Bible Strands
1 Kings 7:46
The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records Solomon’s building operations during the temple and palace construction. The passage notes the king’s directive to cast bronze articles in a specific Jordan Valley location.
The words — בְּכִכַּר (be./khi.Kar) denotes the plain or valley, and הַמֶּלֶךְ (ha./Me.lekh) identifies the monarch. These terms anchor the casting operation to a defined geographic corridor and royal command.
The thread — 2 Chronicles 4:17 repeats this casting location as a parallel account. Joshua 3:16 and Genesis 33:17 also mention Zarethan and Succoth as established Jordan Valley landmarks.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to note the logistical scale of the temple’s bronze furnishings. It demands attention to how royal resources and geography intersect in sacred construction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.
Cross-references
- Joshua 3:16 the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
- Genesis 33:17 but Jacob went on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.
- 2 Chronicles 4:17 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zeredah.
- Joshua 13:27 and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth).
- 1 Kings 4:12 Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;