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. 2He also made the big bronze basin called “The Sea.” It measured 15 feet from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven and one-half feet high. Its circumference was 45 feet. Images of bulls were under it all the way around, ten every eighteen inches all the way around. The bulls were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.” 4“The Sea” stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. “The Sea” was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward. 5It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold 18,000 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 7:24Under the rim all the way around it were round ornaments arranged in settings 15 feet long. The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.”
• Ezekiel 1:10Their faces had this appearance: Each of the four had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left and also the face of an eagle.
• Ezekiel 10:14Each of the cherubim had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
• 1 Corinthians 9:9For it is written in the law of Moses, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” God is not concerned here about oxen, is he?
• Revelation 4:7The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like an ox, the third creature had a face like a man’s, and the fourth creature looked like an eagle flying.
• 1 Kings 6:18The inside of the temple was all cedar and was adorned with carvings of round ornaments and of flowers in bloom. Everything was cedar; no stones were visible.
• 2 Kings 4:39Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine. He picked some of its fruit, enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful.

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