JEWISH, PH@NICIAN, AND EARLY GREEK ART, ETC. 27 
wing of the cherub, and five the other wing, from the utter- 
most part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other 
were ten cubits; and the wings were stretched forth, so that 
the wing of the one cherub touched the one wall, and the 
wing of the other the other wall. .... He made two doors of 
olive-wood, and carved upon them carvings of cherubim, and 
palm-trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, 
and he spread the gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm- 
trees . . . . fitted upon the graven work” (1 Kings vi. 23-33), 
In front of the great gate of the Temple two brazen pillars 
were set up, each apparently thirty-five cubits in extreme 
height, and twelve in circumference (Cf. 2 Chron. iii. 15-17, 
and 1 Kings vii. 15-20). So far as I can gather, they seem to 
have had no structural connexion with the main building or 
the porch. They were isolated—one on each side of the 
gate; but their costly material and elaborate ornaments 
would appear to indicate some high mystic signification and 
purpose. Pillars, obelisks, and tall pyramids, generally of 
stone, have been found in front of Phoenician sanctuaries in 
various parts of the Levant; and they are not unfrequently 
figured on coins. Most of the great temples in Heypt had a 
pair of obelisks in front. Probably the nearest approach in 
form to Jachin and Boaz of Solomon’s Temple are the pillars 
of Persepolis. 
One of the grand adjuncts of the Temple was the brazen sea, 
or cistern, ten cubits in diameter. It was supported on twelve 
oxen, also of brass, three facing each of the cardinal points. 
Sculptured figures of lions, oxen, and cherubim surrounded 
the edge, and were linked together by pendent floral wreaths. 
Underneath were other elaborate ornaments, wrought in brass, 
of fruit, foliage, and flowers. In design and execution, this 
magnificent laver was probably unequalled in ancient times. 
The costliness of material employed in the decoration and 
fittings of the Temple, and in the other buildings constructed 
by Solomon, was no less remarkable than the artistic genius 
and skill of the workmen. The sacred vessels, lamps, cups, 
censers—in fact, all the utensils of whatever kind used by the 
priests in the sanctuary—were of pure gold. And, in addition 
to these, we are told that Solomon made, doubtless by thie 
hands, or under the direction of the same Phoenician artist, 
“three hundred shields of beaten gold” and “ two hundred 
targets of beaten gold,” and put them in “the house of the 
forest of Lebanon.” ‘‘ Moreover, the king made a great 
throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold.” Six 
steps led up to it, and at the end of each step were two lions 
(1 Kings x. 16-19). The correspondence between this display 
