“You shall also make a basin of brass, and its base of brass, in which to wash. You shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.
Parallel translations
- KJV Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
- BSB “You are to make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. Set it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it,
- NKJV “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it,
- NASB “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.
- NLT “Make a bronze washbasin with a bronze stand. Place it between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God commands a bronze basin for washing, placed between the tent and the altar. Priests needed cleansing before they could serve.
Overview
The laver provided water for the priests to wash before ministering, situated between the place of sacrifice and the place of meeting. It taught that those who serve God must be cleansed as well as atoned for. This points to the washing of regeneration and the cleansing believers have in Christ, who washes His people clean (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:26).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Exod 40:7You shall set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and shall put water therein.
- Exod 38:8He made the basin of brass, and its base of brass, out of the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
- 1 Kgs 7:23He made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in shape. Its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encircled it.
- Exod 40:30–32He set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water therein, with which to wash.
- 1 Kgs 7:38He made ten basins of brass. One basin contained forty baths; and every basin was four cubits; and on every one of the ten bases one basin.
- 2 Chr 4:14–15He also made the bases, and he made the basins on the bases;
- 2 Chr 4:2Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim. It was round, five cubits high, and thirty cubits in circumference.
- Titus 3:5not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
- 1 Jn 1:7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
- 2 Chr 4:6He also made ten basins, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them. The things that belonged to the burnt offering were washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
- Lev 8:11He sprinkled it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the basin and its base, to sanctify them.
- Zech 13:1“In that day there will be a spring opened to David’s house and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
- Exod 31:9the altar of burnt offering with all its vessels, the basin and its base,
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 30:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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