The Bronze Laver
Tabernacle FurnitureMeaning: “Basin for washing”
Cleansing for service — the washing of water by the Word.
The bronze basin where the priests washed their hands and feet before serving.
What It Was
The laver was a bronze basin set between the altar and the tabernacle door, made from the polished bronze mirrors of the serving women (Exodus 38:8). The priests washed their hands and feet there before approaching the altar or the tent, “that they die not” (Exodus 30:18–21).
Biblical Significance & Symbolism
The laver speaks of ongoing cleansing for those already consecrated — “the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26). The blood of the altar justifies; the water of the laver sanctifies the daily walk.
Timeline
Made of bronze for the priests’ washing
Scripture References
13 versesExodus9 verses
Exodus 30:18
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.
Exodus 30:28
And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.
Exodus 31:9
And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot, furniture: Heb. vessels
Exodus 35:16
The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
Exodus 38:8
And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. lookingglasses: or, brasen glasses assembling: Heb. assembling by troops
Exodus 39:39
The brasen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
Exodus 40:7
And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.
Exodus 40:11
And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it.
Exodus 40:30
And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal.
Leviticus1 verse
Leviticus 8:11
And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.
1 Kings2 verses
1 Kings 7:30
And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition.
1 Kings 7:38
Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.
2 Kings1 verse
2 Kings 16:17
And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones.
Topics & Symbolism
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Frequently asked about The Bronze Laver
What was The Bronze Laver in the Bible?
The bronze basin where the priests washed their hands and feet before serving.
What does The Bronze Laver symbolize?
Cleansing for service — the washing of water by the Word.
What does the name The Bronze Laver mean?
The name The Bronze Laver means “Basin for washing”.
What was The Bronze Laver made of?
The Bronze Laver was made of bronze (from the mirrors of the women).
Who made The Bronze Laver?
The Bronze Laver was made by Bezalel.
Where was The Bronze Laver kept?
The Bronze Laver was kept at Between the tabernacle and the brazen altar.
Where is The Bronze Laver first mentioned in the Bible?
The Bronze Laver is first mentioned in Exodus 30:18.
How often is The Bronze Laver mentioned in the Bible?
The Bronze Laver is mentioned in 13 verses across 4 books: Exodus, Leviticus, 1 Kings, 2 Kings.
What was the bronze laver for?
The priests washed their hands and feet in it before ministering, picturing the cleansing needed for service before God (Exodus 30:18–21).
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