Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_600_p.lzh/5_696.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-16 | 7KB | 127 lines

the ten layers of brass were set, five on the right side
and five on the left side of the house, 1 Kings vii.
37, 38, 39: and the bra. sen sea that was in th.e house of
the Lord; called the molten sea; a sea, because of the
large quantity of water it held; and brasen and molten,
because made of molten brass, 1 Kings vii, 23: the
Chaldeans brolce, and carried all the brass of them to
Babylon: they broke them to pieces, that they might
carry them the more easily. This account is given,
and which is continued in some following verses,
partly to shew the accomplishment of the prophecy
of Jeremiah, ch. xxvii. 19. and partly to shew that
what was lef't in the temple, at the former captivities of
Jehoiakim and Jeconiah, were now carried clear off.
Vet. 18. The cauldrons also, &c.] Or pots, as it is
rendered, 2 Kings xxv. 14. which were made of bright
brass, 1 Kings vii. 45. these were used to boil the flesh
of the sacrifices in: and the shovels; used to remove
the ashes from off the altar of burnt-offerings, and
were of brass also: the Targum fenders them besoms,
whose handles perhaps were of brass: and the snuffers;
the Vulgate Latin translates it psalteries; and so Jarchi
interprets it of musical instruments; some think tongs
are meant: and the bowls; or basins; either to drink
out of, or to receive the blood of the sacrifice: and the
spoons: ladles, cups, or dishes, vessels used about the
sacrifices: and all the vessels of brass wherewith they
.ministered; that is, the priests in the temple: took they
away; the Chaldeans took them away.
Ver. 19. And the basins, &c.] Or bowls; these are
omitted, 2 Kings xxv. 15. they were of gold, 1 Kings
vii. 50: and thefire-pans; or censers; these were those
of gold, which belonged to the golden altar, 1 Kings
vii. 50: and the bowls; or basins; there were a hun-
dred of them made of gold, 2 Chron. iv. 8: and the
cauldrons; or pots; these are not mentioned, 2 Kings
xxv. 15. what they should be, that were either of gold
or silver, cannot be said: and the candlesticks; of
which there were ten in number, made of pure gold,
five on the right side, and five on the left, before the
oracle, 1 Kings vii. 49: and the spoons; which were
also of gold, 1 Kings vii. 50: and the cups: the word
is rendered bowls, to cover withal, Exod. xxv. 29. it
was some kind of instrument or vessel used about the
shew-bread table, made of pure gold; according to
Jarchi, these were little golden forks, upon which they
placed the shew-bread, to keep it from moulding; ac-
cording to the Misna {}, there were four of them: that
which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver
in silver, took the captain of the guard away; that is,
every thing that was of gold or silver he took away;
the golden things by themselves, and the silver things
by themselves, as some think.
Ver. o_0. The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen
bulls, &c.] The two pillars of Jachin and Boaz be-
fore mentioned, and the molten or brasen sea, with
the twelve bulls or oxen the sea stood upon, 1 Kings
vii. 25: that were under the bases; or by the bases, as
Jarchi; or rather, that were instead of bases a; for the
twelve oxen were the bases on which the molten sea
stood: which King Solomon had made in the house of
the Lord; this is mentioned to shew that these were
the serf-same pillars, sea, and oxen, and other vessels,
that Solomon made, that were now carried away; for
though Ahaz took down the sea from off the brasen
oxen, and put it on a pavement of stones, yet it seems
not to have been destroyed; and might be restored to
its proper place by Hezekiah, or some other prince;
the brass oJ' all these vessels was without weight; there
was no weight sufficient to weigh them; the weight
of them could not very well be told; they were so
heavy, that in Solomon's time the weight of them
was not taken, when they were placed in the tem-
ple, so neither when they were taken away, 1 Kings
vii. 47.
Ver. o. 1. And concerning the pillars, the height of
one pillar was eighteen cubits, &c.] As in 1 Kings vii.
15. said to be thirty-five, 2 Chror. iii. 15. of the recon-
ciliation of which, see the note there: and a fillet of
twelve cubits did compass it; a thread or line of that
measure encompassed each of the pillars, 1 Kings vii.
15: and the thickness thereof was four fingers; either of
the pillar, or the fillet about it; that is, the brass of
it was four fingers thick: it was hollow; that is, the
pillar was hollow.
Ver. 22. And a chapiter of brass was upon it, &c.'] Or
a coronet of brass, of molten brass, was set upon the top
of the pilla r: and the height of one chapiter was five cubits;
as in 1 Kings vii. 16. but in 2 K lugs x xv. 17,the height is said
to be but three cubits; which is reconciled by the Jewish
Rabbins thus, the three superior cubits of it were with
ornaments, the two inferior without any; the whole
together was five cubits; but, as ornamented, only
three: with net-work and pomegranates upon the cha-
piters round about, all of brass; the nets were of che-
quer-work, and wreaths of chain-work, and there were
seven of them to each chapiter, 1 Kings vii. 17: the
second .pillar also, and the pomegranates, were like unto
these; one pillar was exactly like the other, and the
ornaments of it the same.
Ver. 2`3. And there were ninety and six pomegranates
on a side, &c.] Or, to the wind {} ; to the four winds;
towards every corner or wind twenty-four, which
make up ninety-six: arid all the pomegranates upon
the net-work were an hundred round about; four, stand-
ing upon the four angles, made the ninety-six a hun-
dred; in 1 Kings vii. 20. they are said to be two hun-
dred; and in 2 Chron. iv. 13, are said to be four hun-
dred upon the two wreaths; which may be accounted
for thus, there were two rows of them on each pillar,
in every row were a hundred,which made two huhdred
in one pillar, and four hundred in both. These were
the things in the temple carried away in the last
captivity.
Ver. 24. And the captain of the guard took Seraiah
the chief priest, &c.] That is, out of the temple,
where he was ministerlag, or fled for safety; this is
supposed to be the father of Ezra, 1 Chron. vi. 14.
Ezra vii. 1: and Zephaniah the second priest: or deputy-
priest: the sagan of the priests, as the Targum calls

{c} Menachot, c. 11. sect. 6.
{d} \^twnkmh txt rva\^ qui erant in Ioco basium, Piscator,
{e} \^hxwr\^ ad ventum, Montanus; ad omnem ventum, Tigurine version;
so Ben Melech; versus ventos, Schmidt; ventum versus, Piscator; in
ventum, Cocceius.