Molten Sea
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The Molten Sea or Brazen Sea ( ''yām mūṣāq'' "
cast metal In metalworking and jewelry making, casting is a process in which a liquid metal is delivered into a mold (usually by a crucible) that contains a negative impression (i.e., a three-dimensional negative image) of the intended shape. The metal is ...
sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...
") was a large basin in the
Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...
made by
Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
for ablution of the priests. It is described in and . It stood in the south-eastern corner of the inner court. According to the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
it was five
cubit The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding Noah ...
s high, ten cubits in diameter from brim to brim, and thirty cubits in circumference. The brim was like the rim of a cup or like a
lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...
blossom, and its thickness was a hand breadth", three or four inches. It was placed on the backs of twelve oxen, standing with their faces outward. It was capable of containing two or three thousand
bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
s of water (). The fact that it was a wash basin which was too large to enter from above lends to the idea that water would likely have flowed from it down into a subcontainer beneath. The water was originally supplied by the Gibeonites, but was afterwards brought by a conduit from
Solomon's Pools Solomon's Pools (, or in short ''el-Burak'', 'the pools'; ) are three ancient reservoirs located in the south-central West Bank, immediately to the south of al-Khader, about southwest of Bethlehem, near the road to Hebron. The pools are located ...
. The "molten sea" was made of
brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
or
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
, which Solomon had taken from the captured cities of Hadarezer, the king of
Zobah Zobah or Aram-Zobah () was an early Aramean state and former vassal kingdom of Israel mentioned in the Hebrew Bible that extended northeast of David's realm according to the Hebrew Bible. Alexander Kirkpatrick, in the Cambridge Bible for School ...
().
Ahaz Ahaz (; ''Akhaz''; ) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), ...
later removed this laver from the oxen, and placed it on a stone pavement (). It was destroyed by the Chaldeans ().


In rabbinical literature

The basin contained water sufficient for two thousand baths. Adding to its Biblical description, according to the Talmud, the laver was not entirely round; the upper two-fifths were round, but the lower three were square. The symbolism and specific appearance of the brazen sea is described in detail in the Midrash Tadshe. The sea represented the world and the ten ells of diameter corresponded to the ten
Sefirot Sefirot (; , plural of ), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof ("infinite space") reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the seder hishtalshelut (the chained ...
; it was round at the top (according to the Talmud passage above cited), as the heavens are round, and the specific curvature reflected the Hebrew zodiac ( Mazzaloth). The depth of the sea was five
ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", an ...
s, corresponding to the distance of five hundred years' journey between heaven and earth. The two rows of colocynths ( knops) below the rim were symbolic of the sun (greater light) and the moon (lesser light). The band of thirty ells around it corresponded to the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...
, to the ten words of God at the creation of the world, and to the ten
Sefirot Sefirot (; , plural of ), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof ("infinite space") reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the seder hishtalshelut (the chained ...
: for the world can exist only when the Ten Commandments are observed, and the ten Sefirot as well as the ten words of God were the instruments of the Creation. The twelve
oxen An ox (: oxen), also known as a bullock (in BrE, British, AusE, Australian, and IndE, Indian English), is a large bovine, trained and used as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castration, castrated adult male cattle, because castration i ...
on which the sea rested represented the
Twelve Tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( , ) are described in the Hebrew Bible as being the descendants of Jacob, a Patriarchs (Bible), Hebrew patriarch who was a son of Isaac and thereby a grandson of Abraham. Jacob, later known as Israel (name), Israel, ...
. It contained 2,000 baths ( cubic measures), for the world will sustain him who keeps the Torah, which was created 2,000 years before the world.


The Laver of the Tabernacle

In the
Priestly Code The Priestly Code (in Hebrew ''Torat Kohanim'', תורת כהנים) is the name given, by academia,The book of Leviticus: composition and reception - Page 55 Rolf Rendtorff, Robert A. Kugler, Sarah Smith Bartel - 2003 "Research agrees that its ...
of Exodus, instead of the Molten Sea is described a bronze ''laver'' (basin), which was to rest on a bronze ''foot'' (presumably meaning ''a stand''). The text explains that this laver was to be used for the Israelite priests to wash their hands and feet when they entered the sanctuary. This is confirmed in a later part of the Priestly Code, in the passage describing the actual installation of the Tabernacle furniture. The size and shape of this laver are not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, and nor are those of its stand, unlike the case for the Molten Sea. By contrast, the special golden candlestick is described by the Priestly Code, but not in the description of Solomon's temple. It might therefore be the case that the laver and the candlestick are somehow the same object.


Relation to Solomon's platform

Solomon is described by the
Book of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Heb ...
as having constructed a special platform in his Temple, for him to use during the opening ceremony. Although it is often assumed that the text describes Solomon as standing on this platform, the text could equally be read ''stood next to''. This platform is literally described by the
masoretic text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
as a laver (Hebrew: ''kiyyor''), and as with the Priestly Code's laver, there is only one platform, and it is placed in the centre of the outer court. The
Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
calls it a ''base'', and the size of the brazen platform is the same as that of each base for the ten brazen lavers. It is therefore quite possible that the account of this platform in the Book of Chronicles is actually an account of a laver corresponding to the laver of the Priestly Code.


Latter-Day Saint interpretation

Members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church) believe that the molten sea in Solomon's Temple was a
baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...
. As explained by church leader Bruce R. McConkie:
In Solomon's Temple a large molten sea of brass was placed on the backs of 12 brazen oxen, these oxen being symbolical of the 12 tribes of Israel. This brazen sea was used for performing baptisms for the living. There were no baptisms for the dead until after the resurrection of Christ.

It must be remembered that all direct and plain references to baptism have been deleted from the Old Testament ( 1 Nephi 13) and that the word ''baptize'' is of Greek origin. Some equivalent word, such as ''wash'', would have been used by the Hebrew peoples. In describing the molten sea the Old Testament record says, ''"The sea was for the priests to wash in."'' (). This is tantamount to saying that the priests performed baptisms in it.

Every
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
of the LDS Church contains a baptismal font on twelve oxen which is modeled after the molten sea. The Church performs baptisms for the dead in these fonts.


Approximation of π

The biblical description that the bowl has a diameter of 10 cubits and a circumference of 30 cubits suggest that in the construction of the basin, was approximated with the integer value 3. This is consistent with the practice in
Babylonian mathematics Babylonian mathematics (also known as Assyro-Babylonian mathematics) is the mathematics developed or practiced by the people of Mesopotamia, as attested by sources mainly surviving from the Old Babylonian period (1830–1531 BC) to the Seleucid ...
at the time (
6th century BC The 6th century BC started on the first day of 600 BC and ended on the last day of 501 BC. In Western Asia, the first half of this century was dominated by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which had risen to power late in the previous century after ...
), but it has given rise to debate within
rabbinical Judaism Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...
from an early period due to the concern that the biblical text might here be inaccurate.
Rabbi Nehemiah Rabbi Nehemiah was a rabbi who lived circa 150 AD (fourth generation of tannaim). He was one of the great students of Rabbi Akiva, and one of the rabbis who received semicha from R' Judah ben Baba The Talmud equated R' Nechemiah with Rabbi Ne ...
in the 2nd century argued that the text is not claiming that equals 3, but that instead the Hebrews measured the diameter from the outside edge of the rim of the bowl, while the circumference was measured from under the rim, since it cannot be measured with a cord along the outside edge of the rim. After accounting for the width of the brim—"about an hand breadth"—this results in a ratio closer to the true value of . Taking a ''
cubit The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding Noah ...
'' to be about and a ''
handbreadth The palm is an obsolete anthropic unit of length, originally based on the width of the human palm and then variously standardized. The same name is also used for a second, rather larger unit based on the length of the human hand. The width of t ...
'' to be about , the ratio of the described dimensions of the bowl differs from by less than 1%. Rabbi Max Munk pointed to the fact that the word for measuring line in the respective verses (1 Kings 7:23, 2 Chronicles 4:2) is written in two different ways, as קוה and קו. That hints to two different measures. If the Hebrew letters are read as numbers, the first form of the word for measuring line adds to 111 and the second form to 106. The relation, i.e. the quotient of these two measuring tapes, is 1.0472. And if this number, the relation of these two measuring tapes, is multiplied with Solomon's simple pi of 3, the result reads: 3.1416, the value of accurate to four digits.


See also

*
Approximations of π Approximation#Mathematics, Approximations for the mathematical constant pi () in the history of mathematics reached an accuracy within 0.04% of the true value before the beginning of the Common Era. In Chinese mathematics, this was improved to ...
*
Archaeology of Israel The archaeology of Israel is the study of the archaeology of the present-day Israel, stretching from prehistory through three millennia of documented history. The ancient Land of Israel was a geographical bridge between the political and cultu ...


References

* *{{Jewish Encyclopedia, title=Brazen Sea, url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3659-brazen-sea Baptism Books of Chronicles Books of Kings Bronzeware Gibeon (ancient city) Hebrew Bible words and phrases Jewish ritual objects Jewish ritual purity law Latter Day Saint temple practices Metallic objects Mormonism and death Solomon's Temple