1 Kings 7:39

1Ki 7:39 And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.

Ver. 39. On the right side of the house.] That is, Of the priests’ court, who had hereby plenty of water, wherein they might wash so soon as they entered to minister in the holy place. "Holiness becometh God’s house for ever."

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To wit, of the Temple or Sanctuary.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(39) The sea.—This was placed on the south-eastern side of the Temple, on one side of the great altar; the ten smaller lavers were ranged five on each side.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

39. And he put] The verb is the same which later on in the verse is translated set. It is better to adhere to the same rendering in the same verse. It would also be more in accordance with the Hebrew to translate ‘And he set the bases, five on the right side (Heb. shoulder) of the house &c.’

eastward over against (better, towards) the south] The building looked north and south, so the sides would be east and west. The sea then stood at the south corner of the east side.

There is much uncertainty about the meaning of parts of the language in this description of the bases. They appear however to have been large box-shaped structures, set on four wheels. The wheels did not come up higher than the bottom of the box, and so needed shoulders and stays in which the axles might run and by which they might be kept in position. Above the box, which had a large hole in the top, rose a sort of capital on which was fixed the laver. The sides of the box and the capital as well as the stays were covered with figures. The purpose of these lavers as we are told 2Ch_4:6, was for washing such things as were offered for the burnt offering. This was most likely the reason why they were needed of some considerable height and so were supported on the box-shaped bases. The laver would be of necessity as high as the altar of burnt offering, to the side of which it must have been brought at the time of any offering. That the altar stood higher than the level of the court seems evident from 1Ki_8:22, where Solomon is described as standing before it in the sight of all the people.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins,.... The lavers are not the ten before mentioned, of the make of which an account is before given; but these, according to Jarchi and Ben Gersom, are the same with the pots, Kg1 7:45 and so they are called in Ch2 4:11 the use of which, as they say, was to put the ashes of the altar into; as the "shovels", next mentioned, were a sort of besoms to sweep them off, and the "basins" were to receive the blood of the sacrifices, and sprinkle it; no mention is here made of the altar of brass he made, but is in Ch2 4:11, nor of the fleshhooks to take the flesh out of the pots, as in Ch2 4:16,

so Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made King Solomon for the house of the Lord; what he undertook, and was employed in, he finished, which were all works of brass; of which a recapitulation is made in the following verses to the end of the forty fifth, where they are said to be made of "bright brass", free of all dross and rust; "good", as the Targum, even the best brass they were made of; the brass David took from Hadarezer, Ch1 18:8 which Josephus (g) too much magnifies, when he says it was better than gold.

(g) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5. sect. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Right side, to the south, between the temple and the altar of holocausts. --- Sea. It was the most towards the east, of the five basins, (Calmet) or near the eastern gate of the priests’ court, standing on the south of the entrance, that they might purify themselves. (Menochius) --- St. Justin Martyr (apology ii.) observes that the pagans imitated this custom. But this ought not to hinder Christians from employing a thing which is innocent in itself, and calculated to make them aspire to the greatest purity, when they approach to God. (Haydock) Spargit & ipse suos lauro rorante capillos

Incipit & solita fundere voce preces. (Ovid, Fast. v.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

On the right side, i.e. in the south side, as is expressed in the end of the verse, and as the right side is used above, 1Ki 6:8; Psa 89:12.

On the right side of the house; not within the house, but in the priests’ court, where they washed either their hands or feet, or the parts of the sacrifices. On the left side of the house, i.e. on the north side; for this is here opposed to the right or south side.

Over against the south, i.e. in the south-east part, where the offerings were prepared.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

39. The right side of the house — Hebrew, the right shoulder of the house; that is, the south side, near the front part of the building, or at the south side of the porch.

Left side — The corresponding north side of the building.

The sea… eastward, over against the south — That is, southeast from the front of the temple.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he put five bases on the right side Heb. shoulder of the house, and five on the left side of the house i.e., on the south and north sides of the court of the priests: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south. This passage is decisive as to which was the right and which the left. The right side was the south. It was probably for convenience that the sea did not stand due east of the house, i.e., between the porch and altar.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Right side - In the south side, not within the house, but in the priests court, where they washed either their hands or feet, or the parts of the sacrifices. Left side - On the north side. The south - In the southeast part, where the offerings were prepared.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

On the [right] side of the Beis Hamikdosh. Against the right side of the Beis Hamikdosh.

[Away] from the right side of the Beis Hamikdosh. Extended from the south side toward the north side. The following [explains], “קדמה מול נגב”: The northeast corner against the space which is between the northern wall of the Beis Hamikdosh and the wall of the court; and the northern wall is called “ממול נגב,” extended and removed far away from the south, and מול and ממול are not translated the same.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.