people who worshipped in the courts might see the sacrifices burned. They might thus be led to consider the great Sacrifice, to be offered in the fulness of time, to take away sin, and put an end to death, which the blood of bulls and goats could not possibly do. And, with the smoke of the sacrifices, their hearts might ascend to heaven, in holy desires towards God and his favour. In all our devotions we must keep the eye of faith fixed upon Christ. The furniture of the temple, compared with that of the tabernacle, showed that God's church would be enlarged, and his worshippers multiplied. Blessed be God, there is enough in Christ for all.
Key Words
עָשָׂה: to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
מִזְבֵּחַ: an altar
נְחֹשֶׁת: copper, hence, something made of that metal, i.e. coin, a fetter; figuratively, base (as compared with gold or silver)
עֶשְׂרִים: twenty; also (ordinal) twentieth
אַמָּה: properly, a mother (i.e. unit of measure, or the fore-arm (below the elbow), i.e. a cubit; also a door-base (as a bond of the entrance)
אֹרֶךְ: length
רֹחַב: width (literally or figuratively)
עֶשֶׂר: ten (as an accumulation to the extent of the digits)
קוֹמָה: height
יָם: a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water; specifically (with the article), the Mediterranean Sea; sometimes a large river, or an artifical basin; locally, the west, or (rarely) the south
Cross References
2 Chronicles 4Parallel account of the construction and dimensions of the molten sea.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel account detailing the placement of the ten lavers.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallel account of the golden tables and other furniture of the temple.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallel account of Huram completing the various vessels and instruments.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The prohibition of steps to the altar is modified by the introduction of priestly garments.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Priestly linen breeches allowed for ascending the elevated brazen altar safely.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Explains the difference in capacity (two thousand vs. three thousand baths).
Supported by JFB
The supporting twelve oxen directed toward the four cardinal directions.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The original tabernacle pattern ('their form') prescribed by God to Moses.
Supported by Matthew Poole
David's inspired plans specifying gold and silver tables.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies the master artisan Huram-abi ('Huram his father').
Supported by Matthew Poole
The geographical location of the clay ground casting in the Jordan plain.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The tabernacle predecessor of the molten sea used for priestly washing.
Parallel description of the construction of the inner court.
Parallel list of the golden entry doors and holy instruments.