I Kings 7:27 · Bible study
1 Kings 7:27 Commentary: Study: Bronze Stands for Temple Service
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the function and significance of Solomon's bronze bases.
Research Summary
- Meaning: These bronze bases were wheeled stands that held the lavers used for washing sacrifices in Solomon’s temple.
- Key words: Mĕkhônôth (מְכֹנוֹת), “stands” or “bases”; four cubits long and wide, three cubits high.
- Main debate: No significant debate among supplied commentators; all agree on literal reading and function.
- Theological theme: God orders worship with precision, providing tools for cleansing before sacrifice.
- Best use: Teaching that God’s attention to detail in Scripture shows his care for faithful worship; also as background for temple destruction prophecies (2 Kgs 25, Jer 52).
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
WEB World English Bible 2000
He made the ten bases of bronze. The length of one base was four cubits, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height.
KJV King James Version 1769
And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And he made the ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And he maketh the ten bases of brass; four by the cubit is the length of the one base, and four by the cubit its breadth, and three by the cubit its height.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And he made ten bases of brass: four cubits was the length of one base, and the breadth four cubits, and the height three cubits.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And he made ten bases of brass, every base was four cubits in length, and four cubits in breadth, and three cubits high.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Hizo también diez basas de bronce, siendo la longitud de cada basa de cuatro codos, y la anchura de cuatro codos, y de tres codos la altura.
Fez também dez bases de bronze, sendo o comprimento de cada base de quatro côvados, e a largura de quatro côvados, e de três côvados a altura.
Il fit les dix bases d’ airain. Chacune avait quatre coudées de longueur, quatre coudées de largeur, et trois coudées de hauteur.
Er machte auch zehn eherne Gestühle, ein jegliches vier Ellen lang und breit und drei Ellen hoch.
Hij maakte ook tien koperen stellingen; van vier ellen was de lengte ener stelling, en van vier ellen haar breedte, en van drie ellen haar hoogte.
Fece pure le dieci basi di rame; ciascuna avea quattro cubiti di lunghezza, quattro cubiti di larghezza e tre cubiti d’altezza.
Uczynił też dziesięć podstawków miedzianych, na cztery łokcie wdłuż podstawek jeden, a na cztery łokcie wszerz, a na trzy łokcie wzwyż.
И сделал он десять медных подстав; длина каждой подставы - четыре локтя, ширина - четыре локтя и три локтя - вышина.
他用銅 製造 十個 盆座，每 座 長 四 肘，寬 四 肘，高 三 肘。
And he made ten wheeled bases of brass; every one four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · I Kings 7:27
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that these ten bronze bases were stands designed to support the ten lavers described later in the chapter (1 Kgs 7:38). Adam Clarke calls them “pedestals for the ten lavers to rest on.” Barnes notes they were square, about six feet each way and four and a half feet high, elaborately ornamented on all sides. Gill explains the dimensions ensured stability, the base was as broad as it was long so the laver “might stand firm upon it”, while the height allowed priests to reach the water for washing the sacrifices. Keil & Delitzsch, building on the Hebrew word mĕkhônôth (“stands” or “stools”), describe them as “square chests cast in brass” serving as supports. No commentator reads this verse as symbolic or allegorical; the consensus is that Moses’ careful architectural detail is recorded exactly because these bases were essential to the temple’s daily liturgy. The precision of the measurements (four cubits by four cubits by three cubits) underscores the order and care God required for his house.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse describes ten bronze bases of specified dimensions; all supplied commentators affirm they held the lavers for priestly washing.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose of the bases | All supplied commentators (Clarke, Barnes, Gill, Keil, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) agree they were stands or pedestals for the ten lavers used to wash sacrifices. | None, the function is uncontested across traditions. |
| Dimensions literal vs symbolic | Every supplied source takes the dimensions as exact physical measurements, four cubits for length and breadth, three cubits for height. | No commentator in the supplied data argues for numerical symbolism; the debate is absent. |
| Material and craftsmanship | All note these were cast bronze, part of Hiram’s work, showing the high skill required for the temple. | No disagreement. |
Historical & Cultural Context
These ten bases were part of a massive bronze project King Solomon commissioned from Hiram of Tyre (1 Kgs 7:13, 14). Hiram was “filled with wisdom and understanding and cunning to work all works in brass” (1 Kgs 7:14, KJV). The bases stood in the temple courtyard, each one holding a large basin, what the commentaries call a “laver”, used for washing the flesh of the burnt offerings (2 Chr 4:6). Each base was a wheeled carriage made of cast bronze. The dimensions, four cubits long, four cubits wide, three cubits high, translate into a deep square box approximately six feet on each side and four and a half feet tall (using the common royal cubit of about eighteen inches). The bases were mobile; verse 30 tells us each had four bronze wheels and bronze axles.
Why record these numbers so carefully? In the ancient Near East, temple furnishings were not left to chance. Their form and placement followed divine patterns, as seen earlier in the tabernacle (Ex 25, 31). Every measurement here contributes to a functioning liturgy: the priests had to move these heavy water containers to the right spot for washing, and the size had to match the sacred space. When the Babylonians later destroyed Jerusalem, they carried off these very bases (2 Kgs 25:13, 16; Jer 52:17, 20). The Chronicler includes them in his inventory, testifying to their importance in Israel’s worship. For the original readers, this verse was not a dry blueprint, it was a reminder that God’s house was furnished with skillfulness and order, making possible the holy work of sacrifice and cleansing.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. Only minor orthographic differences appear (e.g., the presence or absence of the article in mĕkhônôth), but these do not affect translation or interpretation. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the Septuagint agree with the Masoretic reading in substance. The verse’s inclusion in the parallel account in 2 Chronicles 4:14 confirms the wording.
Reception History
This verse has been read primarily as a straightforward historical record. Jewish commentators in the midrash and Talmud took its details as evidence of Solomon’s wisdom and the temple’s glory. In Christian tradition, the verse was sometimes seen as a picture of cleansing through the washing of water by the Word (Eph 5:26), though this allegorical reading was never dominant. The reformers, Luther, Calvin, and the Geneva Bible’s annotators, treated it as literal, highlighting the order God demands in worship. More recently, biblical archaeologists have used the dimensions and descriptions to reconstruct temple furnishings. The bases also feature in the lament over the exile: when Jerusalem fell, the Chaldeans broke up these same stands and carried the bronze to Babylon (Jer 52:17). That destruction gave the bases a secondary role as symbols of loss and judgment.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God’s house needs furniture for service. The bases had one purpose: to hold the lavers. The temple was not empty, God filled it with tools for his people to draw near.
- Precision matters to God. Four cubits by four cubits by three cubits is exact. God does not give vague instructions for worship; he shapes it carefully.
- Beauty and utility belong together. The bases were functional (strong, wheeled) and beautiful (carved with lions, oxen, cherubim). Good worship honors God with both durability and artistry.
Five-point outline
- Purpose: These bases supported the lavers where priests washed sacrifices (2 Chr 4:6). They enabled cleansing before offering.
- Proportion: Square bases gave stability; height was accessible. God’s design is practical.
- Portability: The wheels meant the lavers could be moved. The work of worship is not static.
- Ornamentation: Lions, oxen, cherubim (vv. 29, 36) symbolized strength, service, and heaven, woven into what looked like a simple stand.
- Plurality: Ten bases for ten lavers. God provided for many sacrifices, not just a few.
Illustration hooks
- Kitchen prep: Chefs lay out bowls with measured ingredients before cooking, mise en place. These bases were God’s mise en place for worship.
- Workshop blueprint: A carpenter stores tools in custom drawers and stands so every piece has a place. The bases created the right location for cleansing.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why did the Holy Spirit preserve all these measuring details? What do they teach us about worship?
- Is there a connection between these bases for washing and New Testament cleansing from sin?
- If God cared this much about bronze stands, does he care about the “small” parts of my life?
Leading a Discussion
This verse reads like a builder’s inventory, length, width, height, material, quantity. Yet it sits in Scripture as part of God’s revelation. Before you discuss, remember: the temple was Israel’s center of worship, where God met his people. Everything in it was planned. As you talk, ask yourselves: what does it say about God that he includes this kind of detail in his Word?
Discussion questions
- Read verse 27 aloud. What do you notice about the way the dimensions are given? Why might they use “four” and “three” rather than just “three by four”?
- Based on the supplied context (vv. 28, 39), describe what these bases looked like. What materials, decorations, and moving parts did they have?
- Why did the temple need ten lavers on ten separate stands? What does the number “ten” suggest about the scale of worship?
- The bases were made of bronze. Where else in the temple was bronze used? What might bronze symbolize (strength, judgment, durability)?
- How do the bases help us understand the priests’ work? What does washing have to do with approaching God?
- Compare the temple furnishings with the tabernacle in Exodus 30:17, 21 (the bronze basin). How does continuity and change in design point to the same God?
- If God cared this much about a bronze stand that held water, what does that tell you about his care for the ordinary details of your daily life?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| I Kings 7:38 | He made ten basins of bronze. One basin contained forty baths. Every basin measured four cubits. One basin was on every one of the ten bases. |
| II Kings 25:13 | The Chaldeans broke up the pillars of bronze that were in Yahweh’s house and the bases and the bronze sea that were in Yahweh’s house, and carried the bronze pieces to Babylon. |
| II Kings 25:16 | The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for Yahweh’s house, the bronze of all these vessels was not weighed. |
| II Chronicles 4:14 | He also made the bases, and he made the basins on the bases— |
| Jeremiah 52:17 | The Chaldeans broke the pillars of bronze that were in Yahweh’s house and the bases and the bronze sea that were in Yahweh’s house in pieces, and carried all of their bronze to Babylon. |
| Jeremiah 52:20 | They took the two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the bases, which King Solomon had made for Yahweh’s house. The bronze of all these vessels was without weight. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke clarifies that the "bases" in this passage are not merely decorative structures. He specifies they were functional pedestals designed to support the ten lavers, providing a stable resting place for each one.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes describes the ten bronze bases as elaborate square stands, each six feet across and four and a half feet high, resting on four wheels and covered with ornament. Each supported a laver that held about three hundred and forty gallons of water, emphasizing the massive scale and careful craftsmanship of the temple furnishings.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible Schools commentary clarifies that the ten bases of brass were not the lavers themselves but the stands or supports on which the lavers sat. This distinction helps the reader understand the separate but complementary roles of these two items in the temple furnishings.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
And he made tenne bases of brasse, one base was foure cubites long, and foure cubites broad, and three cubites hie.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill draws attention to the practical purpose behind the dimensions of the bronze bases. The square shape, as wide as it was long, gave the layers a firm foundation, while the three-cubit height was set so the priests could easily reach the water to wash their sacrifices.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB emphasizes that these bases were not simple stands but intricately designed wheeled carriages. Each held a copper laver of about 300 gallons, over a ton when full. The elegant construction, with sides raised above the wheels on special rests, shows skilled adaptation for their purpose.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch reconstructs the bronze stands as wheeled square chests whose feet had shoulder-pieces ascending to support the basin above. They argue against Thenius, who
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange insists that the temple pillars Jachin and Boaz were not copies of heathen symbols. Their names proclaim the establishment and strength of Jehovah's dwelling, and the lily and pomegranate ornamentation are uniquely Israelite symbols of holiness and the covenant, borrowed from no surrounding religion.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry interprets the brass pillars Jachin and Boaz as visible emblems of the temple's stability, teaching that God establishes the church and it stands in His strength. The pomegranates and lily work decorating them symbolise the fruitfulness and beauty that should adorn God's house.