Description
The Sea was a very large tank or pool for holding water. It was made of bronze and was 2.5 meters (8 feet) deep, 5 meters (16.5 feet) in diameter, and about 15 meters (49 feet) in circumference at its rim. Its sides were almost 8 centimeters (about 3 inches) thick. When empty, it would have weighed 25–30 tons or more. The two places where it is described differ on the amount of water it could hold; 1KI 7:26 indicates 38,000 liters (10,000 gallons), while 2CH 4:5 has 57,000 liters (15,000 gallons). It is not clear from the texts whether the Sea was shaped like a bowl (hemisphere) or a cylinder standing on end. According to 1KI 7:24 and 2CH 4:3, around its outer edge were two rows of bronze gourds (NRSV “panels”; NCV “plants”) as decoration. The “legs” of the Sea were 12 oxen, also made of bronze, in four sets of three each. They faced outward, and the Sea rested on their backs. 2CH 4:6 states that the water was used by the priests for washing, but details are lacking.
Translation
In some languages it will be best to use a descriptive phrase for “Sea”; compare NCV, which renders it “large round bowl, which was called the Sea” in 1KI 7:23. While this basin is called yam (“Sea”) in Hebrew, there is no reason why a translation needs to retain this metaphorical name.