圣殿的器具

所罗门造了一座铜坛,长九米,宽九米,高四点五米。 他又铸了一个圆形铜海,高二点二五米,直径四点五米,周长十三点五米。 铜海边缘下方有两圈牛的图案,每五十厘米有十头牛,是铸铜海的时候铸上的。 有十二头铜牛驮着铜海,三头向北,三头向西,三头向南,三头向东,牛尾向内。 铜海厚八厘米,边如杯边,又如百合花,容量为六万六千升。 他又造了十个盆,五个放右边,五个放左边,用来清洗献燔祭所用之物。但铜海只供祭司沐浴使用。

他照着所定的式样,造了十个金灯台放在殿里,五个在右边,五个在左边; 又造了十张桌子放在殿里,五个在右边,五个在左边;还造了一百个金碗。 他又建了祭司院、大院及大院的门,门都包上铜。 10 铜海放在殿的右边,就是东南方。

11 户兰又造了盆、铲和碗。他为所罗门王完成了上帝殿里的工作。 12 户兰所制造的有:两根柱子,两个碗状的柱冠,两个装饰柱冠的网子, 13 用来装饰碗状柱冠、安在两个网子上的四百石榴——每个网子上两行; 14 盆座及盆座上的盆; 15 铜海和铜海下面的十二头铜牛; 16 盆、铲、肉叉及耶和华殿里的一切器具。这些都是巧匠户兰用磨亮的铜为所罗门王制造的。 17 这些都是照王的命令,在疏割和撒利但之间的约旦平原用泥模铸成的。 18 所罗门制造的器具极多,铜的重量无法统计。

19 所罗门又造了上帝殿里的金坛和放置供饼的桌子, 20 按规定放在内殿前的纯金的灯台和灯盏, 21 以及纯金的花饰、灯盏、火钳、 22 蜡剪、碗、碟和火鼎。殿门和至圣所的门也是金的。

Temple Furnishings

He made the Bronze Altar thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and ten feet high.

2-5 He made a Sea—an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet high, and forty-five feet in circumference. Just under the rim, there were two parallel bands of something like bulls, ten to each foot and a half. The figures were cast in one piece with the Sea. The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. All the bulls faced outward and supported the Sea on their hindquarters. The Sea was three inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or a lily. It held about 18,000 gallons.

He made ten Washbasins, five set on the right and five on the left, for rinsing the things used for the Whole-Burnt-Offerings. The priests washed themselves in the Sea.

He made ten gold Lampstands, following the specified pattern, and placed five on the right and five on the left.

He made ten tables and set five on the right and five on the left. He also made a hundred gold bowls.

He built a Courtyard especially for the priests and then the great court and doors for the court. The doors were covered with bronze.

10 He placed the Sea on the right side of The Temple at the southeast corner.

11-16 He also made ash buckets, shovels, and bowls.

And that about wrapped it up: Huram completed the work he had contracted to do for King Solomon:

two pillars;

two bowl-shaped capitals for the tops of the pillars;

two decorative filigrees for the capitals;

four hundred pomegranates for the filigrees (a double row of pomegranates for each filigree);

ten washstands with their basins;

one Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

miscellaneous buckets, forks, shovels, and bowls.

16-18 All these artifacts that Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for The Temple of God were made of burnished bronze. The king had them cast in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zarethan. These artifacts were never weighed—there were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used.

19-22 Solomon was also responsible for the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God:

the gold Altar;

the tables that held the Bread of the Presence;

the Lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to be lighted before the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies;

the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs (all solid gold);

the gold wick trimmers, bowls, ladles, and censers;

the gold doors of The Temple, doors to the Holy of Holies, and the doors to the main sanctuary.