2 Chronicles 4:3

2 Chronicles 4:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast.
• New International Version (NIV)Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit. The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Under it were figures of gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And under it was the likeness of oxen encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, all the way around the Sea. The oxen were cast in two rows, when it was cast.

Context of 2 Chronicles 4:3

1He made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high. 2Then he made the cast metal basin, 15 feet from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet high and 45 feet in circumference. The likeness of oxen was below it, completely encircling it, ten every half yard, completely surrounding the basin. The oxen were cast in two rows when the basin was cast. 4It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center. 5The basin was three inches thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or a lily blossom. It could hold eleven thousand gallons.

2 Chronicles 4:3 word by word

וּדְמ֣וּת בְּקָרִים֩ תַּ֨חַת ל֜וֹ סָבִ֤יב׀ סָבִיב֙ סוֹבְבִ֣ים אֹת֔וֹ עֶ֚שֶׂר בָּֽאַמָּ֔ה מַקִּיפִ֥ים אֶת־הַיָּ֖ם סָבִ֑יב שְׁנַ֤יִם טוּרִים֙ הַבָּקָ֔ר יְצוּקִ֖ים בְּמֻֽצַקְתּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• the similitudeדְּמוּתdemûth · likenessH1823
• of oxenבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
• which did compassסָבַבsâbab · to turn: surroundH5437
• it round aboutסָבִיבsâbîyb sebîybâh · aroundH5439
• tenעֶשֶׂר‛eώer ‛ăώârâh · tenH6235
• in a cubitאַמָּה'ammâh · cubitH520
• compassingנָקַףnâqaph · to surroundH5362
• the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• Twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• rowsטוּרţûr · rowH2905
• castיָצַקyâtsaq · to pour: cast metalH3332
• when it was castמוּצֶ֫קֶתmûtsâqâh mûtsâqâh · castingH4166

Cross-references for 2 Chronicles 4:3

• 1 Kings 7:24Ornamental gourds encircled it below the brim, ten every half yard, completely encircling the basin. The gourds were cast in two rows when the basin was cast.
• Ezekiel 1:10Their faces looked something like the face of a human, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle.
• Ezekiel 10:14Each one had four faces: one was the face of a cherub, the second the face of a human, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
• 1 Corinthians 9:9For it is written in the law of Moses, Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain. Is God really concerned about oxen?
• Revelation 4:7The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like an ox; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
• 1 Kings 6:18The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.
• 2 Kings 4:39One went out to the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment would hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, but they were unaware of what they were.

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 4:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Under it was the similitude of oxen - In 1 Kings 7:24, instead of oxen, בקרים bekarim, we have knops, פקעים pekaim ; and this last is supposed by able critics to be the reading which ought to be received here. What we call knops may signify grapes, mushrooms, apples, or some such ornaments placed round about under the turned over lip or brim of this caldron. It is possible that בקרים bekarim, oxen, may be a corruption of פקעים pekaim, grapes, as the פ pe…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For “oxen” we find in 1 Kings 7:24, “knops” or “gourds.” An early copyist, not comprehending the comparatively rare word here used for “gourd,” and expecting to hear of oxen, as soon as the molten sea was mentioned, changed the reading.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-5The temple, God's house, symbolized Eden, God's garden (see Isaiah 51:3). The large sea, supported by twelve bronze oxen, represented either the waters before creation or the life-giving waters from the Garden of Eden. Divine forces control the chaotic waters (Genesis 1:2) so they nourish plants, animals, and humans (see Revelation 21:1, where the sea is gone forever).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast--The meaning is, that the circular basin and the brazen oxen which supported it were all of one piece, being cast in one and the same mould. There is a difference in the accounts given of the capacity of this basin, for while in 1Ki 7:26 it is said that two thousand baths of water could be contained in it, in this passage no less than three thousand are stated. It has been suggested that there is here a…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Chronicles 4:3

• Temple

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Sea
• Sea, The molten
• Solomon
• Genealogy
• Laver
• Sea, the Molten; Sea, the Brazen
• Similitude
• Temple

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings