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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comKeil and Delitzsch Commentary - 1 Kings 7:40 - 7:40
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Summary enumeration of the other vessels of the temple. - In 1Ki 7:40 the brazen vessels of the court are given. In 1Ki 7:41-47 the several portions of the brazen pillars, the stands and basins, the brazen sea and the smaller vessels of brass, are mentioned once more, together with notices of the nature, casting, and quantity of the metal used for making them. An din 1Ki 7:48-50 we have the golden vessels of the Holy Place. This section agrees almost word for word with 2 Chron 4:11-5:1, where, moreover, not only is the arrangement observed in the previous description of the temple-building a different one, but the making of the brazen altar of burnt-offering, of the golden candlesticks, and of the table of shew-bread, and the arrangement of the great court (2Ch 4:7-9) are also described, to which there is no allusion whatever in the account before us; so that these notices in the Chronicles fill up an actual gap in the description of the building of the temple which is given here.
1Ki 7:40
The smaller brazen vessels. - Hiram made the pots, shovels, and bowls. הַכִּיֹּרֹות is a slip of the pen for הַסִּירֹות, pots, as we may see by comparing it with 1Ki 7:45 and the parallel passages 2Ch 4:11 and 2Ki 25:14. The pots were used for carrying away the ashes; הַיָּעִים, the shovels, for clearing the ashes from the altar; הַמִּזְרָקֹות were the bowls used for catching the blood, when the sacrificial animals were slaughtered: compare Exo 27:3 and Num 4:14, where forks and fire-basins or coal-pans are also mentioned.
1Ki 7:40 introduces the recapitulation of all the vessels made by Hiram. יְהֹוָה בֵּית, in the house of the Lord (cf. Ewald, §300, b.); in 2Ch 4:11 more clearly, יי בְּבֵית; we find it also in 1Ki 7:45, for which we have in 2Ch 4:16 יְהֹוָה לְבֵית, for the house of Jehovah. The several objects enumerated in 1Ki 7:41-45 are accusatives governed by לַעֲשֹׂות.
1Ki 7:41-42
1Ki 7:41-44, the brazen pillars with the several portions of their capitals; see at 1Ki 7:15-22. The inappropriate expression הָעַמֻּדִים עַל־פְּנֵי (upon the face of the pillars) in 1Ki 7:42 is probably a mistake for הע עַל־שְׁנֵי, “upon the two pillars,” for it could not properly be said of the capitals that they were upon the surface of the pillars.
1Ki 7:43-45
The ten stands and their basins: see at 1Ki 7:27-37; 1Ki 7:44, the brazen sea: vid., 1Ki 7:23-26; lastly, 1Ki 7:45, the pots, etc., as at 1Ki 7:40. The Chethîb האהל is a mistake for הָאֵלֶּה (Keri).
(Note: After הָאֵלֶּה כָּל־הַלֵּלִים וְאֵת the lxx have the interpolation, καὶ οἱ στῦλοι τεσσαράκοντα καὶ ὀκτὼ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τοῦ οἴκου Κυρίου, which is proved to be apocryphal by the marvellous combination of the king's house and the house of God, though it is nevertheless regarded by Thenius as genuine, and as an interesting notice respecting certain pillars in the enclosure of the inner court of the temple, and in the king's palace!)
מְמֹרָט נְהֹשֶׁת, of polished brass - accusative of the material governed by עָשָׂה.
1Ki 7:46
“In the Jordan valley he cast them - in thickened earth between Succoth and Zarthan,” where the ground, according to Burckhardt, Syr. ii. p. 593, is marly throughout. הָאֲדָמָה בְּמַעֲבֵה, “by thickening of the earth,” the forms being made in the ground by stamping together the clayey soil. Succoth was on the other side of the Jordan, - not, however, at the ford near Bethsean (Thenius), but on the south side of the Jabbok (see at Jdg 8:5 and Gen 33:17). Zarthan or Zereda was in the Jordan valley on this side, probably at Kurn Sartabeh (see at Jdg 7:22 and Jos 3:16). The casting-place must have been on this side of the Jordan, as the (eastern) bank on the other side has scarcely any level ground at all. The circumstance that a place on the other side is mentioned in connection with one on this side, may be explained from the fact that the two places were obliquely opposite to one another, and in the valley on this side there was no large place in the neighbourhood above Zarthan which could be appropriately introduced to define the site of the casting-place.
1Ki 7:47
Solomon left all these vessels of excessive number unweighed. וַיַּנַּח does not mean he laid them down (= set them up: Movers), but he let them lie, i.e., unweighed, as the additional clause, “the weight of the brass was not ascertained,” clearly shows. This large quantity of brass, according to 1Ch 18:8, David had taken from the cities of Hadadezer, adding also the brass presented to him by Toi.
1Ki 7:48-49
The golden vessels of the Holy Place (cf. 2Ch 4:19-22). The vessels enumerated here are divided, by the repetition of סָגוּר זָהָב in 1Ki 7:49, 1Ki 7:50, into two classes, which were made of fine gold; and to this a third class is added in 1Ki 7:50 which was made of gold of inferior purity. As סָגוּר זָהָב is governed in both instances by וַיַּעַשׂ as an accusative of the material, the זָהָב (gold) attached to the separate vessels must be taken as an adjective. “Solomon made all the vessels in the house of Jehovah (i.e., had them made): the golden altar, and the golden table on which was the shew-bread, and the candlesticks ... of costly gold (סָגוּר: see at 1Ki 6:20). The house of Jehovah is indeed here, as in 1Ki 7:40, the temple with its courts, and not merely the Holy Place, or the temple-house in the stricter sense; but it by no means follows from this that כָּל־הַלֵּלִים, “all the vessels,” includes both the brazen vessels already enumerated and also the golden vessels mentioned afterwards. A decisive objection to our taking the כֹּל (all) as referring to those already enumerated as well as those which follow, is to be found in the circumstance that the sentence commencing with וַיַּעַשׂ is only concluded with סָגוּר זָהָב in 1Ki 7:49. It is evident from this that כָּל־הַלֵּלִים is particularized in the several vessels enumerated from סָגוּר אֵת onwards. These vessels no doubt belonged to the Holy Place or temple-house only; though this is not involved in the expression “the house of Jehovah,” but is apparent from the context, or from the fact that all the vessels of the court have already been enumerated in 1Ki 7:40-46, and were made of brass, whereas the golden vessels follow here. That there were intended for the Holy Place is assumed as well known from the analogy of the tabernacle. יְהֹוָה בֵּית אֲשֶׁר merely affirms that the vessels mentioned afterwards belonged to the house of God, and were not prepared for the palace of Solomon or any other earthly purpose. We cannot infer from the expression “Solomon made” that the golden vessels were not made by Hiram the artist, as the brazen ones were (Thenius). Solomon is simply named as the builder of the temple, and the introduction of his name was primarily occasioned by 1Ki 7:47. The “golden altar” is the altar of incense in the Holy Place, which is called golden because it was overlaid with gold-plate; for, according to 1Ki 6:20, its sides were covered with cedar wood, after the analogy of the golden altar in the tabernacle (Exo 30:1-5). “And the table, upon which the shew-bread, of gold.” זָהָב belongs to הַשֻּׁלְחָן, to which it stands in free subjection (vid., Ewald, §287, h), signifying “the golden table.” Instead of הַשֻּׁלְחָן we have הַשֻּׁלְחָנֹות in 2Ch 4:19 (the tables), because there it has already been stated in 2Ch 4:8 that ten tables were made, and put in the Holy Place. In our account that verse is omitted; and hence there is only a notice of the table upon which the loaves of shew-bread generally lay, just as in 2Ch 29:18, in which the chronicler does not contradict himself, as Thenius fancies. The number ten, moreover, is required and proved to be correct in the case of the tables, by the occurrence of the same number in connection with the candlesticks. In no single passage of the Old Testament is it stated that there was only one table of shew-bread in the Holy Place of Solomon's temple.
(Note: Nothing can be learned from 2Ch 29:18 concerning the number of the vessels in the Holy Place. If we were to conclude from this passage that there were no more vessels in the Holy Place than are mentioned there, we should also have to assume, if we would not fall into a most unscientific inconsistency, that there was neither a candlestick nor a golden altar of incense in the Holy Place. The correct meaning of this passage may be gathered from the words of King Abiam in 2Ch 13:11 : “We lay the shew-bread upon the pure table, and light the golden candlestick every evening;” from which it is obvious that here and there only the table and the candlestick are mentioned, because usually only one table had shew-bread upon it, and only one candlestick was lighted.)
The tables were certainly made of wood, like the Mosaic table of shew-bread, probably of cedar wood, and only overlaid with gold (see at Exo 25:23-30). “And the candlesticks, five on the right and five on the left, before the back-room.” These were also made in imitation of the Mosaic candlestick (see Exo 25:31.), and were probably placed not near to the party wall in a straight line to the right and left of the door leading into the Most Holy Place, but along the two longer sides of the Holy Place; and the same with the tables, except that they stood nearer to the side walls with the candlesticks in front of them, so that the whole space might be lighted more brilliantly. The altar of burnt-offering, on the contrary, stood in front of and very near to the entrance into the Most Holy Place (see at 1Ki 6:20).
In the following clause (1Ki 7:49, 1Ki 7:50) the ornaments of the candlesticks are mentioned first, and then the rest of the smaller golden vessels are enumerated. הַפֶּרַח, the flower-work, with which the candlesticks were ornamented (see Exo 25:33). The word is evidently used collectively here, so that the גְּבִיעִים mentioned along with them in the book of Exodus (l.c.) are included. הַגֵּרֹת, the lamps, which were placed upon the shaft and arms of the candlestick (Exo 25:37). הַמֶּלְקָחַיִם, the snuffers (Exo 25:38). סִפֹּות, basins in Exo 12:22, here probably deep dishes (Schalen). מְזַמְּרֹות, knives. מִזְרָקֹות, bowls (Schalen) or cans with spouts for the wine for the libations; according to 2Ch 4:8, there were a hundred of these made. כַּפֹּות, small flat vessels, probably for carrying the incense to the altar. מַחְתֹּות, extinguishers; see at Exo 25:38.
1Ki 7:50-51
The פֹּתֹות were also of gold, possibly of inferior quality. These were either the hinges of the doors, or more probably the sockets, in which the pegs of the doors turned. They were provided for the doors of the inner temple, viz., the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. We must supply Vâv before לְדַלְתֵי.
All the vessels mentioned in 1Ki 7:48, 1Ki 7:49 belonged to the Holy Place of the temple, and were the same as those in the tabernacle; so that the remarks made in the Comm. on Exo 25:30, Exo 25:39, and Exo 30:1-10, as to their purpose and signification, apply to them as well. Only the number of the tables and candlesticks was ten times greater. If a multiplication of the number of these two vessels appeared appropriate on account of the increases in the size of the room, the number was fixed at ten, to express the idea of completeness by that number. No new vessel was made for the Most Holy Place, because the Mosaic ark of the covenant was placed therein (1Ki 8:4 : compare the remarks on this at Exo 25:10-22). - The account of the vessels of the temple is brought to a close in 1Ki 7:51 : “So was ended all the work that king Solomon made in the house of the Lord; and Solomon brought all that was consecrated by his father, (namely) the silver and the gold (which were not wrought), and the vessels he placed in the treasuries of the house of Jehovah.” As so much gold and brass had already been expended upon the building, it might appear strange that Solomon should not have used up all the treasures collected by his father, but should still be able to bring a large portion of it into the treasuries of the temple. But according to 1Ch 22:14, 1Ch 22:16, and 1Ch 29:2., David had collected together an almost incalculable amount of gold, silver, and brass, and had also added his own private treasure and the freewill offerings of the leading men of the nation (1Ch 29:7-9). Solomon was also able to devote to the building of the temple a considerable portion of his own very large revenues (cf. 1Ki 10:14), so that a respectable remnant might still be left of the treasure of the sanctuary, which was not first established by David, but had been commenced by Samuel and Saul, and in which David's generals, Joab and others, had deposited a portion of the gold and silver that they had taken as booty (1Ch 26:20-28). For it is evident that not a little had found its way into this treasure through the successful wars of David, from the fact that golden shields were taken from the generals of Hadadezer, and that these were consecrated to the Lord along with the silver, golden, and brazen vessels offered as gifts of homage by king Toi of Hamath, in addition to the gold and silver which David had consecrated from the defeated Syrians, Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines, and Amalekites (2Sa 8:7, 2Sa 8:11-12; 1Ch 18:7, 1Ch 18:10-11).
(Note: The amazing extent to which this booty may possibly have reached, may be inferred from the accounts we have concerning the quantity of the precious metals in Syria in the Macedonian age. In the gaza regia of Damascus, Alexander found 2600 talents of gold and 600 talents of uncoined silver (Curt. iii. 13, 16, cf. Arrian, ii. 11, 10). In the temple of Jupiter at Antioch there was a statue of this god of solid silver fifteen cubits high (Justin, xxxix. 2, 5. 6); and in the temple at Hierapolis there was also a golden statue (Lucian, de Dea Syr. §31). According to Appian (Parth. 28, ed. Schweigh.), this temple was so full of wealth, that Crassus spent several days weighing the vessels of silver and gold. And from the unanimous testimony of the ancients, the treasures of the palaces and temples of Asia in the earlier times were greater still. Of the many accounts which Bähr (Symbolik, i. p. 258ff.) and Movers (Phönizier, ii. 3, p. 40ff.) have collected together on this subject, we will mention only a few here, the credibility of which cannot be disputed. According to Varro (in Plin. 33:15), Cyrus had taken 34,000 pounds of gold as booty after the conquest of Asia, beside the gold wrought into vessels and ornaments, and 500,000 talents of silver. In Susa, Alexander took 40,000, or, according to other accounts, 50,000, talents from the royal treasury; or, as it is still more definitely stated, 40,000 talents of uncoined gold and silver, and 9000 talents of coined dariks. Alexander had these brought to Ecbatana, where he accumulated 180,000 talents. Antigonus afterwards found in Susa 15,000 talents more in vessels and wrought gold and silver. In Persepolis, Alexander took 120,000 talents, and in Pasargada 6000 talents. For the proofs, see Movers, pp. 42, 43.)