“And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths.”
It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily flower; and it held three thousand baths — The basin's wall thickness was one handbreadth (טֹפַח, roughly 3 inches)—minimal for such massive bronze construction, suggesting sophisticated metallurgical knowledge. The rim design resembled a lotus or lily flower (שׁוּשַׁן, shusshan), a motif echoing Near Eastern temple decoration. The capacity of 3,000 baths (מִדָּה, a unit of liquid measure; 1 bath ≈ 22 liters, so 3,000 baths ≈ 66,000 liters or 17,000 gallons) was extraordinary—water for purification, ceremonial washing, and perhaps sacrificial purposes. The flower-motif rim transformed the functional container's opening into botanical imagery: the vessel became a blooming flower, connecting water's life-giving properties to natural growth. The specific capacity (3,000 baths) suggests actual knowledge of temple operations: the Chronicler is not inventing but reporting.
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