3 Kings 7:26
And the laver was a handbreadth thick: and the brim thereof was like the brim of a cup, or the leaf of a crisped lily: it contained two thousand bates.
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Grossitudo autem luteris, trium unciarum erat : labiumque ejus quasi labium calicis, et folium repandi lilii : duo millia batos capiebat.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- Verse numbering differs here, so nothing is shown rather than the wrong verse.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וְעָבְי֣וֹ טֶ֔פַח וּשְׂפָת֛וֹ כְּמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה שְׂפַת כּ֖וֹס פֶּ֣רַח שׁוֹשָׁ֑ן אַלְפַּ֥יִם בַּ֖ת יָכִֽיל
Haydock's commentary
Two thousand bates. That is, about ten thousand gallons. This was the quantity of water which was usually put into it: but it was capable, if brim-full, of holding three thousand. See 2 Paralipomenon iv. 5, 7. (Challoner)
The batus contained about five gallons. (Worthington)
Some imagine, without grounds, (Calmet) that the measure in Paralipomenon was of a less capacity. (Vallalpand) (Cornelius a Lapide)
The smaller is called metreta, "measure," after the Greek, as it had no proper name. (Salien)
Instead of a hand's breadth, it is literally, "three ounces," or the fourth part of a Roman foot; which is equivalent to four fingers' (Haydock) breadth, or a "hand's breadth," as the Hebrew tophach implies, or a little above three inches.
Crisped, or "full-blown lily." The Chaldean supposes it was thus ornamented. Hebrew, "with flowers of lilies," (Calmet) or "roses," Shoshan. (Haydock)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.