1 Kings 7:23

23 Also he made a molten sea, that is, a washing vessel for priests, round in compass, of ten cubits from brink to brink; the highness thereof was of five cubits; and a cord of thirty cubits went about it by compass. (And he cast the bronze Sea, that is, a washing vessel for the priests, and it was ten cubits across from brim to brim; its highness was five cubits; and it took a cord thirty cubits long to go all around it.)

1 Kings 7:23 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 7:23

And he made a molten sea
A large vessel made of molten brass, which, because of the great quantity of water it held, is called a sea; as it was usual with the Jews to call a large collection of waters a sea, as the sea of Tiberius and Galilee. This was made by the man of Tyre, as the pillars, by the order of Solomon, and answered to the brasen laver in the tabernacle, only larger than that; and was not only for the priests to wash their hands and feet in, but to dip upon occasion, and by the Jews ^F16 is expressly said to be a dipping place for the priests, see ( 2 Chronicles 4:6 ) ,

ten cubits from the one brim to the other:
which was the diameter of it: it was round all about; spherical or circular; not as an hemisphere, as Josephus ^F17, and Procopius Gazaeus, but rather cylindrical:

and his height was five cubits;
from the bottom of it, not including the pedestal of oxen on which it stood:

and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about;
this was the circumference of it; which answers to the diameter of ten cubits, or near it, a round number being given not strictly mathematical.

(Sceptics have ridiculed the Bible for saying that the mathematical constant (p) is 3 instead of the more precise 3.14159. (This number is an "irrational number" and needs an infinite number digits to specify it exactly.) Two explanations for the apparent lack of precision in the measurement are given.

1) The circumference given may be for the inside circumference and the diameter may be the diameter including the thickness of the rim. This would yield a very accurate mathematical result for the inside circumference of thirty cubits. The outside circumference would be about 31.4 cubits giving a rim thickness of four inches or an hand breadth agreeing with ( 1 Kings 7:26 ) .

2) In ( 1 Kings 7:26 ) we read the vessel "was wrought like the brim of a cup." That is the brim on the top of the vessel was wider than the main part of the vessel. The diameter would be given for the brim. If the brim or lip extended about four inches past the main body of the vessel then the outside circumference of the main part of the vessel would be exactly thirty cubits.

In each case the mathematical ratio for circumference of the circle is (p) d, where "d" is the diameter and (p) is the number 3.14159 ..... For a more complete discussion on this see the article by Russel Grigg. {r}. Editor.)

---

FOOTNOTES:

F16 T. Hieros, Yema, fol. 41. 1
F17 Antiqu. l. 8. c. 3. sect 5.
F18 "Does the Bible say pi equals 3.0?", Russell Greg, page 24, "Ex Nihil", March-May Issue, Vol. 17. No. 2., Creation Science Foundation Ltd. Brisbane, Australia.

1 Kings 7:23 In-Context

21 And he set the two pillars in the porch of the temple; and when he had set the right half pillar, he called it by name Jachin, that is, steadfast; in like manner he raised up the second pillar, and he called the name thereof Boaz, that is, strength. (And he placed the two pillars in the vestibule of the Temple; and when he had raised up the right-hand pillar, he named it Jachin, that is, Steadfast; and in like manner he raised up the left-hand pillar, and he named it Boaz, that is, Strength.)

22 And he set upon the heads of the pillars a work by the manner of a lily; and (so) the work of the pillars was made perfect. (And on the very top of the pillars was lily work; and so the work of the pillars was finished, or completed.)

23 Also he made a molten sea, that is, a washing vessel for priests, round in compass, of ten cubits from brink to brink; the highness thereof was of five cubits; and a cord of thirty cubits went about it by compass. (And he cast the bronze Sea, that is, a washing vessel for the priests, and it was ten cubits across from brim to brim; its highness was five cubits; and it took a cord thirty cubits long to go all around it.)

24 And the engraving under the brink compassed it, and compassed the sea by ten cubits/and it came about the sea by ten cubits; twain orders of gravings containing some stories were molten (two rows of knops, or of gourds, were cast together, and joined with the Sea),

25 and (it) stood upon twelve oxen; of which oxen three beheld to the north, and three to the west, and three to the south, and three to the east; and the sea was above upon those oxen, of which all the hinder things were hid within.