Pensée juive sur Isaïe 66:20

Copper planks were attached to these frames. Scripture¹³Ibid.:30. refers to these copper planks as סַרְנֵי נְחֹשֶׁת. The root of the word סַרְנֵי is סרן, which is made up of the same letters as the word נסר, “board.” Hence, the commentaries explain that the term סַרְנֵי נְחֹשֶׁת should be understood as meaning “planks of copper.” Attached to these planks was a façade, resembling the rungs of a ladder. The rungs were attached to the surface of the planks, and were not suspended above the planks. Between each rung was a frame on which there were forms of oxen, lions, and cherubs.¹⁴Thus, the frames and the planks served as decorative coverings, hiding the wheels from view. The planks reached above the frames, all the way to the wheels. They ascended on an angle, appearing like a cap, or a covering for wagons, until they reached the level of the wheels. The planks continued to be extended until they covered the wheels. However, the two sides did not meet in the center, and they were not covered from above. There, they had a round hole, a cubit and a half in diameter, over the center of the wheels. This covering was called¹⁵I Melachim 7:31. a כּוֹתֶרֶת, “a coronet.” The hole in the coronet was referred to as פי כותרת, “the opening of the coronet.” Although the word פי is normally translated as “mouth”, it can also be translated as “opening” as in the phrase, ופיה עגול מעשה כן אמה וחצי האמה, “its opening was round, like the craftsmanship of the stands, a cubit and a half in diameter.”