Discovery Box1 Kings 7:23-24 
Context7:23 He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.” 1 It measured 15 feet 2 from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet 3 high. Its circumference was 45 feet. 4 7:24 Under the rim all the way around it 5 were round ornaments 6 arranged in settings 15 feet long. 7 The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.” 8
1 Kings 7:39
Context7:39 He put five basins on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. He put “The Sea” on the south side, in the southeast corner.
1 Kings 10:22
Context10:22 Along with Hiram’s fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships 9 that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet 10 came into port with cargoes of 11 gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 12
1 Kings 18:43
Context18:43 He told his servant, “Go on up and look in the direction of the sea.” So he went on up, looked, and reported, “There is nothing.” 13 Seven times Elijah sent him to look. 14
1 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).
2 tn Heb “ten cubits.”
3 tn Heb “five cubits.”
4 tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it thirty cubits all around.”
5 tn Heb “The Sea.” The proper noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn Or “gourd-shaped ornaments.”
7 tn Heb “ten cubits surrounding the sea all around.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
8 tn Heb “the gourd-shaped ornaments were in two rows, cast in its casting.”
9 tn Heb “a fleet of Tarshish [ships].” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
10 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
11 tn Heb “came carrying.”
12 tn The meaning of this word is unclear. Some suggest “baboons.”
13 sn So he went on up, looked, and reported, “There is nothing.” Several times in this chapter those addressed by Elijah obey his orders. In vv. 20 and 42 Ahab does as instructed, in vv. 26 and 28 the prophets follow Elijah’s advice, and in vv. 30, 34, 40 and 43 the people and servants do as they are told. By juxtaposing Elijah’s commands with accounts of those commands being obeyed, the narrator emphasizes the authority of the
14 tn Heb “He said, ‘Return,’ seven times.”
