1 Kings 7:39 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 7:13-47

We have here an account of the brass-work about the temple. There was no iron about the temple, though we find David preparing for the temple iron for things of iron, 1 Chron. 29:2. What those things were we are not told, but some of the things of brass are here described and the rest mentioned. I. The brasier whom Solomon employed to preside in this part of the work was Hiram, or Huram (2 Chron. 4:11), who was by his mother's side an Israelite, of the tribe of Naphtali, by his father's side a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible 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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 7:39

And he put five bases on the right side [Heb. shoulder ] of the house, and five on the left side of the house [ i.e; on the south and north sides of the court of the priests]: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south. [This passage is decisive as to which was the right and which the left. The right side was the south. It was probably for convenience that the sea did not stand due east of the house, i.e; between the porch and altar.] read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 7:38-39

1 Kings 7:38-39. He made ten lavers of brass Which were to stand upon the bases before mentioned. One laver contained forty baths See 1 Kings 7:26; from whence it will appear, that each of these lavers contained ten barrels of water. And every laver was four cubits Some think they were of this height. But it is more likely that these words relate to the diameter of them, which was four cubits, and then their compass was twelve cubits. He put five bases on the right side That is, on... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 7:13-51

More concerning the temple (7:13-51)Israel seems to have lost the spiritual insight and artistic skill that in the time of Moses enabled its craftsmen to design and make the decoration for God’s dwelling place (cf. Exodus 31:1-6). Solomon therefore hired a craftsman from Tyre to do the bronze work and other decorations for the temple, with no apparent concern for the wrong religious ideas this man may have had. By coincidence this hired craftsman was named Hiram (GNB: Huram), the same as the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Kings 7:13-47

Furnishings outside the temple 7:13-47The Hiram of 1 Kings 7:13 was obviously a different person from the King of Tyre (1 Kings 5:1). God evidently guided this Hiram as he fashioned the furnishings (cf. Exodus 31:1-11). [Note: See Allen S. Maller, "Hiram from Tyre," Journal of Reform Judaism 29:2 (Spring 1982):41-42.] The two pillars on the temple porch were common features that flanked the main entrances to temples in Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Assyria, and elsewhere in the ancient Near East at... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Kings 7:13-51

4. The temple furnishings 7:13-51The people also saw the glory of Yahweh reflected in the furnishings of the temple. These furnishings came from several sources but all contributed to the proper worship of Yahweh. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 7:1-51

Solomon’s PalaceThis c, besides giving a description of Solomon’s palace, contains an account of the principal utensils belonging to the Temple.1. Thirteen years] The Temple was of small extent compared with the royal palace, so that the time spent on the latter exceeded that required for the former. The various buildings mentioned in 1 Kings 7:2-8 seem together to have constituted the house of 1 Kings 7:1.2. He built also] RV ’for he built.’ The house of the forest of Lebanon] so called from... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Kings 7:13-50

(13-50) The exceedingly graphic and elaborate description of the work of Hiram on the vessels and furniture of the Temple, and on the great pillars, bears on the very face of it the most evident marks of historical accuracy and of the use of contemporary documents, and it has, moreover, great antiquarian interest. Looked at in itself, it shows that the Temple (like many other buildings in the comparative infancy of architecture) depended for its effect, not so much on size or proportion, as on... read more