2 Chronicles 4

1 He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.
2 Then he made the molten sea; it was round, ten cubits from rim to rim, and five cubits high. A line of thirty cubits would encircle it completely.
3 Under it were panels all around, each of ten cubits, surrounding the sea; there were two rows of panels, cast when it was cast.
4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the sea was set on them. The hindquarters of each were toward the inside.
5 Its thickness was a handbreadth; its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; it held three thousand baths.
6 He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the right side, and five on the left. In these they were to rinse what was used for the burnt offering. The sea was for the priests to wash in.
7 He made ten golden lampstands as prescribed, and set them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.
8 He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred basins of gold.
9 He made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court; he overlaid their doors with bronze.
10 He set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.
11 And Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. Thus Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God:
12 the two pillars, the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars;
13 the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars.
14 He made the stands, the basins on the stands,
15 the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath it.
16 The pots, the shovels, the forks, and all the equipment for these Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord.
17 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.
18 Solomon made all these things in great quantities, so that the weight of the bronze was not determined.
19 So Solomon made all the things that were in the house of God: the golden altar, the tables for the bread of the Presence,
20 the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn before the inner sanctuary, as prescribed;
21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of purest gold;
22 the snuffers, basins, ladles, and firepans, of pure gold. As for the entrance to the temple: the inner doors to the most holy place and the doors of the nave of the temple were of gold.

2 Chronicles 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

The furniture of the temple.

- 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.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. A Hebrew measure of volume

2 Chronicles 4 Commentaries

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.