Summary

Here the writer describes more of Hiram’s work in bronze in the casting of ten stands, the purpose of which was for each to hold a basin. The stands plus the basin have individual parts associated with them, but the writer intersperses the description of these parts within the whole section and does not necessarily finish the description of one such feature before he begins the description of the next. So we have to await the completion of one description while the description of another part begins.

The measurements of the stands that are given are roughly 2 metres long, 2 metres wide, and 6 metres high. Thus, it is fairly obvious that these objects are of considerable size, though dwarfed by the brazen sea.

It ought to be noted that these objects have no counterparts, of which we are aware, in the tabernacle. It might be said that since the size of the tabernacle's bronze laver is not specified in Exodus 30:18, these stands with the basins they were to carry might have been more nearly the size of the tabernacle’s bronze basin. What may seem to be a discrepancy between tabernacle and temple worship may dissolve as we remember that the origin of the tabernacle was near the beginning of forty years of wilderness wandering in which the abundant presence of water was not the norm.

There were panels that made up the sides of stands that were fitted into a framework in order that the sides would be sturdy. Worked on the panels in relief were images of lions, oxen, and cherubim. It is somewhat surprising that two of the creatures thus displayed are creatures of the earth and the remaining one was an image of a heavenly being. The reason for this is not given, but we might suggest that it could bear witness that all the beings are the creatures of Almighty God.

Above these creatures that were depicted on the panels were wreaths of beveled work, the work of artistic design. As is the case with other features of the temple furniture, the exact look of these images is unknown.

Next, in 1 Kings 7:30 the writer begins to describe the wheels that each stand possessed. He does not continue the description of the wheels until 1 Kings 7:32. Instead, he begins a description of the supports (for the basin the stand would carry) that were on each of the four corners of each stand. The supports were decorated with the depiction of a wreath. Each support was round and had a hollow space of roughly .75 metres deep, presumably for the purpose of aid in securing the basin on the top of the stand. Some of the language here is obscure and makes it difficult to express in other words.

1 Kings 7:31 speaks of a crown that reached upward from the body of each stand, with a round opening in which the basis might be set. Around the opening of the crown there were carvings, but we are not told what the carvings depicted.

1 Kings 7:32 returns the narrative to a description of the wheels. There were four wheels to each of the ten stands. The fact that they were capable of turning is shown by the fact that they possessed axles. In design they resembled chariot wheels with rims, spokes and hubs all of which were cast in bronze.

1 Kings 7:34 returns our attention to the supports on the stands but only long enough to tell us that there were four of these upon each corner of the individual stand. Then our attention is moved to the top of the stand. It seems that the band that is mentioned in this verse was connected to the crown mentioned in 1 Kings 7:31. We might think of the band as a sort of collar placed around the crown. At this point the language becomes rather confusing for we are told of stays, panels of lions, cherubim, and palm trees.

1 Kings 7:37 tells us that all the stands were made identical. This should serve as a reminder that the Lord was very insistent that the temple and its furnishings be constructed exactly as directed.

In 1 Kings 7:38 the basin is described, but in rather brief terms. Measurements are given, but they are hard to understand, for we are told that each basin was four cubits (roughly 2 metres) but without mentioning whether this measurement is a diameter or a circumference. The volume is given as 40 baths, approximately 1,400 litres. 1 Kings 7:39 records the placement of the stands with their basins in two groups of five each, which were to be placed outside the temple, one on the south side and the other on the north side.