1 Kings 7:25

1 Kings 7:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.
• New International Version (NIV)The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center.
• English Standard Version (ESV)It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward.
• New King James Version (NKJV)It stood on twelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward.

Context of 1 Kings 7:25

23Hiram also used bronze to make a big bath which they called ‘the Sea’. It was in the shape of a circle 4.5 metres across. It was 2.3 metres deep. It was 14 metres around the outside. 24All around its edge, below the top, there were two rows of round shapes. They were pictures of fruits called gourds. They were all part of the same piece of bronze as ‘the Sea’. There were 20 gourds for every metre around the edge. Hiram fixed ‘the Sea’ on top of 12 bronze bulls. Three pointed north, three pointed west, three pointed south and three pointed east. Their backs were towards the middle of ‘the Sea’. 26The walls of ‘the Sea’ were 7½ centimetres thick. Its top edge was like a cup in the shape of a lily flower. ‘The Sea’ contained about 40,000 litres of water. 27Hiram also made ten bronze carts to carry water. Each one was 1.8 metres long, 1.8 metres wide and 1.3 metres deep.

1 Kings 7:25 word by word

עֹמֵ֞ד עַל־שְׁנֵ֧י עָשָׂ֣ר בָּקָ֗ר שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה פֹנִ֣ים׀ צָפ֡וֹנָה וּשְׁלֹשָׁה֩ פֹנִ֨ים׀ יָ֜מָּה וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה׀ פֹּנִ֣ים נֶ֗גְבָּה וּשְׁלֹשָׁה֙ פֹּנִ֣ים מִזְרָ֔חָה וְהַיָּ֥ם עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מִלְמָ֑עְלָה וְכָל־אֲחֹֽרֵיהֶ֖ם בָּֽיְתָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• It stoodעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• upon twelveעָשָׂר‛âώâr · tenH6240
• upon twelveשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• oxenבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
• threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• lookingפָּנָהpânâh · to turnH6437
• toward the northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
• toward the westיָםyâm · sea: westH3220
• toward the southנֶ֫גֶבnegeb · southH5045
• toward the eastמִזְרָחmizrâch · eastH4217
• and the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• aboveמַ֫עַלma‛al · aboveH4605
• upon them, and all their hinder partsאָחוֹר'âchôr 'âchôr · backH268
• inwardבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: insideH1004

Cross-references for 1 Kings 7:25

• 2 Chronicles 4:4They put the bronze ‘Sea’ on top of 12 bronze bulls. Three pointed north, three pointed west, three pointed south and three pointed east. Their backs were towards the middle of the ‘Sea’.
• Jeremiah 52:20The bronze from the things that King Solomon had made for the Lord's temple was very heavy. They included the two bronze pillars, the large bath called ‘the Sea’, the 12 bronze bulls under the bath and the carts which carried the buckets for water. The bronze from all these things was more than they could weigh.
• Ezekiel 1:10This is what their faces looked like: Each of the living things had four faces. There was a human face at the front. There was a lion's face on the right side. There was a bull's face on the left side. Each of them also had the face of an eagle.
• Matthew 28:19So you must go to people in every country of the world. Teach them how to become my disciples. Baptize them by the authority of God the Father, his Son and the Holy Spirit.
• Mark 16:15Then Jesus said to them, ‘Go to all people everywhere in the world. Tell God's good news to everyone.
• Luke 24:47People in every country of the world must hear God's message. They must stop doing wrong things and change how they live. When they do this, God will forgive them. He will forgive all the bad things that they have done. People need to tell this message about the Messiah in Jerusalem first, then tell people in other countries.
• 1 Corinthians 9:9God's Law that he gave to Moses says this: ‘Do not tie shut the mouth of your ox while it walks on your grain.’ But God's Law does not teach this only to help bulls.
• Revelation 4:6Also in front of the throne there was something like a sea of glass that shone with light. In the middle, round the throne, there were four other beings that were alive. They had eyes all over them, on their fronts and on their backs.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 7:25

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25Josephus charged Solomon with a breach of the Commandment Exodus 20:4-5, on account of the oxen here and the lions for his throne. The charge expresses the prohibition which some Jews have conceived the Commandment to urge against the arts of sculpture and painting.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-47Verses 13-47 The two brazen pillars in the porch of the temple, some think, were to teach those that came to worship, to depend upon God only, for strength and establishment in all their religious exercises. "Jachin," God will fix this roving mind. It is good that the heart be established with grace. "Boaz," In him is our strength, who works in us both to will and to do. Spiritual strength and stability are found at the door of God's temple, where we must…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-26The large bronze basin, known as the Sea, replaced the smaller bronze washbasin used in the tabernacle (see Exodus 30:17–21). The Sea was made as one solid piece, except for the twelve bronze oxen it rested on. These oxen faced in four directions, three per direction, possibly symbolizing the priests' service to all twelve tribes of Israel. Later, Ahaz replaced the oxen with a stone base (2 Kings 16:17). Like the earlier washbasin, priests used the Sea…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 23-2623-26. he made a molten sea--In the tabernacle was no such vessel; the laver served the double purpose of washing the hands and feet of the priests as well as the parts of the sacrifices. But in the temple there were separate vessels provided for these offices. (See on 2Ch 4:6). The molten sea was an immense semicircular vase, measuring seventeen and a half feet in diameter, and being eight and three-fourths feet in depth. This, at three and a half inches…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 7:25

• Art
• Brass
• Bullock
• Carving
• Chapiter
• Hiram
• Master Workman
• Mechanic
• Temple

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Laver
• Light
• Sea
• Sea, The molten
• Solomon
• Unweighed
• Ahaz
• Architecture
• House

Commentaries on 1 Kings 7

• 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
• 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