2 Crónicas 4

VBL · Chapter 4/36

1Salomón hizo un altar de bronce de veinte codos de largo, veinte de ancho y diez de alto.

2Hizo un “Mar” de metal fundido, diez codos de diámetro, cinco de altura y treinta de circunferencia.

3Debajo de ella había toros ornamentales a su alrededor, diez por codo. Estaban en dos filas cuando todo estaba fundido.

4El Mar estaba sostenido por doce estatuas de toros, tres orientadas al norte, tres al oeste, tres al sur y tres al este. El Mar estaba colocado sobre ellos, con sus espaldas hacia el centro.

5Era tan grueso como el ancho de una mano, y su borde era como el borde acampanado de una copa o de una flor de lis. Contenía tres mil baños.

6También hizo diez pilas sobre carros para lavar. Colocó cinco en el lado sur y cinco en el norte. Se usaban para limpiar lo que se usaba en los holocaustos, pero el Mar lo usaban los sacerdotes para lavarse.

7Hizo diez candelabros de oro como se había especificado, y las colocó en el Templo, cinco en el lado sur y cinco en el norte.

8Además, hizo diez mesas y las colocó en el Templo, cinco en el lado sur y cinco en el norte. También hizo cien pilas de oro.

9Salomón también construyó el patio de los sacerdotes, el patio grande y las puertas del patio, y cubrió las puertas con bronce.

10Colocó el Mar en el lado sur, junto a la esquina sureste.

11Hiram también hizo las ollas, las palas y las pilas. Hiram terminó el trabajo que había estado haciendo para el rey Salomón en el Templo de Dios:

12las dos columnas; los dos capiteles en forma de cuenco en la parte superior de las columnas; los dos juegos de redes que cubrían las dos cazoletas de los capiteles de la parte superior de las columnas;

13las cuatrocientas granadas ornamentales para los dos conjuntos de red -dos filas de granadas para cada red que cubrían las dos cazoletas de los capiteles de la parte superior de las columnas-;

14los carros de agua y las pilas de los carros de agua;

15el Mar y las doce estatuas de toros que lo sostenían; las ollas, las palas, los tenedores y todo lo demás.

16Todo el trabajo de metal que Hiram hizo para el rey Salomón para la casa del Señor era de bronce pulido.

17El rey los fundió en moldes de arcilla en la llanura del Jordán, entre Sucot y Zereda.

18Salomón hizo tantas de estas cosas que no se podía medir el peso del bronce utilizado.

19Salomón hizo también todo lo que se utilizaba en el Templo de Dios: el altar de oro; las mesas donde se exponía el Pan de la Presencia;

20los candelabros de oro puro y sus lámparas que debían arder delante del Lugar Santísimo, tal como se había especificado;

21las flores decorativas, las lámparas y las pinzas, todo de oro macizo;

22los adornos para las mechas, las jofainas, los platos y los incensarios, todo de oro; y las puertas del Templo: las puertas interiores del Lugar Santísimo y las puertas de la sala principal, todas cubiertas de oro.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The details of the temple's construction continue: the bronze altar, the great bronze tank called the 'sea,' the basins for washing, the golden lampstands, the tables, and all the utensils needed for the sacrifices and worship.

Explanation

Each utensil described had a specific ritual function within the sacrificial system established in the Law of Moses centuries earlier, showing continuity between the instructions given in the wilderness and their permanent application in the Jerusalem temple. The great bronze 'sea,' an enormous circular tank supported by twelve sculpted oxen, was used for the ritual purification of the priests, while the ten smaller basins were used to wash the animals designated for sacrifice. The quantity and variety of utensils made of pure gold, rather than just bronze or silver, reinforces the standard of material excellence Solomon sought in order to represent the greatness of God.

Fun facts

  • The 'bronze sea' had an estimated capacity of about 66,000 liters (roughly 17,000 gallons) of water, an impressive feat of engineering to be supported by only twelve cast bronze oxen statues.
  • All the bronze used in these structures was cast in clay molds on the plain of the Jordan, between Succoth and Zeredah, a large-scale casting technique documented here with unusual detail for ancient texts.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Crónicas 4:1The bronze altar stands outside the temple, in the courtyard — considerably larger than the bronze sea described right after — and it is there that animal sacrifices were actually made.
  2. 2 Crónicas 4:2The “molten sea” was a giant bronze basin, resting on twelve carved oxen, used by the priests to wash before their service — quite different from the ten smaller basins, which were for washing the parts of the sacrifice. The size described is enormous for the standards of the time, the kind of piece that impressed anyone visiting the temple.
  3. 2 Crónicas 4:3Two rows of carved oxen decorated the base of the bronze sea underneath, a finishing detail on the giant piece described in the previous verse.
  4. 2 Crónicas 4:4The bronze sea rested on twelve carved oxen, three facing each direction — north, south, east, west — as if carrying that enormous tank on their backs.
  5. 2 Crónicas 4:5The rim of the bronze sea was worked like the rim of a cup or a lily blossom, and it held around sixteen thousand gallons of water — a monumental piece.
  6. 2 Crónicas 4:6Besides the bronze sea, ten smaller basins were used to wash the parts of the sacrificed animals, five on each side — a different function from the large basin, which was only for the priests to wash themselves.
  7. 2 Crónicas 4:7Ten gold lampstands, made following the traditional pattern, are placed in the temple, five on each side — more luxury repeated in series.
  8. 2 Crónicas 4:8Ten tables and a hundred gold basins complete the interior furnishings, also divided five to each side of the temple.
  9. 2 Crónicas 4:9Besides the main building, Solomon builds two courtyards — one reserved for the priests and a larger, open one — with doors overlaid in bronze.
  10. 2 Crónicas 4:10The bronze sea is positioned on the right side of the temple, facing southeast, a specific spot within the complex.
  11. 2 Crónicas 4:11Huram, the craftsman sent by Huram of Tyre, also makes pots, shovels, and basins, wrapping up the portion of the work he did on commission for Solomon.
  12. 2 Crónicas 4:12The list returns to the two bronze pillars at the entrance, with their bowls, capitals, and the decorative network covering those capitals — a summary of what was already described earlier.
  13. 2 Crónicas 4:13Four hundred bronze pomegranates, in two rows per network, decorated the pillars’ capitals — an exact number that shows the account’s care with these ornamental details.
  14. 2 Crónicas 4:14The smaller basins used for washing the sacrifices rested on their own stands, completing the set of courtyard furnishings.
  15. 2 Crónicas 4:15The account briefly mentions once more the bronze sea and the twelve oxen supporting it underneath.
  16. 2 Crónicas 4:16Pots, shovels, forks, and other utensils of polished bronze complete the list of what Huram-abi made for the temple at Solomon’s command.
  17. 2 Crónicas 4:17The king has these bronze pieces cast on the plain of the Jordan, in a clay-rich region between Succoth and Zeredathah — exactly the kind of ground suited to this casting work.
  18. 2 Crónicas 4:18The amount of bronze used was so great that no one even bothered weighing it exactly — a way of marking just how abundant the project’s resources were.
  19. 2 Crónicas 4:19The list of solid gold furnishings — tables, lampstands, forks, basins, even the door hinges — makes clear that luxury was in no short supply in the temple’s interior decoration. It was a concrete way of showing the place’s importance, not only through the building itself but through every object used inside it.
  20. 2 Crónicas 4:20The lampstands of purest gold stayed lit in front of the Most Holy Place, following the custom of keeping that light burning at all times.
  21. 2 Crónicas 4:21Decorative flowers, lamps, and wick trimmers, all of the highest-grade gold, complete the fine finish of these lampstands.
  22. 2 Crónicas 4:22Forks, basins, cups, and censers of purest gold, along with the inner doors of the Most Holy Place and the main entrance also overlaid with gold, close out the temple’s long list of luxury.

Chapters

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.