1 Kings 7:39 Komentář

As, in the story of David, one chapter of wars and victories follows another, so, in the story of Solomon, one chapter concerning his buildings follows another. In this chapter we have, I. His fitting up several buildings for himself and his own use (Kg1 7:1-12). II. His furnishing the temple which he had built for God, 1. With two pillars (Kg1 7:13-22). 2. With a molten sea (Kg1 7:23-26). 3. With ten basins of brass (Kg1 7:27-37), and ten layers upon them (Kg1 7:38, Kg1 7:39). 4. With all the other utensils of the temple (Kg1 7:40-50). 5. With the things that his father had dedicated (Kg1 7:51). The particular description of these things was not needless when it was written, nor is it now useless.

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 7 This chapter gives an account of some buildings of Solomon for himself, Kg1 7:1; and of other things for the use of the temple; of two pillars of brass, Kg1 7:13; of the molten sea, Kg1 7:23; and of ten bases, and ten layers on them, Kg1 7:27; with other utensils and ornaments, Kg1 7:40.

And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins,.... The lavers are not the ten before mentioned, of the make of which an account is before given; but these, according to Jarchi and Ben Gersom, are the same with the pots, Kg1 7:45 and so they are called in Ch2 4:11 the use of which, as they say, was to put the ashes of the altar into; as the "shovels", next mentioned, were a sort of besoms to sweep them off, and the "basins" were to receive the blood of the sacrifices, and sprinkle it; no mention is here made of the altar of brass he made, but is in Ch2 4:11, nor of the fleshhooks to take the flesh out of the pots, as in Ch2 4:16, so Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made King Solomon for the house of the Lord; what he undertook, and was employed in, he finished, which were all works of brass; of which a recapitulation is made in the following verses to the end of the forty fifth, where they are said to be made of "bright brass", free of all dross and rust; "good", as the Targum, even the best brass they were made of; the brass David took from Hadarezer, Ch1 18:8 which Josephus (g) too much magnifies, when he says it was better than gold. (g) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5. sect. 3.

“And the sea he set on the right side of the temple facing the east southwards.” And this was placed in the same court to the east. His words, “on the right side of the temple,” he repeats when he says “southwards.” For those who entered the court from the east had first to turn southwards, where the sea stood in the very corner ready for the priests to wash; then, as they proceeded inside, they were met by lavers placed on either side for washing the victims; inside these was a bronze dais five cubits long and five cubits wide and three cubits high, on which Solomon stood when dedicating the temple; then as they proceeded further they came to the altar of burnt offering facing the south side of the court, then the temple porticoes or vestibule in which were bronze pillars around the door of the temple. Therefore, the fact that he placed the sea at the right side of the temple signifies that it is through the bath of baptism we must reach the kingdom of heaven, which is properly represented by the term “right hand.” For “he who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” For where right as well as left hand are taken in the positive sense, they indicate either Judea and the Gentiles, as we have said above in the explanation of the bases, or the present and future life of the church, or the happy and sad things of the world, or something of the sort, but where the right hand by itself is used in the positive sense, it more frequently stands for eternal joys. But the fact that he made the sea face eastwards has virtually the same significance, namely, that the splendor of eternal glory is revealed to us through the bath of the holy font; the fact that it was at the south side of the court signifies that the faithful are apt to be kindled into a blazing fire of genuine love through the reception of the Holy Spirit, for in the Scriptures the heat of the noonday sun customarily meant the ardor of love and the light of the Holy Spirit, through whom this love is poured forth in the hearts of the elect.

Solomon builds his own house, and completes it in thirteen years, Kg1 7:1. He builds another called the house of the forest of Lebanon; and a house for Pharaoh's daughter, Kg1 7:2-12. He brings Hiram, a coppersmith, out of Tyre, who makes much curious work for the temple, Kg1 7:13-20. He makes the two pillars Jachin and Boaz, Kg1 7:21, Kg1 7:22. The molten sea, and the twelve oxen that bare it, Kg1 7:23-26. And ten brazen bases, and the ten lavers with pots, shovels, and basons, all of which he cast in the plain of Jordan, vv. 27-46. The quantity of brass too great to be weighed; and the vessels of the temple were all of pure gold, Kg1 7:47-50. Solomon brings into the house the silver and gold which his father had dedicated, Kg1 7:51.

BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S HOUSE. (Kg1 7:1) Solomon was building his own house thirteen years--The time occupied in building his palace was nearly double that spent in the erection of the temple [Kg1 6:38], because neither had there been the same previous preparations for it, nor was there the same urgency as in providing a place of worship, on which the national well-being so much depended.