And he made a molten sea— The Hebrews call any great collection of waters by the name of ים yam, a sea. So the lake of Genesareth and others are called in the Gospel; and here the original words, מוצק ים yam mutzak, signify a large vessel containing a great quantity of water, which served for the washing of the sacrifices, and of the priests and Levites, who washed their hands and feet not in it, but with water drawn out of it by pipes or conduits. It is said, 1 Kings 7:26 to have contained two thousand baths: in 2 Chronicles 4:5 three thousand; which last reading Houbigant prefers. A bath was of the same contents with an ephah, 1:e. eight gallons. The reader may find an accurate description and a great variety of figures of this molten sea in Scheuchzer on the place.
Related Commentaries of 1 Kings 7:23
1 Kings 7:23
23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.