Daily Tanach Tuesday Sefer Melachim 1 – Chapter 7: The pool of the Temple

1.      The carts of the washing basins:

• The amount: There were a total of 10 carts made to support the sinks for washing inside of the temple.
• The material: They were made of copper.
• The dimensions: The width and length of each cart was four cubits, and it had a height of three cubits
• The design of the: The cart was made of a surrounding ledge, and frame, which had designs of lions, and oxen, and cherubim, and male and female figures in a state of intimacy, drawn onto them. The panels of the wagon also contained palm trees. The cart supported the washing basin which rested on it.
• The wheels: Each cart contained four wheels under them, two on each side. Each wheel was a height of 1 ½ cubits tall. All the parts of the wheels were molten onto each other.
• The frame of the wagon: The wagon contained a frame on its top which reached the height of half a cubit.

2.      The sinks for washing:

• Amount: A total of 10 washing sinks were made in the temple.
• Material: They were made of copper.
• The volume: The each contained a volume of 40 cubits.
• The dimension: The dimension of the sink was four cubits in circumference.
• The carts: Each of the 10 sink was placed on one of the 10 carts that were made to support it.
• It’s location: Five carts with their sinks were located on the right side of the temple while the other five carts with their sinks were located on the left side of the temple. The washing pool that was made was located in the right eastern part of the temple, towards the southern end.

• The making of the temple vessels:
• Chiram made the basins and the shovels and the vessels used to receive the blood of the sacrifices.

3.      The work is complete-A list of the work done:

• Chiram completed all the work of the temple that he was asked to do in behalf of King Solomon and the house of G-d.
• The pillars: He built two pillars which contained two chapiters on top, which had two sets of netting placed on top of them to cover them. There were 400 pomegranates made on the netting, each netting containing two rows of pomegranates.
• The basins and their carts: He made 10 carts and 10 sinks which were placed on the carts.
• The pool: He made a pool which rested on 12 metal oxen.
• The vessels: He made pots and shovels and vessels to hold the blood. All the vessels that Chiram had made for King Shlomo on behalf of the temple were made of right copper.
• The location that the vessels were crafted: All of the vessels were crafted within the earth in the planes of the Jordan which was between the cities of Sukkos and Tzarsan.
• The weight of the vessels: The copper vessels were so heavy that Shlomo could not weigh them due to the great weight.

4.      The temple vessels-altar and showbread table and Menorah:

• Shlomo made all the vessels necessary for the house of G-d including the gold altar and the gold showbread table which had the bread rest on it.
• The menorah: He made a total of 10 gold Menorah with five positioned by the right and five positioned the left, in front of the Kodesh Hakedoshim. [This was in addition to the menorah that was made by Moshe which was in the middle.^[1]] The menorah contained flowers, and its cups which contain the oil, as well as all of its instruments, were made of gold. This includes the instruments that were used to straighten the wicks.
• The musical instruments: All the musical instruments were made of gold.
• The vessels use with the altar: All the vessels that were used for the altar, which include the bowls which held the blood as well as the spoons of the incense, and the shovels used for gathering the ash, were all made of gold.
• The doors and their keys: The hinges for the doors of the holy and holy of holies, as well as their keys, were all made of gold.
• King Shlomo completed all the work necessary to be done for the house of G-d.
• All of the dedicated gold and silver that he had inherited from his father David were not used to help build the temple and was rather placed in storage in the treasury of the house of G-d. [From here we learn that Shlomo was particular to use his own money to build the temple and not use any of the money of his father.^[2]]

[1] Rashi 7:49

[2] Ralbag 7:51