1 Kings 7:29 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Kings 7:29
And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.
a spacer or raised interval · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
lions
אֲרָי֤וֹת'a.ra.Yot
H738
a lion · noun, common feminine plural absolute
oxen
בָּקָר֙ba.Kar
H1241
beef cattle or an animal of the ox family of either gen… · noun, common both genders singular absolute
cherubims
וּכְרוּבִ֔יםu.khe.ru.Vim
H3742
a cherub or imaginary figure · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural absolute
ledges
הַשְׁלַבִּ֖יםhash.la.Bim
H7948
a spacer or raised interval · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
base
כֵּ֣ןken
H3653
a stand · adverb
above
מִמָּ֑עַלmi.Ma.'al
H4605
properly · preposition + cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
lions
לַאֲרָי֣וֹתla.'a.ra.Yot
H738
a lion · preposition + noun, common feminine plural absolute
oxen
וְלַבָּקָ֔רve.la.ba.Kar
H1241
beef cattle or an animal of the ox family of either gen… · conjunction + preposition with the article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
additions
לֹי֖וֹתlo.Yot
H3914
a wreath · noun, common feminine plural absolute
thin
מוֹרָֽדmo.Rad
H4174
a descent · noun, common masculine singular absolute
work
מַעֲשֵׂ֥הma.'a.Seh
H4639
an action (good or bad) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the…
Exodus 25:18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Exodus 37:7 And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat;
1 Kings 6:27 And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched th…
1 Kings 7:25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three…
Ezekiel 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face o…
Ezekiel 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of…
Ezekiel 41:18-19 And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 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, Ch1 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 (Ch2 4:11), who was by his mother's side an Israelite, of the tribe of Naphtali, by his father's side a man of Tyre, Kg1 7:14. If he had the ingenuity of a Tyrian, and the affection of an Israelite to the house of God (the head of a Tyrian and the heart of an Israelite), it was happy that the blood of the two nati…
he made ten bases of brass--These were trucks or four-wheeled carriages, for the support and conveyance of the lavers. The description of their structure shows that they were elegantly fitted up and skilfully adapted to their purpose. They stood, not on the axles, but on four rests attached to the axles, so that the figured sides were considerably raised above the wheels. They were all exactly alike in form and size. The lavers which were borne upon them were vessels capable each of holding three hundred gallons of water, upwards of a ton weight. The whole, when full of water, would be no less than two tons [NAPIER].
Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 7:27
He made ten bases - That is, pedestals, for the ten lavers to rest on.
John Gill on 1 Kings 7:29
And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims,.... The figures of them, for ornament sake; the cherubim, being distinguished from lions and oxen might be figures of men, or else of eagles, as Josephus (y), see Ezekiel 1:10.
and upon the ledges there was a base above; a flat piece of brass laid upon the top of the staves or bars:
and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work; these, according to Dr. Lightfoot (z), whom I chiefly follow in this account, were shelving plates of brass at the bottom of the borders and bars, where the priests washed the sacrifice; the filth of which ran off the easier, through the angle of them.
(y) Ut…
The Church Fathers
But amid these things we must understand that zeal for righteousness should be exercised against the wicked deeds of our neighbors in such a way that the virtue of gentleness is by no means abandoned in the fervor of severity. For the anger of a priest ought never to be hasty and disturbed, but rather tempered with the gravity of deliberation. And so we ought both to bear with those whom we correct and to correct those whom we bear with, lest if one of these two be lacking, the priestly action fail either in fervor or in gentleness. For this is why in the service of the temple, lions and oxen and cherubim were carved by sculptural work on the bases of the temple. For cherubim signifies fullness of knowledge. But what does it mean that on the bases lions are not made without oxen, nor oxen without lions? For what else do the bases in the temple represent but priests in the Church? Who, while they bear the burden of governance, carry, as it were in the manner of bases, a weight placed upon them. Therefore cherubim are depicted on the bases, because it is certainly fitting that the hearts of priests be filled with fullness of knowledge. By lions, moreover, the terror of severity is symbolized, while by oxen the patience of gentleness is represented. And so on the bases neither lions without oxen nor oxen without lions are depicted, because in the priestly heart the virtue of gentleness must always be preserved along with the terror of severity, so that gentleness may season anger, and that same gentleness, lest it perhaps become lax, may be kindled by zeal for severity.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Laver — (Heb. kiyor), a “basin” for boiling in, a “pan” for cooking (1 Sam. 2:14), a “fire-pan” or hearth (Zech. 12:6), the sacred wash-bowl of the tabernacle and temple (Ex. 30:18, 28; 31:9; 35:16; 38:8;…
Brass · .Altar, vessels, and other articles of the tabernacle and temple — .Altar, vessels, and other articles of the tabernacle and temple
Carving · Hiram — Hiram
Chapiter · Head of a pillar — Head of a pillar
Cherubim · .On the lavers — .On the lavers
Hiram · of the interior of the temple — of the interior of the temple
Lion · The bases in the temple ornamented by mouldings of — The bases in the temple ornamented by mouldings of
Master Workman · .Hiram — .Hiram
Mechanic · .Hiram — .Hiram
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The Brazen Stands and Their Basins.
(Note: The description which follows will be more easily understood by comparing it with the sketch given in my biblische Archologie, Taf. iii. fig. 4.)
- He made ten stands of brass, each four cubits long, four cubits broad, and three cubits high. מכנות, stands or stools (Luther), is the name given to these vessels from their purpose, viz., to serve as supports to the basins which were used for washing the flesh of the sacrifices. They were square chests cast in brass, of the dimensions given.
Kg1 7:28-29
Their work (their construction) was the following: they had מסגּרות, lit., surroundings, i.e., panels of flat sides, and that between שׁלבּים, commissur…
The ten bronze water carts each held a basin for rinsing burnt offerings (2 Chr 4:6). Five stood on either side of the Temple. Because they had wheels, they could be moved as needed.
Rashi on 1 Kings 7:29
And on the frames that were between the rungs. Were decorated with forms of lions, oxen and cherubim.
And on the rungs there was a base. A base, to place the basin upon it, above the frame which was on their top.
And beneath the lions and oxen. Which were embroidered or attached on the outer frames which were between the ledges.
Joined together. לויות is form resembling a male and female embracing.
Thin strips of metal. Hammered, resembling the hammering of a thin metal plate. They did not protrude in its thickness nor were they engraved in a depression. And Yonoson rendered לויות מעשה מורד, “joined by welding,” souldriz, in O.F.
