1 Kings 7:21-23

7:21 He set up the pillars on the porch in front of the main hall. He erected one pillar on the right ¹  side and called it Jakin; ²  he erected the other pillar on the left ³  side and called it Boaz. ⁴  7:22 The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the construction of the pillars was completed.

7:23 He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.” ⁵  It measured 15 feet ⁶  from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet ⁷  high. Its circumference was 45 feet. ⁸ 

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¹ tn Or “south.”

² sn The name Jakin appears to be a verbal form and probably means, “he establishes.”

³ tn Or “north.”

⁴ sn The meaning of the name Boaz is uncertain. For various proposals, see BDB 126-27 s.v. בעז. One attractive option is to revocalize the name as בְּעֹז (be’oz, “in strength”) and to understand it as completing the verbal form on the first pillar. Taking the words together and reading from right to left, one can translate the sentence, “he establishes [it] in strength.”

⁵ tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”

sn This large basin that was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17-21).

⁶ tn Heb “ten cubits.”

⁷ tn Heb “five cubits.”

⁸ tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it thirty cubits all around.”