And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the Lord: (1 Kings 7:40)
The “shovels” and “basons” were used in connection with the services at the altar (Ex. 27:3). No record is here given concerning the brazen altar, although in the account in Chronicles it is mentioned among the other things made by Hiram (2 Chron. 4:1).
Lavers.
Some Hebrew manuscripts, the LXX and the Vulgate, here read “pots,” as in v. 45. Pots were the vessels used to boil the peace offerings (1 Sam. 2:13, 14). Each laver held 40 baths, which by the most recent estimates was about 232 gal. (879 liters). Earlier writers give estimates as high as 384 gal. (1,454 liters), which would weigh about 1 1/2 tons (6,614 kg.). The mobility of ancient wagons carrying such loads is difficult to comprehend. Five were stationed to the north of the Temple and five to the south, probably near the altar, for they served for the washing of such things as were “offered for the burnt offering” (2 Chron. 4:6).