1 Kings 7:23

The writer now passes on to describe the brazen vessels made by Hiram for the temple use. And he made a [Heb. the ] molten sea [so called on account of its unprecedented size and capacity. It was designed, like the laver of brass in the tabernacle ( Exodus 30:18-20 ), to contain the water necessary for the ablutions of the priests. For its size and shape see below], ten cubits from the one brim to the other [Heb. from his lip to his lip ] round all about [ i.e; circular], and his height was five cubits [this was the depth of the vessel, exclusive of its foot or base]: and a line of thirty cubits did compass It round about. [The historian obviously uses round numbers when he speaks of the diameter as ten and the circumference as thirty cubits. If the diameter was exactly ten, the circumference would of course be about 31.5 cubits. But the sacred writers seldom aim at precision.