Decorated Basin Stands
Ten wheeled bronze stands support ten washing basins, five on each side of the house. Their panels carry lions, oxen, cherubim, palms, and wreaths; each stand measures 4 × 4 × 3 cubits and has four bronze wheels (1 Kings 7:27–39). These basins wash burnt-offering materials, while the separate Sea serves priestly washing (2 Chronicles 4:6).
Key points
- The smaller washing furnishings also carry the sanctuary’s crafted imagery.
- Look for: Bronze wheeled bases with relief panels beneath the smaller basins.
- Illustrated location: Courts
- A reconstruction of Solomon’s First Temple from 1 Kings 6–8 and 2 Chronicles 3–4. Ten lampstands and ten tables follow Chronicles; this is a different building from the Second Temple described by Josephus. The house and inner-room proportions follow Kings. Courts, furnishing spacing, vertical details, and the exposed cutaway are schematic. The upper side-chamber stories are omitted. Smaller furnishings, including the Ark, are enlarged or simplified for visibility. The texts do not specify an exact visual blueprint or the forms of the cherubim. Pillar heights and the Sea’s capacity differ between Kings and Chronicles; the relevant landmark notes preserve those differences. Symmetric rows on both physical sides are one reading of the right/left descriptions. Rashi instead places the lampstands together south and the tables together north, interpreting right/left relative to Moses’ original furnishings. The gilding of all ten tables, altar horns, entrance steps, and exact furniture profiles are inferred display choices, not details stated together in Chronicles. Small service vessels, including the hundred golden basins of 2 Chronicles 4:8, are not individually modeled.
Scripture
- 1 Kings 7:15–51 — Ten wheeled bronze stands support ten washing basins, five on each side of the house. Their panels carry lions, oxen, cherubim, palms, and wreaths; each stand measures 4 × 4 × 3 cubits and has four bronze wheels (1 Kings 7:27–39). These basins wash burnt-offering materials, while the separate Sea serves priestly washing (2 Chronicles 4:6).
- 2 Chronicles 4 — Ten wheeled bronze stands support ten washing basins, five on each side of the house. Their panels carry lions, oxen, cherubim, palms, and wreaths; each stand measures 4 × 4 × 3 cubits and has four bronze wheels (1 Kings 7:27–39). These basins wash burnt-offering materials, while the separate Sea serves priestly washing (2 Chronicles 4:6).