14 And he made the ten bases and the ten washing-vessels which were on the bases;
And he made ten wheeled bases of brass; every one four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high. And the bases were made in this way; their sides were square, fixed in a framework; And on the square sides between the frames were lions, oxen, and winged ones; and the same on the frame; and over and under the lions and the oxen and the winged ones were steps. Every base had four wheels of brass, turning on brass rods, and their four angles had angle-plates under them; the angle-plates under the base were of metal, and there were ornaments at the side of every one. The mouth of it inside the angle-plate was one cubit across; it was round like a pillar, a cubit and a half across; it had designs cut on it; the sides were square, not round. The four wheels were under the frames, and the rods on which the wheels were fixed were in the base; the wheels were a cubit and a half high. The wheels were made like carriage-wheels, the rods on which they were fixed, the parts forming their edges, their rods and the middle points of them, were all formed out of liquid metal. And there were four angle-plates at the four angles of every base, forming part of the structure of the base. And at the top of the base there was a round vessel, half a cubit high; In the spaces of the flat sides and on the frames of them, he made designs of winged ones, lions, and palm-trees, with ornamented edges all round. All the ten bases were made in this way, after the same design, of the same size and form. And he made ten brass washing-vessels, everyone taking forty baths, and measuring four cubits; one vessel was placed on every one of the ten bases. And he put the bases by the house, five on the right side and five on the left; and he put the great water-vessel on the right side of the house, to the east, facing south. And Hiram made the pots and spades and the basins. So Hiram came to the end of all the work he did for King Solomon in the house of the Lord: The two pillars and the two cups of the crowns which were on the tops of the two pillars; and the network covering the two cups of the crowns on the tops of the pillars, And the four hundred apples for the network, two lines of apples for every network, covering the two cups of the crowns on the pillars; And the ten bases, with the ten washing-vessels on them;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 4
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 4 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 3 & 4
These two chapters give an account of the building of the temple, of the materials, parts, and form of it, and of things belonging to it, and which agrees with 1 Kings 6:1 see the notes there; only here, 1 Chronicles 3:1, mention is made of the particular place where it was built, Mount Moriah; of which see the notes on Genesis 22:2. The dimensions of the house, as the Targum rightly explains, 2 Chronicles 3:3, are said to be after the first measure, either of that of the tabernacle by Moses, or rather of that of the pattern David gave to Solomon, 1 Chronicles 28:11, though some understand it of the greater cubit: the holy place is called the greater house, 2 Chronicles 3:5, being twice as long as the holy of holies; in 2 Chronicles 3:6, we are informed what the precious stones were for, which David and his princes gave for the temple, 1 Chronicles 29:2, that they were to decorate the house; and also what sort of gold was used in overlaying it, gold of Parvaim, which some interpret of PeruF8 , in America; but it is a question whether that was then known, or, if it was, must go by another name, since Peru is a late name given by the Spaniards, at their conquest of it. BochartF9 takes it to be Taprobane, an island in the Indian sea, as if it was Taph Parvan or Provan, the shore of Parvan. KircherF11 is of opinion it is the same with Javaim, the isles of Java in the same sea, from whence was gold, which is not very likely. WaserusF12 thinks Parvaim is the name of a town which is by PlinyF13 corruptly called Parbacia, which was in the land of Havilah, or the kingdom of the Charazenes, where was the best gold, Genesis 2:11 though others suppose it to be the same with Ophir, by removing the first letter of the word, to which PfeifferF14 inclines, and is as probable as any; and much more probable than what the JewsF15 say, that this gold was so called, because it was red like the blood of "parim", oxen: in 2 Chronicles 3:8, the quantity of gold, with which the most holy place was overlaid, is given, six hundred talents: of which See Gill on 1 Kings 6:21, In 2 Chronicles 3:9 we read of the nails with which the plates of gold were fastened to the boards, nowhere else mentioned, except in the Vulgate Latin version of 1 Kings 6:21, "he fastened the plates with golden nails"; which version perhaps is most correct; the weight of which were fifty shekels of gold; that is, according to the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, each nail weighed so much, which amounted to seventy five pounds of our moneyF16 . Eupolemus, an Heathen writerF17 speaks of these nails, which he makes to be silver ones; and says they were of the weight of a talent, in the form of a woman's breast, and in number four, with which the plates of gold were fastened, which were of five cubits; I suppose he means there were four of these nails in every plate of five cubits: in 2 Chronicles 4:1 an account is given of an "altar of brass", made by Solomon, we have not elsewhere, only referred to 1 Kings 8:64 whether this was only covered with brass, as that made by Moses was, as someF18 think; or whether of massy brass, as Dr. LightfootF19 because not to be removed as that was, is not certain; the altar of the second temple was of stones unpolished, according to the MisnahF20 , with which agrees"46 And laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to shew what should be done with them. 47 Then they took whole stones according to the law, and built a new altar according to the former;' (1 Maccabees 4)and so PhiloF21 : "twenty cubits was the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof"; it was four times as big in its square as that of Moses, and three times higher, and a cubit over, See Gill on Exodus 27:1. HecataeusF23 , an Heathen writer, speaks of this altar as four square, and made of whole and unpolished stones, each side of which was twenty cubits, but the height of it he makes to be twelve cubits, in which he mistakes. It weighed, according to Jacob LeonF24 7000 arobas of brass, each aroba containing twenty five pounds. The rest of the chapter agrees with the account in the book of Kings.F8 Erasm. Schmid. de America Orat. ad Calc. Pindar. p. 261. Montani Phaleg. in Calc. Jac. Capellus in loc.F9 Phaleg. l. 2. c. 27. & Canaan, l. 1. c. 46. col. 692. Braunius de Vest. Sacred. Heb. p. 221.F11 Prodrom. Copt. c. 4. p. 119.F12 De Antiqu. Num. Heb. l. 1. c. 6.F13 Nat. Hist l. 6. c. 28.F14 Difficil. Script. Sacr. cent. 3. loc. 16. p. 247.F15 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 45. 1. Hieros. Yoma, fol. 41. 4. Shemot Rabba, sect. 39. fol. 136. 4.F16 Brerewood de Ponder. &c. c. 5.F17 Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 34. p. 450.F18 Cunaeus de Rep. Heb. l. 2. c. 5.F19 Prospect of the Temple, ch. 34. p. 2029. So Villalpandus.F20 Middot, c. 3. sect. 4.F21 De Victimis, p. 850.F23 Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 9. c. 4. p. 408.F24 Relation of Memorable Things in the Temple, ch. 4. p. 20.
See Introduction to Chapter 4