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 Vid. Virgil. Bucolic. Eclog. 8. "affer aquam", &c.; Aeneid. 2. "attrectare nefas", &c.; Macrob. Saturnal. l. 3. c. l. , particularly the hands and feet F6 Vid. Sperling de Bapt. Ethnic. p. 88, 89, 101. .