1 Kings 7:46

in the clay ground As the margin of A.V. explains, the literal rendering is -in the thickness of the ground." The Hebrews had a paucity of adjectives and were obliged to express in such wise what we mean by -stiff ground" and which is excellently rendered by the English version.

between Succoth and Zarthan The last word should be written Zarethan. See Joshua 3:16. That both Succoth and Zarethan were in the circle, or district, of Jordan we can see both from that passage and this, but their precise position is unknown. Succoth was allotted to the tribe of Gad (Joshua 13:27) which seems to prove that it was on the east side of the Jordan, so Zarethan from their connexion in this verse was probably on that side too. In 2 Chronicles 4:17 Zaredathah is the name given instead of Zarethan, and that name has been thought by some to be a modified form of Zeredah (1 Kings 11:26) the birthplace of Jeroboam son of Nebat. According to the Septuagint additions to the story of Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:24-25) Zeredah was a strong place in Mt. Ephraim, but of this we cannot be sure. It would however in that case be on the west of Jordan, and it seems a singular manner of speech to describe the foundries of Hiram as between a place on the east of the Jordan and another on the west.