1 Kings 7:29

And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:13-47 The two brazen pillars in the porch of the temple, some think, were to teach those that came to worship, to depend upon God only, for strength and establishment in all their religious exercises. Jachin, God will fix this roving mind. It is good that the heart be established with grace. Boaz, In him is our strength, who works in us both to will and to do. Spiritual strength and stability are found at the door of God's temple, where we must wait for the gifts of grace, in use of the means of grace. Spiritual priests and spiritual sacrifices must be washed in the laver of Christ's blood, and of regeneration. We must wash often, for we daily contract pollution. There are full means provided for our cleansing; so that if we have our lot for ever among the unclean it will be our own fault. Let us bless God for the fountain opened by the sacrifice of Christ for sin and for uncleanness.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Borders - Rather, "panels" (so 1 Kings 7:32, 1 Kings 7:35), a set of square compartments between the "ledges" or borders, or mouldings. Below the panelling, with its ornamentation of lions, oxen (the two animal forms which occur most frequently in Assyrian decoration), and cherubim, was a space decorated with "additions of thin work" 1 Kings 7:29.

Upon the "ledges" 1 Kings 7:29 which surrounded the top of the base there was a stand for the laver, distinct from the upper surface of the base.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

27-39. he made ten bases of brass—These were trucks or four-wheeled carriages, for the support and conveyance of the lavers. The description of their structure shows that they were elegantly fitted up and skilfully adapted to their purpose. They stood, not on the axles, but on four rests attached to the axles, so that the figured sides were considerably raised above the wheels. They were all exactly alike in form and size. The lavers which were borne upon them were vessels capable each of holding three hundred gallons of water, upwards of a ton weight. The whole, when full of water, would be no less than two tons [Napier].

Matthew Poole's Commentary

A base; so he calls the uppermost part of the base; for though it was above, yet it was a base to the laver, which stood upon it.

Certain additions; either as bases for the feet of the said lions and oxen, or only as further ornaments.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims,.... The figures of them, for ornament sake; the cherubim, being distinguished from lions and oxen might be figures of men, or else of eagles, as Josephus (y), see Ezekiel 1:10.

and upon the ledges there was a base above; a flat piece of brass laid upon the top of the staves or bars:

and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work; these, according to Dr. Lightfoot (z), whom I chiefly follow in this account, were shelving plates of brass at the bottom of the borders and bars, where the priests washed the sacrifice; the filth of which ran off the easier, through the angle of them.

(y) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 8. c. 3. sect. 5.) (z) Prospect of the Temple, ch. 38. sect. 2.

Geneva Study Bible

And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

29. and upon the ledges there was a base above] The word here rendered ‘base’ differs from that in the two previous verses and so the R.V. has rendered a pedestal. It seems to denote some projection upward from the four shafts at the corners to act as a support for the lavers when they were put in position.

certain additions made of thin work] These words signify rather ‘festoons, work that hung down.’ So R.V. wreaths of hanging work.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 29. - And on the borders [panels] that were between the ledges were lions [i.e., figures or bas-reliefs of lions], oxen, and cherubims ["The lion and the ox are the two animal forms which occur most frequently in Assyrian decoration" (Rawlinson). They have also found a place through the cherubim, in the symbolism of Christianity]: and upon the ledges there was a base above [i.e., there was a pedestal or stand (כֵּן; see ver. 31) of some sort for the laver upon the square basis]: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions [Heb. wreaths, festoons, לִוְיָה. (cf. Proverbs 1:9), corona] made of thin work. [Heb. pensile or hanging work, מורָד from יָרַד descendit; Vulgate, dependentia. It would seem that on the panel, beneath the figures of animals, etc., were sculptured hanging festoons of flowers. 1 Kings 7:29

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Their work (their construction) was the following: they had מסגּרות, lit., surroundings, i.e., panels of flat sides, and that between שׁלבּים, commissurae, i.e., frames or borders, which enclosed the sides, and were connected together at the angles; and upon the panels within the borders (there were figures of) lions, oxen, and cherubim. The statement in Josephus, that each centre was divided into three compartments, has nothing to support it in the biblical text, nor is it at all probable in itself, inasmuch as a division of this kind would have rendered the figures placed upon them insignificantly small. "And upon the borders was a base above." כּן is a noun, and has been rendered correctly by the Chaldee כנתא, basis. The meaning is, above, over the borders, there was a pedestal for the basin upon the chest, which is more fully described in 1 Kings 7:31. To take כּן as an adverb does not give a suitable sense. For if we adopt the rendering, and upon the corner borders (or ledges) likewise above (De Wette and Ewald), - i.e., there were also figures of lions, oxen, and cherubim upon the corner borders, - it is impossible to tell what the meaning of ממּעל can be, to say nothing of the fact that on the corner borders there could hardly be room for such figures as these. This last argument also tells against the rendering adopted by Thenius: "and upon the corner borders, above as well as below the lions and oxen, (there were) wreaths;" in which, moreover, it is impossible to attach any supportable meaning to the כּן. When, on the other hand, Thenius objects to our view that the pedestal in question is spoken of for the first time in 1 Kings 7:31, and that the expression "above the corner borders (ledges)" would be extremely unsuitable, since the pedestal in question was above the whole stand; the former remark is not quite correct, for 1 Kings 7:31 merely contains a more minute description of the character of the pedestal, and the latter is answered by the fact that the pedestal derived its strength from the corner borders or ledges. "And below the lions and oxen were wreaths, pendant work." ליות, here and at 1 Kings 7:36, is to be explained from לויה in Proverbs 1:9 and Proverbs 4:9, and signifies twists or wreaths. מורד מעשׂה is not "work of sinking," i.e., sunken work (Thenius), which never can be the meaning of מורד, but pendant work, festoons, by which, however, we cannot understand festoons hanging freely, or floating in the air.