English Standard Version
1 Kings 7:25
25It 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them.
Context of 1 Kings 7:25
23Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 24Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 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. 26Its thickness was a handbreadth, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths. 27He also made the ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
Read all of 1 Kings 71 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 4:4It 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.
- Jeremiah 52:20As for the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight.
- Ezekiel 1:10As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle.
- Matthew 28:19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
- Mark 16:15And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
- Luke 24:47and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
- 1 Corinthians 9:9For it is written in the Law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned?
- Revelation 4:6and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries