Talmud for II Chronicles 4:25

Solomon made ten tables: Solomon made ten tables and deposited them in the Temple Hall, five to the right and five to the left¹¹⁵2Chr. 4:8.. If you would say, five to the North and five to the South, but the table is only qualified in the North, as it is said, and the table put on the North side¹¹⁶Ex. 26:35.. Why does the verse say, five to the right and five to the left? Five to the right of Moses’s table, and five to its left. Nevertheless, only Moses’s alone was used, as it is said¹¹⁷1K. 7:49., the table on which is the shew-bread. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah says, all of them were used, for it is said¹¹⁸2Chr. 4:19., the tables on which the shew-bread is. It was stated: They were put East and West, the words of Rebbi. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Simeon says, they were put North and South. He who says East and West is understandable; all of them are proper for Service¹¹⁹As prescribed in Ex. 40:22,, the table at the North side of the Tabernacle, and Ex. 40:24, the candelabrum at the South side, standing East-West, opposite the table.. He who says, North and South, would then not the table be in the South and the candelabrum in the North? But was it not stated, the table was in the middle of the Temple, more to the inside, about two cubits away from the wall to the North, and opposite it the candelabrum in the South¹²⁰If they are all in one line, at the North side of the Temple, the long side oriented East-West, all pentateuchal requirements are satisfied. Babli Menaḥot 99a.. The golden altar was in the middle of the Temple, dividing the Temple, inside, a little bit drawn to the North¹²¹While the center of the golden altar exactly determines the middle of the Temple hall for distances measured East-West, i. e., between the entrance and the gobelins shielding the Holiest of Holies, it does not exactly determine the middle of the center of the distance of North to South walls.. All were put inside of a third of the Temple¹²²The first third of the distance between entrance and the Holiest of Holies was empty..

Solomon made ten tables: Solomon made ten tables and deposited them in the Temple Hall, five to the right and five to the left¹¹⁵2Chr. 4:8.. If you would say, five to the North and five to the South, but the table is only qualified in the North, as it is said, and the table put on the North side¹¹⁶Ex. 26:35.. Why does the verse say, five to the right and five to the left? Five to the right of Moses’s table, and five to its left. Nevertheless, only Moses’s alone was used, as it is said¹¹⁷1K. 7:49., the table on which is the shew-bread. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah says, all of them were used, for it is said¹¹⁸2Chr. 4:19., the tables on which the shew-bread is. It was stated: They were put East and West, the words of Rebbi. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Simeon says, they were put North and South. He who says East and West is understandable; all of them are proper for Service¹¹⁹As prescribed in Ex. 40:22,, the table at the North side of the Tabernacle, and Ex. 40:24, the candelabrum at the South side, standing East-West, opposite the table.. He who says, North and South, would then not the table be in the South and the candelabrum in the North? But was it not stated, the table was in the middle of the Temple, more to the inside, about two cubits away from the wall to the North, and opposite it the candelabrum in the South¹²⁰If they are all in one line, at the North side of the Temple, the long side oriented East-West, all pentateuchal requirements are satisfied. Babli Menaḥot 99a.. The golden altar was in the middle of the Temple, dividing the Temple, inside, a little bit drawn to the North¹²¹While the center of the golden altar exactly determines the middle of the Temple hall for distances measured East-West, i. e., between the entrance and the gobelins shielding the Holiest of Holies, it does not exactly determine the middle of the center of the distance of North to South walls.. All were put inside of a third of the Temple¹²²The first third of the distance between entrance and the Holiest of Holies was empty..

Solomon made ten candelabra, [as it is said]¹²³Corrector’s insert following B., he made the ten candelabra according to its rules¹²⁴2 Chr. 4:7. In the other two sources correctly “their rules”, and they add the end of the verse, to which the next argument refers: and put them in the Temple Hall, five to the right and five to the left. Cf. Babli Menaḥot98b–99a.. If you would say, five to the North and five to the South, but the candelabrum is only qualified in the South, as it is said, and the candelabrum opposite the table on the South side¹¹⁶Ex. 26:35.. Why does the verse say, five to the right and five to the left? Five to the right of Moses’s candelabrum, and five to its left. Nevertheless, only Moses’s alone was kindled, as it is said¹²⁵2 Chr.13:11, showing actual practice.\, and the golden candelabrum and its lights to kindle evening by evening. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah says, all of them were kindled, for it is said¹²⁶2 Chr. 4:20–21., the candelabra and their lights, to kindle them regularly in the Temple Hall, closed gold¹²⁷Cf. Yoma4:4, Note 101., and the flower¹²⁸According to Rashi, the ornament of the candelabrum mentioned in Num. 8:4 but not in the original instructions, Ex. 25:31–40., and the lights, and the pincers of gold, this uses up the gold. These used up Solomon’s gold. Rav Jehudah in the name of Assi¹²⁹In B a Tannaitic text, a statement of R. Jehudah in the name of Issy.: Solomon took 1’000 talents of silver, put them repeatedly into the (fire) [smelting furnace]¹³⁰The scribe’s text (in parentheses) is confirmed by the Genizah text; the corrector’s [in brackets] is from B. until they were reduced to one, to fulfill what is written¹³¹Ex. 37:24., from one talent of pure gold he made it. It was stated, Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah said, ¹³²The following is from Yoma4:4, Notes 107–108. it happened that the golden candelabrum which Moses made in the desert was in excess of one gold denar, and they returned it to the fire eighty times and it did not lose anything¹³³This seems to contradict the preceding story of Solomon’s refining smelter.. This is correct. Before it is refined it loses a lot, once it is refined it will not miss anything.

“Round, one considers it as if square.¹⁹⁵Mishnah 5.” Again this is Rebbi Jehudah’s¹⁹⁹Since tiles cannot be laid on a round beam, the round beam is unacceptable for the majority.. They inferred it from the sea²⁰⁰The water container in Solomon’s temple. Since the verse there states that its diameter was 10 cubits and its circumference 30, it is inferred that for halakhic computations the ratio of circumference of a circle to diameter is 3 (even though it is obvious that for other computations this cannot be correct since it is the ratio of the circumference of the regular hexagon to the diameter).. He made the sea cast, ten cubits²⁰¹1K. 7:23.. It is impossible to say “circular” since already it was said “square”²⁰²The verse notes that the “sea” at the top was circular, diameter 10 and circumference 30. But in v. 24 it says that below it was adorned by flower buds, 10 cubits at each side. This implies that the bottom was square.. It is impossible to say “square” since already it was said “circular”. If you said circular, it would turn out to contain 160 times the measure of purity. If you said square, it would turn out to contain 122 times the measure of purity. Therefore you have to say that the upper two cubits were circular, the lower three cubits were square and it turns out that it contained 150 times the measure of purity²⁰³The numbers are impossible; to make them approximately intelligible one has to switch the positions of “square” and “circular”. The height of the “sea” was 5 cubits. The “measure of purity” is the minimum size of a miqweh which is 3(cubits)³. If the “sea” were cubical, the outer volume would be 500(cubits)³ = 166⅔ miqwaot. Since the verse asserts that the walls were 1 hand-breadth wide (1/6 cubit) the actual inner volume was 4 5/6 (9⅔)² = 451.6481 (cubits)³ = 150.54 miqwaot. The fractional part should be disregarded. If the “sea” were a right circular cylinder, with the prescribed value of π=3 the outer volume would be 375(cubits)³ = 125 miqwaot; the inner volume 338.7361 (cubits)³ = 122.91 miqwaot. In v. 26 it is stated that the volume contained in the “sea” was 2’000 bat which is 6’000 seˋah or 150 miqwaot (Babli 14a, Pesaḥim 109b). This volume also is the sum of the volumes of a rectangular solid of edge legths 3,10,10 and a right circular cylinder of radius 5 and height 3, as stated in the text. The problem is that these are outer measures; the inner measures are consistently disregarded.. One verse says, it contained 2’000 bat²⁰⁴1K. 7:26., but another verse says, it contained a volume of 3’000 bat²⁰⁵2Chr. 4:5.. It is impossible to say 2’000 since already it says 3’000 and it is impossible to say 3’000 since already it says 2’000. Therefore you have 2’000 in fluid measure which are 3’000 in dry measure. From here the Sages learned that 40 seah in fluid measure are two kor in dry measure²⁰⁵2Chr. 4:5..

The fife of the Temple was from Moses¹²⁰Babli Arakhin 10b. and was made from reed. It broke and was repaired but its sound was not as sweet as originally. They undid and removed, and it returned to its prior state. The cymbal of the Temple was from Moses and was made from brass. It broke and was repaired but its sound was not clangorous as originally. They undid and removed, and it returned to its prior state. The mortar of the Temple was from Moses and was made from brass. It broke and was repaired but it did not compound as originally. They undid and removed, and and it returned to its prior state. These are two implements which broke in the first Temple and could not be mended. About these it says, polished brass¹²¹2Chr. 4:16.; scrubbed brass. And two brass vessels, beautiful gold colored, valued like gold¹²²Ezra 8:27.. Two Armoraim. One said, one of them valued like two of gold. But the other said, two [of them]¹²³A Roman copper coin, Greek ʼασσάριον. like two of gold.

Could they make spouts one on top of the other²⁰²Here starts the discussion of Mishnah 10. It is understood that Ben Qatina made 12 spouts level around the basin. Why was he restricted to 12?? Rebbi Jonah said, for the maximum day of the daily sacrifice²⁰³By Mishnah 2:5, this is the maximum number of Cohanim needed for any morning daily sacrifice. Babli 37a.. The top because of a vessel reduced in its majority. But is the lower not in the category of volume inside a vessel²⁰⁴How could there be a biblical requirement that the Cohanim sanctify themselves with water drawn from a basin? It is one of the general principles of the rules of purity that water only purifies if either it is flowing (in any amount) or is collected in a cistern (of at least 40 seah); water drawn in a container and poured into a cistern renders the latter disqualified. One has to prove that the basin does not qualify as a container. According to the Babli, the original two spouts were one on top of the other (37a).
As was noted in Eruvin (Chapter 1, Notes 199–206) the Solomon’s basin was a cylinder put on top of a rectangular solid. The upper part, being totally open to the bottom, is not a container. But the bottom seems to be a container.? Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, a water canal was drawing from Etam²⁰⁵En Etam, “the pools of Salomon”, source of the water for the Temple., and the feet to the South were reduced in the size of pomegranates²⁰⁶The basin was not a container since the water in it was not at rest. It was filled from the water canal and the water flowed out of holes in the hooves of the three Southern bronze cattle on which the basin was resting (IK. 7:25). A hole in the size of a pomegranate makes any vessel pure since it cannot be a container even for solid food (Mishnah Kelim 17:1). (In Q, there is no mention of “Southern”.). Rebbi Simeon ben Carsana in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: The Sea was a place of immersion of the Cohanim, and the Sea for the Cohanim to wash in it²⁰⁷This entire paragraph is copied in Q.. But was it not a vessel? A water canal was drawing from Etam, and the feet to the South were reduced in the size of pomegranates.

²⁰⁷This entire paragraph is copied in Q. It is written²⁰⁸2Chr. 4:6. The topic is to find roots for the uncommon words אֲגַרְטְלֵ֨י, מַֽחֲלָפִי֭ם.: And these are their numbers: gold basins30, Rebbi Samuel bar Nahman said, places where the blood of the lamb was collected. Silver basins 1’000, Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, places where the blood of the bull was collected. Knives 29, Rebbi Simon said, these are the knives, as we have stated there²⁰⁹Mishnah Middot 4:7., “it was called the place of knives since there they hid the knives.”