Lexical Summary
mekonah: Base, Stand, Foundation
Original Word: מְכוֹנָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: mkownah
Pronunciation: meh-ko-NAH
Phonetic Spelling: (mek-o-naw')
KJV: base
NASB: stands, stand, foundation, pedestal
Word Origin: [feminine of H4349 (מָכוֹן - place)]
1. a pedestal, also a spot
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
base
Or mkonah {mek-o-naw'}; feminine of makown; a pedestal, also a spot -- base.
see HEBREW makown
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfem. of
makonDefinitiona fixed resting place, base
NASB Translationfoundation (1), pedestal (1), stand (7), stands (15).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
,
25 ; — absolute 1 Kings 7:27 5t.; 1 Kings 7:34 (twice in verse); 1 Kings 7:35; suffix Zechariah 5:11 (Ges§ 27, 3. R. 1); plural Jeremiah 27:19, 1 Kings 7:27 12t.; suffix Ezra 3:3; — base or stand of laver 1 Kings 7:27 (twice in verse) + 13 t. 1 Kings 7; 2 Kings 16:17; 2 Kings 25:13,16 = Jeremiah 52:17,20; Jeremiah 27:19; 2Chronicles 4:14 (twice in verse); of altar Ezra 3:3; of the symbolic ephah Zechariah 5:11.
Topical Lexicon
Terminology and Scope of Usage The noun מְכוֹנָה appears twenty-four times in the Old Testament, nearly always in reference to the wheeled bronze “stands” fashioned for Solomon’s Temple and, on one occasion (Ezra 3:3), to the “foundation” of the restored altar. The word therefore spans both the literal notion of an engineered support and the broader idea of a secure base for the worship of the LORD.
Architectural Context in Solomon’s Temple
1 Kings 7 devotes thirteen verses to the design of ten lavish מְכוֹנוֹת. Each stand measured four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high (1 Kings 7:27-28). They were cast in bronze, equipped with four bronze wheels and axles (7:30, 32), and decorated with reliefs of lions, oxen, and cherubim (7:29). The lavers they carried held “forty baths” of water apiece (7:38). All ten were identical—“one casting, one measure, one form” (7:37)—underscoring ordered uniformity in the worship environment.
Liturgical Function: Support for Priestly Cleansing
Placed “five on the right side of the house and five on the left” (1 Kings 7:39), each מְכוֹנָה bore a laver that provided flowing water for washing the sacrificial flesh and the priests’ hands and feet. The stands thus upheld the ministry of purification that kept the altar service ceremonially clean (Exodus 30:17-21 anticipates this need). Cleansing water was literally made mobile, able to be repositioned wherever sacrifices were prepared.
Symbolic and Theological Implications
1. Stability amid Movement: The stands were designed to roll, yet each gave a fixed, reliable platform for the laver. They picture the unchanging holiness of God carried into the changing circumstances of His people.
2. Visible Foundation of Cleansing: As the lavers typify the washing that points ultimately to Christ’s atonement (Hebrews 9:13-14), the מְכוֹנָה highlights the truth that redemption rests on a sure foundation laid by God, not human improvisation.
3. Ordered Beauty in Worship: The intricate carvings unite aesthetic excellence with sacred function, reminding ministers that every detail of worship can and should reflect divine glory (1 Chronicles 28:12-19).
Historical Developments and Decline
• Innovated by Solomon: Crafted under the oversight of Hiram of Tyre (1 Kings 7:13-14), these stands mark Israel’s Golden Age, when worship and national prosperity intertwined.
• Desecrated by Ahaz: “King Ahaz removed the frames from the stands” (2 Kings 16:17), mutilating holy vessels in favor of a pagan altar—an early step toward Judah’s downfall.
• Plundered by Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar’s forces “broke up the bronze pillars—the stands and the bronze Sea” (2 Kings 25:13), carting the torn pieces to Babylon (Jeremiah 52:17-20). God’s judgment removed the tangible foundation because the people had rejected the spiritual one.
Prophetic Reflections
Jeremiah 27:19 warns not to presume on sacred hardware: “For this is what the LORD Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea, the movable stands, and the rest of the vessels….” Even vessels once ordained can be taken away when covenant faithfulness is neglected. Yet Ezra 3:3 shows post-exilic hope—the altar was rebuilt “on its foundation” (מְכוֹנָתָיו), signaling restoration of true worship even without the earlier grandeur.
Practical Lessons for Ministry Today
• Uphold Pure Worship: External supports, whether buildings or programs, must undergird genuine holiness, not supplant it.
• Cultivate Beauty with Purpose: Artistic excellence should serve sacred ends, echoing the intricate workmanship of the temple stands.
• Guard Foundational Truths: When leaders tamper with God-given foundations (as Ahaz did), the result is inevitable spiritual loss.
• Embrace Mobility Anchored in Doctrine: Like wheeled yet stable stands, the church can adapt methods while remaining grounded in the immovable gospel.
Select Scriptural References
1 Kings 7:29-30; 7:37-39
2 Kings 16:17
2 Kings 25:13-16
2 Chronicles 4:14
Ezra 3:3
Jeremiah 27:19
Jeremiah 52:17-20
Forms and Transliterations
בַּמְּכוֹנָ֑ה במכונה הַמְּכֹנ֑וֹת הַמְּכֹנ֔וֹת הַמְּכֹנ֖וֹת הַמְּכֹנ֗וֹת הַמְּכֹנ֛וֹת הַמְּכֹנ֞וֹת הַמְּכֹנָ֖ה הַמְּכֹנָה֙ הַמְּכֹנֽוֹת׃ הַמְּכוֹנָ֖ה הַמְּכוֹנָ֗ה הַמְּכוֹנָ֣ה המכונה המכנה המכנות המכנות׃ וְהַמְּכֹנ֔וֹת והמכנות לַמְּכוֹנָ֤ה למכונה מְכ֣וֹנֹתָ֔יו מכונתיו bam·mə·ḵō·w·nāh bammechoNah bamməḵōwnāh ham·mə·ḵō·nāh ham·mə·ḵō·nō·wṯ ham·mə·ḵō·w·nāh hammechoNah hammechoNot hamməḵōnāh hamməḵōnōwṯ hamməḵōwnāh lam·mə·ḵō·w·nāh lammechoNah lamməḵōwnāh mə·ḵō·w·nō·ṯāw meChonoTav məḵōwnōṯāw vehammechoNot wə·ham·mə·ḵō·nō·wṯ wəhamməḵōnōwṯ
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