1 Reis 7

1 Reis 7

Morris - thirty cubits. Critics who try to find scientific "mistakes" in Scripture nearly always settle on this verse as one of their prime examples. Solomon's sea, ten cubits in diameter, had a circumference of thirty cubits, supposedly showing that the writer thought the value of p, or "pi," (the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter) was exactly 3.0, instead of 3.1416. The critics do not understand the principle--always applied in careful scientific calculations--of "significant figures." The dimensions as given were not intended as precisely 10 or 30, but were obviously round numbers. To say the diameter was 10 means only that it was somewhere between 9.5 and 10.5. Similarly, the circumference was somewhere between 29.5 and 30.5. Thus the implied value of p was somewhere between 29.5/10.5 and 30.5/9.5--that is, between 2.81 and 3.21. The precise value of p is clearly within this range, and it would have been incorrect to try to specify a more precise value. BSB - The "Sea of cast bronze" was located in the inner court area of the temple. It was a high basin or laver, 15 feet from brim to brim (internal measurement) and 45 feet in circumference. The basin stood upon twelve oxen, three on every side (v. 25). This large water supply was used for the washing of the priests as they ministered at the altar or went into the temple (2 Chr. 4:6). The great "Sea" took the place of the laver at the tabernacle. Cf. 2 Chr. 4:2, note. MATTHEW HENRY - There was the molten sea, a very large brass pan, in which they put water for the priests to wash in. It was put just at the entrance into the court of the priests, like the font at the church door. If it were filled to the brim, it would hold 3000 baths (as here, 2Chr 4:5), but ordinarily there were only 2000 baths in it, 1 Ki. 7:26. The Holy Ghost by this signified, (1.) Our great gospel privilege, that the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin, 1 Jn. 1:7. To us there is a fountain opened for all believers (who are spiritual priests, Rev. 1:5, 6), nay, for all the inhabitants of Jerusalem to wash in, from sin, which is uncleanness. There is a fulness of merit in Jesus Christ for all those that by faith apply to him for the purifying of their consciences, that they might serve the living God, Heb. 9:14. (2.) Our great gospel duty, which is to cleanse ourselves by true repentance from all the pollutions of the flesh and the corruption that is in the world. Our hearts must be sanctified, or we cannot sanctify the name of God. Those that draw nigh to God must cleanse their hands, and purify their hearts, Jas 4:8. If I was thee not, thou hast no part with me; and he that is washed still needs to wash his feet, to renew his repentance, whenever he goes in to minister, Jn. 13:10. Gleason Archer - Doesn’t 1 Kings 7:23 give an inaccurate value for pi? - Bible Difficulties 1 Kings 7:23 says, “He [Hiram] made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference” (NASB). Some critics have urged this approximate value of three to one as the relationship between the diameter and the circumference of the circle amounts to a geometrical inaccuracy, inconsistent with a truly errorless Scripture. The true value of pi is calculated to be 3.14159 rather than 3.0. This criticism is, however, devoid of merit. While it is true that the more exact calculation of pi is essential for scientific purposes, or for the manufacture of precision parts in a factory, the use of approximate proportions or totals is a familiar practice in normal speech, even today. If the statistical statements concerning the population of cities or nations were subjected to the same stringent standard as that leveled at 1 Kings 7:23, then we would have to say that all population statistics are in error. A certain number of people are dying each minute, and babies are being born at a standard rate every sixty seconds; therefore any exact sum that might be true at 1:00 P.M. on a given day through computer calculation would be “inaccurate” by 1:01 P.M. that same day. It is perfectly proper to speak of the circumference of any circle as being three times its diameter if we are speaking approximately, just as one may legitimately state that the population of China is from 800 million to one billion. The Hebrew author here is obviously speaking in the approximate way that is normal practice even today. There is one interesting feature about this that might well be added. If the rod used to mark out a length of five cubits (approximately ninety inches) for the radius were used to measure the inside circumference of the same bowl-shaped vessel here described, then it would take exactly six of those five-cubit measures to complete the circumference. Let the skeptic try it and see! Norman Geisler - When Critics Ask - 1 KINGS 7:23—Doesn’t the calculation in this verse represent an inaccurate value of pi? PROBLEM: According to 1 Kings 7:23, Hiram constructed a “Sea of cast bronze ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.” From this report we learn that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter is three to one. However, this is an inaccurate value of pi which is actually 3.14159. SOLUTION: This is not an error. The biblical record of the various measurements of the different parts of the temple are not necessarily designed to provide precise scientific or mathematical calculations. Rather, the Scripture simply provides a reasonable approximation. The rounding of numbers or the reporting of approximate values or measurements was a common practice in ancient times when exact scientific calculations were not used. QUESTION - What was the significance of the bronze laver? ANSWER - The bronze laver, also called the “bronze basin” (NIV) and the “laver of brass” (KJV), was one of the furnishings required by God in the outer courts of the tabernacle and temple. It stood between the temple and the altar, and it held water for washing (Exodus 30:18). The first bronze laver was made for the tabernacle, the movable tent erected in the desert after the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. The bronze laver was for Aaron and his sons (the priests) to wash their hands and feet before they entered the tabernacle, “so that they will not die” (Exodus 30:20). The priests also had to wash their hands and their feet before they approached the altar with a food offering (verse 21). God declared that this was to be a statute forever to them. The washing of the priests was to be observed by Aaron and his descendants in all ages, as long as their priesthood lasted. God wanted His people to understand the importance of purity. Exodus 38:8 tells us that the bronze laver and its base of bronze were made from the mirrors brought by “the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” The women of that day did not have glass mirrors as we do today. They used highly polished brass and other metals. Job 37:18 refers to a “mirror of cast bronze.” The serving women donated their mirrors to the tabernacle to be used in creating the bronze laver. After the Jews ended their wandering in the desert, the tabernacle was replaced by the temple in Jerusalem, built by King Solomon. The bronze laver in the temple was made by a bronze worker named Hiram of Tyre who also crafted the bronze pillars that stood at the entrance to the temple vestibule (1 Kings 7:13–14). The “Sea of cast metal” (1 Kings 7:23), so called because of its great size, took the place of the tabernacle’s laver, but its function was the same—the washing of the priests. This second laver was much larger than the one in the tabernacle: 15 feet in diameter at the top and about 47 feet in circumference, with a depth of 7.5 feet (1 Kings 7:23). The depth of the water in the bronze laver seems to indicate that the priests completely immersed themselves in it, rather than just washing their hands and feet. The brim of the laver was carved with flowers, and oxen were carved or cut on the outside all around. The laver stood on a pedestal of twelve bronze oxen, three facing each direction of the compass. The temple court also held ten bronze basins for washing the sacrifices (2 Chronicles 4:6), but the Sea, or the bronze laver, was only for the priests to wash in. The Brazen Sea is destroyed by the Chaldeans (watercolor, circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot, or followers) When the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem in 605 BC, they “broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the LORD and they carried all the bronze to Babylon” (Jeremiah 52:17). The bronze laver had to be rebuilt for Zerubbabel’s temple. There are no biblical descriptions of the bronze laver as part of Herod’s temple, but historians believe the bronze laver rested on twelve bronze bulls and sat between the altar and the temple, as Moses had instructed. When the Romans sacked Jerusalem in AD 70, the temple was completely destroyed, and the furnishings, including the laver, were either stolen or destroyed. It is significant that the bronze laver was the last object to be encountered before entering the tabernacle (Exodus 40:6–7). Before entering God’s presence, one must be cleansed. The Levitical priests had to continually wash to ready themselves for the presence of Holy God, but Jesus Christ fulfilled all the Law (Matthew 5:17). When Christ died, His people were cleansed once for all time by His blood shed on the cross. We no longer need a ritualistic washing with water to come before God, because Christ has “provided purification for sins” (Hebrews 1:3). Now we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence” (Hebrews 4:16), being sure that we are acceptable to Him because we are spiritually clean.GotQuestions.org 1 Kings 7:24 Under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the rest. KJV 1 Kings 7:24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast. NET 1 Kings 7:24 Under the rim all the way around it were round ornaments arranged in settings 15 feet long. The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with "The Sea." CSB 1 Kings 7:24 Ornamental gourds encircled it below the brim, 10 every half yard, completely encircling the reservoir. The gourds were cast in two rows when the reservoir was cast. ESV 1 Kings 7:24 Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. NIV 1 Kings 7:24 Below the rim, gourds encircled it--ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea. NLT 1 Kings 7:24 It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin. knops: 1Ki 6:18 Ex 25:31-36 37:17-22 compassing the sea: 2Ch 4:3 Under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the rest. Bob