Molten Sea

The Molten Sea, also known as the Brazen Sea, was a monumental bronze basin constructed for Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Serving primarily as a ritual washing vessel for the priests, it occupied a significant place within the sanctuary’s inner court and is one of the most elaborately described furnishings of the First Temple period. Its artistry, scale and religious symbolism have drawn extensive commentary from biblical scholars, rabbinical writers and later theological traditions.

Biblical Description and Construction

According to the Books of Kings and Chronicles, the Molten Sea was positioned in the southeastern corner of the inner court of the Temple. It measured ten cubits in diameter from brim to brim, stood five cubits high and had a circumference of thirty cubits. The thickness of its bronze walls was approximately a handbreadth, and its gently curved rim was likened to that of a cup or the blossom of a lily. The basin sat upon twelve bronze oxen arranged in groups of three, each group facing one of the four cardinal directions.
The vessel could contain between two and three thousand bath units of water, indicating an exceptionally large capacity. Its size suggests that water likely flowed into a lower receptacle or auxiliary container beneath, making practical use of the basin’s elevated structure. The water supply was initially provided by the Gibeonites and later by channels from Solomon’s Pools. The bronze used for its casting was taken from the spoils of war following Solomon’s victory over Hadadezer of Zobah.
During the reign of King Ahaz, the laver was removed from the oxen and placed directly on a stone pavement. Ultimately, the Molten Sea was destroyed during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem along with other major Temple furnishings.

Rabbinical Interpretation and Symbolism

Rabbinical literature expanded considerably on the biblical account. The Talmud records that the basin held sufficient water for two thousand baths and describes its form as partially round and partially square—the upper two-fifths circular while the lower three-fifths were square. This hybrid geometry is further elaborated in the Midrash Tadshe, which attributes deep cosmological symbolism to the vessel.
In rabbinic thought, the Molten Sea represented the created world. Its ten-cubit diameter corresponded to the ten sefirot (divine emanations), and its five-cubit depth symbolised the vast distance between heaven and earth, described metaphorically as a journey of five hundred years. Decorative features such as the rows of colocynths beneath the rim were seen as symbols of the sun and moon, reflecting ancient Hebrew astronomical perspectives. The band measuring thirty cubits around the vessel was connected to the Ten Commandments, the ten utterances of creation in Genesis and the ten sefirot, implying that the world is sustained through adherence to divine law.
The twelve oxen supporting the basin represented the Twelve Tribes of Israel, reinforcing the connection between ritual purity and national identity. The stated capacity of 2,000 baths was associated with rabbinic teachings that the Torah existed two thousand years before the creation of the world.

The Laver of the Tabernacle

In the Priestly Code of the Book of Exodus, the Tabernacle’s ritual washing vessel is described simply as a bronze laver supported by a bronze stand. Unlike the detailed description of Solomon’s basin, its dimensions are not specified. The laver was intended for the priests to wash their hands and feet before entering the sanctuary, a requirement later reaffirmed in the narrative of the Tabernacle’s installation.
Some scholars have proposed that the laver and other Temple furnishings, such as the Menorah, may have undergone reinterpretation or transformation in the development of the Jerusalem Temple tradition. Suggestions that the laver and the candlestick might have been conceptually related reflect the evolving symbolism of sacred objects in Israelite worship.

Relation to Solomon’s Platform

The Book of Chronicles describes Solomon using a special platform during the Temple’s dedication ceremony. This platform is referred to in Hebrew as a kiyyor, the same term used for a laver. While traditionally interpreted as a raised dais from which Solomon addressed the assembly, the text may alternatively be read to mean that he stood beside the platform. The Septuagint translates the term as “base,” and its dimensions match those of the bases constructed to support the Temple’s ten auxiliary lavers. This connection raises the possibility that the described platform was itself a laver, reflecting an earlier or parallel tradition consistent with the Priestly Code.

Latter-day Saint Interpretation

In the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Molten Sea is understood as an ancient baptismal font. Apostle Bruce R. McConkie argued that while explicit references to baptism had been removed from the Old Testament, descriptions of priestly washing effectively reflect the practice in symbolic form. The twelve oxen beneath the basin are interpreted as representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and modern Latter-day Saint temples include baptismal fonts supported by twelve oxen in deliberate imitation of the Molten Sea. These fonts are used in the performance of baptism for the dead, a rite central to LDS theology.

Approximation of π

The biblical dimensions of the Molten Sea have been widely discussed in relation to ancient understandings of geometry. The statement that the basin measured ten cubits in diameter and thirty cubits in circumference appears to suggest a value of π approximated as 3, a figure consistent with mathematical practices of ancient Near Eastern cultures.
Rabbinical commentators addressed the apparent issue of accuracy. Rabbi Nehemiah proposed that the diameter was measured from the outer edge of the rim, while the circumference was measured from beneath the rim, thereby correcting the ratio to a value closer to the true π. Using traditional measurements of the cubit and handbreadth, the resulting ratio deviates from π by less than one percent.
Further rabbinical interpretation was offered by Rabbi Max Munk, who observed that the Hebrew word for “measuring line” appears in two distinct spellings in the relevant passages. Interpreting these spellings numerically yields values whose ratio, when multiplied by the biblical approximation of 3, produces 3.1416—an impressively close approximation to π, accurate to four decimal places. Such interpretations demonstrate the longstanding engagement of Jewish scholarship with the mathematical subtleties of biblical texts.