Keluaran 30:17-18

The Bronze Laver

30:17 ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²  30:18 “You are also to make a large bronze ³  basin with a bronze stand ⁴  for washing. You are to put it between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it, ⁵ 

[30:17]  ¹ sn Another piece of furniture is now introduced, the laver, or washing basin. It was a round (the root means to be round) basin for holding water, but it had to be up on a pedestal or base to let water run out (through taps of some kind) for the priests to wash – they could not simply dip dirty hands into the basin. This was for the priests primarily to wash their hands and feet before entering the tent. It stood in the courtyard between the altar and the tent. No dimensions are given. The passage can be divided into three sections: the instructions (17-18), the rules for washing (19-20), and the reminder that this is a perpetual statute.

[30:17]  ² tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”

[30:18]  ³ sn The metal for this object was obtained from the women from their mirrors (see Exod 38:8).

[30:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “and its stand bronze.”

[30:18]  ⁵ tn The form is the adverb “there” with the directive qamets-he ( ָה).