1 Kings 7:39

39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

1 Kings 7:39 in Other Translations

39 And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.

39 And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.

39 He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple.

39 He arranged five stands on the south side of The Temple and five on the north. The Sea was placed at the southeast corner of The Temple.

39 He set five water carts on the right side of the temple and five on the left side. He put the reservoir near the right side of the temple toward the southeast.

1 Kings 7:39 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 7:39

And he put five bases on the right side of the house
On the south side, which is commonly understood; that is, of the courts of the priests, where they were placed for their use: and five on the left side of the house; on the north, as it must be, if the south is on the right; though as the entrance into the temple was at the east, when a man went in, the north must be on the right, and the south on the left; and this seems to be the position by what follows:

and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, over
against the south;
and therefore the right side must be the north, which is opposite to the south; the sea seems to have stood northeast, which was for the priests to wash in before they entered on divine service, (See Gill on Exodus 30:20) hence it became customary with the Heathens to wash before they performed any religious worship ^F5, particularly the hands and feet ^F6.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 Vid. Virgil. Bucolic. Eclog. 8. "affer aquam" Aeneid. 2. "attrectare nefas" Macrob. Saturnal. l. 3. c. l.
F6 Vid. Sperling de Bapt. Ethnic. p. 88, 89, 101.

1 Kings 7:39 In-Context

37 This is the way he made the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape.

38 He then made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands.

39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

40 He also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the LORD:

41 the 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;